HETEROSTASIS II
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 1527 ▶ |
| Object type | Discipline oriented, General information, Methodology or model |
The “maximal condition ” that may be reached by a system (After A. Harry KLOPF, using the neuron as an example — 1972, p.5).
The author understands by “maximal condition” (of a neuron) the difference between “the amount of depolarization (pleasure) minus the amount of hyperpolarization (pain)”. He explains: “The solution to the mind-body problem is an identity theory. A neuron undergoing depolarization is elementary pleasure; a neuron undergoing hyperpolarization is elementary pain. The subjective event of the experience of pleasure or pain is identical to the objective event of neurons undergoing depolarization or hyperpolarization, respectively” (p.6).
These thesis, quite behavioristic and reductionist and, besides, semantically expressed in a way contrary to the non-identity principle, should be closely scrutinized.
KLOPF generalizes his concept of heterostasis to the set of all living and meta-living systems and concludes his study with the following synthesis: “The evolutionary process has established an equivalence between that which has survival value and that which is a source of pleasure. Thus, living systems, in pursuing heterostasis, participate in three broad categories of actions:
1. self-preserving behavior (maintenance of homeostasis);
2. species-preserving behavior (reproduction);
3. stimulation-preserving behavior (knowledge acquisition and play).
Recognition that these categories represent sub'''goals, pursued only as means to an end (Heterostasis), renders certain aspects of human behavior more understandable“ (p.64).