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The Arrival of the Fittest: Evolution of Novelty from a Cybernetic Perspective

The Arrival of the Fittest: Evolution of Novelty from a Cybernetic Perspective

Alexander Riegler
Copyright: © 2010 |Pages: 12
ISBN13: 9781615206681|ISBN10: 161520668X|ISBN13 Softcover: 9781616922238|EISBN13: 9781615206698
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-61520-668-1.ch012
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MLA

Riegler, Alexander. "The Arrival of the Fittest: Evolution of Novelty from a Cybernetic Perspective." Cybernetics and Systems Theory in Management: Tools, Views, and Advancements, edited by Steven E. Wallis, IGI Global, 2010, pp. 217-228. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-61520-668-1.ch012

APA

Riegler, A. (2010). The Arrival of the Fittest: Evolution of Novelty from a Cybernetic Perspective. In S. Wallis (Ed.), Cybernetics and Systems Theory in Management: Tools, Views, and Advancements (pp. 217-228). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-61520-668-1.ch012

Chicago

Riegler, Alexander. "The Arrival of the Fittest: Evolution of Novelty from a Cybernetic Perspective." In Cybernetics and Systems Theory in Management: Tools, Views, and Advancements, edited by Steven E. Wallis, 217-228. Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2010. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-61520-668-1.ch012

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Abstract

Organizations and organisms are both complex systems exposed to evolutionary changes. The authors challenge the perspective of mainstream evolutionary theory, according to which evolutionary progress is accomplished in terms of blind variation and external selection. Instead, they present a perspective that complies with Bateson’s emphasis on the “negative” character of cybernetic explanation, which offers explanations in terms of constraints rather than causes or forces. His concept of “pathways of viability” is aligned with the work of evolutionary theorists such as Waddington, von Bertalanffy, Riedl, and Kauffman, who reject external physical causation in favor of internally-driven “stimulus-and-response” and therefore move the focus from external selection to epigenetic mechanisms. Such a cybernetic evolutionary theory responds to various open questions in biology and management theory, including the dispute between homogenists and heterogenists as well as “path-dependence” in companies. The authors conclude that the strongest players are not those who adapt to the economic environment but those who emerge from it by co-creating it.

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