STRUCTURE and EVOLUTION
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 3231 ▶ |
| Object type | General information |
Structure, under its diachronic guise, is the repertory of those transformations acceptable for the system (i.e. corresponding to its variety content in ASHBY's sense).
Strictly speaking it would be better to say that systems do not evolve, but undergo transformations (allowed by their structure).
However, when “the alteration is so important as to become necessarily irreversible, an historical process takes place, giving birth to a new structure ” (J.L.LE MOIGNE, after J.G. MILLER).
C. BRESCH in his comprehensive study of evolution (1977) observed that structure tends to be structurating, i.e. to generatecomplementary or countervailing structures.
He also explained that structures develop out of components , but within the limits of pre-existing constraints .
See also
Auto-genetic systems precursors, Co-evolution, Structure (Conservative), Structure genesis (Law of), Zero-system