SYSTEM (Self-modifying)
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 3401 ▶ |
| Object type | General information, Methodology or model |
A system able to generate new interrelations between its internal processes.
According to G. KAMPIS, who introduces this notion, the general conditions of existence of the system are modified by its own activity. As a result the system must readapt itself in order to survive. This entails the shaping of new interrelations between processes and may lead to a deep transformation of the system (1989, p.87-98).
Contemporary complex human systems seem to be self-modifying, which may explain that they become ever more difficult to manage.
Self-modification seems to be a later stage of self-organization, but its status in relation to autopoiesis is not yet quite clear. Self-modification does not seem compatible with M. EIGEN's hypercycle, for instance.