Reflexive systems

The term reflexive systems (lowercase) refers to the same concept as Reflexive Systems: systems that contain models of themselves. The lowercase usage is common in British and continental European systems theory, where the term emphasizes the process of reflexivity rather than the formal class of systems. In this usage, reflexive systems are distinguished from merely complex adaptive systems by the presence of an internal model that is causally active in the system's dynamics.

The lowercase form also connects to reflexive prediction in economics and to reflexive sociology in social theory. What the lowercase tradition adds that the uppercase tradition sometimes misses is the emphasis on reflexive practice — the idea that the theorist's own model is also part of the reflexive loop, not an external observer.