There is, however, yet another basis for organic regulations. This is equifinality—i.e., the fact that the same final state can be reached from different initial conditions and in different ways. This is found to be the case in open systems, insofar as they attain a steady state. It appears that equifinality is responsible for the primary regulability of organic systems—i.e., for all those regulations which cannot be based upon predetermined structures or mechanisms, but on the contrary, exclude such mechanisms and were regarded therefore as arguments for vitalism.
