Journal articles on the topic 'Second-order cybernetics'
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1
Steier, Frederick, and Kenwyn K. Smith. "Organizations and Second Order Cybernetics." Journal of Strategic and Systemic Therapies 4, no. 4 (December 1985): 53–65. http://dx.doi.org/10.1521/jsst.1985.4.4.53.
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Kline, Ronald. "How disunity matters to the history of cybernetics in the human sciences in the United States, 1940–80." History of the Human Sciences 33, no. 1 (February 2020): 12–35. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0952695119872111.
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Rather than assume a unitary cybernetics, I ask how its disunity mattered to the history of the human sciences in the United States from about 1940 to 1980. I compare the work of four prominent social scientists – Herbert Simon, George Miller, Karl Deutsch, and Talcott Parsons – who created cybernetic models in psychology, economics, political science, and sociology with the work of anthropologist Gregory Bateson, and relate their interpretations of cybernetics to those of such well-known cyberneticians as Norbert Wiener, Warren McCulloch, W. Ross Ashby, and Heinz von Foerster. I argue that viewing cybernetics through the lens of disunity – asking what was at stake in choosing a specific cybernetic model – shows the complexity of the relationship between first-order cybernetics and the postwar human sciences, and helps us rethink the history of second-order cybernetics.
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Scott, Bernard. "Second‐order cybernetics: an historical introduction." Kybernetes 33, no. 9/10 (October 2004): 1365–78. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/03684920410556007.
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Glanville, Ranulph. "The purpose of second‐order cybernetics." Kybernetes 33, no. 9/10 (October 2004): 1379–86. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/03684920410556016.
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Bishop, J. M., and J. S. Nasuto. "Second‐order cybernetics and enactive perception." Kybernetes 34, no. 9/10 (October 2005): 1309–20. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/03684920510614696.
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Krippendorff, Klaus. "A second-order cybernetics of otherness." Systems Research 13, no. 3 (September 1996): 311–28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1099-1735(199609)13:3<311::aid-sres106>3.0.co;2-o.
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Scott, Bernard. "Second-order cybernetics as cognitive methodology." Systems Research 13, no. 3 (September 1996): 393–406. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1099-1735(199609)13:3<393::aid-sres102>3.0.co;2-a.
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Lepskiy, Vladimir. "Evolution of cybernetics: philosophical and methodological analysis." Kybernetes 47, no. 2 (February 5, 2018): 249–61. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/k-03-2017-0120.
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Purpose The aim of this paper is to elaborate the connection between the evolution of cybernetics and the development of scientific rationality (classical, non-classical, post-non-classical) and to emphasize the relevance of the formation of post-non-classical cybernetics for self-developing reflexive-active environment (the third-order cybernetics). Design/methodology/approach This paper includes interdisciplinary analysis of the evolution of cybernetics and possible directions of its development. Findings A connection between the types of scientific rationality (classical, non-classical and post-non-classical) and the stages of the development cybernetics is presented. Classical rationality is first-order cybernetics dealing with observed systems (an external observer). Non-classical rationality is second-order cybernetics dealing with observing systems (built-in observer). Post-non-classical rationality is third-order cybernetics dealing with the self-developing reflexive-active environment (distributed observer). Research limitations/implications This is an initial theoretical conceptualization, which needs a broader assessment and case studies. Practical implications This proposed direction for the analysis of cybernetics opens new approaches to social control on the basis of the subject-focused models and integration of traditional cybernetic tools. Social implications Third-order cybernetics will promote the development of civil society. Direct democracy receives new tools for development. Originality/value The value of this research is in the interdisciplinary analysis of the cybernetics evolution and in new possible directions for its development.
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Letiche, Hugo. "Researcher reflexivity: what it is and what it can be." Kybernetes 46, no. 9 (October 2, 2017): 1555–63. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/k-09-2016-0239.
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Purpose Second-order cybernetics is explored here as a learning intervention strategy. Researcher reflexivity, both the student’s and the professor’s, that is asserted is crucial to achieving a liberatory learning experience. But as Lacan has revealed, the “symbolic” (written, represented and studied) has a complex relationship to the “real”, which needs the “imaginary” to be active and creative. The aim of this paper is to investigate the complexity of these relationships and their import for reflexive learning, as it is grounded in second-order cybernetics. Design/methodology/approach This is a conceptual paper, comparing second-order cybernetics to current insights into researcher reflexivity, especially as grounded in Lacan and as it has been translated into an intervention strategy by Zizek and applied by the author. Supervision of MBA theses is examined as an exemplar. Findings A theory of researcher reflexivity is outlined with practical potential, which was demonstrated at the ASC 2016 conference. Research limitations/implications Exemplary learning is demonstrated and guidelines of practical significance are indicated, but these are not here further empirically researched. Practical implications The complexity of the “imaginary–symbolic–real” model and its value for reflexive learning is investigated. The application value of the model to learning and second-order cybernetics is developed. Social/implications A reflexive intervention is demonstrated in how one sees student/professor supervision and interaction. Originality/value Building on Glanville, it is shown that multiple reflexivities are needed to be put into play for second-order cybernetics to productively inform university practice. A difference of differences is needed to complexify feedback processes for cybernetic interventions to (best) succeed. The import of current theoretical debates from Lacan and Zizek to cybernetics is indicated.
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Leydesdorff, Loet. "Sustainable technological developments and second-order cybernetics." Technology Analysis & Strategic Management 9, no. 3 (January 1997): 329–43. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09537329708524288.
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Winter, Wolfgang, and Manuela Thurm. "Second‐order cybernetics! In systemic management thinking?" Kybernetes 34, no. 3/4 (March 2005): 419–26. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/03684920510581602.
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Ghosal, A. "Second order cybernetics ‐ implications in real life." Kybernetes 28, no. 4 (June 1999): 377–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/03684929910267707.
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Brier, Søren. "From second-order cybernetics to cybersemiotics: A semiotic re-entry into the second-order cybernetics of Heinz von Foerster." Systems Research 13, no. 3 (September 1996): 229–44. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1099-1735(199609)13:3<229::aid-sres96>3.0.co;2-b.
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Westermann, Claudia. "The art of conversation: design cybernetics and its ethics." Kybernetes 49, no. 8 (March 9, 2020): 2171–83. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/k-03-2019-0186.
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Purpose The purpose of this paper to discuss ethical principles that are implicit in second-order cybernetics, with the aim of arriving at a better understanding of how second-order cybernetics frames living in a world with others. It further investigates implications for second-order cybernetics approaches to architectural design, i.e. the activity of designing frameworks for living. Design/methodology/approach The paper investigates terminology in the second-order cybernetics literature with specific attention to terms that suggest that there are ethical principles at work. It further relates second-order cybernetics to selected notions in phenomenology, pragmatism and transcendental idealism. The comparison allows for conclusions about the specificity of a second-order inquiry. In line with the thematic focus of this journal issue on the framing of shared worlds, the paper further elaborates on questions relating to the activity of designing “worlds” in which people live with others. Findings The paper highlights that a radical openness toward the future and toward the agency of others is inscribed in the conception of second-order cybernetics. It creates a frame of reference for conceiving social systems of all kinds, including environments that are designed to be inhabited. Originality/value The paper identifies an aesthetics grounded in the process of living-with-others as an ethical principle implicit in second-order cybernetics thought. It is an aesthetics that is radically open for the agency of others. Linking aesthetics and ethics, the paper’s contributions will be of specific value for practitioners and theoreticians of design. Considering second-order cybernetics as a practice generally dealing with designing, it also contributes to the wider second-order cybernetics discourse.
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Julià, Pere. "Observer or self‐observer in second‐order cybernetics?" Kybernetes 29, no. 5/6 (July 2000): 770–86. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/03684920010333198.
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Rawes, Peg. "Second‐order cybernetics, architectural drawing and monadic thinking." Kybernetes 36, no. 9/10 (October 23, 2007): 1486–96. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/03684920710827436.
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Hohl, Michael. "Second Order Cybernetics: Why and Where to Steer To." She Ji: The Journal of Design, Economics, and Innovation 5, no. 4 (2019): 359–62. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sheji.2019.11.005.
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Sweeting, Ben. "Applying ethics to itself: recursive ethical questioning in architecture and second-order cybernetics." Kybernetes 48, no. 4 (April 1, 2019): 805–15. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/k-12-2017-0471.
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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to put forward a way that ethics may be applied recursively to itself, in the sense that how we speak and reason about ethics is an activity to which ethical considerations and questions apply. Design/methodology/approach The paper is built on parallels between design and cybernetics, integrating elements of ethical discourse in each field. The way that cybernetics and design can each act as their own meta-disciplines, in the design of design and the cybernetics of cybernetics, is used as a pattern for a similarly recursive approach to ethics. This is explored further by drawing parallels between Heinz von Foersters’ criticism of moral codes and concerns about paternalism in designing architecture. Findings Designers incorporate implicit ethical questioning as part of the recursive process through which they design their design activity, moving between conversations that pursue the goals of a project and meta-conversations in which they question which goals to pursue and the methods they employ in doing so. Given parallels between designing architecture and setting out an ethics (both of which put forward ways in which others are to live), a similar approach may be taken within ethical discourse, folding ethics within itself as its own meta-discipline. Originality/value The paper provides a framework in which to address ethical considerations within ethical discourse itself. Recursive ethical questioning of this sort offers a way of coping with the incommensurability of values and goals that is commonplace given the fragmented state of contemporary ethics.
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Cretu, Andrei. "Learning the Ashby Box: an experiment in second order cybernetic modeling." Kybernetes 49, no. 8 (November 23, 2019): 2073–90. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/k-06-2019-0439.
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Purpose W. Ross Ashby’s elementary non-trivial machine, known in the cybernetic literature as the “Ashby Box,” has been described as the prototypical example of a black box system. As far as it can be ascertained from Ashby’s journal, the intended purpose of this device may have been to exemplify the environment where an “artificial brain” may operate. This paper describes the construction of an elementary observer/controller for the class of systems exemplified by the Ashby Box – variable structure black box systems with parallel input. Design/methodology/approach Starting from a formalization of the second-order assumptions implicit in the design of the Ashby Box, the observer/controller system is synthesized from the ground up, in a strictly system-theoretic setting, without recourse to disciplinary metaphors or current theories of learning and cognition, based mainly on guidance from Heinz von Foerster’s theory of self-organizing systems and W. Ross Ashby’s own insights into adaptive systems. Findings Achieving and maintaining control of the Ashby Box requires a non-trivial observer system able to use the results of its interactions with the non-trivial machine to autonomously construct, deconstruct and reconstruct its own function. The algorithm and the dynamical model of the Ashby Box observer developed in this paper define the basic specifications of a general purpose, unsupervised learning architecture able to accomplish this task. Originality/value The problem exemplified by the Ashby Box is fundamental and goes to the roots of cybernetic theory; second-order cybernetics offers an adequate foundation for the mathematical modeling of this problem.
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Scott, Bernard. "The sociocybernetics of observation and reflexivity." Current Sociology 67, no. 4 (April 5, 2019): 495–510. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0011392119837543.
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The aim of this article is to show how sociocybernetics can clarify and bring order to two key concepts in the social sciences: ‘observation’ and ‘reflexivity’. The article provides an introduction and conceptual overview of second order cybernetics, placing it in the larger context of cybernetics and systems sciences studies. Since its inception, in cybernetics the role of the observer has been paramount. It is the observer who distinguishes systems of interest. It is the observer who communicates her observations and theoretical interpretations to the wider community of other observers. Critically, as Heinz von Foerster emphasises, with second order cybernetics the observer, since she is herself an observing system, should ‘enter the domain of her own descriptions’. With her second order studies, she is explaining herself to herself. Reflexively, she is obliged to engage in self-observation. The article sets out some of the theoretical and methodological implications of these propositions.
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Fischer, Thomas. "Narratives of exploration: from “Failure is not an Option” to “Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”." Kybernetes 49, no. 8 (May 20, 2020): 2091–108. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/k-07-2019-0502.
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Purpose To trace a shift in attitudes towards control since the mid-twentieth century, as reflected in a shift in rhetoric that accompanied the extension from first- to second-order cybernetics. Design/methodology/approach Narratives of exploration that have emerged from NASA’s lunar programme and recent design cybernetics are juxtaposed to show a transition away from the legitimisation of goal-oriented decision-making and control towards advocacy of partial control avoidance and accommodation of the unanticipated. Findings Contemporary cybernetic theory recognises the importance of both the partial presence and the partial absence of control in creative epistemic practice. It is thus unsurprising that, according to historical records, NASA’s journey to the moon was enabled not only by the assurance of control but also by lapses of control. However, NASA’s rhetorical posture during the race to the moon focused on predictable control and goal orientation, differing notably from the recent design-cybernetic openness towards uncertainty, error, and serendipity. This difference is encapsulated by the “Failure is not an option” dictum that was associated with NASA’s lunar programme and the “Try Again. Fail Again. Fail Better” equivalent associated with design cybernetics. Recognition of the more recent cybernetic perspective is impeded by its continuing omission from narratives of earlier cybernetic accomplishments. Research limitations/implications To the extent that narratives examined in this paper refer to exceptional initiatives and spontaneous events, the repeatability and generalisability of the presented argument are limited. Originality/value The paper highlights changing cybernetic narratives of creative invention by examining how spontaneous changes in variety were reported to have been addressed in NASA’s lunar programme, and how recent cybernetic design theory suggests they should be addressed.
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Lepskiy, V. E. "Philosophical-Methodological Basis for the Formation of Third-Order Cybernetics." Russian Journal of Philosophical Sciences, no. 10 (December 20, 2018): 7–36. http://dx.doi.org/10.30727/0235-1188-2018-10-7-36.
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In the paper, a philosophical and methodological analysis of the evolution of cybernetics in the context of the development of scientific rationality is carried out. The evolution of cybernetics is represented as a movement from the methodology of “observable systems” (N. Wiener) and to the methodology of “observing systems” (von Foerster) and to the methodology of self-developing reflexive-active environments. Special attention is paid to the formation of a new promising direction for post-non-classical cybernetics of self-developing poly-subject (reflexive-active) environments, which, given the correlation with previous stages of cybernetics development (with classical and non-classical scientific rationality), we define as thirdorder cybernetics. The analysis of the basics of the formation of third-order cybernetics was carried out with consideration of interrelated aspects: philosophical, methodological, theoretical, and methodical. We also provide model of self-developing poly-subject (reflexive-active) environments as well as a system of ontologies, defining the mechanisms of functioning of such self-organizing poly-subject environments and active elements that organize the communication space (natural, artificial intelligence, and combined formations). The ontology system also makes it possible to integrate cybernetics of the first, second, and third order. Some sociohumanitarian trends in the development of cybernetics are considered: from an external observer to a distributed observer; from monodisciplinary to transdisciplinary approaches; from activity approach to subject-activity one, and further to subject-oriented approach; from information to active knowledge; from ethics of goals to ethics of strategic subjects. Potential opportunities for using third-order cybernetics are described, in order to improve the quality of solving a number of important scientific and practical problems of controlling social systems. Information is provided on the directions of approbation of a third-order cybernetics concept for improving state administration, based on a system of distributed situational centers, and there is its approbation at international scientific conferences.
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Knysh, Inna Vasylivna. "UPGRADE OF CYBERNETICS IN THE CONTEXT OF DEVELOPING CREATIVITY." Creativity Studies 13, no. 2 (September 11, 2020): 494–509. http://dx.doi.org/10.3846/cs.2020.9071.
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The author attempted to consider upgrade of cybernetics in the context of developing creativity in modern scientific discourse. First-order cybernetics studied observed systems, second-order cybernetics dealt with observing systems, and third-order cybernetics studied the subject–polysubject environment – cyberspace. So, changes in the character of labour, the means of production, industrial relations and labour power have been analyzed. The article also considers the problem of “physicists and lyric poets”, which prompted researchers to look for possible ways to resolve the contradictions. It resulted in the establishment of interdisciplinary connections between cybernetics and art at the non-classical stage, while at the post-non-classical stage, an interdisciplinary synthesis led to their mutually beneficial collaboration. The author uses the notion of hyphspace as metaphorical abstraction for defining a virtual reality (a component of the noosphere) that exists inside a computer network (the subject–polysubject environment). Hyphspace at the present stage of cybernetics development is becoming the basis for its subsequent (but not final) upgrade – fourth order cybernetics. Cybernetics in an interdisciplinary synthesis with art is moving from cognizing human–machine systems to the formations with growing human-dimensionality, where there is a persistent increase in the number of users–nomads.
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Medvedeva, T. A. "Cybernetics and the Russian Intellectual Tradition." Russian Journal of Philosophical Sciences, no. 10 (December 20, 2018): 37–45. http://dx.doi.org/10.30727/0235-1188-2018-10-37-46.
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Understanding the differences between scientific approaches to cybernetics is difficult because of the very different histories and intellectual traditions in Russia and the West, i.e. the U.S. and Europe. This paper, firstly, describes the peculiarities of the Russian style of scientific thinking, considering as an example Alexander Bogdanov’s theory (tectology) in context of the Russian intellectual tradition. Secondly, the paper compares Vladimir E. Lepskiy’s and Stuart A. Umpleby’s theories of cybernetics looking at them through the prism of Russian and American intellectual traditions. Western cybernetics of the second order includes biological and social versions. It arose from “experimental epistemology.” The goal was to understand the processes of cognition on the basis of neurophysiological experiments, as a result of which cyberneticians came to the conclusion that the observer cannot be excluded from science. Biological cybernetics is concerned with how the brain creates descriptions of the world. Little attention is paid to the world since it already is included in the perceptions of the observer. Social cybernetics is concerned with how people act in the world. Theories or descriptions are thought to be less important than appropriate actions. The Russian interpretation of second-order cybernetics develops its social version. The paper concludes that the differences described demonstrate the great potential for ideas from Russian and Western scientists to enrich further development of cybernetics and science in East and West.
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Reynolds, Martin. "Triple-loop learning and conversing with reality." Kybernetes 43, no. 9/10 (November 3, 2014): 1381–91. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/k-07-2014-0158.
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Purpose – Three levels of learning developed by Gregory Bateson in the tradition of second-order cybernetics have in-part been translated in terms of double-loop and triple-loop learning (TLL), particularly in the tradition of systems thinking. Learning III and TLL have gained less popularity since they deal with less tangible issues regarding virtues of wisdom and justice, respectively. The purpose of this paper is to provide a learning device – the systems thinking in practice (STiP) heuristic – which helps to retrieve the cybernetic concern for wisdom in association with an often forgotten systems concern for real-world power relations. Design/methodology/approach – Using “conversation” as a metaphor the heuristic is introduced based on three orders of conversation. Drawing on ideas of systemic triangulation, another heuristic device – the systemic triangulator – is used to surface issues of power in the three orders of conversation. Some manifestations in using the STiP heuristic for supporting postgraduate systems learning are demonstrated. Findings – Some key complementarities between conventionally opaque cybernetic issues of wisdom and systems issues of power are revealed, and used proactively to explore more effective coaching of STiP. Research limitations/implications – Cybernetics and systems thinking may benefit from being grounded more in understanding, engaging with, and transforming social realities. The heuristics provide practical experiential and meaningful learning through conversation, and more social premium for the study of cybernetics and systems thinking. Originality/value – The heuristics – STiP, and the systemic triangulator – provides an innovative cyber-systemic space for learning and action.
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Almaguer-Kalixto, Patricia Eugenia, and Fabio Giglietto. "Steering the world from where we are: An introduction to the sociocybernetics perspective." Current Sociology 67, no. 4 (April 15, 2019): 479–94. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0011392119837573.
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The concept of sociocybernetics has been shaped over the past 40 years at the intersection between first- and second-order cybernetics, constructive epistemology and systems science. This has produced a common language to bridge these different disciplines and a common basis for research analysing complex social problems. Sociocybernetics applies second-order cybernetics concepts to the study of societies, communities and groups in which first- and second-order reflexivity may play an important part, but it is not only a theoretical perspective in the abstract; it is also an approach that is applied to the analysis of cross-disciplinary issues such as systemic violence, the role of technology in society, environmental challenges, urban planning, community development, social identity and media representation, among many others. This article provides an introduction and a general conceptual description of second-order cybernetics in the broader context of cybernetics and systems sciences. It also presents the sociocybernetics debate as it stands today, after the 20-year anniversary of the Research Committee on Sociocybernetics’ (RC51) activities within the International Sociological Association (ISA) and its contributions to understanding and acting upon an increasingly complex social world. Sociocybernetics is the science of turbulent societies that somehow continue to adapt themselves, despite the complexities they are confronted with. The articles in this monograph introduce some of the current work of the research committee and showcase the extensive potential for sociocybernetics’ interaction with other areas of sociology and contemporary debate.
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Nielsen, Søren Nors. "Second order cybernetics and semiotics in ecological systems—Where complexity really begins." Ecological Modelling 319 (January 2016): 119–29. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2015.08.006.
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Garland, Eric L. "The Meaning of Mindfulness: A Second-Order Cybernetics of Stress, Metacognition, and Coping." Complementary health practice review 12, no. 1 (January 2007): 15–30. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1533210107301740.
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Stress-related illness presents an ever-increasing burden to society, and thus has become the target of numerous complementary and integrative medicine interventions. One such clinical intervention, mindfulness meditation, has gained eminence for its demonstrated efficacy in reducing stress and improving health outcomes. Despite its prominence, little is known about the mechanics through which it exerts its treatment effects. This article details the therapeutic mechanisms of mindfulness with a novel causal model of stress, metacognition, and coping. Mindfulness is hypothesized to bolster coping processes by augmenting positive reappraisal, mitigating catastrophizing, and engendering self-transcendence. Reviews of stress and mindfulness are then framed by the perspective of second-order cybernetics, a transdisciplinary conceptual framework which builds on extant theory by highlighting the recursion between the individual and their environment.
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GRIFFITH, JAMES L., MELISSA ELLIOTT GRIFFITH, and LOIS S. SLOVIK. "Mind-Body Problems in Family Therapy: Contrasting First- and Second-Order Cybernetics Approaches." Family Process 29, no. 1 (March 1990): 13–28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1545-5300.1990.00013.x.
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Ringborg, Magnus. "Book Review: Second-Order Cybernetics in the Former Yugoslavia: Justice, Love and Wisdom." Transactional Analysis Journal 25, no. 3 (July 1995): 287–88. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/036215379502500316.
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Biggiero, Lucio. "Providing sound theoretical roots to sustainability science: systems science and (second-order) cybernetics." Sustainability Science 13, no. 5 (May 15, 2018): 1323–35. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11625-018-0573-2.
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Affifi, Ramsey. "The interspecies educator's cybernetic world." Kybernetes 43, no. 1 (January 28, 2014): 144–52. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/k-10-2012-0080.
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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to interconnect pedagogy and biology via second-order cybernetics. Design/methodology/approach – The approach taken is that of a synthesis. Findings – Biology can better deal with intersubjectivity within and between species by incorporating approaches and theory from education inquiry. Conversely, educators can de-anthropocentrize their discipline by entering into learning relationships with other species. By rallying around the concept of “eduction”, second-order cybernetics plays a role in both syntheses. Practical implications – De-anthropocentrizing education could have practical value in creating ecologically relevant education for children and in developing more integrated environmental impact assessments. Originality/value – Finding convergence between the study of life and forms of practitioner inquiry in education research, and connecting these to the environmental movement.
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Wene, Clas-Otto. "A cybernetic view on learning curves and energy policy." Kybernetes 44, no. 6/7 (June 1, 2015): 852–65. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/k-01-2015-0014.
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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that cybernetic theory explains learning curves and sets the curves as legitimate and efficient tools for a pro-active energy technology policy. Design/methodology/approach – The learning system is a non-trivial machine that is kept in non-equilibrium steady state at minimum entropy production by competitive, equilibrium markets. The system has operational closure and the learning curve expresses its eigenbehaviour. This eigenbehaviour is analysed not in calendar time but in the characteristic time of the system, i.e., its eigentime. Measured in eigentime, the minimum entropy production in the steady-state learning system is constant. The double closure mechanism described by Heinz von Förster makes it possible for the learning system to change (adapt) its eigenbehaviour without compromising its operational closure. Findings – By obeying basic laws of second order cybernetics and of non-equilibrium thermodynamics the learning system self-organises its learning to follow an optimal path described by the learning curve. The learning rates are obtained through an operator formalism and the results explain observed distributions. Application to solar cell (photo-voltaic) modules indicates that the silicon scarcity bubble 2005-2008 produced excess entropy corresponding to costs of the order of 100 billion US dollars. Research limitations/implications – Grounding technology learning and learning curves in cybernetics and non-equilibrium thermodynamics open up new possibilities to understand technology shifts through radical innovations or paradigm changes. Practical implications – Learning curves are legitimate and efficient tools for energy policy and industrial strategy. Originality/value – Grounding of technology learning and learning curves in cybernetic and thermodynamic theory provides a stable theoretical basis for applications in industry and policy.
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Gasparyan, Diana E. "Second-Order Cybernetics Methodology Applied to the Epistemological Problems of the Philosophy of Mind." Vestnik Tomskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Filosofiya, sotsiologiya, politologiya, no. 54 (April 1, 2020): 5–18. http://dx.doi.org/10.17223/1998863x/54/1.
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Wolfe, Cary. "In Search of Post-Humanist Theory: The Second-Order Cybernetics of Maturana and Varela." Cultural Critique, no. 30 (1995): 33. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1354432.
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ANDERSON, HARLENE, and HAROLD A. GOOLISHIAN. "Beyond Cybernetics: Comments on Atkinson and Heath's "Further Thoughts on Second-Order Family Therapy"." Family Process 29, no. 2 (June 1990): 157–63. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1545-5300.1990.00157.x.
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Froese, Tom. "From Second-order Cybernetics to Enactive Cognitive Science: Varela's Turn From Epistemology to Phenomenology." Systems Research and Behavioral Science 28, no. 6 (October 24, 2011): 631–45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/sres.1116.
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Reinertsen, Anne B. "Queer School-Based Self-Assessment, Inspiraction Research, and Second-Order Cybernetics as Thinking Tool." International Review of Qualitative Research 6, no. 1 (May 2013): 79–102. http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/irqr.2013.6.1.79.
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Kaufmann, Brigitte A. "Second-order cybernetics as a tool to understand why pastoralists do what they do." Agricultural Systems 104, no. 9 (November 2011): 655–65. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2011.07.006.
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Hashimoto, Wataru. "Autopoiesis, Observation and Informatics: Lessons from the Development of Autopoietic Systems Theory in Japan." tripleC: Communication, Capitalism & Critique. Open Access Journal for a Global Sustainable Information Society 9, no. 2 (October 30, 2011): 414–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.31269/triplec.v9i2.294.
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This article is concerned with redefining the notion of information from a perspective of systems theory. In recent years, the notion of information, which was closely related to the framework of old cybernetics, has been refined in parallel with the emergence of new cybernetics, especially second-order cybernetics and autopoiesis. The systemic view of new cybernetics provides us with the notion of “informationally closed system.” This notion is congruent with the epistemological implications of radical constructivism. In order to help understand this argument, we aim at highlighting the development of autopoietic systems theory in Japan. Autopoiesis has often been considered as a thoroughly closed system in Japan, where the relationships between autopoiesis and radical constructivism have frequently been overlooked. This is mainly because the importance which autopoietic systems theory originally attaches to the notion of observer and observation has been inadequately discussed, and autopoietic systems theory is regarded as distinct from second-order cybernetics and radical constructivism. However, they must be dealt with together, and Humberto Maturana should be given credit for his ontology of observing. Since the publication of his paper “Biology of Cognition,” Maturana has been attempting to explain the notion of observation as a biological phenomenon in his own way. Likewise, by taking into consideration the notion of observation, we can build a unified theory of information. Fundamental Informatics, which is being developed by Toru Nishigaki, outlines a unified approach to information by putting human observers at the center of his theory. Social and mechanical information is generated only when human observers conduct observations on the basis of biological information, and this mechanism of generation of information is discussed through the notion of “hierarchical autonomous system.” For an autopoietic organi- zation to be realized, of course, no hierarchy of systems is required, but observers are likely to construct some hierarchy between two systems. The construction of certain hierarchies of systems by observers is of great use for the explanation of fictitious phenomena of information transmission.
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Hashimoto, Wataru. "Autopoiesis, Observation and Informatics: Lessons from the Development of Autopoietic Systems Theory in Japan." tripleC: Communication, Capitalism & Critique. Open Access Journal for a Global Sustainable Information Society 9, no. 2 (October 30, 2011): 414–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.31269/vol9iss2pp414-423.
Full textAbstract:
This article is concerned with redefining the notion of information from a perspective of systems theory. In recent years, the notion of information, which was closely related to the framework of old cybernetics, has been refined in parallel with the emergence of new cybernetics, especially second-order cybernetics and autopoiesis. The systemic view of new cybernetics provides us with the notion of “informationally closed system.” This notion is congruent with the epistemological implications of radical constructivism. In order to help understand this argument, we aim at highlighting the development of autopoietic systems theory in Japan. Autopoiesis has often been considered as a thoroughly closed system in Japan, where the relationships between autopoiesis and radical constructivism have frequently been overlooked. This is mainly because the importance which autopoietic systems theory originally attaches to the notion of observer and observation has been inadequately discussed, and autopoietic systems theory is regarded as distinct from second-order cybernetics and radical constructivism. However, they must be dealt with together, and Humberto Maturana should be given credit for his ontology of observing. Since the publication of his paper “Biology of Cognition,” Maturana has been attempting to explain the notion of observation as a biological phenomenon in his own way. Likewise, by taking into consideration the notion of observation, we can build a unified theory of information. Fundamental Informatics, which is being developed by Toru Nishigaki, outlines a unified approach to information by putting human observers at the center of his theory. Social and mechanical information is generated only when human observers conduct observations on the basis of biological information, and this mechanism of generation of information is discussed through the notion of “hierarchical autonomous system.” For an autopoietic organi- zation to be realized, of course, no hierarchy of systems is required, but observers are likely to construct some hierarchy between two systems. The construction of certain hierarchies of systems by observers is of great use for the explanation of fictitious phenomena of information transmission.
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Appignanesi, Laura. "Two-sided form, differentiation and second-order observation in Escher’s artworks and Calvino’s stories." Kybernetes 48, no. 5 (May 7, 2019): 1060–77. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/k-11-2017-0414.
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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to find a leading idea of the mid-twentieth century, demonstrating the pervasive nature of some concepts belonging to second-order systems theory. To achieve this objective, the paper looks at the art and literature of this era, to identify the principles developed by Luhmann in his late works. In particular, Escher’s drawings, Calvino’s stories and Luhmann’s concepts seem to express, in different ways, the same functioning mechanism of the complex social system. Design/methodology/approach With reference to theoretical approach and methodology, this paper carries out an interdisciplinary demonstration by alternative modes of logos and mythos. Some of the pillars of general systems theory are examined through the logical articulation of concepts developed by Spencer-Brown, von Foerster, and first of all through the late works of Luhmann, as well as through the analysis of Escher’s artworks and Calvino’s literary works. This paper interprets these artistic and literary works using cybernetic principles and systemic concepts, in particular, “two-sided forms,” “system–environment differentiation” and “second-order observation.” Findings In general, the main finding is the similarity of fascination with paradoxes and forms, with post-ontological reasoning, in twentieth century. The result of the cross-reading of Escher, Calvino and Luhmann reveals the presence of what Simmel called the “hidden king”: a philosophical paradigm of an era. In mid-1900s, this leading idea seems to express itself in the discoveries of biology and cybernetics, such as in Luhmann’s theory, art and literature. Escher’s drawings, Calvino’s stories and the concepts of Luhmann are projections of second-order system theory, in its constructivist value. Originality/value The originality of this paper lies mainly in the demonstration of theoretical concepts through the alternative modes of logos and mythos. These reflections can provide a new perspective to investigate social sciences from a cultural angle. This particular approach allows a deep awareness of the theory. The concrete value is to provide a better understanding to manage complexity.
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Scholte, Tom. "A proposal for the role of the arts in a new phase of second-order cybernetics." Kybernetes 49, no. 8 (May 2, 2020): 2153–70. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/k-03-2019-0172.
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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to suggest a more central role for reflexive artistic practices in a clarified research agenda for second-order cybernetics (SOC). This is offered as a way to assist the field in the further development of its theoretical/methodological “core” and, subsequently, enhance its impact on the world. Design/methodology/approach The argument begins by reviewing Karl Müller’s account of the failure of SOC to emerge as a mainstream endeavor. Then, Müller’s account is recontextualized within recent developments in SOC that are traced through the Design Cybernetics movement inspired by Ranulph Glanville. This alternate narrative frames a supposedly moribund period as a phase of continuing refinement of the field’s focus upon its “proper object of study,” namely, the observer’s mentation of/about their mentation. The implications of this renewed focus are then positioned within Larry Richard’s vision of the cybernetician, not as “scientist” per se but rather as a “craftsperson in and with time” capable of productively varying the dynamics of their daily interactions. Having centered widespread capacity building for this “craft” as a proposed research agenda for a new phase of SOC, the paper concludes by pointing to the unique and necessary role to be played by the arts in this endeavor. Personal reflections upon the author’s own artistic and theoretical activities are included throughout. Findings The development and application of artistic methods for the enhancement of individual capacity for second-order observation is consistent with the purpose of SOC, namely, “to explain the observer to himself.” Therefore, it is in the field’s interest to more fulsomely embrace non-scientific, arts-based forms of research. Research limitations/implications In a truly reflexive/recursive fashion, the very idea that first-person, arts-based narratives are seen, from a mainstream scientific point of view, as an insufficiently rigorous form of research is, itself, a research limitation. This highlights, perhaps ironically, the need for cybernetics to continue to pursue its own independent definitions and standards of research beyond the boundaries of mainstream science rather than limiting its own modes of inquiry in the name of “scientific legitimacy.” Practical implications A general uptake of the view presented here would expand the horizon of what might be considered legitimate, rigorous and valuable research in the field. Social implications The view presented here implies that many valuable contributions that SOC can make to society take place beyond the constraints of academic publication and within the realm of personal growth and social development. Originality/value The very clearly defined and “refocused” vision of SOC in this paper can be of substantial utility in developing a more robust, distinctive and concrete research agenda across this field.
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Sutrisno, M., S. Juddah, R. Rahim, and S. Q. Ramadhani. "Second-order cybernetics in architecture: theoretical relevance to the concept of Posi in Palopo City." IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 764, no. 1 (May 1, 2021): 012008. http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/764/1/012008.
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Petroccia, Sara, Andrea Pitasi, Gianugo M. Cossi, and Vasja Roblek. "Smart Cities." Comparative Sociology 19, no. 2 (June 5, 2020): 259–78. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15691330-bja10012.
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Abstract This paper is based on the paradigm that a smart city is a part of the intellectual framework of second-order cybernetics and considers social communication in terms of the management and use of different data channels. Planning as a political practice is replaced by environmentally-behavioral control, in which subjectivity is articulated above-individually (permeating the city with sensitive nodes) and infra-individually (transforming citizens into sensitive nodes). This leads us to the research question: how to focus on the social relations and processes of the smart urbanization which are based on the second order cybernetic approach? The smart city is understood as a complex mechanism, where one begins to realize the often-unintended human, environmental, social and economic consequences of a technological and engineering-led approach. The latest thinking and smart urban projects are aimed at comprehending smart and/or sustainable infrastructure as a network between places and people in order to create a more sustainable, healthy and resilient future for different groups of citizens (from young people to seniors). Municipality strategies need to address global socio-economic factors, processes of innovation with new technology, constant adaptation in public and private sector organisations and the diversity of qualified resources.
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Ryland, Megan, and Tom Scholte. "Rehearsing resilience(and beyond)." Kybernetes 48, no. 4 (April 1, 2019): 740–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/k-11-2017-0459.
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Purpose This paper aims to demonstrate the value of forum theatre as a means to promote second-order awareness of workplace conflict and to further pragmatise cyber-systemic awareness to a wider public. Design/methodology/approach A blended methodology rooted in grounded theory and action research is used to assess the individual learning of participants in a forum theatre intensive studying workplace conflict. The results are then briefly theorised through the lens of second-order cybernetics. Findings Data indicate significant growth in self, other and context awareness among participants. All three of these competencies can reasonably be considered components of second-order observation. Research limitations/implications The sample size thus far is, because of the time and resource constraints of the project, quite small, but the results strongly suggest a “proof of concept” that invites further study. Practical implications Institutions of various types that experience workplace conflict may be inspired to use similar methods. Cyberneticians and system scientists may also wish to avail themselves of these methods to communicate fundamental cyber-systemic concepts to a wider public. Social implications Buoyed by an empirical demonstration of its effectiveness in facilitating greater self-reflection and alternative action in situations of conflict, a wider uptake of forum theatre technique (and the cyber-systemic concepts entailed), can make a significant contribution to the resolution/dissolution of a variety of conflicts across society. Originality/value This is the only empirical investigation of the outcomes of forum theatre known to the authors. It is certainly unique in its second-order cybernetic framework.
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Marks-Tarlow, Terry. "Myth, Metaphor, and the Evolution of Self-Awareness." International Journal of Signs and Semiotic Systems 3, no. 1 (January 2014): 46–60. http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/ijsss.2014010104.
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Classic myths survive generation after generation, because they teach people how to perceive and respond to the surrounding world. Myths supply a set of embodied metaphors to live by. This paper examines the relationship between myth, metaphor, and self-awareness. The myth of Oedipus is revisited using lenses of interpersonal neurobiology and second-order cybernetics, where observers become self-referentially entangled with the observed. Whereas Freud interpreted the Oedipus story literally, this paper examines the myth self-referentially. By looking inward rather than outward, early relational trauma plus implicit learning provide clues to life's external riddles and uncertainties. Wisdom gleaned from this ancient myth lines up with contemporary computational studies, when the capacity for self-reference is interpreted as a Universal Turing Machine with full memory—both implicit and explicit—for its own past. A cybernetic perspective dovetails with research on the neurobiology of memory and cognitive studies from developmental psychology. The same mental skills required for self-reference and metaphorical thinking within individuals signal internal complexity and mature cognition collectively necessary to enter the modern arena of self-reflective consciousness.
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Ayiter, Elif. "Becoming Creative through Self Observation." International Journal of Art, Culture and Design Technologies 1, no. 1 (January 2011): 22–35. http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/ijacdt.2011010103.
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This study describes some of the key components of an art educational domain entitled ground<c>, which is being developed specifically for three dimensional online builder’s worlds, also called the metaverse. This undertaking takes its trajectory from ‘the Groundcourse’, a revolutionary art educational strategy based on cybernetics, developed and implemented in England during the 1960’s, upon which the author proposes to develop an art educational strategy based upon self observation. Since this proposal strongly takes into account second order cybernetics, a brief survey into the field as well as an overview of Gordon Pask’s learning theories is provided. Approaches for adapting these founding theories, through a consideration of the potential novel affordances of a three dimensional online builder’s world, is described through two case studies based upon autonomous learning and self observation implemented through avatars.
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Murrani, Sana. "The Socio-Temporary in Architecture." International Journal of Art, Culture and Design Technologies 2, no. 1 (January 2012): 44–56. http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/ijacdt.2012010105.
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The temporary in architecture is a state of territorial instability that emerges out of interactions between transdisciplinary narratives and architectural theory and its practice. This article extends this notion to the socio-temporary, which is a state arising from constant synergies between the social context and worldmaking. Such narratives were originally influenced by the field of cybernetics and later on by second-order cybernetics reflected in the emergent participatory art practice of the mid-twentieth century through transdisciplinary research. Derived from the theoretical underpinning of this article a simulation is exhibited, which illustrates theoretically elements of Varela and Maturana’s autopoietic system behaviour and its close relation to temporality in the worldmaking of architecture. This is a theoretical article – with an element of practice – that seeks to highlight the temporality of the process of worldmaking in architecture.
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Papastylianou, Antonia (Dona). "Η θεραπευτική σχέση στη συστημική θεραπεία." Psychology: the Journal of the Hellenic Psychological Society 26, no. 2 (June 7, 2021): 86. http://dx.doi.org/10.12681/psy_hps.26874.
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Τhis study aimed to examine the evolution of the therapeutic relationship in systemic therapy through the theoretical developments of systemic thinking over the last few decades. In the first part, a historical overview of the de-personalized therapeutic relationship according to First Order Cybernetics perspective (from ‘50s to ‘70s) is presented, that proceeds to the therapeutic relationship with emotional disclosure in the 80s (Second Order Cybernetics) and the Constructivist position that allowed an engagement in an ongoing relational process in therapy. Further, it traces the modifications of the therapeutic relationship through the post-modern developments; Social Constructionism, Reflexivity and Narrative therapy that allow therapist’s essential emotional involvement during co-construction of the meaning in psychotherapy, presents in brief the "revolutionary" view of the theorist of the Open Dialogue (Seikkula, 2011), the Attachment Theory meta-model and the importance of secure attachment in therapeutic relationship. Throughout this review the issue of power imbalance in the therapeutic relationship is discussed, as this underlies the ideological debate of client’s resistance towards the therapist’s positions. In the second part, methodological approaches and psychometric tools regarding research for the documentation of the importance of the therapeutic relationship in systemic therapy are reviewed and research findings are presented concerning the prevailing factors in the therapeutic relationship from the client’s point of view. Finally, issues for further training and enhanced competence of the therapist in order to response effectively to current social-cultural needs are highlighted.