ANABOLISM
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 104 ▶ |
| Object type | General information |
The process of absorption and assimilation of specific inputs by a living system
The anabolic process includes the following phases:
- Ingestion or transduction: the translation of material, energetic or informative inputs from the environment into the system through its boundary.
- Internal transfer: the internal translation from the absorbed inputs to the subsystems that should use them.
- Conversion: the transformation of an input by a specific subsystem to make it fit for the use of the system. In the case of information inputs, the conversion process is called “decoding”.
- Production or association: For material or energetic inputs, the synthesis of specific components of the system, out of the converted inputs. For information, the first stage of the learning process.
For the respective roles of the concerned subsystems, see J. MILLER 's 20 critical subsystems.
The elimination of products by a living system is called “catabolism”, while “metabolism” is the generic term for the complete process of absorption, transformation and elimination of matter, energy and information.
In a more or less analogic sense, higher level living systems (enterprises, groups, organizations, communities, etc…) all anabolize specific inputs.