Re: Social Fitness and Information (2)

Werner Ebeling wrote:

>Just a little remark from the side of a physicist:
I cannot see that the concept of fitness is now "obsolete".
In the opposite, I believe it is still of great actuality
in spite of the fact that so far nobody is able to quantify it
in a way we know from theoretical physics i.e. as Hamilton-principle.<

[Stockinger]

Do Hamilton functions (sorry I�m not very familiar with them) supply
fitness quantification formulas? Maybe in the way we could use them or
adapt them at a sociological level, in combination with info-theoretical
aspects (?). Please, if possible, may you give a short explanation?

>I think we have to continue to work on the concept of fitness and in this
sense I would support here the view of Stockinger about fitness.<

[St]
A (post- or neo-)darwinian view of fitness, as it has "survived" until
today, seems realy still to be "fit" enough to continue to work with. In
sociology, of course, one deals with a very complex value-landscape or
value-systems, as Artigiani and others have already pointed out (naming it
VEMs) . They tried to show its evolution by information-inputs coming from
both, the environment and the social system itself, and did well.
To go on, in the evolution of such a value-system (institutionalized in
habits,
roles, rituals...) certain values and roles etc. are selected because of
their fitness (to deal with human problems in everyday life), others are
not.
But, what really matters is that social evolution historically led to a
greater variety in the value-landscape. VEMs which have been repressed
(declared non-fit) are now admitted (declared fit). So one may not talk
only of the survival of the fittest, but of their (say geometrical)
multiplication, .
Of course, there are several theoretical considerations which guide the
research on information society and its evolution. Only some of them,
although important ones IMO, deal with the role of social fitness linked
to
social variety.
Using certain analogies to biological transformations, important elements
for the transformation of information-guided behaviour systems (cultures)
may be observed. (Maybe Ebeling can come up with physical analogies?). A
variety of elements respond for changes in the social value-system of all
kinds of organisations like states, partys, enterprises, groups, clans,
hords, insofar as these changes aim the optimation of functional
effectivity in dependence of the variety and its use by the social system's
elements (events, acts).
Collectivities ("societies") are able to explore socio-cultural
information variety to "cause" changes. They instruct and functionalise
emerging information through feedback in such a way, that they get better
chances to reach certain local values of "fitness" and get "selected". One
may say, that they are fitter in the sense of "better instructed".
If social change and variety are optimised, the replication of the system
works close to a "treshold of error", that means that transformation
processes are driven to a dynamic equilibrium between stabiliy and
creativity A variety of new VEM-operators emerges. Former dominant VEMs
are still reproducted, but a lot of other alternatives, stabilised by
mutual separation are also represented in a survivable concentration and
quantity.
A more flexible society (a more "free" one?) emerges. And its IMO fitter to
survive within the new circumstances (about which we may still talk about).

Regards

Gottfried Stockinger

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Prof. W. Ebeling ebeling@physik.hu-berlin.de
Humboldt-Universitaet Berlin phone: +49/(0)30-2093 7636
Institut fuer Physik fax: +49/(0)30-2093 7638
Invalidenstrasse 110
D-10115 Berlin
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Received on Fri Oct 23 16:49:48 1998