From: fheyligh@vnet3.vub.ac.be (Francis Heylighen)
Newsgroups: sci.philosophy.tech
Subject: The Principia Cybernetica Project
Date: 14 Oct 92 10:46:32 GMT
Distribution: world
Organization: Free University of Brussels


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                 The PRINCIPIA CYBERNETICA PROJECT

            Computer-supported collaborative development
              of an evolutionary-systemic philosophy
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What is Principia Cybernetica ?
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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 bet



ween 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
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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?S. 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 o



f 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: model



s 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 f



or 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: th



e 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
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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
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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 RPRNCYB-LS. 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).

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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