Francis Heylighen
Encyclopedia
Francis Paul Heylighen is a Belgian cyberneticist
, and research professor at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel
, the Dutch-speaking Free University of Brussels
, where he directs the transdisciplinary research group on "Evolution, Complexity and Cognition".
, Belgium
. He got his high school education from the "Koninklijk Atheneum Pitzemburg" in Mechelen
, in the section Latin-Mathematics. He received his MSc in mathematical physics
in 1982, and his PhD in Sciences in 1987, both from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel
(VUB).
In 1983 he started working as a researcher for the Belgian National Fund for Scientific Research (NFWO
). In 1994 he became a tenured researcher at the NFWO and in 2001 a research professor at the VUB. Since 1995 he is affiliated with the VUB’s Center Leo Apostel for interdisciplinary studies. In 2004, he created the ECCO research group which he presently directs.
In 1989, Valentin Turchin
and Cliff Joslyn
founded the Principia Cybernetica Project, and Heylighen joined a year later. In 1996, Heylighen founded the "Global Brain Group", an international discussion forum that groups most of the scientists who have worked on the concept of emergent Internet intelligence. Heylighen was also one of the founders and former editor of the Journal of Memetics, which terminated in 2008.
and evolution
of complex
, intelligent organization. Applications include the origin of life, the development of multicellular organisms, knowledge, culture, and societies, and the impact of information and communication technologies on future social evolution.
Heylighen's scientific work covers an extremely wide range of subjects, exemplifying his intellectual curiosity and fundamentally transdisciplinary way of thinking. In addition to the topics mentioned above, subjects include the foundations of quantum mechanics
, the structure of space-time, hypermedia
interfaces, the psychology of self-actualization and happiness
, the market mechanism, formality and contextuality in language, causality
, the measurement of social progress
, the mechanism of stigmergy
and its application to the web.
through (re)combination of parts and natural selection
of the fitter combinations results in ever more complex and adaptive system
s. This principle is a direct application of Universal Darwinism
, the idea that Darwinian mechanisms can be extended to virtually all disciplines and problem domains.
The two principles come together in Heylighen's concept of a distinction dynamics, which he first formulated in his PhD thesis (and later book), "Representation and Change". In Heylighen's analysis, classical scientific methodology is based on given, unchanging distinctions between elements or states. Therefore, it is intrinsically unable to model creative change. But the evolutionary principle makes distinctions dynamic, explaining the creation and destruction of relations, distinctions and connections, and thus helping us to understand how and why complexity emerges.
and Valentin Turchin
, he is editor of the Principia Cybernetica
Project, which is devoted to the collaborative development of an evolutionary-systemic philosophy
. He created its website, the Principia Cybernetica Web, in 1993, as one of the first complex webs in the world. It is still viewed as the most important site on cybernetics, systems theory
and related approaches.
, i.e. a Global brain
.
In the 2007 article "The Global Superorganism: an evolutionary-cybernetic model of the emerging network society" Heylighen gave a detailed exposition of the superorganism/global brain view of society, and an examination of the underlying evolutionary mechanisms, with applications to the on-going and future developments in a globalizing world.
Cybernetics
Cybernetics is the interdisciplinary study of the structure of regulatory systems. Cybernetics is closely related to information theory, control theory and systems theory, at least in its first-order form...
, and research professor at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
The Vrije Universiteit Brussel is a Flemish university located in Brussels, Belgium. It has two campuses referred to as Etterbeek and Jette.The university's name is sometimes abbreviated by "VUB" or translated to "Free University of Brussels"...
, the Dutch-speaking Free University of Brussels
Free University of Brussels
The Free University of Brussels was a university in Brussels, Belgium. In 1969, it split into the Université Libre de Bruxelles and the Dutch-speaking Vrije Universiteit Brussel....
, where he directs the transdisciplinary research group on "Evolution, Complexity and Cognition".
Biography
Francis Heylighen was born on September 27, 1960 in VilvoordeVilvoorde
Vilvoorde is a Belgian municipality in the Flemish province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the city of Vilvoorde proper with its two outlying quarters of Koningslo and Houtem and the small town of Peutie...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. He got his high school education from the "Koninklijk Atheneum Pitzemburg" in Mechelen
Mechelen
Mechelen Footnote: Mechelen became known in English as 'Mechlin' from which the adjective 'Mechlinian' is derived...
, in the section Latin-Mathematics. He received his MSc in mathematical physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
in 1982, and his PhD in Sciences in 1987, both from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
The Vrije Universiteit Brussel is a Flemish university located in Brussels, Belgium. It has two campuses referred to as Etterbeek and Jette.The university's name is sometimes abbreviated by "VUB" or translated to "Free University of Brussels"...
(VUB).
In 1983 he started working as a researcher for the Belgian National Fund for Scientific Research (NFWO
NFWO
The National Fund for Scientific Research is a government institution in Belgium for supporting scientific research...
). In 1994 he became a tenured researcher at the NFWO and in 2001 a research professor at the VUB. Since 1995 he is affiliated with the VUB’s Center Leo Apostel for interdisciplinary studies. In 2004, he created the ECCO research group which he presently directs.
In 1989, Valentin Turchin
Valentin Turchin
Valentin Fyodorovich Turchin was a Soviet and American cybernetician and computer scientist. He developed the Refal programming language, the theory of metasystem transitions and the notion of supercompilation...
and Cliff Joslyn
Cliff Joslyn
Cliff Joslyn is an American cognitive scientist, cyberneticist, and currently Chief Scientist for Knowledge Sciences at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Seattle, Washington, USA.- Biography :...
founded the Principia Cybernetica Project, and Heylighen joined a year later. In 1996, Heylighen founded the "Global Brain Group", an international discussion forum that groups most of the scientists who have worked on the concept of emergent Internet intelligence. Heylighen was also one of the founders and former editor of the Journal of Memetics, which terminated in 2008.
Work
His research focuses on the emergenceEmergence
In philosophy, systems theory, science, and art, emergence is the way complex systems and patterns arise out of a multiplicity of relatively simple interactions. Emergence is central to the theories of integrative levels and of complex systems....
and evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
of complex
Complexity
In general usage, complexity tends to be used to characterize something with many parts in intricate arrangement. The study of these complex linkages is the main goal of complex systems theory. In science there are at this time a number of approaches to characterizing complexity, many of which are...
, intelligent organization. Applications include the origin of life, the development of multicellular organisms, knowledge, culture, and societies, and the impact of information and communication technologies on future social evolution.
Heylighen's scientific work covers an extremely wide range of subjects, exemplifying his intellectual curiosity and fundamentally transdisciplinary way of thinking. In addition to the topics mentioned above, subjects include the foundations of quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics, also known as quantum physics or quantum theory, is a branch of physics providing a mathematical description of much of the dual particle-like and wave-like behavior and interactions of energy and matter. It departs from classical mechanics primarily at the atomic and subatomic...
, the structure of space-time, hypermedia
Hypermedia
Hypermedia is a computer-based information retrieval system that enables a user to gain or provide access to texts, audio and video recordings, photographs and computer graphics related to a particular subject.Hypermedia is a term created by Ted Nelson....
interfaces, the psychology of self-actualization and happiness
Happiness
Happiness is a mental state of well-being characterized by positive emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. A variety of biological, psychological, religious, and philosophical approaches have striven to define happiness and identify its sources....
, the market mechanism, formality and contextuality in language, causality
Causality
Causality is the relationship between an event and a second event , where the second event is understood as a consequence of the first....
, the measurement of social progress
Social progress
Social progress is the idea that societies can or do improve in terms of their social, political, and economic structures. This may happen as a result of direct human action, as in social enterprise or through social activism, or as a natural part of sociocultural evolution...
, the mechanism of stigmergy
Stigmergy
Stigmergy is a mechanism of indirect coordination between agents or actions. The principle is that the trace left in the environment by an action stimulates the performance of a next action, by the same or a different agent...
and its application to the web.
Basic principles
This impressive variety of ideas is held together by two basic principles. The relational principle notes that phenomena can only exist in relation (connection or distinction) to other phenomena, and thus only make sense as part of a complex network or system. The evolutionary principle notes that variationVariation
- Physics :* Magnetic variation, difference between magnetic north and true north, measured as an angle* Variation , any perturbation of the mean motion or orbit of a planet or satellite, particularly of the moon- Mathematics :* Bounded variation...
through (re)combination of parts and natural selection
Natural selection
Natural selection is the nonrandom process by which biologic traits become either more or less common in a population as a function of differential reproduction of their bearers. It is a key mechanism of evolution....
of the fitter combinations results in ever more complex and adaptive system
Adaptive system
The term adaptation arises mainly in the biological scope as a trial to study the relationship between the characteristics of living beings and their environments...
s. This principle is a direct application of Universal Darwinism
Universal darwinism
Universal Darwinism refers to a variety of approaches that extend the theory of Darwinism beyond its original domain of biological evolution on Earth...
, the idea that Darwinian mechanisms can be extended to virtually all disciplines and problem domains.
The two principles come together in Heylighen's concept of a distinction dynamics, which he first formulated in his PhD thesis (and later book), "Representation and Change". In Heylighen's analysis, classical scientific methodology is based on given, unchanging distinctions between elements or states. Therefore, it is intrinsically unable to model creative change. But the evolutionary principle makes distinctions dynamic, explaining the creation and destruction of relations, distinctions and connections, and thus helping us to understand how and why complexity emerges.
Principia Cybernetica
Together with Cliff JoslynCliff Joslyn
Cliff Joslyn is an American cognitive scientist, cyberneticist, and currently Chief Scientist for Knowledge Sciences at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Seattle, Washington, USA.- Biography :...
and Valentin Turchin
Valentin Turchin
Valentin Fyodorovich Turchin was a Soviet and American cybernetician and computer scientist. He developed the Refal programming language, the theory of metasystem transitions and the notion of supercompilation...
, he is editor of the Principia Cybernetica
Principia Cybernetica
Principia Cybernetica is an international cooperation of scientists in the field of cybernetics and systems science, especially known for their Principia Cybernetica Web website...
Project, which is devoted to the collaborative development of an evolutionary-systemic philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
. He created its website, the Principia Cybernetica Web, in 1993, as one of the first complex webs in the world. It is still viewed as the most important site on cybernetics, systems theory
Systems theory
Systems theory is the transdisciplinary study of systems in general, with the goal of elucidating principles that can be applied to all types of systems at all nesting levels in all fields of research...
and related approaches.
The Global Brain
In 1996, Heylighen founded the "Global Brain Group", an international discussion forum that groups most of the scientists who have worked on the concept of emergent Internet intelligence. Together with his PhD student Johan Bollen, Heylighen was the first to propose algorithms that could turn the world-wide web into a self-organizing, learning network that exhibits collective intelligenceCollective intelligence
Collective intelligence is a shared or group intelligence that emerges from the collaboration and competition of many individuals and appears in consensus decision making in bacteria, animals, humans and computer networks....
, i.e. a Global brain
Global brain
The Global Brain is a metaphor for the worldwide intelligent network formed by people together with the information and communication technologies that connect them into an "organic" whole...
.
In the 2007 article "The Global Superorganism: an evolutionary-cybernetic model of the emerging network society" Heylighen gave a detailed exposition of the superorganism/global brain view of society, and an examination of the underlying evolutionary mechanisms, with applications to the on-going and future developments in a globalizing world.
Publications
Heylighen published over 100 papers and a book. A selection:- 2004. "Das Globale Gehirn als neue Utopia" (The Global Brain as a new Utopia). In: R. Maresch & F. Rötzer (eds.) Renaissance der Utopie. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp.
- 2005. "Conceptions of a Global Brain: an historical review". In: Technological Forecasting and Social Change [in press]
- 2007. "The Global Superorganism: an evolutionary-cybernetic model of the emerging network society". In: Social Evolution & History. Vol 6 No. 1,p. 58-119
- 2007. "Accelerating Socio-Technological Evolution: from ephemeralization and stigmergy to the global brain". In: Globalization as an Evolutionary Process: Modeling Global Change. edited by George ModelskiGeorge ModelskiGeorge Modelski is Professor of Political Science Emeritus in the University of Washington. Modelski has done work on long-term processes in global politics and economics, as well as the world urban macrodynamics and world system evolution.-Books:*Globalization as Evolutionary Process: Modeling...
, Tessaleno DevezasTessaleno DevezasTessaleno Campos Devezas is a physicist, systems theorist, and materials scientist known by his contributions to the long waves theory in socioeconomic development, technological evolution, as well as world system analysis.-Awards:In March 2002 Devezas was honored with the “Elsevier Best Paper...
, and William Thompson, London: Routledge. ISBN 9780415773614. p. 286-335. - 2008. Five Questions on Complexity, in: C. Gershenson (ed.): Complexity: 5 questions, Automatic Press / VIP, 2008.
External links
- Francis Heylighen's Homepage
- Principia Cybernetica Web
- Most cited publications according to Google Scholar