BCSSS

International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics

2nd Edition, as published by Charles François 2004 Presented by the Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science Vienna for public access.

About

The International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics was first edited and published by the system scientist Charles François in 1997. The online version that is provided here was based on the 2nd edition in 2004. It was uploaded and gifted to the center by ASC president Michael Lissack in 2019; the BCSSS purchased the rights for the re-publication of this volume in 200?. In 2018, the original editor expressed his wish to pass on the stewardship over the maintenance and further development of the encyclopedia to the Bertalanffy Center. In the future, the BCSSS seeks to further develop the encyclopedia by open collaboration within the systems sciences. Until the center has found and been able to implement an adequate technical solution for this, the static website is made accessible for the benefit of public scholarship and education.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

MEANING (Imaginary) 3)

A meaning does not necessarily reflects some (so-called) "objective" reality.

I. SEMETSKY observes that, for Ch. S. PEIRCE, the american founder of semiotics: "The object to which the sign refers may not have a solely physical existence but may as well be a thought, a dream, or an imaginary entity"(2001, p. 112)

A good example is the red cross. This sign was created by inverting the colors of the swiss flag and was then given a meaning: "medical help available". This meaning was progressively transmitted and accepted by more and more people.

It thus acquired the status of significant symbol and is now universally known.

But the meaning it conveys could as well have been represented by a green star with five spikes or by two intersecting circles (one red and one blue), or by a stylized heart, or any other easy to read.

This shows that any sign is a sign only through

a) a psychic invention of an individual creator

b) conversational communication among various individuals

c) by transmission in the time dimension to new bearers

Ideograms; Language (visual)

Categories

  • 1) General information
  • 2) Methodology or model
  • 3) Epistemology, ontology and semantics
  • 4) Human sciences
  • 5) Discipline oriented

Publisher

Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science(2020).

To cite this page, please use the following information:

Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science (2020). Title of the entry. In Charles François (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics (2). Retrieved from www.systemspedia.org/[full/url]


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