REFLEX (Functional)
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 2790 ▶ |
| Object type | Discipline oriented, Human sciences |
A reflex is functional if it responds adequately to the command triggered by the stimulus.
A behavior is functional if it is adequately adaptive. The functional behavior however, is created at the reflexological (or instrumental) level through the ordered inclusion of a number of coordinated reflexes within a reflexological system:
- able to produce a considerable choice of different sequences
- integrated, i.e. working as a regulated unit.
ASHBY expresses it in the following way: “the value of one part's behavior cannot be judged until the behavior of the other parts is known; and the values of their behaviors cannot be known until the first part's behavior is known. All the valuations are thus conditional, each depending on the others” (1960, p.7).