Principia Cybernetica Explained

Principia Cybernetica is an international cooperation of scientists in the field of cybernetics and systems science, especially known for their website, Principia Cybernetica. They have dedicated their organization to what they call "a computer-supported evolutionary-systemic philosophy, in the context of the transdisciplinary academic fields of Systems Science and Cybernetics".^[1]

Organisation

Principia Cybernetica was initiated in 1989 in the USA by Cliff Joslyn and Valentin Turchin, and a year later broadened to Europe with Francis Heylighen from Belgium joining their cooperation.

Major activities of the Principia Cybernetica Project are:

• Principia Cybernetica Web: an online encyclopedia
• Web Dictionary of Cybernetics and Systems; an online dictionary^[2]
• Newsletter Principia Cybernetica News
• Conferences and traditional publications

The organization is associated with:

• American Society for Cybernetics.
• Evolution, Complexity and Cognition group: a transdisciplinary research group at the Free University of Brussels, Belgium, founded in 2004 and directed by Francis Heylighen.
• Journal of Memetics-Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission (JoM-EMIT) is an international peer-refereed scientific journal
• Global Brain Group: for discussion about the emergence of a global brain.^[3]

Principia Cybernetica Web

The Principia Cybernetica Web,^[4] which went online in 1993, is one of the first complex webs in the world.It is still viewed as one of the most important sites on cybernetics, systems theory, complexity, and related approaches.

Workshops and symposia

Especially in the 1990s the Principia Cybernetica has organized a series of workshops and international symposia on cybernetic themes.^[5] On the 1st Principia Cybernetica Workshop in June 1991 in Brussels many cyberneticists attended like Harry Bronitz, Gordon Pask, J.L. Elohim, Robert Glueck, Ranulph Glanville, Annemie Van Kerkhoven, Don McNeil, Elan Moritz, Cliff Joslyn, A. Comhaire and Valentin Turchin.^[5]

See also

• W. Ross Ashby
• Complex adaptive system
• Evolutionary epistemology
• Global brain
• Manifest and latent functions and dysfunctions
• Red Queen
• Stuart Umpleby
• Emergence

Further reading

• Woody Evans (2003), A Review of the Principia Cybernetica Web, Mississippi Libraries, 67(1), p.16, Spring 2003.
• Ben Goertzel (2000), The Principia Cybernetica Project: Placing the Web at the Center of Man’s Quest for Knowledge, September 2000.
• Koen Van Damme (2007), Principia Cybernetica: An introduction.
• Francis Heylighen (2000). "Foundations and Methodology for an Evolutionary World View: A Review of the Principia Cybernetica Project" in: Foundations of Science, 5(4), p.457-490.
• Francis Heylighen, C. Joslyn & Valentin Turchin (1991). "[ftp://ftp.vub.ac.be/pub/projects/Principia_Cybernetica/Texts_General/Short_Intro.txt A Short Introduction to the Principia Cybernetica Project]". in: Journal of Ideas, 2(1), p.26-29.
• C. Joslyn, Francis Heylighen & V. Turchin (1993). "Synopsys of the Principia Cybernetica Project". in: Proc. 13th Int. Congress on Cybernetics, p. 509-513.

External links

• Principia Cybernetica Home page
• Principia Cybernetica Project Organization

Notes and References

1. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/MASTHEAD.html Principia Cybernetica Masthead
2. http://pcp.vub.ac.be/ASC/INDEXASC.html Web Dictionary of Cybernetics and Systems
3. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/GBRAIN-L.html The Global Brain Group
4. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be Principia Cybernetica Web
5. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/ACT.html Principia Cybernetica Meetings