FORM and FORCE
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 1315 ▶ |
| Object type | General information, Epistemology, ontology or semantics |
d'ARCY W. THOMPSON wrote (l916): “Form is a diagram of forces”. He came to such a conclusion in the following way: “when we abstract our thoughts from the material to its form, or from the thing moved to the motions, when we deal with the subjective conceptions of form, or movements, or the movements that change of form implies, then Force is the appropriate term for our conception of the causes by which these forms and changes are brought about… It is a term as subjective and symbolic as form itself, and so is used appropriately in connection therewith…
- “The form, then, of any portion of matter, whether it be living or dead, and the changes of form which are apparent in its movements and in its growth, may in all cases alike be described as due to the action of force” (1916, 1952, p.15-16).
Nowadays the concepts of energy, energy flows or energy fields have more or less replaced the concept of force and we interpret matter as local condensations of energy. These notions lead us to an interpretation of all systems as a provisionally permanent entity condensed within interacting energy fields (see “toroid”, “vortex”). Of course, the difference in terminology does not affect THOMPSON's basic views.
A more geometric and static concept of form is thus enounced by R. THOM: “Form is always, at long last, a qualitative discontinuity referred to some continuous background” (1991, p.35).