Synopses & Reviews
What if there were no objective facts, no objective truth, no objectivity at all, only our belief in them? What if our consciousness itself is an unconscious invention, constructed out of logic and language? In this thought-provoking volume, Lynn Segal describes how the ideas of Heinz von Foerster compel us to explore the question, "Do we discover the world or do we invent it?" and suggests that we must first know how we think before we can claim knowledge of the world. The resulting philosophy, Constructivism, examines the limits of what we can know and argues that understanding these limits can lead us to be more responsible for our personal and collective behavior. After tracing the historical transition from religious belief to a belief in science, Segal examines objectivity from semantic, philosophical, and neurological perspectives. Segal shows that we can never achieve objectivity and that the scientific method ensures only a consensus among observers. Next, he details how language and logic unwittingly predetermine the very conclusions we derive when we try to know the world. Finally, he describes a computational model of cognition that does not depend on first positing the world to account for cognition and consciousness. While Constructivism may seem relevant only to those in the cognitive sciences, it is, in fact, highly relevant to everyone. Paradoxically, grasping the limits of our own under-standing can free us to live more creative and meaningful personal and professional lives. SOME PRAISE FOR THE PREVIOUS
Review
SOME PRAISE FOR THE PREVIOUS
Synopsis
BY HEINZ VON FOERSTER s a matter of fact, the Heinz von Foer ster who writes these lines and whom one can see or hear among family ther apists on one occasion or another is an invention of Paul Watzlawick. I met my inventor for the first time more than ten years ago in Cali fornia. My services to the University of Illinois, after about 30 years, had come to an end, and I was looking for a place where my wife and I could retire and spend the rest of our lives procul negotiis. Paul Watzlawick first introduced himself over the telephone in an Austrian dialect similar to mine, telling me about common friends, for instance, Gregory Bateson, and common interests, for instance, pathologies in logic. Soon afterwards we met, and in our mutual enjoyment of obvi ating the obvious and doubting certainty the seeds for a friendship were planted. When he invited me to speak on the occasion of the Second Don D. Jackson Memorial Conference to members and guests of the Mental Research Institute of Palo Alto, I accepted. On the first evening Gregory Bateson gave his address to the plenary session, and I on the second."
Synopsis
There is no objective reality independent of an observer: we construct our own reality. This central premise of constructivism is the theme of this book dealing with the ideas of Heinz von Foerster, one of its founders. This book presents in thoroughly clear manner Heinz von Foerster's important - albeit difficult - fundamental idea: constructivism. I was most excited by the discussion of von Foerster's theory of reality. All those who would like to come to grips with these problems will find it most rewarding to read this book - Bruno Bettelheim
Synopsis
What if there were no objective facts, no objective truth, only our belief in them? What if our consciousness itself is an unconscious invention, constructed out of logic and language? In this thought-provoking volume, Lynn Segal describes how the ideas of Heinz von Foerster compel us to explore the question "Do we discover the world or do we invent it?". He suggests that we must first know how we think before we can claim knowledge of the world. While Constructivism may seem relevant only to those in the cognitive sciences, it is, in fact, highly relevant to everyone. Paradoxically, grasping the limits of our own understanding can free us to live more creative and meaningful personal and professional lives.
Table of Contents
Foreword by Heinz von Foester; Foreword by Paul Watzlawick; Preface; Introduction; 1. The Myth of Objectivity; 2. The Difficulties of Language; 3. Maturana and the Observer; 4. The Nervous System; 5. Computation; 6. Biocomputation; 7. Closure; Appendix: An Interview with Heinz von Foerster; Notes; Index.