A Physical (Homeokinetic) Foundation for the Gibsonian Theory of Perception and Action

Abstract

Homeokinetics is a generalized thermodynamic approach to complex systems. It seeks to show that physical principles can account for the existence and operation of complex systems at any scale. It stresses that the underlying processes are physical and few. Indeed, one beauty of this approach is that it offers a natural, physical way to relate one scale to another. Here, homeokinetics particularly assumes all the morphologies of biology. Complex systems, from a homeokinetic point of view, can be decomposed into a nested series of a great number of temporal, cyclic processes. The cycles involved may range from very short to very long. Discovering these cycles in this instance is the task of biospectroscopy. Any theory of real complex systems must account for the existence of these processes and explain how they are controlled. I argue that language, as a catalyst for action, is one necessary component of such control.