BCSSS

International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics

2nd Edition, as published by Charles François 2004 Presented by the Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science Vienna for public access.

About

The International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics was first edited and published by the system scientist Charles François in 1997. The online version that is provided here was based on the 2nd edition in 2004. It was uploaded and gifted to the center by ASC president Michael Lissack in 2019; the BCSSS purchased the rights for the re-publication of this volume in 200?. In 2018, the original editor expressed his wish to pass on the stewardship over the maintenance and further development of the encyclopedia to the Bertalanffy Center. In the future, the BCSSS seeks to further develop the encyclopedia by open collaboration within the systems sciences. Until the center has found and been able to implement an adequate technical solution for this, the static website is made accessible for the benefit of public scholarship and education.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

IDEAL-SEEKING SYSTEM 3)4)

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A system able to pursue truth, or ultimate good, or any other value.

This concept, as derived from the notion of purposive system, represents very well the idealistic current among systemists, i.e. basically E.A. SINGER Jr, C. W. CHURCHMAN, and their followers. Since the meaning given to "truth", or "good", or "beauty", or any other supposedly absolute value,… can be very variable according to different proponents, the ideal-seeking system concept is necessarily somewhat controversial in the ways it is used.

Moreover, there are differences between those who believe that individuals and societies can be ideal-seeking (R.L. ACKOFF) and those who consider that only individuals can be (F.E. EMERY).

This last author, as quoted by G.A. BRITTON and H. McCALLION (1994, p.497 – principal source of this entry), "postulates the following characteristics of ideal-seeking systems:

"1) Only individuals can be ideal-seeking systems

"2) Individuals can sustain the ideal-seeking state only temporarily

"3) Ideal emerge only within group life.

"4) No ideal can be pursued single-mindedly without sacrifice of the others.

"5) The essence of wisdom is deciding on what sacrifice of other ideals should be made in any particular choice between purposes" (p.497).

Even this quite matter-of-facts statement cannot dispel doubts about what happens when encountered ideals (within the same ideal-seeker, or still more so, among various ones) are coming in opposition. Moreover, ideals are most frequently convenient fodder for ideology.

In any case, a good systemic description of the roots of ideal-seeking as a commonly observed behavior would still be very useful: how and why it appears, and how it operates in the mind of the ideal-seekers.

Categories

  • 1) General information
  • 2) Methodology or model
  • 3) Epistemology, ontology and semantics
  • 4) Human sciences
  • 5) Discipline oriented

Publisher

Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science(2020).

To cite this page, please use the following information:

Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science (2020). Title of the entry. In Charles François (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics (2). Retrieved from www.systemspedia.org/[full/url]

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