TELEOGENESIS
Charles François (2004). TELEOGENESIS, International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics, 2(2): 3506.
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 3506 ▶ |
| Object type | General information |
- “Goal formulation” as a property of systems able to generate their own goals.
N.A. COULTER Jr. proposed the concept of teleogenetic system, or teleogenetic control systems, which “have the capacity to generate their own goal” and “exhibit goal-seeking behavior”, i.e.“searching for a goal to seek” (1968, p.85).
According to COULTER, such systems would have the following capabilities:
- “1. Teleological (goal-seeking) behavior. It should be capable of controlling an output quantity in such a way that it conforms to a ”goal signal“…
- “2. Teleogenesis (goal-formulation). It should be capable of proposing goals within the range of capability of its teleological mechanism.
- “3. Forecasting. On the basis of sensed data about the controlled quality (in the absence of action by the teleogenetic system) it should be capable of predicting outcomes if a proposed goal is adopted by the system.
- “4. Evaluation. In terms of values (either initially endowed or accumulated by ”experience“) it should be capable of assigning worth-values to the forecast outcome spectrum associated with each goal, and computing a global worth-function for the decision process.
- “5. Decision. In accordance with some decision procedures, the system should be capable of selecting one of the proposed goals and committing the system to that goal” (p.85-6).
COULTER's proposal does not seem to have been further researched or applied, save quite recently by G.G. JAROS in South Africa (1994, p.5) (see: Teleos; teleonics). However, its relation with the perceptron and the more recent self-organizing networks is obvious.