ORGANIZER
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 2433 ▶ |
| Object type | Discipline oriented, Methodology or model |
Some biologists — among them H. SPEEMAN- discovered that the amphibian embryo contains a section that has the potential to induce and to promote-when grafted in another embryo- the appearance of a second embryo, in many cases complete. This section has been called “organizer”
C. WADDINGTON described in detail this process of embryonic determination as a sequence of progressive constraints on the original equipotentiality condition (Waddington's inverted cones, as a diagramatic way of representing this course of embryonic determination) (See J. NEEDHAM, 1968, p. 58)
The organizer is also a feature of WADDINGTON's morphogenetic fields . for his part, the Belgian biologist A. DALCQ tackled the organizer concept in his 1940 book.
Of course, a disquieting question mark remains: “How does the organizer appear?” , as for example in CSANYI's proposed zero-system model .
Another intriguing point is the possible existence of organizers as features of complex biological and of metabiological systems. On this point, NEEDHAM writes: “It was soon recognized that the organizer phenomena were not confined to amphibia, for parallel cases were found in echinoderms (HÖRSTADIUS) insects (SEIDEL), and birds and mammals (WADDINGTON) (p. 83)
And could the organizer model be translated to meta-biological and social systems ?
See also
Autogenetic system precursor, Bifurcation, Gradient, Morphogenesis, Nodal activity, Positional value, Threshold, Zero-System