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

POLYETHISM 4)5)

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The presence of different classes of ethological roles in social insects.

This term has been introduced by J. WEIR in 1958. According to E.O. WILSON, polyethism is one of the main factor explaining the considerable success of social insects (1971).

In social insects, it leads to polymorphism (sometimes reversible).

Polyethism is still more obvious and important in human societies. It may be interpreted as a kind of collective internalization of adaptation to environmental necessities.

It is doubtless a condition for socialization, as it connects the need for social variety with individual differentiation.

B. CORBARA and A. DROGOUL observe that polyethism is more or less correlated to age, and can be considered as an emerging phenomenon (1992, p.832-834). Polyethism is more differentiated in more complex societies.

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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