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CYBERNETICS AND GENERAL SYSTEMS—A UNITARY SCIENCE? (INFORMATION AND THE UNITY OF GENERAL SYSTEMS THEORY AND CYBERNETICS)

JAMES STEVE COUNELIS (School of Education, University of San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94117 (USA))

Kybernetes

ISSN: 0368-492X

Article publication date: 1 January 1979

63

Abstract

Man has the propensity to seek, design, impose and maintain unities. These unities are at the interstice where man and his environment intersect. These unities are information. Hence, information (I) is defined as the goal‐directed (V−1) communicational intersect between a person (P) and his environment (E). That is: I = fV−1(P ∩ E). There are four generic information systems: (1) Symbolic Records; (2) Languages; (3) Disciplines; (4) Societal Knowledges. In the context of generic information systems, both general systems theory and cybernetic function as meta‐science (V−1). In effect these can produce equifinally identical science, thus inferring that general systems theory and cybernetics are unitary.

Citation

STEVE COUNELIS, J. (1979), "CYBERNETICS AND GENERAL SYSTEMS—A UNITARY SCIENCE? (INFORMATION AND THE UNITY OF GENERAL SYSTEMS THEORY AND CYBERNETICS)", Kybernetes, Vol. 8 No. 1, pp. 25-32. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb005501

Publisher

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MCB UP Ltd

Copyright © 1979, MCB UP Limited

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