SYSTEM (Source)
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 3406 ▶ |
| Object type | Epistemology, ontology or semantics, Methodology or model |
- “A set of variables… established as a result of our interaction with an object of interest” (G. KLIR, 1993, p.41).
This definition corresponds to reconstructability analysis.
Source systems can be viewed “as sources of empirical data regarding specific attributes of the investigated object” (KLIR, 1991, p.221).
KLIR writes: “The most primitive epistemological category consist solely of a experimental frame, a set of variables, their state sets with appropriate observation channels, time (as a parameter within which the variables are observed), and an appropriately defined time set. The term source systems is usually used for systems defined at this level to indicate that such systems are, at least potentially, sources of empirical data. Systems on different higher epistemological levels are distinguished from each other by the level of knowledge regarding the variables of the associated source system” (1988, p.151).
KLIR makes also an important observation: “Since we deal with systems distinguished on objects and not with the objects themselves (in their totality), it is not operationally meaningful to view complexity as an intrinsic property of objects. While complexities of objects may exist in the ontological sense, they are epistemologically and methodologically vacuous, in contrast to complexities of systems” (1993, p.41).
This remembers us of “the map, which is not the territory”.
A zoologist, for instance, would observe different characteristics and variables in order to study a variety, a species or a family of animals.
The source system concept seems quite close to J.G. MILLER's “concrete system”. It surges from something “out there” that we observe in a defined way for some defined purpose.
See also
ontological skepticism.