Looking through the lens of evolutionary epistemology, we see that dissipative adaptation—in fact, all forms of self-organization—are ontogenetic learning processes that implement the variation-and-selection algorithm and therefore inevitably evolve toward configurations of greater stability and functionality over long enough time scales (those that persist, at least). Pulling inspiration from the cyberneticists, social scientist Donald Campbell described self-organizing systems as adapting through an evolutionary mechanism he called “blind variation and selective retention,” which is simply natural selection favoring configurations that confer stability.

Slots and Values
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