The diagram

The diagram on the left shows the generic structure of cybernetic control systems. (Designed by Greg Williams and Mary Powers). Control systems are better explained elsewhere. The point here is that viewed from the inside perspective of a control system (an organism) with its perceptual input signals (I), reference signal coming from above, comparator (C) and output function (O), the world outside the control system is indeed the black box with various unknown and unknowable physical features. A developing brain has to make sense of all the input signals originating at nerve endings all over the body. This perspective is the reverse of a more intuitive view, which would be that we experience the world directly and that the brain is the black box.

Living Control Systems

Living organisms are in fact control systems, controlling their perceptions. Thus Living Control Systems is a concise statement about the nature of living organisms. Living Control Systems is also the title of two collections of papers by William T. Powers. We are grateful for his permission to use the same name for our publishing venture, because it captures so well what everything we will publish is all about.