Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!emory!ogicse!milton!cjoslyn@bingvaxu.cc.binghamton.edu From: cjoslyn@bingvaxu.cc.binghamton.edu (Cliff Joslyn) Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds Subject: CFP: 1st Workshop of the Principia Cybernetica Project Message-ID: <12231@milton.u.washington.edu> Date: 3 Dec 90 20:20:08 GMT Sender: hlab@milton.u.washington.edu Organization: SUNY Binghamton, NY Lines: 190 Approved: hitl@hardy.u.washington.edu Preliminary Announcement and Call for Papers ********************************************************* * * * 1st WORKSHOP OF THE PRINCIPIA CYBERNETICA PROJECT * * * * computer-supported cooperative development * * of an evolutionary-systemic philosophy * ********************************************************* Free University of Brussels, Belgium July 2-5, 1991 Organized by: the Principia Cybernetica Editorial Board the Transdisciplinary Research Group --------------------------------------------------------------------- Theme _____ Principia Cybernetica is an attempt by a group of researchers to collaboratively build a system of cybernetic philosophy, moving towards a transdisciplinary unification of the domain of Systems Theory and Cybernetics. This philosophical system will be developed as a network, consisting of nodes or concepts, linked by specific types of semantic relations. The network will be implemented in a hybrid computer-based environment involving hypermedia, electronic mail, and electronic publishing, thus providing readers and authors with flexible access to every part of the system. Development of this system is seen as a long-term project involving many participants, communicating and conversing through electronic media, and supervised by an Editorial Board. While traditional publication of parts of the network will be made periodically, the project is seen as necessarily open-ended and developing, a process of discourse among a community of researchers. The philosophy to be developed is systemic and evolutionary, em- phasizing the spontaneous emergence of higher levels of organization or control through variation and natural selection. It includes: 1) a metaphysics, based on processes as ontological primitives, 2) an epis- temology, which understands knowledge as constructed by the subject, but undergoing selection by the environment; 3) an ethics, with the continuance of the process of evolution as supreme value. Workshop Topics _______________ * Supporting Technology: electronic mail and publishing, computer- supported cooperative working, groupware, Standard Generalized Markup Languages, hypertext markup languages, hypermedia, object-oriented environments, ... * Semantic and Conversational Systems: knowledge representation schemes for philosophical systems and arguments, different semantic categories and relations, knowledge structuring and integration, dealing with disagreements and contradictions, ... * Constructive Epistemology: model-building, selection criteria for models, evolutionary epistemology, metacognitive reasoning, levels of cognition: associative, rational, metarational, ... * Evolutionary Ethics: survival and immortality as fundamental values, freedom and/or integration, self-actualization, individual- society-ecosystem relations, the next metasystem transition: super- being versus metabeing ... * Process Metaphysics: modelling of emergence and metasystem transitions, actions as ontological primitives, the process of evolu- tion as generator of complexity, levels of organization ... We would particularly appreciate contributions that cut across these different tracks: for example, emergence mechanisms applicable to evolution and to computer-supported knowledge structuring, or hyperspace as technology and as substrate for "cyberbeings". The emphasis is on contributions that integrate or synthesize multiple domains or issues. They are not limited to these separate topics. Organization of the Workshop ____________________________ After the organization of a symposium on "Cybernetics and Human Values" at the 8th World Congress of Systems and Cybernetics (New York, June 1990), the next official activity of the Principia Cybernetica project will be a Workshop at the Free University of Brussels (VUB) in July 1991. The official language is English. The informal Workshop will allow all researchers interested in collaborating in the Project to meet and to discuss the main problems. It will be introduced by a more formal Symposium where the main issues in developing a systemic philosophy will be expounded, as a basis on which to continue working. The Symposium will take one day, the Workshop will take two or three days, depending on the number of contributions. The attendance to the Workshop will be limited to some 35 participants in order to intensify the interactions; the attendance to the Symposium is unlimited. The event will be organized in the tradition of a pleasant, infor- mal setting and warm social contacts initiated by the conference on "Self-Steering and Cognition in Complex Systems: toward a new cybernetics" (proceedings edited by Heylighen et al., Gordon and Breach, New York, 1990), which was held at the same place in 1987. There will be a possibility for inexpensive accomodation in university rooms. In addition to that Brussels offers plenty of hotels of all standards. Interested people may combine participation in the workshop with participation in the congress of the Int. Fuzzy Systems Assoc., which is held at the same location, July 7-12. Brussels, the capital of Europe, is very easy to reach by a variety of means of transportation. As the second international city in the world (measured by the number of headquarters of international organizations), and with its 1000 years of history, it offers many interesting sights to visit. It boasts the most beautiful historic market place and the highest concentration of restaurants in the world. Submission of Papers ____________________ Abstracts of minimum one, maximum two pages (about 300-600 words) should be submitted to one of the addresses below, as soon as possible but not later than March 15, 1991. If possible, abstracts should be submitted in printed and in electronic form: email or 3.5 inch floppy disk (720 Kb MS-DOS or 800Kb Mac) with ASCII text. Authors should give their full address, phone number, and electronic mail address where possible. Abstracts will be evaluated by the scientific committee. Authors will be notified about acceptance before April 15, 1991. It is possible to send in abstracts late (after March 15), but they will be considered depending upon whether there are still places available at the Workshop. Accepted abstracts will be published in an abstract book available at the conference. The best contributions will be considered for elaboration into full papers, to be published in a book devoted to the Principia Cybernetica project and edited by its present editorial board. An international scientific publisher is being sollicited. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Conference Chairman: ___________________ Francis Heylighen (Free University of Brussels) Scientific Committee: _____________________ Francis Heylighen (Free University of Brussels) Cliff Joslyn (State University of New York at Binghamton) Valentin Turchin (City University of New York) Jean Paul Van Bendegem (Free University of Brussels) Gordon Pask (London) Gerard de Zeeuw (University of Amsterdam) Jean Ramaekers (Int. Assoc. for Cybernetics, Namur) Local Organizing Committee: ___________________________ An Vranckx, Eric Van Engeland, Alex Housen -------------------------------------------------------------------- For submissions of abstracts, or further information, contact: Francis HEYLIGHEN PESP, V.U.B., Pleinlaan 2 B-1050 Brussels, Belgium. Tel. +32 - 2 - 641 25 25 Fax +32 - 2 - 641 22 82 Telex 61051 VUBCO B Email: Z09302@BBRBFU01.bitnet Cliff JOSLYN Systems Science, SUNY Binghamton 6 Garfield Ave. # 2 Binghamton NY 13905, USA. Tel. +1 - 607 - 729 53 48 Email: cjoslyn@bingvaxu.cc.binghamton.edu -- O-------------------------------------------------------------------------> | Cliff Joslyn, Cybernetician at Large, cjoslyn@bingvaxu.cc.binghamton.edu | Systems Science, SUNY Binghamton, Box 1070, Binghamton NY 13901, USA V All the world is biscuit shaped. . . Brought to you by Super Global Mega Corp .com