KNOWLEDGE as a control on behavior
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 1815 ▶ |
| Object type | General information |
According to F. HEYLIGHEN, “Knowledge can be defined as the ability to choose adequate actions from the repertoire, where adequate means: securing the survival of the system within its environment. Knowledge selects actions from the variety of potential actions, in the same way that natural selection selects by destroying inadequately behaving systems. The difference is that knowledge does not destroy actual systems, it only eliminates potentialities. Knowledge can thus be defined as a substitute or vicarious selector, which internally represents — and thus allows the anticipation of — the selective action of the environment (see CAMPBELL, 1974)” (pers. com.).
Knowledge is, of course, subjective (i.e. proper to an observer) and thus merely plausible, which means that its adequateness cannot be totally guaranteed.
HEYLIGHEN makes another important point: “What distinguish knowledge from control in the more traditional sense, is that cognitive control does not depend on a specific, fixed goal that the system is supposed to achieve. The only, very broadly defined goal is survival of the identity…” (Ibid).
In other words, knowledge is a tool for organizational closure.
And: “Moreover, cognitive control is supposed to cope with a complex environment, and will in that way have to represent as much as possible features of that environment that are relevant to survival” (Ibid).
Here again, the practical results depend on the quality of the “maps” (KORZYBSKI) or the models (ASHBY).