Cybernetic causality. II: Causal recursion in goal-directed systems, with applications to evolution dynamics and economics (Q1091318)

[For part I see ibid. 10, 103-130 (1985; Zbl 0592.93001).] Causal recursion is shown to be more general than the concept of continuous dynamical system. Further, it is shown that the self- regulating causal recursion underlying population dynamics defines a reducibly discontinuous dynamical system, and that the effects of discontinuity are essential in the survival or destruction of ecosystems. This is a lengthy and rigorous treatment of causal recursion, and it is not recommended for the mathematically timid. For the prepared reader, it is an excellent work on the fundamental concept of cybernetic causality. The mathematics of this paper are correct and elegant. The paper itself represents scholarship in its highest form - appropriate mathematical abstraction, interesting conclusions, and connection to concrete applications. A paper not easily read but worth the required effort.