an isolated system having no interaction with an environment. (Von Bertalanffy, p.3)
a
system whose
BEHAVlor is entirely explainable from within, a system without
input. Systems may be variously closed to matter/ENERGY, to
information, and/or to
organization . Systems closed to energy are autark, systems closed to information are
independent , and systems closed to organization are autonomous (
see autonomy ). Biological organisms are largely closed to organization, the latter being specified by the
dna at the point of inception. The
output has nothing to do with whether a system is closed. Systems without output are non-knowable through observation from the outside (
see open system ). (
Krippendorff )
