Valentin Turchin and Cliff Joslyn
A discussion document on the development of the philosophy of cybernetics, particularly in relation to human values and moral philosophy.
Abstract
A discussion document on the development of the philosophy of cybernetics, particularly in relation to human values and moral philosophy.
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Valentin Turchin and Cliff Joslyn
The development of the philosophy of cybernetics, particularly in relation to human values and moral philosophy, is discussed.
Abstract
The development of the philosophy of cybernetics, particularly in relation to human values and moral philosophy, is discussed.
Details
Keywords
Popularly, metaphysics is considered to be the antonym for physics. Argues that this attitude is a hangover from outdated forms of empiricism and positivism. In the light of…
Abstract
Popularly, metaphysics is considered to be the antonym for physics. Argues that this attitude is a hangover from outdated forms of empiricism and positivism. In the light of cybernetic epistemology, scientific theories are linguistic structures which help to produce predictions of events. These structures are not directly deduced from experience, but guessed and then justified a posteriori. Metaphysics provides a basis for such structures. Proposes the principle that the ultimate reality we find in the physical world is that of action. Modifies Schopenhauer's formula as the world is action and representation, with action taking ontological precedence, and not to the space‐time picture of the world. For a picture is only a picture, a representation which changes from one subject to another, from one theory to another; while action is an irrefutable reality. Thus the concept of action in abstracto is taken and on this basis an attempt is made to interpret the fundamental concepts of knowledge: what are objects, what is objective description of the world, what is space and time?
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The aim of this paper is to elaborate the connection between the evolution of cybernetics and the development of scientific rationality (classical, non-classical…
Abstract
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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The symbol‐based epistemology used in artificial intelligence is contrasted with the constructivist, coherence epistemology promoted by cybernetics. The latter leads to…
Abstract
The symbol‐based epistemology used in artificial intelligence is contrasted with the constructivist, coherence epistemology promoted by cybernetics. The latter leads to bootstrapping knowledge representations, in which different parts of the system mutually support each other. Gordon Pask’s entailment meshes are reviewed as a basic application of this approach, and then extended to entailment nets: directed graphs governed by the “bootstrapping axiom”, determining which concepts are to be distinguished or merged. This allows a constant restructuring of the conceptual network. Semantic networks and frame‐like representations can be expressed in this scheme by introducing a basic ontology of node and link types. Entailment nets are then generalized to associative networks with weighted links. Learning algorithms are presented which can adapt the link strengths, based on the frequency with which links are selected by hypertext users. It is argued that such bootstrapping methods can be applied to make the World Wide Web more intelligent, allowing it to self‐organize and support inferences.
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Human rights has emerged in the past several years as an important issue of our times and the personal freedoms of citizens of many countries has become a concern of the American…
Abstract
Human rights has emerged in the past several years as an important issue of our times and the personal freedoms of citizens of many countries has become a concern of the American government. Since the Helsinki agreement in 1975 (the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe), the compliance of the Soviet government with the Helsinki accords—with respect to guarantees of individual freedoms of its citizens— has been watched anxiously by human rights groups all over the world.