RECOGNITION
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 2745 ▶ |
| Object type | General information, Human sciences, Methodology or model |
The adaptive and continuous correlation of elements in a give physical domain to the new events taking place in another physical domain more or less independent of the first one (G. EDELMAN, 2000, p.109)
EDELMAN adds: “Theseadjustments take place without any previous instruction, through selection within a hypervariable set…. These recognition systems are based on similar principles…
- there is avariety (in french: “diversité”) generator inside the internal domain
- there is an interaction mode between the external domain, and the various repertories inside the internal domain
- there is a differential amplification of some elements of the internal domain“ (Ibid)
This last principle is concurrent with RUMELHART & Mc CLELLAND'S Parallel distributed processing .
EDELMAN gives the following examples: “In immunology these two domains are obviously antibodies and antigenes. In development they are the genetic and the epigenetic (i.e.: cellular environment). In the neuro-sciences they are dynamic neuronal structures and sets of informations , orstimuli originating in the external world” (Ibid)
MATURANA would problably accept “stimuli”, but reject “information”: the world is as it is and there is no information without a brain .
For EDELMAN, the brain is anetwork . In the quoted interview (as in his former works) he develops his model .
Cooperative or associative behavior cannot work if the elements cannot somehow “recognize” each other.
This is specially true in complex relationships in groups .
The deepest nature of so-called “recognition”is however quite enigmatic.
While it would be highly anthropomorphic to say that atoms of hydrogen “recognize” atoms of oxygen, or chlorine as possible “associates”, it is however obvious that chemical valencies that imply potencial complementarity have in a very basic sense a social meaning .
Characteristic significance by associative capacity through some forms of compatibility and complementarity does also emerge all along biological levels , for ex. from enzymes on.