GOAL SEEKING
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 1441 ▶ |
| Object type | General information, Human sciences, Epistemology, ontology or semantics |
A characteristic of a system which directs itself toward the achievement of a goal.
This is a concept in need of a close scrutiny.
First of all, we should carefully distinguish what the system does from what we consider that it is doing.
The most general, and possibly the only really basic, “goal” of any system is its own perpetuation. We should here avoid the term “survival”, because it would restrict the concept to the living systems. However, has any non-living system a “goal”? Does a galaxy have a goal, even if it seems to be self-perpetuating for eons? Does a crystal have a goal? Does a planet have a goal? Has entity{GAIA a goal?
Really, proper goal seeking is probably restricted to living beings. But even then, in which sense could a bacteria or a virus have a goal? And when do goals appear: with cells?, with worms?, with vertebrates?, with mammals?, with apes?, with men?
And another tricky problem appears: do societies, species or ecosystems — which are not strongly integrated systems — have “goals”? Can they be “goal-seeking”?
As to our role as observers, we obviously attribute goals to many systems by analogy with our own goal seeking manner, and we frequently colour this concept with a shade of free will.
To become “goal seeking”, even in the restricted sense of “survival seeking”, a system must be autonomous (i.e. be self-determinated in VENDRYES' sense) or autopoietic (i.e. able to maintain its identity by recursive organizational closure, in VARELA's sense).
To summarize, the semantic status of the concept is shaky.
For ACKOFF's views on the topic, see System (Goal seeking)