PRINCIPIA CYBERNETICA WEB - ©

Author: F. Heylighen, C. Joslyn,
Date : Mar 22, 1994 (modified); Aug 1993 (created)
Parent Node(s):

• Cybernetics
• Evolutionary Theory

Principles of Systems and Cybernetics

The heart of the Principia Cybernetica Project lies therefore in the establishment of a set of clear and coherent Principles of Cybernetics. As Principles, they should have the following properties:

Primitive:

The word ``principle'' is derived from the Latin principes (he who goes first) or primo (first). Principles are primary or primitive in that something can follow from them. They are the beginning to a system of thought, axiomatic (although we want to avoid the formal sense of that term).

Simplicity:

Principles should be simple almost to the point of being self-evident or tautological.

Universality:

Principles should have virtually universal applicability within the domain of Cybernetics and Systems Science.

The preliminary set of principles we propose are based on and expressed in terms of a set of primitive concepts of systems and cybernetics. Some of the principles have a long and venerable tradition in Cybernetics and Systems Science, while others are novel to Metasystem Transition Theory. Our analysis will on the one hand critically assess existing principles, clarifying their meaning, on the other hand try to formulate new principles which may generalize or interconnect known laws.

The ultimate goal is to arrive at a network of concepts and principles similar to a formal system, with "axioms" implicitly defining primitive concepts, definitions of higher order concepts, and "theorems", derived from the more primitive axioms and definitions. The fundamental principles, like all good axioms, are supposed to be self-evident. Their implications, like most theorems, on the other hand, may be far from trivial, and sometimes even counter-intuitive.

Child Nodes:

• Occam's Razor
• The Identity of the Indistinguishables
• The Principle of Causality
• Downward Causation
• Principles of Blind Variation and Selective Retention
• The Principle of Autocatalytic Growth
• The Principle of Selective Variety
• The Principle of Recursive Systems Construction
• The Law of Requisite Variety
• The Law of Requisite Constraint
• The Law of Requisite Knowledge
• The Law of Requisite Hierarchy
• The Principle of Incomplete Knowledge
• Closures

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