CONNECTION (System forming)
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 619 ▶ |
| Object type | General information |
A type of connection specific to organized wholes.
I. BLAUBERG, V. SADOVSKY and E. YUDIN speak of “organic” wholes, which seems unduly restrictive. (1977, p.145).
Connections are essential in systems: no unconnected number of elements can ever be considered a system. Even composite systems are weakly connected, through the general conditions to which they are submitted.
On the other hand, isolated or temporary connections are not significative, from the systems point of view. Systems are multi-connected and, moreover, generally made of interconnected subsystems, themselves made of connected components.
However, connections are selectively restricted and organized within the system, whose internal constraints give it a specific identity and functionality.
In systems, connections form networks, generally at different levels. Each system has its characteristic networks. Individual connections cannot be well understood if considered independently from the networks. This is why G. WEINBERG proposes a “Strong Connection Law” (1975, p.158), in order to do away with some principles of reductionnist scientific methodology that cannot be applied to the study of systems, as for example:
- “Clear logical thinking requires that we vary only one factor at a time” (In a system, varying one factor triggers a chain reaction in the connective network)
- “All other things being equal…” (Systems are dynamic: nothing ever remains equal).