Re: "The Phenomenon of Science"
Alexei Sharov (sharov@VT.EDU)
Wed, 3 Dec 1997 08:38:18 -0500
>>>> I don't like the term "control" because historically it was
>>>> used for a subsystem that leads the system to a target state
>>>> using all information available. In evolutionary systems
>>>> there is no fixed target state.
>
>You seem to have misunderstood the basics of our evolutionary-cybernetic
>approach. Metasystem Transition Theory is interested in the *evolutionary
>origin of control*. That is, evolution does not have a goal or target
>state, but tends to produce systems which do have a goal, i.e. control
>systems. The reason is the mechanism which D.T. Campbell called a
>"vicarious selector" (http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/VICARSEL.html). Natural
>selection will eliminate all systems which are unfit or not adapted. A
>system does not a priori know what is fit and what is not. Therefore, it
>can only blindly try out something and hope that it works. It it does not
>work, the system may not survive.
>
>It would be obviously much more efficient if the system would already have
>some idea of which action is appropriate in which circumstance, i.e. if it
>would be able to internally select the right actions, in anticipation of
>natural selection by the environment. This means that the system needs to
>somehow interiorize selection, i.e. it must develop an internal standard or
>evaluation criterion to distinguish between what is good (fit) or bad. This
>is the same as having an implicit goal. All actions of the system will be
>selected such that they try to maximize this internal criterion, in spite
>of changes in the environment. Thus, a system which is good at surviving
>natural selection will also tend to be a control system.
Francis Heylighen:
I see no contradiction between my statement and what you
wrote above. I was argueing that in the traditional cybernetics,
the target state is set a priori, and control is designed to
keep the system at this state. But in evolutionary systems,
the target state and control develop simultaneously. Thus,
it is an oversimplification to say that a metasystem transition
is just establishment of a new control.
-Alexei
-------------------------------------------------
Alexei Sharov Research Scientist
Dept. of Entomology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061
Tel. (540) 231-7316; FAX (540) 231-9131; e-mail sharov@vt.edu
Home page: http://www.gypsymoth.ento.vt.edu/~sharov/alexei.html