Summary
If “epistemology” is taken to be the theory of knowledge acquisition, rather than of knowledge per se, then—it is argued—the appropriate conceptual framework for such an epistemology is that of cybernetics, the only discipline that has given us a rigorous treatment of circular causality. The processes by which knowledge is acquired, i.e., the cognitive processes, are interpreted as computational algorithms which, in turn, are being computed. This leads to the contemplation of computations that compute computations, and so one, that is, of recursive computations with a regress of arbitrary depth.
From this point of view the activity of the nervous system, some experiments, the foundations of a future theory of behavior and its ethical consequences, are discussed.
Translated by Peter Werres
Lecture given at Cybernetics and Bionics, the Fifth Congress of the German Society of Cybernetics (DSK) on March 28, 1973 in Nuremberg, Germany. Published in Kybernetic und Bionik, W.D. Keidel, W. Handler & M. Spring (eds.), Oldenburg; Munich, pp. 27–46 (1974). Reprinted with permission.
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von Foerster, H. (2003). Cybernetics of Epistemology. In: Understanding Understanding. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-21722-3_9
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