SYSTEM (Hypothesis of the lone)
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 3368 ▶ |
| Object type | Epistemology, ontology or semantics |
R. VALLÉE proposes the hypothesis of the “lone system”, being an observing system unique in a given environment and emphasizes the difference in its quality of knowledge “as compared with the case of a collectivity of such systems” (1991a, p.143).
A lone system exists within a universe that it is able to know only within the limitations of its own perceptive and interpretative capacity. It can be said that it remains secluded within its own epistemological ability (VALLÉE's \term“{epistemological subjectivity}”).
Its relation with its universe depends on its own characteristics as an observation operator and on its aptness as a decision operator. VALLÉE makes clear that “We suppose furthermore that the system is what we call a cybernetic system, i.e. a system able to oberve its environment and itself” (Ibid).
On such a base the system can observe, decide and act, modifying its environment and itself, but strictly within the limits of its so-called epistemological subjectivity. This situation is unavoidable and could be improved only to a point by conversation and consensus among various systems within a common environment.