CAUSALITY (Cyclic)
Charles François (2004). CAUSALITY (Cyclic), International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics, 2(1): 376.
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 376 ▶ |
| Object type | Epistemology, ontology or semantics, Methodology or model |
- “A cyclic causal relationship (is)… a sequence of coupled cause-effect relationships that leads back to its starting point: A - B - C - …A” (HEYLIGHEN, 1989, p.374).
However “It is only possible to move toward the future, not toward the past” (p.375). Thus, cyclic causality does not imply reversibility. Or, as stated by HEYLIGHEN: “If a distinguishable change has occured, then at the global level (i.e.the level where all observed distinctions are taken into account), there was no real causal cycle and it is possible to define an absolute ordering between all the events in the causal chain” (p.377).
To avoid this type of ambiguity, it should probably be advisable to avoid the voice “Cyclic causality”, or even “Circular causation” (as obsrved by R.N. ADAMS — 1988, p.68) and to speak, for example of “causality by recurrent feedback”.