SYSTEM (Purpose seeking)
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 3393 ▶ |
| Object type | General information, Human sciences |
B. BANATHY describe this type of systems “… as complex, ideal-seeking systems guided by images of the future that they shape themselves”. Of course, ideal-seeking systems should not be confused with ideologically constructed ones (but may be sometimes in serious danger to be).
BANATHY states: “They are both open and adaptive to the environment and are shapers of the environment. They are pluralist and thus able to seek and explore new purposes. They are systemic in their arrangements and behavior. They exhibit such qualities as emergence, self-transcendence, and a tendency for cooperation and even integration with other systems and reorganization at a higher level of complexity” (1988, p.30).
As to their degree of self-direction: “Policies are formulated based on images of the future that people in the system shape collectively. There is constant search for new purposes; new niches in the environment that the system can carve out, shape, or incorporate”.
As to their structure/relational state: “Significant structural changes may occur through time. State changes may be independent of prior states. Discontinuity and reorganization at higher levels of complexity are expected to happen, directed by purposeful design. Ambiguity and uncertainty are used creatively” (Ibid).
Some of the examples given by BANATHY are: “… seeking and designing new institutional roles for the private and public sector; seeking society renewal through the design of integrative community systems, the design of alternative educational systems,… peace development and alternative security systems” (Ibid).
This type of systems closely corresponds to JANTSCH's “purposeful systems” (1975).