Re: strong thesis

Pedro wrote:
>Well, is there some sort of commonality in between the evolution of social
>complexity and the biological one? In part, the matter can be understood
as
>just looking for analogies (weak thesis), but also in a strong acception:
>the existence of underlying INFO laws that both camps abide by. I would
>personally subscribe to the strong thesis, but of course have not many
>arguments yet.

Maybe there is a way to argue in favor of a strong thesis by using
self-organization theorem. Biological and Social systems are
self-organized. Their product is themselves. Their information codes
instruct and functionalise emerging communicaton-structures. (It might be
that self-organisation is not only an expression of a human subject, but of
all kinds of dynamic systems a observing and measuring entities and
instruments.)

A self-organized system
- constitutes its own elements as function unities
- indicates in its relations its own self-constituion, which therefore is
reproducted permanently
- is based on the principle of selection, so that the system chooses out of
a complex value-landscape. (I think this is the same approach Pedro has
mentioned. I got it from Manfred Eigen, Stufen zum Leben [Steps to life]).
Both kinds (bio, soc) of systems reproducing or replicating in a changing
environment organize information in a similar way: in sequences of symbols
(signs, signals) which belong to a certain code (culture) and are therefore
subject of interpretation. The product of this interpretation establishes
itself a feedback with the system, creating variety by occuring changes
("errors"). This variety turns out object of transformation research.
If one is interested in the new, variety in its emergence is to be studied.
Our first step is to know what happens when there is no variety produced,
no symmetry broken. Symmetric systems - in equilibrium state, not exposed
to fluctuations - don't possess information variety, nor do they need it.
They function just in termos of "to be or not to be". Information variety
appears and is functionalised only in states far from equilibrium.

So this kind of "strong thesis" does only work when applied to emergent
phenomena, IMO.

Regards

Gottfried
Received on Tue Nov 10 12:21:18 1998