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Comments 155in t h e a b se n c e o f su c h a d i c t i o n a r y , Sh a n n o n ' s la w wo u l d b e c o m e a m e a n i n g l e s s f o r m a lexe rc i se .

W h ile t h e m e a n i n g o f t h e ' d i c t i o n a r y ' is c le a r e n o u g h i n t h e c ase o f h u m a n c o m m u n i -ca t io n , i t i s no t a t a ll c l ea r i n the an a logou s b io log ica l case o f t he ' gen e t i c co de ' . I t seem sh i g h ly i n a d e q u a t e t o s a y t h a t t h e c o d e e v e n t u a t e s in a se t o f e n z y m e s ; t h e se ar e v e r y f a rf rom a l iv ing o rgan i sm . I t seems c l ea r eno ugh tha t w ha tev e r the d i c t iona ry i s t ha t co r re -sp o n d s t o t h e g e n e t ic c o d e , i t m u s t r e f e r t o t h e r e l a t io n o f t h e c o d e t o m o r p h o l o g y . Su c h ap h r a se c o v e r s u p a ll t h e p r o b l e m s t h a t s t a n d in t h e wa y o f a d e e p e r u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h ed y n a m i c s o f l iv i ng o r g a n i sm ; b u t i t m e r e l y c o v e r s t h e m , it d o e s n o t so lv e t h e m .

R eferen cesBri l lou in , L . (1956) . Science and Information Theory. L o n d o n : Ac a d e m i c P re ss .Sh a n n o n , C . & W e a v e r, W . ( 1 9 4 9 ) . The Mathematical Theory o]" Communication. U r b a n a ,

IL. : Universi ty of I l l inois Press .W alter M. Elsasse r

Department of Earth and Planetary SciencesThe John Hopkins University

Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA

C o m m e n t b y Hu m b e r to R . Matur an aT h e a u t h o r o f t h is a rt ic l e a d e q u a t e l y c r i t ic i z es t h e u se o f th e n o t i o n o f i n f o r m a t i o n b yb i o l o g is t s i n g e n e r a l , a n d b y so c i o b i o lo g i s t s in p a r t i c u la r . H e , h o w e v e r , d o e s n o t g o f a re n o u g h ; a n d t h i s, p r e s u m a b l y , b e c a u se , j u d g i n g b y t w o q u e s t i o n s t h a t h e a sk s , h e t h i n k st h a t t h e r e is so m e f u n d a m e n t a l s i g n if i ca n c e i n t h e n o t i o n o f i n f o r m a t i o n t h a t is s till h i d d e n .H i s q u e s t i o n s a r e ' . . . h o w t h e d i s c e r n ib l e e v e n t s d e sc r ib e d b y t h e s t r ic t s en se o f i n f o r -m a t i o n ( r e s t r ic t i o n i m p o se d u p o n a s e t o f p o s s i b il it ie s ) in t e r a c t w i t h th o se d e sc r i b e d b y t h em e a n i n g ( m e t a p h o r i c a l ) se n se o f in f o r m a t i o n ? ' ; a n d ' . . . t h e r e r e m a i n s m o r e f u n d a m e n t a lp r o b l e m s , o n e o f w h i c h i s t o u n d e r s t a n d h o w t h e t w o s e n se s o f in f o r m a t i o n i n te r a c t a n d ,in f a c t , b e c o m e o n e a n o t h e r ? ' .

B e f o r e S h a n n o n t h e w o r d i n f o r m a t i o n r e f e r r ed t o t h e a c t io n o f g iv in g f o r m , o r o fi n s t r u c t i n g w i t h k n o w l e d g e , a s i f in t h e i n t e r a c t io n s e a c h i n t e r a c t i n g p a r t i c i p a n t sp e c i f ie dw h a t h a p p e n e d t o t h e o t h e r p a r t i c ip a n t it a ct e d u p o n . I t w a s th i s c o n n o t a t i o n t h a t A s h b y( 1 9 5 6 ) r e je c t e d w h e n h e p r e f e r r e d t o u s e t h e w o r d v a r i et y in s te a d o f t h e w o r d i n f o r m a t i o ni n h is wr i t in g s a b o u t c y b e r n e t i c s , a n d i t wa s t h is c o n n o t a t i o n t h a t a t t r a c t e d b i o lo g i s t s w h e nt h e y b o r r o w e d t h e w o r d i n f o r m a t i o n f r o m t he n e w l y d e v e lo p e d c o m m u n i c a t io n th e o r y( Sh a n n o n & W e a v e r , 1 9 4 9 ) t o u se i n g e n e t ic s a n d n e u r o p h y s i o l o g y . B i o lo g i st s d i d n o t u n d e r -s t a n d t h e n t h a t t h e w o r d i n f o r m a t i o n w a s u s e d b y c o m m u n i c a t i o n e n g i n e e r s t o d e s c r i b ea p a r t i c u l a r k i n d o f in t e r a c t i o n b e t we e n o r g a n i z a t i o n a l l y i so m o r p h i c a n d s t r u c t u r a l l yc o m p l e m e n t a r y s y s t e m s , a n d t o o k i t t o r e f e r to a m e c h a n i s m o f i n s tr u c ti v e d e t e r m i n i s mt h a t a l lo w e d f o r t h e f o r m a l i z a t io n a n d q u a n t i f i c a ti o n o f p h e n o m e n a i n w h i c h m e a n i n gse e m e d t o p l a y a c e n t r a l p a r t . T h e y d i d th i s e v e n t h o u g h e v e r y b io l o g i s t k n o w s th a t i n s t r u c -t iv e i n te r a c ti o n s d o n o t t a k e p l a c e , s e d u c ed p e r h a p s , b y t h e b e l i e f t h a t i n f o r m a t i o n t h e o r yw o u l d p e r m i t t h e m s u c h f o r m a l i z a t io n a n d q u a n t i f ic a t i o n . A l t h o u g h I h a d g r e a t d o u b t s f r o mt h e b e g i n n i n g , I a lso u se d t h e n o t i o n o f i n f o r m a t i o n u n t i l I r e j e c t e d i t c o m p l e t e l y in th e l a ten i n e t e e n - s ix t i e s . W h a t e v e r t h e c a se , m a n y b i o l o g is t s d o n o t s e e m t o h a v e r e a l iz e d y e t t h a te v e n in c o m m u n i c a t i o n t h e o r y t h e n o t i o n o f i n f o r m a t i o n is o n l y a d e s c r ip t iv e n o t i o n a n dn o t a n e x p l a n a t o r y o n e .

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Comments 157

o p e r a t i n g in a c o n se n su a l d o m a i n , h e s e es t h e m i n a c o o r d i n a t i o n o f c o n d u c t s t h a t h e c a nd e sc r ib e in s e m a n t i c t e r m s , t h a t i s, as i f t h e i n t e r a c t in g o r g a n i sm s w e r e u s in g i n f o r m a t i o n i nt h e m e t a p h o r i c a l s e n se ( m e a n i n g ) f o r t h e i r a c tu a l o p e r a t i o n a l c o o r d i n a t i o n . N e i t h e r o f t h e set w o u se s o f t h e n o t i o n o f i n f o r m a t i o n , h o w e v e r , h a s e x p l a n a t o r y v a lu e f o r t h e b io l o g i ca lp h e n o m e n a i n v ol v ed . F o r t h i s r e a s o n I t h in k t h a t t h e n o t io n o f i n f o r m a t i o n s h o u l d b et o t a l l y a v o i d e d i n t h e d o m a i n o f b i o l o g ic a l e x p l a n a t i o n s ; i n t h a t d o m a i n t h e n o t i o n o fi n f o r m a t i o n ( in w h a t e v e r s e n se ) is b o t h u n n e c e s sa r y a n d m i s le a d i n g . In f a c t , th e u se o f t h en o t i o n o f i n f o r m a t i o n h a s i n te r f e r re d w i th t h e u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f l an g u ag e a n d c o g n i ti o n b yo b s c u r in g t h e s e p a r a ti o n o f t h e t w o p h e n o m e n a l d o m a i n s m e n t i o n e d a b o v e . T h i s is p a r -t ic u l a rl y a p p a r e n t in r e l a t io n t o th e m i n d - b o d y p r o b l e m w h e r e t h e n o t i o n o f i n f o r m a t i o nt h r o u g h i ts i n s t r u c ti v e c o n n o t a t i o n s s e e m e d t o o f f e r t h e p o s s i b i li t y o f b r i d g in g t h e g a pb e t w e e n t h e a b s t r a c t (m i n d ) a n d t h e c o n c r e t e ( b o d y ) . I n f o r m a t i o n , h o w e v e r , as a d es c r ip t iv en o t i o n c a n n o t d o t h e t r i c k , a n d i t s t w o se n se s m a i n t a i n th e s e p a r a t i o n b e t w e e n t h e a b s t r a c ta n d t h e c o n c r e t e .I f o n e g iv e s u p a n y a t t e m p t t o u s e t h e n o t i o n o f i n f o r m a t i o n , a b a n d o n i n g a n y h i d d e nn o t i o n o f i n s t r u c t io n a l d e t e r m i n i sm , o n e r e m a i n s i n a d o m a i n o f e x c lu s i v e s t r u c t u r a li n t e r a c t i o n s a n d t h e s i t u a t i o n c h a n g e s c o m p l e t e l y . I n f a c t , b y d o i n g t h i s o n e a c c e p t s :( i ) t h a t a n i n t e r a c t i o n c a n t a k e p l a c e o n l y i f t h e r e i s b e t w e e n t h e i n t e r a c t a n t s a s tr u c t u r a lc o m p l e m e n t a r i t y t h a t a l lo w s f o r th e i r r e c i p r o c a l t ri g g e r in g o f s t r u c t u r a l c h a n g e s i n t h e i re n c o u n t e r s ; ( ii ) t h a t t h e c i r c u m s t a n c e s o r r e l a t io n s t h a t l e a d t o a n a c tu a l i n t e r a c t i o n b e t w e e nt w o sy s t e m s se l e c t w h i c h o f t h e i r p o s s i b l e s t r u c t u r a l c h a n g e s ta k e p l a c e b y s e l ec t in g w h i c h o ft h e i r p o s s i b le i n t e r a c t i o n s i n f a c t o c c u r ; a n d ( ii i) t h a t r e l a t io n s i n a d o m a i n o f d e sc r ip t i o n s a sr e l a t io n s i n a d o m a i n o f o n t o g e n i c s t r u c t u r a l c o u p l i n g ( c o n se n su a l d o m a i n ) m a y re c u r s i v e lys e le c t t h e s t r u c tu r a l c h a n g e s o f t h e o r g a n is m s t h a t p r o d u c e d t h e m t h r o u g h t h e i r o p e r a t i o n i nl a n g u a g e . T h e g e n e r a l r e su lt o f t h i s i s t h a t o n e a c c e p t s t h e l e g i t im a c y o f g e n e r a ti v e l y d e p e n -d e n t b u t n o t i n te r s e ct in g p h e n o m e n a l d o m a i n s li k e b o d y a n d m i n d a s w e l l a s t h e s e l ec ti v ec o n s e q u e n c e s t h a t t h e m i n d m a y h a v e o n t h e d y n a m i c s o f s tr u c t u r a l c h a n g es o f t h e b o d y o ft h e o b s e r v e r t h r o u g h h i s o p e r a t io n i n t h e d o m a i n o f la n g u ag e w h e r e t h e m i n d e x is ts . I n o t h e rw o r d s , m e t a p h o r i c a l l y , b y a b a n d o n i n g t h e n o t i o n o f i n f o r m a t i o n , th e m i n d b e c o m e sc o m p a r a b l e t o t h e m o i r6 p a t t e r n s t h a t a n o b s e r v e r s ee s w h e n h e b e h o l d s t w o d i f f e r e n t lyr e g ul ar s y s t e m s o f d o t s o n t r a n s p a r e n t p a p e r s t h a t a r e s u p e r i m p o s e d a n d m o v e d w i t h r e s p e c tt o e a c h o t h e r . W i th o u t t h e t r a n s p a r e n t p a p e r s a n d d o t s u p o n t h e m n o m o i r 6 p a t t e r n c a n b eo b s e r v e d . Y e t , o n e c a n n o t s a y t h a t t h e p a p e r s a n d t h e d o t s c a us e t h e m o i r 6 p a t t e r n s b e c a u s et h e se , a s r e l a t i o n s e s t a b l ish e d b y a n o b se r v e r i n h i s o b se r v a t i o n , e x i s t i n a p h e n o m e n a ld o m a i n t h a t d o e s n o t i n t e rs e c t th e p h e n o m e n a l d o m a i n in w h i ch t h e d o t s a n d pa g e s e x i sta s p h y s i c a l e n t it i e s t h a t r e f l e c t li g h t. F u r t h e r m o r e , i f t h e o b se r v e r a s a r e su lt o f o b se r v i n g am o i r 6 p a t t e r n m o v e s o n e o f th e s h e e ts o f p a p e r s o t h a t t h e p a t t e r n c h a n g e s , i t c a n n o t b e s a i dt h a t t h e m o i r 6 p a t t e r n a s a n a b s t r a c t e n t i t y , t h a t i s a s a sy s t e m o f r e l a ti o n s i n th e d o m a i no f d e sc r i p t i o n s o f t h e o b se r v e r , c a u se d i t s o w n c h a n g e o r c a u se d a c h a n g e i n t h e s t r u c t u r et h a t m a d e i t p o s s i b l e . W e c a n s a y , h o w e v e r , t h a t c e r t a i n r e la t i o n s g i v e n i n t h e i n t e r a c t i o nb e t w e e n t h e p a g e s w i t h d o t s a n d t h e o b se r v e r , a n d w h i c h t h i s d e sc r ib e s b y s a y i n g t h a t h ese e s a m o i r 6 p a t t e r n , c o n s t i t u t e d a c o n f i g u r a t i o n o f i n t e r a c t i o n t h a t t r ig g e r e d ( a n d t h u sse l e c t e d ) a s t r u c t u r a l c h a n g e i n t h e o b se r v e r , w h o , i n t u r n , t h r o u g h h i s i n t e r a c t i o n w i t h t h ep a g e s , t ri g g e r e d a s t r u c t u r a l c h a n g e i n t h e sy s t e m o f p a g e s t h a t r e su l t e d i n a c h a n g e in t h em o i r 6 p a t t e r n t h a t h e o b se r v e d . T h i s g e n e r a ti v e d y n a m i c s , i n w h i c h n o n - i n t e r e se c t in gp h e n o m e n a l d o m a i n s a ri se as m e t a d o m a i n s w h e n t w o i n d e p e n d e n t s y s t e m s i n t e r a c t , a sw e l l a s t h e n o n - c a u sa l s e le c t iv e p a r t i c i p a t i o n o f r e l a t io n s , t h a t i s so c e n t r a l t o b i o l o g i c alp h e n o m e n a , a r e l o s t in a d e sc r i p t i o n i n i n f o r m a t i o n a l t e r m s t h r o u g h i ts i n s t r u c t i o n a lc o n n o t a t i o n s .

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158 Commen tsFinally, a comment on evolutionary quest ions (see Maturana, 1980) that are at the core

of soc iobiologica l a rguments in the domain of hum an va lues:The genetic const i tu t ion of a popula t ion is the result o f the evolution o f the l ineages to

which the organisms that integrate the p opu lat ion belong, not the cause of th~ evolution ofthese l ineages. The genetic cons t i tut ion of an individual organism is par t of the organism asa l iving enti ty unti l i t dies, as a result o f the org anism's conservation of i ts adaptat io n (struc-tural coupling to i ts medium) through i ts phenotypic real izat ion as an organism. I t is theorganism, the l iving being, the autopoiet ic unity, that which is adapted and l ives or is notadapted and disintegrates, not the genes; i t is autopoiesis and adaptat ion that are conservedin the course of biological ev olution, not genes. In fact , the ev olution o f living system s isthe continuous dr if t of the l ineages of organisms that conserve their s tructural coupling inthe i r med ia (adap ta t ion) up to reproduct ion ( see Maturana , 1980; M aturana & Vare la , for th-coming) . Evolution, therefore, takes place only to the extent that the var iat ions produced ineach generat ion result in phe no typ es th at conserve the adap tat ion of the organisms in theirme diu m. Only if a character , a functio n, a con du ct , is there as a relat ion of the organismwith i ts mediu m, that is, only if a character is there as a ph eno typ ic feature involved in theconserva t ion of the adapta t ion of the organism, can an evolution of the gene t ic /envi ronmentde termina t ion of the charac te r ( func t ion or condu ct ) take place through the conserva tion ofthe character in a lineage. Only if a character is const i tut ively involved in the conservation o fthe ada ptat io n of the organism that exhibit i t , does it par t ic ipate in the conservation of thel ineages of these organisms. Adaptat ion is not the result of evolution (or natural dr if t , as Iprefer to call it ) ; given repro duc tion, ada ptat io n ( the cond it ion o f structural coupling to themedium) i s the condi t ion tha t makes evolut ion poss ible . In the absence of conserva t ion ofadap tat ion the organisms die or do not reprod uce, and their l ineages com e to an end. As ama t te r o f fac t , wi tho ut conserva t ion of adapta t ion na tura l dr i ft does not take place .

The descript ion o f heredi ta ry events in te rms proper to comm unica t ion engineeringthrough the use of the not ion of informat ion in e i ther sense, has cont r ibuted to the confus ionof the phen om enon of heredi ty ( tha t resul ts f rom reprodu ct ion) wi th a par tia l descr iptiono f i ts genetics ( that refers to the genealogy of the distr ibu tion o f characters) , par t icular lythrough the no t ion tha t the nuc le ic acids conta in the gene t ic informa t ion of the organism.This confusion has lead to the m od ern bel ief that the genes are the central e le men ts in thenatural dr if t (evolution ) of l iving systems, and th at they ma y be adaptive, deletereous orneut ra l , in a fa lac ious a rgument tha t loses the organism as the evolut ionary un i ty by reducingit to a mosaic of characters subordinated to the conservation of i ts genes. An organism isno t a mosa ic o f characters, nor is i t a cong lome rate of genes. An organism is an enti t ydef ined as a unity by i ts organizat ion as a l iving system, and i ts character ist ics (characters)are necessari ly par t ia l descr ipt ions of i t m ade from the perspective of an observer wh ounavoidab ly des t roys it s un i ty b y m aking them .

Similar confus ions have occur red in soc iobiology, soc iology and psycho logy, where ,f requent ly , the use of informat iona l descr ipt ions have reduced human be ings to mosa icsof charac te rs, ideas or va lues. Yet , i t is not the engineer' s not ion of inform at ion our problem ,but ra ther i t is our misuse of i t in the domain of biological phenom ena .

ReferencesAsh by Ross, W. (1956) . An Introduction to Cybernetics.Ma turana, H. R. (197 8). In (G. A. Miller & E. Lenn eberg. A .P ., Eds.) Psychology andBiology o f Language and Thought, New Y ork: Academic Press .Maturana, H. R. (1980) . In (M. Zeleny, Ed.) Autopoiesis, Dissipative Structures andSpontaneous Orders. A A A S Selec ted Sym posiu m 55.

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C o m m e n t s 1 5 9M a t u r a n a , H . R . & G u i l o f f , G . D . ( 1 9 8 0 ) . J. sociol biol . Structures 3 , 1 3 5 - 1 4 8 .M a t u r a n a , H . R . & V a r e la , F . J . ( f o r t h c o m i n g ) . E v o l u t i o n : N a t u r a l D r i f t t h r o u g h t h e c o n s e r-v a t i o n o f a d a p t a t i o n ( s u b m i t te d t o t h e J. social biol . Struct . ) .S h a n n o n , C. & W e a v e r , W . ( 1 9 4 9 ) . T h e M a t h e m a t i ca l T h e o r y o f C o m m u n i c a ti o n . U r b a n a ,I L : U n i v e r s i t y o f I l l in o i s P r es s .

Hu m berto R . MaturanaDep ar tamen to de B io log ia

Fa cu ltad Ciencias Basicas y Far ma ceuticasUniversidad de Chile

Casilla 653 ,Santiago, Chile

C o m m e n t b y M a r io B u ng eF e d a n z o is q u i t e r i g h t i n d is t in g u i s h in g t w o c o n c e p t s o f i n f o r m a t i o n a n d i n s tr e s si n g t h e ird i f f e r e n c e . O n e is t h e v u l ga r c o n c e p t o f m e a n i n g , t h e o t h e r is t h e i n f o r m a t i o n t h e o r e t i c o n e .I a m g l a d h e s h a r e s m y v i e w t h a t n e i t h e r h a s a p l a c e i n b i o l o g y ( o r i n s o c i a l s c i e n c e ) . I np a r t ic u l a r , S h a n n o n ' s c o n c e p t o f in f o r m a t i o n is o u t o f p l a c e in g e n e t ic s a n d i n s o c i a ls c ie n c e - a t l e a s t a s l o n g a s t h o s e w h o s a y t h a t t h e y u s e i t d o n o t t e a c h u s h o w t h e y m a n a g et o e v a l u a t e t h e q u a n t i t y o f i n f o r m a t i o n s a id t o b e l o c k e d i n a g e n e o r in a s o c ia l s y s t e m . [ F o rf u r t h e r r e a s o ns s e e B u n g e ( 1 9 7 9 ) . ]

I n a d d i ti o n t o t h e t w o s e n se s o f ' i n f o r m a t i o n ' d i s c us s ed b y F e d a n z o o n e m a y d is c e rna n o t h e r t h r e e , a n d it i s p o s s ib l e t h a t a c l o s e r e x a m i n a t i o n o f t h e c u r r e n t s c i e n ti fi c a n d t e c h -n o l o g i c a l l i t e r a t u r e w i l l y i e l d f u r t h e r c o n c e p t s d e s i g n a t e d b y t h e s a m e w o r d . L e t m e l i s tt h o s e o t h e r c o n c e p t s .

O n e i s t h e c o n c e p t o f signal. A s i g na l m a y b e d e f i n e d a s a p r o c e s s - p h y s i c a l , c h e m i c a l ,o r b i o lo g i c a l - t h a t , t h o u g h c a r r y i n g a s m a l l q u a n t i t y o f e n e r g y , is c a p a b l e o f t ri g g er in g afa r m o r e e n e r g e t ic p r o c e s s - a s w h e n a si gn a l p r o p a g a t i n g d o w n a n e r v e c o n t r a c t s a m u s c l e ,o r w h e n w e o p e n t h e g a ra g e d o o r w i t h a r a d i o w a v e . T h is c o n c e p t is o f t e n , a n d u n f o r t u n a t e l y ,c a l le d ' i n f o r m a t i o n ' i n n e u r o s c i e n c e a n d i n p s y c h o l o g y , a l t h o u g h t h e w o r d ' s ig n a l ' is m o r ep r e c i s e .

A n o t h e r c o n c e p t o f i n f o r m a t i o n is t h a t o f k n o w l e d g e , a s w h e n w e s a y t h a t w e ju s tr e c e iv e d i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t t h e p o l it i c a l m i s u s e s o f s o c i o b i o l o g y b y t h e F r e n c h r i g h t w i n g ,o r w h e n w e t r a n s m i t t o r e ce i v e a n in s t r u c t i o n o r a r e q u e s t . F r o m a p s y c h o b i o l o g i c a l v ie w -p o i n t , k n o w l e d g e is a s t a te o r p r o c e s s i n s o m e o f t h e p l a s ti c s u b s y s t e m s o f th e v e r t e b r a ten e r v o u s s y s t e m . H e n c e i t c a n n o t b e t r a n s m i t t e d d i r e c t l y , i .e . w i t h o u t t h e i n t e r m e d i a r y o fs o m e e x t e r n a l s ig n a l. [ F o r t h is v i e w o f m i n d s e e B u n g e ( 1 9 8 0 ) . ]

A t h ir d c o n c e p t o f in f o r m a t i o n is t h a t o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n , o r t ra n s m i s s i o n o f a k n o w l e d g ei t e m , b e i t d a t u m o r c o n j e c tu r e , q u e s t i o n o r c o m m a n d . O b v i o u s l y , k n o w l e d g e i s c o n v e y e db y a r t i fi c i a l s ig n a ls o f v a r i o u s k i n d s . I s u b m i t t h a t this is t he c o n c e p t o f i n f o r m a t i o n r e l e v a n tt o s o c i o b i o l o g y a n d t h e s o ci al s ci en c e s. I n d e e d , c o m m u n i c a t i o n , t o g e t h e r w i t h o t h e r s o ci alr e l a t io n s - s u c h a s t h o s e o f g r o o m i n g , f e e d i n g t h e y o u n g , c o u r t i n g , p l a y i n g , c o o p e r a t i n g , a n df i g h ti n g - c o n s t i t u t e s t h e s t r u c t u r e o f a so c ia l s y s t e m , i .e . th e c o l l e c t i o n o f c o u p l i n g s o rb o n d s t h a t k e e p i t t o g e t h e r . [ C f . B u n g e ( 1 9 7 9 ; 1 9 8 1 ) f o r a d e ta i l e d a n a l ys i s o f t h e c o n c e p to f s o c ia l s t r u c t u r e . ]

We have then , a l toge the r f i v e d i f f e ren t concep t s o f i n format ion: in form at ion I = mean ing;in forma t ion 2 = s igna l; in format ion 3 = qua n t i t y o f i n forma t ion carri ed ou t by a s igna l in as y s t em ; i n f o r m a t io n 4 = k n o w l e d g e ; a n d i n f o r m a t i o n 5 = c o m m u n i c a t i o n o f i n fo r m a t i o n 4by soc ia l behav ior involv ing a signal ( in form at ion 2] .