PATHOLOGY of complex systems
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 2486 ▶ |
| Object type | General information, Human sciences, Methodology or model |
The study of global disfunctions in systems, as well as of disturbances in the interconnections between subsystems.
The traditional reductionist attitude leads to a dismembered view of systemic symptoms. However, illness is not always so much as of an organ, or an individual, or a group, but as of their interrelations with other organs or individuals or groups, at the same or at different levels. Thus systemic pathology should study communications problems, at their physiological, technical and/or informational levels; regulators and controls malfunctions; global governance problems; etc…
H. SELYE research on stress was a partial, but important step in this direction. In such way a general pathology of complex systems could be constructed. (Ch. FRANÇOIS, 1984). Important applications in management, economy and social sciences would then be conceivable.
Among the most important systemic pathologies we can list the following:
- Progressive disorganization of internal communication lines in the system, leading to loss of coherence and capacity of reaction due to insufficient or delayed information;
- Internal overcrowding or overstocking of the system, leading to exhaustion of vital resources and progressive destruction of the system;
- Asphyxia of the system due to the sudden or progressive curtailment of needed energy, matter and/or information inputs, caused either by changes within the environment or internal malfunction.
- Overtaxing of environmental resources or capacity to absorb outputs (either useful or wasteful);
- Confusion in coding and decoding, leading to progressive loss of the capacity for meaningful interactions among the subsystems or members of the system;
- Loss of adaptive capacity, characteristic of ageing processes;
- Unbalance or downright incompatibility between simultaneous or sequential goals (for example between local and global, or short and long term ones);
- Misunderstanding of natural regulations or use of ill-conceived controls.
Many more aspects of systemic pathology could probably be discovered and usefully researched.
See also
Diagnosis