Taught system is a system which is able to receive information about the laws of the environment and its own behavior from the external source (tutor) and use it in further operation.

The receipt of high-quality information (in the form of laws or knowledge) from without (from tutor) is a powerful mean of evolution and adaptation of systems. A tutor is able either to teach several systems simultaneously or to teach systems one and the same thing at different time (for example, teaching children by parents). This favours forming community (population) of systems with high degree of similarity of organization and behavior.

However, despite the similarity of conditions of systems' existence and organization, each system undergo its own unique life, and only system's own unique knowledge (which is called the individual system's experience) can provide reliable and efficient existence in the individual conditions.

Self-learning is a process of revealing of different laws and forming holistic and relatively consistent empirical knowledge model (which is the individual system's experience) about the system itself and the environment.

Self-learning system is a system which is able to reveal without assistance the laws of the environment's behavior and its own organization (behavior) and form on this basis own unique knowledge system, which can be used in further system's functioning.

Self-learning is a powerful systems adaptation and optimization mechanism, and most importantly, it is the first step to forming the activity of systems.

We define system's activity as system's functioning which is realized on basis of system's own needs, but not under the influence of the environment.

So, if the system is able both to form its own empirical knowledge system and use it in own functioning, then such system is able to become intensive and operate in a limited volume.