Principles of Systems and Cybernetics: an evolutionary perspective Francis HEYLIGHEN* PO, Free University of Brussels, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium
[email protected] ABSTRACT: A set of fundamental principles for the and definitions. The fundamental principles, like all good cybernetics domain is sketched, based on the axioms, are supposed to be self-evident, if not tautologous. spontaneous emergence of systems through variation and Their implications, like most theorems, on the other hand, selection. The (mostly self-evident) principles are: may be far from trivial, and sometimes even counter- selective retention, autocatalytic growth, asymmetric intuitive. transitions, blind variation, recursive systems This paper will propose a first, necessarily limited and construction, selective variety, requisite knowledge and sketchy, overview of the principles that I think are most incomplete knowledge. Existing systems principles, such basic, starting from the most primitive ones, and building up as self-organization, “the whole is more than the sum of towards less obvious ones. This overview is offered for its parts”, and order from noise can be reduced to discussion and elaboration by other systems researchers. A implications of these more primitive laws. Others, such more in-depth treatment of this issue is being prepared in the as the law of requisite variety, the 2nd law of form of a series of journal papers (Heylighen, forthcoming). thermodynamics, and the law of maximum entropy production are clarified, or restricted in their scope. 2 The Principle of Selective Retention 1 Introduction Stable configurations are retained, unstable ones are Principles or laws play the role of expressing the most eliminated.