Date : Jun 29, 1995 (modified); Jan 1992 (created)
Parent Node(s):
Metasystem Transition Theory
Metasystem Transition Theory is the name we have given our particular
cybernetic philosophy. It is based not only on the concept of the Metasystem Transition, and more generally on the process of evolution which generates
subsequent levels of complexity out of more simple components, through
the trial-and-error mechanism of variation and selective retention, but
also on a host of other views on epistemology, metaphysics, and ethics, all addressed from a cybernetic perspective. A philosophical system is seen as a clearly thought out and well-formulated, global "world view" (Weltanschauung), integrating the different domains of knowledge
and experience. It should provide an answer to the basic questions:
"Who am I? Where do I come from? Where am I going to?"
Although many issues still need to be resolved, the following list of nodes attempts to give a first general statement of the theory and its applications to different philosophical problems. First, the philosophical foundations are outlined: assumptions about the methods used in building a complete philosophical system, fundamental categories and principles on the level of ontology or metaphysics, and on the level of epistemology or the theory of knowledge. Then, the basic scientific concepts and principles on which the theory is based are summarized, categorized by the discipline they come from: systems theory, theory of evolution, and cybernetics. The integration of evolutionary processes with the cybernetical organization of systems leads to the formulation of the core concept: the metasystem transition (MST). This concept is then applied by reconstructing the complete history of evolution, from the Big Bang to the present, as a sequence of MST's. An extrapolation of this sequence provides us with a first glimpse of what the future might bring. Finally, the possible dangers and opportunities of our evolutionary future direct our attention to the need for formulating an ethics, based on evolutionary and systemic principles, that could guide our actions.
Background of the theory
Metasystem Transition Theory has its roots in a number of
publications. The earliest and most significant is Turchin's book The Phenomenon of Science, followed by The Inertia of Fear
and the Scientific Worldview. The role of the metasystem transition in the
foundations of mathematics was outlined in a paper entitled "Constructive Interpretation of Full Set Theory" (see Turchin's bio for full references).
The first statement
of what would become Metasystem Transition Theory in the context of the Principia Cybernetica project was ``The
Cybernetic Manifesto'' by Turchin and Joslyn, in which some
fundamental and preliminary statements were made. Further discursive papers continued from the involvement of Heylighen in the project and the completion of the current Editorial Board. A major collection of papers by the editors and different invited authors on the Theory is to be published in a special issue of "World Futures: the journal of general evolution".
The concept of the metasystem transition in formal systems is applied by Turchin and
his colleagues in a research program on computer program optimization.
Turchin is the author of REFAL, an early functional programming
environment used extensively in Russia and other Eurasian republics. Their research program in program optimization through
partial and lazy evaluation methods has culminated in a Supercompiler. Turchin uses REFAL as a formal language in which to express
ideas about metasystem transitions and apply metasystem transitions not only to traditional computer science problems, but also in the philosophy of mathematics.
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Annotations:
URL= http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/MSTT.html |
http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/MSTT.html (PC Press Internet CD, 03/1996)