Purposive systems: The edge of Knowledge

This report on the First Annual Symposium of the newly formed American Society for Cybernetics describes the papers presented under three broad categories of purposive systems-man, machines, and men and machines together. The discussion ranges from purposive behavior at the level of genetic evolution to the purposive behavior of organisms as complex as modern society. In this period when the growth of technology threatens to overwhelm society, cybernetics is seen as a science offering the hope of solutions and of broader interdisciplinary and international communication.