EXTRAREGULATOR
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 1234 ▶ |
| Object type | General information |
A system which is able to adapt to a point its environment to its internal needs for constancy.
This concept was introduced by G. BATESON as complementary to those of “adjustors” and \term“{regulators}”. He wrote: “… the polarity between adjustors and regulators can be extrapolated another step to include what we may call 'extraregulators' which achieve homeostatic controls outside the body by changing and controlling the environment — man being the most conspicuous example of this class” (1973, p.332).
Social insects (as well as a social mammal, the naked mole rat) also achieve extraregulation, at least up to a point, by creating their own artificial environment.
E. JANTSCH observes that this “…centrifugal evolution is favored by variable stress and thus incorporates a basic principle of nonequilibrium and fluctuation, whereas constant stress would favor a centripetal direction of evolution” (1976, p.55).