?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=What+is+Autonomy%3F&rft.creator=Collier%2C+John&rft.subject=Theoretical+Biology&rft.subject=Cognitive+Psychology&rft.subject=Philosophy+of+Mind&rft.description=A+system+is+autonomous+if+it+uses+its+own+information+to+modify+itself+and+its+environment+to+enhance+its+survival%2C+responding+to+both+environmental+and+internal+stimuli+to+modify+its+basic+functions+to+increase+its+viability.+Autonomy+is+the+foundation+of+functionality%2C+intentionality+and+meaning.+Autonomous+systems+accommodate+the+unexpected+through+self-organizing+processes%2C+together+with+some+constraints+that+maintain+autonomy.+Early+versions+of+autonomy%2C+such+as+autopoiesis+and+closure+to+efficient+cause%2C++made+autonomous+systems+dynamically+closed+to+information.+This+contrasts+with+recent+work+on+open+systems+and+information+dynamics.+On+our+account%2C+autonomy+is+a+matter+of+degree+depending+on+the+relative+organization+of+the+system+and+system+environment+interactions.+A+choice+between+third+person+openness+and+first+person+closure+is+not+required.&rft.date=2002&rft.type=Journal+(Paginated)&rft.type=PeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F2289%2F3%2Fautonomy.pdf&rft.identifier=++Collier%2C+John++(2002)+What+is+Autonomy%3F++%5BJournal+(Paginated)%5D+++++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F2289%2F