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Matteo Capucci (he/him) (Apr 30 2026 at 10:15):Does anyone have access to the paper:
Goguen, Joseph. "Categorical foundations for general systems theory." Advances in cybernetics and systems research 1 (1973).
Jacob S. Zelko (Apr 30 2026 at 17:20):This sounds quite like a fascinating paper @Matteo Capucci (he/him) -- have you had any luck finding it? I actually spent 15/20 minutes trying to track it down and apparently I do not think it has been digitized. However, I found that it seems to be present in a copy of the "Advances in cybernetics and systems research: Proceedings of the European Meeting, Vienna, 1972" which just so happens to be down the street from me at the MIT Library here in Cambridge!
Jacob S. Zelko (Apr 30 2026 at 17:20):At this point, I am quite curious about this paper and have read some of Goguen's work in the past so would be interested in reading it myself further. Have you had any luck finding the paper Matteo?
V Slicer (Apr 30 2026 at 17:45):I haven't been able to find it either when I was looking earlier, this paper discusses it though, it deals with how Goguen emphasized that 'colimits are how to compose systems.'
Matteo Capucci (he/him) (Apr 30 2026 at 19:19):No I haven't that's why I asked here. I don't know even what's in it, but I'm intrigued by the title!
Matteo Capucci (he/him) (Apr 30 2026 at 19:20):V Slicer said:
I haven't been able to find it either when I was looking earlier, this paper discusses it though, it deals with how Goguen emphasized that 'colimits are how to compose systems.'
this seems to be citing a different paper, though I wouldn't be surprised if the gist is the same
Jacob S. Zelko (Apr 30 2026 at 20:14):Matteo Capucci (he/him) said:
No I haven't that's why I asked here. I don't know even what's in it, but I'm intrigued by the title!
Alright, well, then it is settled! I think I shall make this a mini-quest to see if I can find this from the library.
Matteo Capucci (he/him) (May 03 2026 at 11:20):That's be wonderful @Jacob S. Zelko thanks a lot :D
Jacob S. Zelko (May 06 2026 at 13:23):Just a little update here @Matteo Capucci (he/him) : with the help of a friend, we tracked it down in the off-site library archives. We put in a scan request yesterday and should have a scanned copy back by May 27th if not sooner!