Principia Cybernetica
Encyclopedia
Principia Cybernetica is an international cooperation of scientists in the field of cybernetics
and systems science
, especially known for their Principia Cybernetica Web website
. They have dedicated their organization to what they call "a computer-supported evolutionary-systemic philosophy, in the context of the transdisciplinary academic fields of Systems Science and Cybernetics".
and Valentin Turchin
, and a year later broadened to Europe with Francis Heylighen
from Belgium joining their cooperation.
Major activities of the Principia Cybernetica Project are:
The organization is associated with:
It is still viewed as one of the most important sites on cybernetics
, systems theory
, complexity
, and related approaches.
themes. On the 1st Principia Cybernetica Workshop in June 1991 in Brussels
many cyberneticist
s attended like Harry Bronitz, Gordon Pask
, J.L. Elohim, Robert Glueck, Ranulph Glanville
, Annemie Van Kerkhoven, Don McNeil, Elan Moritz, Cliff Joslyn, A. Comhaire and Valentin Turchin
.
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 systems science
Systems science
Systems science is an interdisciplinary field of science that studies the nature of complex systems in nature, society, and science. It aims to develop interdisciplinary foundations, which are applicable in a variety of areas, such as engineering, biology, medicine and social sciences.Systems...
, especially known for their Principia Cybernetica Web website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
. They have dedicated their organization to what they call "a computer-supported evolutionary-systemic philosophy, in the context of the transdisciplinary academic fields of Systems Science and Cybernetics".
Organisation
Principia Cybernetica was initiated in 1989 in the USA by 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...
, and a year later broadened to Europe with Francis Heylighen
Francis Heylighen
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".-Biography:Francis Heylighen was born on...
from Belgium joining their cooperation.
Major activities of the Principia Cybernetica Project are:
- Principia Cybernetica Web: an online encyclopedia
- Web Dictionary of Cybernetics and Systems; an online dictionary
- Newsletter Principia Cybernetica News
- Conferences and traditional publications
The organization is associated with:
- American Society for CyberneticsAmerican Society for CyberneticsThe American Society for Cybernetics is an American non-profit scholastic organization for organization for the advancement of cybernetics as a science and the interdisciplinary collaboration and synthesis of cybernetics. The society contributes to the cooperation around the research and...
. - Evolution, Complexity and Cognition group: a transdisciplinary research group at the Free University of Brussels, Belgium, founded in 2004 and directed by Francis HeylighenFrancis HeylighenFrancis 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".-Biography:Francis Heylighen was born on...
. - Journal of Memetics-Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission (JoM-EMIT) is an international peer-refereed scientific journal
- Global Brain Group: for discussion about the emergence of a global brainGlobal brainThe 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...
.
Principia Cybernetica Web
The Principia Cybernetica Web, which went online in 1993, is one of the first complex webs in the world.It is still viewed as one of the most important sites on cybernetics
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...
, 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...
, complexity
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...
, and related approaches.
Workshops and symposia
Especially in the 1990s the Principia Cybernetica has organized a series of workshops and international symposia on cyberneticCybernetics
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...
themes. On the 1st Principia Cybernetica Workshop in June 1991 in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
many cyberneticist
Cyberneticist
A cyberneticist or a cybernetician is a person who practices cybernetics.Heinz von Foerster once told Stuart Umpleby that Norbert Wiener preferred the term "cybernetician" rather than "cyberneticist", perhaps because Wiener was a mathematician rather than a physicist.On the other hand, Nicolas...
s attended like Harry Bronitz, Gordon Pask
Gordon Pask
Andrew Gordon Speedie Pask was an English cybernetician and psychologist who made significant contributions to cybernetics, instructional psychology, experimental epistemology and educational technology....
, J.L. Elohim, Robert Glueck, Ranulph Glanville
Ranulph Glanville
Ranulph Glanville is a British freelance researcher and theoretician in both architecture and cybernetics.- Biography :Glanville studied architecture at the Architectural Association from 1964 to 1971...
, Annemie Van Kerkhoven, Don McNeil, Elan Moritz, Cliff Joslyn, A. Comhaire 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...
.
See also
- William Ross AshbyWilliam Ross AshbyW. Ross Ashby was an English psychiatrist and a pioneer in cybernetics, the study of complex systems. His first name was not used: he was known as Ross Ashby....
- Complex adaptive systemComplex adaptive systemComplex adaptive systems are special cases of complex systems. They are complex in that they are dynamic networks of interactions and relationships not aggregations of static entities...
- Evolutionary epistemologyEvolutionary epistemologyEvolutionary epistemology refers to two distinct topics - on the one hand, the biological evolution of cognitive mechanisms in animals and humans, and on the other hand, a theory in that knowledge itself evolves by natural selection....
- Global brainGlobal brainThe 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...
- Manifest and latent functions and dysfunctionsManifest and latent functions and dysfunctionsManifest and latent functions are social scientific concepts first clarified for sociology by Robert K. Merton. Merton appeared interested in sharpening the conceptual tools to be employed in a functional analysis....
- Red QueenRed QueenRed Queen may refer to:* Red Queen , a character in Lewis Carroll's book* The Red Queen , book by Isobelle Carmody...
- Stuart UmplebyStuart UmplebyStuart Anspach Umpleby is an American cybernetician and a professor in the Department of Management and Director of the Research Program in Social and Organizational Learning in the School of Business at the George Washington University....
- EmergenceEmergenceIn 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....
Further reading
- Ben GoertzelBen GoertzelBen Goertzel , is an American author and researcher in the field of artificial intelligence. He currently leads Novamente LLC, a privately held software company that attempts to develop a form of strong AI, which he calls "Artificial General Intelligence"...
(2000), The Principia Cybernetica Project: Placing the Web at the Center of Man’s Quest for Knowledge, September 2000. - Koen Van Damme (2007), Principia Cybernetica: An introduction.
- Francis HeylighenFrancis HeylighenFrancis 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".-Biography:Francis Heylighen was born on...
(2000). "Foundations and Methodology for an Evolutionary World View: A Review of the Principia Cybernetica Project" in: Foundations of Science, 5(4), p.457-490. - Francis HeylighenFrancis HeylighenFrancis 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".-Biography:Francis Heylighen was born on...
, C. Joslyn & Valentin TurchinValentin TurchinValentin 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...
(1991). "[ftp://ftp.vub.ac.be/pub/projects/Principia_Cybernetica/Texts_General/Short_Intro.txt A Short Introduction to the Principia Cybernetica Project]". in: Journal of Ideas, 2(1), p.26-29. - C. Joslyn, Francis Heylighen & V. Turchin (1993). "Synopsys of the Principia Cybernetica Project". in: Proc. 13th Int. Congress on Cybernetics, p. 509-513.
External links
- Principia Cybernetica Home page
- Principia Cybernetica Project Organization