Since the “states that will actually be observed in [a]
System are the
Attractors”Abraham & Shaw (1992), 13
, we can identify any system as we observe it with its
attractors. In other words:
A system’s identity is captured in the signature probability distribution of its dynamics.Juarrero (2000), 41. This similar to how Manuel DeLanda takes attractors not as the essence of a system, but a set of “concrete universals” that give it its identity (DeLanda 2002).
References
- Abraham & Shaw (1992): Dynamics: The Geometry of Behavior
- DeLanda (2002): Intensive Science and Virtual Philosophy
- Juarrero (2000): “Dynamics in Action: Intentional Behavior as a Complex System”