From: Francis Heylighen <fheyligh@vnet3.vub.ac.be>
Newsgroups: sci.systems
Subject: The Principia Cybernetica Project
Date: 15 Oct 92 09:50:46 GMT
Distribution: world
Organization: Free University of Brussels
X-UserAgent: Nuntius v1.1


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                 The PRINCIPIA CYBERNETICA PROJECT

            Computer-supported collaborative development
              of an evolutionary-systemic philosophy
*************************************************************************



What is Principia Cybernetica ?
-------------------------------
The Principia Cybernetica Project (PCP) is a collaborative attempt to
develop a complete and consistent cybernetic philosophy. Such a
philosophical system should arise from a transdisciplinary unification of
the domain of Systems Theory and Cybernetics. Similar to the
metamathematical character of Whitehead and Russell's "Principia
Mathematica", PCP is meta-cybernetical in that we intend to use
cybernetic tools and methods to analyze and develop cybernetic theory. 

These include the computer-based tools of hypertext, electronic mail, and
knowledge structuring software. They are meant to support the process of
collaborative theory-building by a variety of contributors, with
different backgrounds and living in different parts of the world. PCP is
to be developed as a dynamic, multi-dimensional conceptual network. The
basic architecture consists of nodes, containing expositions and
definitions of concepts, connected by links, representing the
associations that exist between the concepts. Both nodes and links can
belong to different types, expressing different semantic and syntactic
categories.

As its name implies, PCP will focus on the clarification of fundamental
concepts and principles of the cybernetics and systems domain. Concepts
include: Complexity, Information, System, Freedom, Control,
Self-organization, Emergence, etc. Principles include the Laws of
Requisite Variety, of Requisite Hierarchy, and of Regulatory Models.

Philosophy and implementation of PCP are united by their common framework
based on cybernetical and evolutionary principles: the computer-support
system is intended to amplify the spontaneous development of knowledge
which forms the main theme of the philosophy.



An Evolutionary Philosophy
--------------------------
The PCP philosophical system is seen as a clearly thought out and
well-formulated, global "world view", integrating the different domains
of knowledge and experience. It should provide an answer to the basic
questions: "Who am I? Where do I come from? Where am I going to?". The
PCP philosophy is systemic and evolutionary, based on the spontaneous
emergence of higher levels of organization through variation and natural
selection. It includes:

 a) a *metaphysics*, based on processes or actions as ontological
primitives. Relatively stable "systems" are constructed by such processes
through the mechanism of variation and selection. This leads to the
spontaneous emergence of more complex organizations during evolution:
from space-time and elementary particles, to atoms, molecules,
dissipative structures, DNA, cells, plants, animals, humans, and human
society and culture. Events of emergence are the "quanta" of evolution.
They lead to the creation of new systems with new identities, obeying
different laws and possessing different properties. In such systems, the
behaviour of the whole depends on the behaviour of the parts (a
"reductionistic" view), but the behaviour of the parts is at the same
time constrained or directed by the behaviour of the whole (a "holistic"
view).

A fundamental type of emergence is the "meta-system transition" (Turchin,
1977; Heylighen, 1991), which results in a higher level of control or
organization while increasing the overall freedom (variety) and
adaptivity of the system. Examples of metasystem transitions are the
emergence of multicellular organisms, the emergence of the capacity of
organisms to learn, and the emergence of human intelligence.

 b) an *epistemology*, where knowledge is understood as consisting of
models that allow the adaptation of a cybernetic system to its
environment by anticipation of possible events. Models are not static
reflections of the environment, but dynamic constructions achieved
through trial-and-error by individual, species and/or society. They are
both subjective, in the sense of being constructed by the subject for its
own purposes, and objective, in the sense of being naturally selected by
the environment: models which generate inadequate predictions are sooner
or later eliminated. 

There is no "absolutely true" model of reality: there are many different
models, but no model is capable to solve all problems. The most efficient
way to choose or to construct a model adequate for the given problem is
by reasoning on a metacognitive level, where different models can be
analysed and compared. This requires a metasystem transition with respect
to the variety of individual models.

 c) an evolutionary *ethics*. Natural selection entails survival and
development as the essential values. Although the death of individual
organisms may useful for genetic evolution (genes themselves being
immortal), it is no longer necessary for cultural evolution. Hence the
maximisation of survival leads to the striving toward immortality. It
also leads to the desire of actualizing the human potential, i.e. to
maximally develop the knowledge, intelligence and wisdom which may help
us to secure survival for all future contingencies. 

We contend that humanity is in the process of a new metasystem
transition, leading to a yet higher level of evolution: the human
"superbeing" or "metabeing". Such (a) being(s) may become "cybernetically
immortal": what would survive is not so much the biological material of
their bodies, but their cybernetic organization, which may be embodied in
organic tissues, electronic networks, or other media. The main problem of
an evolutionary ethics is to reconcile the goals of survival on the
different levels: the level of the individual (personal freedom), the
group or society (integration of individuals), and the planet (survival
of the world ecology as a whole). 



The PRNCYB-L Electronic Mailing List
------------------------------------
PCP contributors are using the PRNCYB-L mailing list and file server on
the BINGVMB computer system at SUNY-Binghamton in New York. It provides
an open forum for all participants in the project, allowing interactive
discussions about all issues related to PCP. It is to function as the
main medium for theoretical and practical development of the Project. 

The functioning of the list is very simple. People subscribed to PRNCYB-L
 automatically and immediately receive all messages sent to the list on
their email address. In this way the mailing list functions as a "live"
Newsletter about the project, keeping you abreast of conceptual
developments, as well as practical opportunities, such as workshops or
publications. 

Once subscribed, you may contribute yourself, by sending an electronic
mail message to the list address. It will be automatically broadcasted to
all others who have subscribed. In that way you can mail out e.g.
questions, proposals, or reactions. The third function of PRNCYB-L is the
file server. Files containing larger pieces of information (e.g. PCP
nodes, publications, bibliographies, logbooks of past conversations...)
can be requested by sending a simple email command message to the file
server address. This makes it easy to provide papers or other long texts
to anybody interested, at no cost. 

If you wish to join PRNCYB-L, please submit an email request to the
address: cjoslyn@bingsuns.cc.binghamton.edu with the following
information:

(1) Name, (2) Email address, (3) Postal address, (4) Phone, (5)
Affiliations, (6) How did you hear about PCP?, (7) Do you wish to be a
full subscriber to PRNCYB-L, or just receive a Digest?, (8) Please take
at least one page to describe your work and how it might relate to PCP.



PCP activities
--------------
PCP is managed by a Board of Editors, currently: Valentin Turchin (City
College of New York, CUNY), Cliff Joslyn (State University of New York 
at Binghamton), and Francis Heylighen (Free University of Brussels). The
Board is responsible for the implementation of the system and the
collection and development of the material. They are actively looking for
like-minded researchers to participate in the Project.

PCP regularly organizes conferences or meetings, allowing participants to
get personally acquainted. Their atmosphere is informal, with an emphasis
on discussion rather than on formal presentation. Until now there have
been : 

1) Symposium on "Cybernetics and Human Values" at the 8th World Congress
of Systems and Cybernetics (New York, June 1990)

2) 1st Workshop of the Principia Cybernetica Project (Brussels, July 1991)

3) Symposium on "The Principia Cybernetica Project", at the 13th Int.
Congress on Cybernetics (Namur, August 1992).

PCP publishes a "Principia Cybernetica Newsletter", which is freely
distributed by postal or electronic mail to all people requesting to be
on our mailing list (some 200 addresses worldwide). There have been two
issues to date (0 and 1). The Newsletter appears irregularly, and
summarizes the main developments (meetings, publications, theory,
practical issues), and the discussions held on the electronic forum
"PRNCYB-L". It is edited by F. Heylighen. 

Several publications on PCP are available, and more are being prepared,
including a special issue of World Futures: the journal of general
evolution on PCP and evolutionary philosophy. The most important are the
following:

Heylighen F. (1991): "Cognitive Levels of Evolution", in: The Cybernetics
     of Complex Systems, F. Geyer (ed.), (Intersystems, Salinas, CA), p.
75-92.

Heylighen F. (1992): "Principles of Systems and Cybernetics", in:     
Cybernetics and Systems '92, R. Trappl (ed.), (World Science, Singapore).
  

Heylighen F., Joslyn C. & Turchin V. (1991) : "A Short Introduction to
the     Principia Cybernetica Project", Journal of Ideas 2, #1 p. 26-29.

Turchin V. (1991): "Cybernetics and Philosophy", in: The Cybernetics of  
   Complex Systems, F. Geyer (ed.), (Intersystems, Salinas, CA), p. 61-74.

Turchin V. & Joslyn C.: (1990) "The Cybernetic Manifesto", Kybernetes
19:2-    3, p. 63-65.

Turchin V. (1977): The Phenomenon of Science, (Columbia Univ. Press, NY).


==========================================================================
Persons interested to collaborate, or wanting more information, may
contact:

Cliff Joslyn
Systems Science, SUNY Binghamton,327 Spring St. 2, Portland ME 04102, USA.
cjoslyn@bingsuns.cc.binghamton.edu

Francis Heylighen
PO-PESP, Free University of Brussels, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels,
Belgium.
fheyligh@vnet3.vub.ac.be