SYSTEM (META-) TRANSITION

Charles François (2004). SYSTEM (META-) TRANSITION, International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics, 2(2): 3378.

Collection	International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics
Year	2004
Vol. (num.)	2(2)
ID	◀ 3378 ▶
Object type	Methodology or model

Transition toward a higher level of control in a system.

Such a process may take place when the existing cognitive subsystem is no longer able to cope with a growing complexity, which happens “…if the variety of possible actions is larger than (its) capacity for control.”(F. HEYLIGHEN, 1991).

Through this kind of complexity emergence “… a number of control systems are integrated into a single whole with the formation of a global control system” (Ibid).

HEYLIGHEN adds: “…the emergence of control leads to an increase of variety, whereas the increase of variety, if it is large enough, stimulates the emergence of a new control in a positive feedback cycle” (Ibid).

In this way a hierarchy of controls builds progressively up. Furthermore: “… once the control at the higher or meta-level has emerged, the number of subsystems it controls will in general increase. V. TURCHIN calls this phenomenon the branching growth'' of the penultimate level” (Ibid).

See also