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The New Science of Cybernetics: a Primer

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The New Science of Cybernetics: a Primer understanding or in cybernetics of The New Science of cybernetics. Functionally, the new science of Cybernetics: A cybernetics can be viewed as a trans- or post-disciplinary second-order Primer field for navigating through an ocean of first-order level science. NSC operates primarily with objects or with operations from first-order science and transforms them into Karl H. Müller new components which exhibit strong comparative advantages in terms of novelty and robustness. This list of historic, systemic and functional Four years after the publication of the first features of the new science of volume on the new science of cybernetics cybernetics(NSC) may look strange or (NSC) (Müller, 2009) and after two more incomprehensible at first sight. It will books on NSC (Müller, 2011, 2012) it is time become, thus, the main purpose of this to present and to summarize the main article to transform these seemingly vague features and characteristics of the new and unclear descriptions into concise ones science of cybernetics within a single article. which readers with only a weak familiarity with the old science of cybernetics can Historically, the new science of understand. Eventually, even the short set cybernetics can be viewed as a above of critical characteristics of the new potential outline of Heinz von science of cybernetics should change into a Foerster’s vision of second-order clear overall summary of NSC, once a reader cybernetics as the science of has finished this article and turns, once observing systems or, alternatively, more, to its beginnings. of living systems by living systems for living systems. Heinz von 1 The Old Science of Cybernetics as Foerster introduced the concept of a Point of Departure second-order cybernetics on several Table 1 summarizes several of the core- occasions, without specifying, features of the old science of cybernetics as however, its content and cognitive the field evolved from the late 1940s to its organization (Foerster, 1974, 2003) rapid decline in the United States during the Systematically, the new science of 1970s. This steep decline did not occur on cybernetics operates on a new level cognitive grounds and on a growing number which, not quite unexpectedly and of Kuhn-type anomalies, but due to changes surprisingly, can be characterized as in funding regimes and due to the rise of second-order level. This second- other trans-disciplinary research traditions order level is self-reflexive by nature like the cognitive neuro-sciences or Artificial and by design, because this level Intelligence. comes into play whenever a concept, a model or an academic field turns onto itself, like in understanding 32 SYSTEMICS, CYBERNETICS AND INFORMATICS VOLUME 11 - NUMBER 9 - YEAR 2013 ISSN: 1690-4524 Table 1 First-Order Cybernetics as a the old science of cybernetics was Starting Point characterized by the mainstream perspective of a hypothetical realism and was controlled Categories First-Order Cybernetics by traditional rules like objectivity, induction 1 or causality. Domains A Transdisciplinary Field for Natural, When Heinz von Foerster started to use the Technical and Social Systems term second-order cybernetics as the science Steering, Controling of Technical, Natural or Societal Systems of observing systems and qualified Emphasis on Information traditional cybernetics as first-order and as a and on Information Technologies science of systems observed it was far from Main Emphasis on Strong Forms of Control obvious how, why and where this scienza Central for Control, Communication nuova could operate. And at this point the in Natural and Social Systems new science of cybernetics sets in. Level First-Order Level Research 2 The New Science of Cybernetics as Epistemology On Systems Observed a Trans- or Post-Disciplinary Field at the No Relevance for Self-Reflexivity Second-Order Level Observer Excluded from Research Designs Modern science evolved, for centuries implicitly and since the 19th century explicitly, in a three-layered configuration The term cybernetics was initially formed as between research domains proper at a first- a nominalized Greek adjective κυβερνητικός order level, supporting research („steersman-ish”,”mate-ish”), which results infrastructures at the lower or zero-order from a blending of two Greek words, level and an area of self-reflexive analyses on namely κυβερνήτης (steersman, mate, scientific research processes at the upper or navigator) and κυβέρνησις, (control, second-order level. command, rule). Thus, the old science of cybernetics was understood and defined in The first-order level of research is Norbert Wiener’s path-and field breaking designed, on the one hand, for the book from 1948 as the science of control exploration of the natural and social and communication in the animal and the machine which, initially, left out the area of 1 At various points, Heinz von Foerster humans and human societies which were characterizes the scientific method with the brought in in Wiener’s “The Human Use of postulate of objectivity: “The properties of the observer shall not enter the description of his Human Beings” (Wiener, 1954) six years observations” (Foerster 2003:285). However, he later. adds two more rules which lie in the core of the scientific method: (i) Rules observed in the past shall apply to the future. From Table 1 one can see that cybernetics This is usually referred to as the principle of evolved as a trans-disciplinary field with a conservation of rules … special emphasis on control and regulation (ii) Almost everything in the universe shall be irrelevant. This is usually referred to as the principle of the and developed a growing number of necessary and sufficient cause (v. Foerster cybernetic electronic machines and vehicles, 2003:203). Resting on these three pillars, Heinz von Foerster an impressive number of general principles, concludes that the scientific method is “counter- especially W. Ross Ashby’s “law of requisite productive in contemplating any evolutionary variety” (Ashby, 1956). Epistemologically, process, be it the growing up of an individual, or a society in transition.” (Ibid:204p.) ISSN: 1690-4524 SYSTEMICS, CYBERNETICS AND INFORMATICS VOLUME 11 - NUMBER 9 - YEAR 2013 33 worlds as well as for the processes with scientific means and construction of a technological provide both a theoretically relevant sphere and, on the other hand, for heuristic and a control function for the axiomatization and ordering of research at the first-order level.3 the possible worlds of logic, Second-order research can be mathematics and related normative organized in a normative and in an fields. First-order level of research empirical manner. On the normative constitutes the reference domain for side, the self-reflexive functions are research activities. Scientific fulfilled by developing general investigations on empirical themes guidelines or rules for rational or across nature and society, on best practices for first-order level technical or technological systems or research or by identifying promising on normative issues in logic, hot spots for first-order level mathematics, statistics, ethics or investigations in the overall science aesthetics fall all under the category landscapes. On the empirical side, of first-order research. second-order investigations improve The zero-order level of research the quality of normal or first-order infrastructures performs the catalytic research or lead to a deeper functions of enabling, of accelerating understanding of research processes or of improving first-order level in general. research. These different catalytic functions are accomplished, on the one hand, through large-scale 3 It must be emphasized, though, that self- facilities and their production of a reflexivity operates on both the second-order and rich data variety which contains the first-order level. relevant observations, At the second-order level self-reflexivity measurements, data and meta-data requires scientific research on scientific for first-order level research and, on researchers and their outputs or, more generally, their objects. Sociologists who the other hand, through a dense work sociologically on the evolution of information base which is composed sociological research, for example, operate in a self-reflexive mode at the second-order of useful bibliometric and level. Stronger forms of self-reflexivity are scientometric documentations. In obtained when these second-order principle, research infrastructures are sociologists reflect also on their own operations at the second-order level. focused, on large-scale observation At the first-order level self-reflexivity occurs and measurement facilities and on whenever a first-order researcher operates explicitly on her or his first-order research the documentations and data bases operations. A sociologist, for example, who in the field of encoded science specifies her or his goals of first-order 2 analysis, operates in a self-reflexive mode at information. the first-order level. Additionally, self- In contrast, the domains at the reflexivity may be relevant also in the case second-order level become, by of phenomenological accounts where researchers describe their own experiences necessity, self-reflexive, since they as part of an ongoing research process. study scientific first-order objects or Thus, second-order research becomes, due to its domain of investigation, necessarily self-reflexive 2 Coded objects comprise publications, gray whereas first-order research can be conducted literature
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