Homeostasis and metastability as natural sciences’ heuristics of modern social sciences

Abstract

The article shows how polemics of C.Wright Mills with T. Parsons and N. Wiener with G. Simondon allowed to identify the potential of applying the concepts of homeostasis and metastability to elaborating the philosophy of social governance. Particular attention is paid to the contribution of these concepts to better understanding the problems of governance at both societal and organizational levels. Both in the organizations and societies homeostatic self-regulation is often co-exising with metastable states which are fraught both by long-range stagnation and unexpected explosive changes. This factor seriously complicates forecasting changes in metastable states and increases the cost of error. The pioneering role of A.Bogdanov’s “Tektologia” which anticipated this conclusion is characterized. It is concluded that transfer of concepts of homeostasis and metastability into social sciences throws a bridge from philosophy of history to philosophy of social governance and contributes to their development.