Abstract
The basic premise of this paper is that the ethicality of systems can be improved by placing them on a more solid informational foundation. Information, evolution, and change are seen to be integrally related. An information typology of nonreferential, referential, and state-referential information is proposed to handle the ontological, epistemological, and teleological aspects of systems. These information types have a particular entailment relationship to each other. The typology and entailment ordering are seen as having important consequences for the design of social systems.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ackhoff, R. L., and Emery, F. E. (1972).On Purposeful Systems, Intersystems, Seaside, CA.
Banathy, B. A. (1989). Living systems theory: A solution to the problem of closure in information systems.Syst. Res. 6, 297–305.
Banathy, B. A. (1991).Examining Performance in Community Colleges: Data Envelopment Analysis as a Means of Increasing the Domain of Inquiry, Ph. D. dissertation, University of California, Berkeley, University of Microfilms International, Ann Arbor.
Banathy, B. A. (1995). The 21st century Janus: The three faces of information.Syst. Res. 12, 319–320.
Banathy, B. A. (1996a). Information-based design of social systems.Behav. Sci. 41, 104–123.
Banathy, B. A. (1996b). A unifying typology of information. Presented at the Second Conference on the Foundations of Information Science, Vienna.
Banathy, B. H. (1989). The design of evolutionary guidance systems.Syst. Res. 6, 289–295.
Banathy, B. H. (1996).Designing Social Systems in a Changing World: A Journey to Create the Future, Plenum, New York.
Bar-Hillel, Y. (1964).Language and Information, Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA.
Bogdanov, A. (1921).Essays in Tektology (Gorelik, G. trans.), Intersystems, Seaside, CA (1980).
Checkland, P. (1990).Soft Systems Methodology in Action, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester.
Churchman, C. W. (1948).Theory of Experimental Inference, Macmillan, New York.
Churchman, C. W. (1982).Thought and Wisdom, Intersystems, Seaside, CA.
Churchman, C. W. (1988). Churchman's conversations.Syst. Res. 5, 279–280.
Churchman, C. W. (1991). ISSS, science, system, rigor, humanity,Gen. Syst. Bull. 21, 5–8.
Csanyi, V. (1989).Evolutionary Systems and Society, Duke University Press, London.
Dretske, F. I. (1981).Knowledge and the Flow of Information, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
Dror, Y. (1994).Social Systems Mutations: Terra Incognita, Outline of Ludwig Von Bertalanffy Memorial Lecture, 38th Annual Meeting of ISSS, Pacific Grove, CA.
Follett, M. P. (1924).Creative Experience, Longmans, Green, New York.
Jantsch, E. (1980).The Self Organizing Universe, Pergamon Press, Oxford.
Kampis, G. (1988). On systems and turing machines. In Trapple, R. (ed.)Cybernetics and Systems '88, Kluwe Academic, Dordrecht, pp. 85–91.
Kampis, G. (1991).Self Modifying Systems in Biology and Cognitive Science, Pergamon Press. Oxford.
Linstone, H. A., and Mitroff, I. I. (1994).The Challenge of the 21st Century: Managing Technology and Ourselves in a Shrinking World, State University of New York Press, Albany.
Miller, J. G. (1978).Living Systems, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Miller, J. G. (1990). The nature of living systems.Behav. Sci. 35, 157–163.
Mingers, J. C. (1996). An evaluation of theories of information with regard to the semantic and pragmatic aspects of information systems.Syst. Pract. 9(3), 187–209.
Morris, C. (1938). Foundations of the theory of signs. InInternational Encyclopedia of Unified Science, Vol. 1, No. 2, University of Chicago Press, London.
Pattee, H. H. (1995). Evolving self-reference: Matter, symbols, and semantic closure.CC-AI 12, 9–27.
Rosen, R. (1991).Life Itself, Columbia University Press, New York.
Romm, N. (1994). Implications of regarding information as meaningful rather than factual. Presented at the Symposium on the Philosophical and Logical Aspects of Information Systems, UWE School of Information Systems, Bristol.
Ryle, G. (1949).The Concept of Mind, Barnes & Noble, New York.
Shannon, C. E. (1948). A mathematical theory of communication.Bell Syst. Tech. J. 27.
Singer, A. E. (1959). In C. W. Churchman (ed.),Experience and Reflection, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia.
Stamper, R. (1987). Semantics. In Boland, R. J., and Hirscheim, R. A. (eds.),Critical Issues in Information Systems Research, John Wiley and Sons, Chichester.
Stonier, T. (1990).Information and the Internal Structure of the Universe, Springer-Verlag, London.
Vickers, G. (1983).Human Systems Are Different, Harper & Row, London.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Banathy, B.A. Information, evolution, and change. Systems Practice 10, 59–84 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02557851
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02557851