The Emerging Consensus in Social Systems Theory

The Emerging Consensus in Social Systems Theory

Kenneth C. Bausch Research Director/CEO Ashley Montagu Institute Los Angeles, California

Research Fellow and Advisor CWA Ltd Paoli, Pennsylvania

Springer Science+Business Media, L L C

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bausch, Kenneth C , 1936-The emerging consensus in social systems theory/Kenneth C. Bausch,

p. cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4613-5468-0 ISBN 978-1-4615-1263-9 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-4615-1263-9

1. Social systems—Philosophy. 2. Systems theory. I. Title.

HM701.B38 2001 306'.01—dc21

00-067109

If you find errors, especially misstatements of fact or mistakes of interpretation, please inform the author:

Ken Bausch, Ph.D. Ongoing Emergence 5430 Bannergate Drive Atlanta, GA 30022 770-849-0891 kenbausch@mindspring.com fax 707-929-1114

ISBN 978-1-4613-5468-0

©2001 Springer Science+Business Media New York Originally published by Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers, New York in 2001 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2001 http:/www. wkap.nl/

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

A C L P record for this book is available from the Library of Congress

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No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher.

Dedicated to the memory of

Carl and Pearl Bausch

FOREWORD

The acceleration of contemporary culture wreaks havoc on the traditional standards, structures, and stories that gave meaning to our lives in earlier times. It demands decisions and actions of us that do not fit old paradigms and do not wait for philosophical reflection. In our "postmodern" culture, we lack generally accepted "metanarratives" that would place our lives and decisions in meaningful contexts.

In earlier periods of history, we were at home in our traditions. We dwelled in religious, ethnocentric and scientific worldviews that defined our place in the world. Stories of enlightenment and progress fueled our imaginations well into the 20th century. We gloried in the accomplishments of Western civilization. We proclaimed the superiority of our democracy, science, and capitalism.

The barbarity of the Second World War radically challenged this faith in our enlightenment, especially in Europe. Thinkers, such as Jean Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, and Theodor Adorno, brought to print the dark underbelly of our civilization. Adorno expressed this disillusion i~ a remarkable essay, "After Auschwitz," that declared the Enlightenment to be dead.

Today, the old stories are passe. Old verities manifest themselves as quaint, even sinister, remnants of past hubris. Ethnocentricity grudgingly, often violently, yields to multiculturism. We lack accepted narratives (other than unbridled self-interest) that would give context to our lives. We do not want to go back, but we miss the support that cultural meaning used to give us. We need a meaningful new cultural narrative.

In the mid 20th century General Systems Theory offered a new narrative that promised to unite the sciences. Ludwig von Bertalanffy and others identified similar systemic functions in the different branches of science and described a comprehensive worldview based on those elements. Erich Jantsch, for example, in The Self-Organizing Universe, spelled out how self-transcending processes generate physical, biological, social, and psychological systems.

GST received a cool reception from the established sciences. It was criticized for dealing in metaphors, for being philosophical speculation, and for

vii

Vlll Foreword

being incapable of falsification. As a result, the claims of GST were not taken seriously in the courts of academia and public opinion.

In spite of the eclipse of GST, the insights of systems theory survived and thrived. They were integrated into the fields of evolutionary theory, cybernetics, information theory, organization theory, social theory, and family therapy. With the advent of computers, new sciences of self-organization have arisen in the fields of evolution, artificial intelligence, synergetics, catastrophe theory, chaos, complexity, dissipative structures, self-organized criticality, and so on. The richness of these sciences urges us to find some unity among them.

Ken Bausch takes a large step toward such unification in this book. He presents the results of an extensive investigation into the works of major systemic authors . He condenses their pivotal works. He generates the five syntheses presented here by working with those digests, abstracting key concepts and comparing them.

The results are remarkable. Bausch applies management theory to the theory of management. With the methodology of Interactive Management, he generates an enhancement pattern that illustrates the relational influences among the multiple standards that are proposed for the designing process.

He offers a major advance in social evolutionary theory. He distills three interrelated narratives from the thoughts of these authors that describe the self-organization of our social world. The discourse/lifeworld story draws together the thoughts of Habermas, Mead, Durkheim, Maturana, Varela, Bickerton, and Goertzel that describe how the social world is generated through evolving processes of discourse. The autopoiesis story (principally Maturana, Varela, and Luhmann) describes how expectations drive social evolution and generate the structures of the social world. The component-system story (Csanyi, Kampis, Goertzel) demonstrates the process nature of our social world, how it exists as patterns of information. These stories all portray the social world as a system of processes that maintain themselves as structures through their constant reproduction.

Bausch uncovers a deep foundation for information science in the thoughts of these authors. He traces communication from the rudimentary ideas of interconnection and structural coupling, through stages of non-symbolic signs and semiotic interaction. He traces the origin of representations and language. He clarifies the origins of meaning and the evolution of cognitive maps. In addition, he probes the reality of cognitions, the circularity of our knowledge, and the bases of epistemological rigor.

This book does not produce a metanarrative for our postmodern age. It does, however, reveal the terrain upon which such a narrative will run. The narrative will not be ethnocentric like the past metanarratives of feudal Christianity, Western superiority, and scientific enlightenment. This

Foreword ix

change. It will provide a general understanding of how we move into an uncertain future. To a surprising extent, this narrative will capture outstanding elements of the archetypal myths while providing a dynamic context for rapid decision-making.

This book is well researched, well thought out, and well written. It advances conceptual integration in a bifurcating world. From beginning to end it is a treat for the thoughtful reader.

Bela H. Banathy Professor Emeritus, Saybrook Graduate School

President International Systems Institute And

Alexander Christakis President, CW A, Ltd.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am especially indebted to Bela H. Banathy and Alexander Christakis. Bela was the first to encourage my research into Systems Theory and he has stuck with me ever since. Aleco came into my research at a critical time and provided the methodology that enabled its success. They graciously consented to write the Foreword to this book.

Alexander Laszlo . contributed considerable editorial, strategic, and emotional support; he stood by me at crucial times. Charles Webel enforced a rigorous standard of academic quality. Allan Combs has supported me at every opportunity.

Diane Conaway has supplied impeccable technical services with a smile. Candace Kaspars contributed invaluable comments on an earlier version of this work. Ken Derham provided enduring editorial support. Numerous other people generously read parts of this material and offered helpful comments.

The amazing authors whose works are encapsulated in this book deserve credit for much of the illumination that it might provide. The brilliance is theirs. The obfuscations are my own.

Finally, Marie Kane has anchored me during the years that I worked on this book. She has been my sounding board, my goad to ongoing effort, and my emotional support.

xi

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ....................................................................... ..... ............. 1 THE EMERGING SYSTEMIC PARADIGM .................................... 1 FIVE SOCIAL CONTEXTS .................................. ............................ 3

PARTON& BACKGROUND

Chapter 1: THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT ................. ............... .............. 9 ABSTRACT ...................................................................................... 9 GENERAL USAGE ........................................................................... 9 EARLY SYSTEMS THINKING .......................................... .............. 10

Parsons ............................................................................... 10 The Systems Movement ....................................................... 12

HABERMASILUHMANN ................................................................. 16 SUBSEQUENT SYSTEMS HISTORy .............................................. 17 CONCLUSION ......................................... .... ..... .... ..... .......... ..... ........ 19

Chapter 2: PHYSICAL AND LIFE EVOLUTION .............. ....................... 21 ABSTRACT ...................................................................................... 21 KAUFFMAN ..................................................................................... 21 LASZLO ............................................................. ........................ ....... 22 PRIGOGINE ......................................... ................................ ............. 23 EIGEN .............................................................................................. 26 WHAT IS LIFE? ............................................................................... 27

Prigogine/Eigen ........................................................... ........ 27 Csanyi ............................ ..... ......... .... .................................... 27 Maturana and Varela ........................................................... 28

xiii

xiv Contents

COMPLEMENTARY THEORIES ........................................ 28 DANCING AND CHOREOGRAPHING ................................. 29 COMPONENT-SYSTEMS .................................................. 30

The Conditions of Evolution. ..................................... 30 Orderliness and Stored Energy ................................... 31 The Components and Functions of Organization ............. 31 The Start of Life Evolution ....................................... 32 The Evolution of Life .............................................. 32 Further Evolution .................................................. 33

MATURANA AND VARELA ............................................. 34 Autopoiesis ......................................................... 34 Three Phenomenologies ........................................... 35 Knowing Is Doing .................................................. 38 Structural Coupling ............................................... 39 Summary ............................................................ 40

EMERGENCE OF THE OBSERVER ................................... .41 CONCLUSION ............................................................... 41

Chapter 3: SOCIAL AND COGNITIVE EVOLUTION ..................... 43 ABSTRACT ................................................................... 43 FIRST-ORDER AUTOPOIESIS ........................................... 43 SECOND-ORDER AUTOPOIESIS ....................................... 44 THIRD-ORDER AUTOPOIESIS .......................................... 44 LINGUISTIC DOMAINS ................................................... 45 LANGUAGE, THE OBSERVER, THE "I" ............................. 46 MODELS OF COGNITION ................................................ 47

Cognitivist and Connectionist Models ........................... 47 Foundation of the Enaction Theory ............................ .48 Cognition as Enaction ............................................. 49 The Enaction of a Theory ......................................... 50

REPRESENTATION VS. COMMUNICATION ........................ 51 The Continuity Paradox ........................................... 51 The Extent of Non-Human Communication. ................... 51

KINDS OF REPRESENTATION .......................................... 52 Atlas and Itinerary ................................................ 52 Plant Representations ............................................. 53 Animal Representations .......................................... 54 Species-Specific Reality ........................................... 54

THE PRIMARY REPRESENTATIONAL SYSTEM (PRS) ........... 55 Operations Within PRSs ........................................... 55

Contents xv

The Paradox of Representation .................................. 56 Categories .......................................................... 57 Representations of Space, Action, Society .................... 59 Sunmlary ............................................................ 60

RECONCILING BICKERTON AND VARELA ........................ 61

Chapter 4: THE HABERMAS/LUHMANN DEBATE ....................... 65 ABSTRACT ................................................................... 65 LUHMANN ................................................................... 66

Meaning ......................... . ................................... 66 Con1l11unication .................................................... 67 Self-Ret1ection and Subsystems ................................. 67

HABERMAS .................................................................. 68 The Ideal Speech Situation ....................................... 68 Meanings and Values ............................................. 69

ISSUES ......................................................................... 69 Meaning ............................................................. 69 Technocracy ........................................................ 69 Norms ............................................................... 70

SINCE THE DEBATE ....................................................... 71

Chapter 5: HABERMAS SINCE THE DEBATE .............................. 73 ABSTRACT ................................................................... 73 THE ORIGIN OF NORMS ................................................. 73

Speech Acts ........................................................ 73 From Gesture To Signal. .......................................... 74 Grammatical Speech .............................................. 74 Discourse ........................................................... 79 Reconstruction ..................................................... 80 The Authority Of Rules ........................................... 80 The Linguistification Of The Sacred ............................ 82 Strategic Action ..................................................... 82

LIFEWORLD AND SySTEM ............................................. 85 Social Integration And System Differentiation ................ 85

THE LIFEWORLD (ACTION) THEORY OF SOCIETy ............. 86 The Lifeworld Of The Social Horizon ......................... 87 Language And Culture ........................................................... 87 Institutions And Personality Structures ......................... 88 The Everyday Concept ........................................... 89

THE SYSTEM (ACTIVITY) THEORY OF SOCIETy ................ 89 Steering Media ...................................................... 90

xvi Contents

The Integration Of Lifeworlds And Systems .................. 90 The Colonization Of The Lifeworld ............................. 91 Habermasian Objections To Systems Theory ................. 92

CONCLUSION ............................................................... 96

PART TWO: INCORPORATING HUMAN PARTICIPATION

INTO SYSTEMS THEORY AND DESIGN

Chapter 6: DIFFERENTIATION THEORy ................................... 101 ABSTRACT ................................................................... 101 FUNCTIONALISM AND CRITICAL THEORy ....................... 101

Reaction To Criticism ............................................ 102 Differentiation Theory (1) ......................................... 102 Criticism Of Differentiation Theory ............................. 103

ADDING PARAMETERS OF CHANGE ................................ 103 Smelser .............................................................. 104 Colomy .............................................................. 104 Alexander. ........................................................... 105 Other Observations ................................................ 105

POWER RELATIONSHIPS ................................................ 105 CRITICAL DIFFERENTIATION THEORy ............................ 106 CONCLUSIONS .............................................................. 106

Chapter 7: SOFT SYSTEMS THEORy ......................................... 109 ABSTRACT ................................................................... 109 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND ........................................... 109 CHURCHMAN ............................................................... 110

Forming The Prudential Ought .................................. 110 From The Prudential To The Moral Ought ................... 111 The Nature Of Design ............................................ 112 Epistemology ........................................................ 112 The Systems-Approach Hero .................................... 115 History Of The Systems Approach .................... .. ....... 116 The Guarantor Of Destiny (God) ................................ 116 The Systems Approach ........................................... 117 Ethics ................................................................. 118 The Story Thus Far ................................................ 120 The Enen1ies ........................................................ 121

Contents xvii

The Retreat To A Vision ......................................... 122 Be Your Enemy ............................. .. ..................... 122

CHECKLAND ..................................................... ' .......... 124 FUENMA YOR ............................................................... 126

Interpretive Systemology ......................................... 126 A House Of Iterations ............................................ 128

SOFT SYSTEMS STANDARDS .......................................... 129 Churchman .......................................................... 129 Checkland ........................................................... 129 Fuenmayor .......................................................... 129

Chapter 8: CRITICAL SYSTEMS THEORy .................................. 131 ABSTRACT ................................................................... 131 JACKSON ..................................................................... 131

Power Imbalances ................................................. 131 Corrective Measures .............................................. 132

ULRICH ....................................................................... 133 Critical Heuristics ................................................. 134 Instrumental, Strategic, and Communicative Approaches .. 135 The Critically Normative Approach ............................. 136 Conclusion ........................................................... 137

FLOOD ......................................................................... 138 Insularity ............................................................. 138 Objectivist And Subjectivist Delusions .......................... 138 Subjugated Discourse ............................................. 141 Elnancipation ........................................................ 142 Liberating Systems Theory ...................................... 143

CRITICAL SYSTEMS STANDARDS .................................... 144 Jackson .............................................................. 144 Ulrich ............................................................... 145 Flood ................................................................ 145

Chapter 9: BANATHY .............................................................. 147 ABSTRACT ................................................................... 147 CHARACTERISTICS OF OUR INFORMATION AGE .............. 148 THE IDEA OF DESIGN .................................................... 150 IDEALIZED SYSTEMS DESIGN ......................................... 150 THE PROCESS OF TRANSCENDING .................................. 153 IMAGING THE NEW SYSTEM .......................................... 155

xviii Contents

TRANSFORMATION BY DESIGN ...................................... 156 SYSTEMS PHILOSOPHY .................................................. 156 MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVES AND ETHICS .......................... 157 THE PRIME DIRECTIVE ................................................. 161

Chapter 1 0: WARFIELD .......................................................... 163 ABSTRACT ................................................................... 163 THE FOUNDATIONS ...................................................... 164 THE HUMAN BEING ...................................................... 165 LANGUAGE .................................................................. 166 REASONING THROUGH RELATIONSHIPS .......................... 167 MEANS OF ARCHIVAL REPRODUCTION ........................... 169 VALIDATION ................................................................ 169 A DOMAIN OF SCIENCE MODEL ..................................... 171 MANAGING COMPLEXiTy .......................................... . ... 172 PRESENT A TION OF THE SCIENCE ................................... 174 FOUNDA TIONS OF THE SCIENCE ................................... 174 DIMENSIONS ............................................................... 175 LAWS OF GENERIC DESiGN ............................................ 177 SCREENING CRITERIA FOR METHODOLOGy .................... 178 EVALUATION CRITERIA FOR THEORY ............................. 179

PART THREE: ADVANCES IN THE AREAS OF SOCIAL, COGNITIVE,

AND EVOLUTIONARY THEORY

Chapter 11: LUHMANN (1) MEANING, SUBJECT, AND COMMUNICATION ........ 185

ABSTRACT ................................................................... 185 THE PHENOMENOLOGY OF MEANING ............................. 186 THE SUBJECT ............................................................... 187

Nature Of The Subject ............................................ 187 The Demise Of The Subject ..................................... 188 The Formation Of Subjectivity .................................. 188

AUTOPOIETIC SySTEMS ................................................. 189 ASPECTS OF MEANING ................................................. 189

The Static Description ............................................ 189 The Instability Description ....................................... 191

DOUBLE CONTINGENCy ................................................ 191 Statement Of The Problem ........................................ 191

Contents xix

Parable Of The Black Boxes ..................................... 192 Building Social Structures ........................................ 193 Freedom And Contingency ...................................... 194

COMMUNICATION ........................................................ 195 The Transmission Metaphor ...................................... 195 The Evolutionary Importance Of Differences ................. 196 Three Improbabilities Of Communication ..................... 197

CONCLUSION ............................................................... 198

Chapter 12: LUHMANN (2) SYSTEMS AND ENVIRONMENTS ............................ 199

ABSTRACT ................................................................... 199 IDENTITY WITHIN A DIFFERENCE ................................. 199 EXTERNAL DIFFERENTIATION ...................................................... 200 INTERNAL DIFFERENTIATION ........................................ 201 BOUNDARIES ................................................................ 202 COLLECTIVE ACTION .................................................... 203 THE WORLD WITH MANY CENTERS ................................ 203 PSYCHIC AND SOCIAL MEANING PROCESSORS ................ 204 INTERPENETRATION .................................................... 205 BINDING ...................................................................... 207 INTERHUMAN INTERPENETRATION ................................ 207 BINARY SCHEMA TISM .................................................. 208 MORALITY ................................................................... 209 SOCIALIZA TIO N ........................................................... 210 CONCLUSION ............................................................... 211

Chapter 13: LUHMANN (3) STRUCTURE AND TIME ....................................... 213

ABSTRACT ................................................................... 213 STRUCTURE ................................................................. 214 REPRODUCTION ........................................................... 214 EXPECTATIONS ............................................................ 215

Progress Into Insecurity .......................................... 216 Strategies For Reducing Risk. .................................... 217

REIFIED EXPECTATIONS ................................................ 218 CLASSES OF EXPECTATIONS .......................................... 219 NORMATIVE AND COGNITIVE EXPECTATIONS ................. 220

Modalizations ...................................................... 220

xx Contents

The Origins Of Social Structures ................................ 222

STRUCTURAL CHANGE .................................................. 223 CONCLUSION ............................................................... 224

Chapter 14: LUHMANN (4) CONTRADICTION AND SELF-REFERENCE .... ...................................... 225

ABSTRACT ................................................................... 225 CONTRADICTION ............................. ........ ......... . ........... 226

Autopoietic Experience With ContradictioIl ......... .... ...... 226 Autopoiesis And Observation .................................... 226 Do Contradictions Exist In Nature? .................. .... ...... 227 Stop Or Go? ...... ... ............................. . ........ ......... 228 The Need For Contlict ............................................ 229

SOCIETY AND INTERACTION .............. . .......................... 230 Boundaries ........................................................... 231 Perception And Communication ........................ .... ..... 232 Society/Interaction Relations ........................ ... ......... 233

SELF-REFERENCE AND RATIONALITy ............................. 234 Basal Self-Reference ............................................... 235 Retlexivity ............................ .... .......................... 235 Retlection ...................... . .................................... 236 Theories Of Retlection .................... ... ......... ... ........ 237 The Circularity Of Retlection ...................... ... .......... 237 Asymmetry ...... . ....................................... ... ......... 237 Rationality .......................................................... 238

EPISTEMOLOGy ............................................................ 240 Functional Analysis ............................................... 240 Natural Epistemology ............................................. 241 Autopoietic Knowledge ................... ........ ...... .. ......... 242

CONCLUSION ............................................................... 243

Chapter 15: KAMPIS ................................................................ 245 ABSTRACT ..................... .... .......................................... 245 MODELING ................... .... ............... .. ........................... 246

Paradigms And Constructs ......... . ............... . ............. 246 Classical Dynamics ....................................... ..... .... 247

Contents xxi

More Complex Formal Dynamic Models ...................... 248 MATERIAL IMPLICATIONS ............................................. 249

Categories, Qualities, Forms ..................................... 250 Atoms And Things ................................................ 251

COMPONENT-SYSTEMS .................................................. 252 Mechanisms ........................................................ 252 Meaning Systems .................................................. 253

FORMAL SySTEMS ........................................................ 254 INSIDE/OUTSIDE ........................................................... 255 EVOLUTIONARY EPISTEMOLOGy ................................... 256. THREE VISTAS ON CAUSALITy ....................................... 256

Law ................................................................... 256 Form ................................................................ 257 Meaning ............................................................. 257 Three Types Of Natural Philosophy ............................ 258

CONCLUSION ............................................................... 259

Chapter 16: GOERTZEL ........................................................... 261 ABSTRACT ................................................................... 261 STATICS AND DYNAMICS .............................................. 261 CHAOTIC DYNAMICAL SySTEMS .................................... 262 PATTERNS AND STRUCTURES ....................................... 263 THE DUAL NETWORK .................................................... 265 STRUCTURED TRANSFORMATION SYSTEMS ................... 267 PSYCHOLOGY AND LOGIC ............................................ 268 LINGUISTIC SYSTEMS ................................................... 269 LANGUAGE, REALITY, CONSCIOUSNESS ........................ 271

The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis .................................... 271 Consciousness ....................................................... 271 Consciousness Produces Reality ................................. 272 Reification .......................................................... 273

UNIVERSAL COMPUTATION ........................................... 274 THE COGNITIVE EQUATION ........................................... 275 BELIEF SySTEMS ....................................... , ................... 277 CONTRASTING BELIEF SySTEMS .................................... 278 TWO SURVIVAL STRATAGEMS ....................................... 279 SYSTEMATIC CREATIVITy ............................................. 280 MIND AND REALITY ..................................................... 281 DISSOCIATIVE DYNAMICS ............................................ 282 CHAOTIC LOGIC ........................................................... 284

xxii Contents

ARTIFICIAL INTERSUBJECTIVITY ................................... 285 CONCLUSION ............................................................... 285

Chapter 17: METAPHORS AND MAPS ....................................... 287 ABSTRACT ................................................................... 287 METAPHORS ................................................................ 287

The Necessity Of Metaphors .................................... 287 Non-Linguistic Metaphors ....................................... 289 Mathematics As Metaphor ....................................... 289

COGNITIVE MAPS ......................................................... 290 Cultural Cognitive Maps ......................................... 290

THE EVOLUTION OF COGNITIVE MAPS ........................... 291 The Neo-Darwinian Perspective ................................ 291 The Self-Organizing Perspective ................................ 292 Cultural History .................................................... 292 An Emerging Paradigm ........................................... 293

ROBERT ARTIGIANI ....................................................... 294 Postmodernism ............................... . ..................... 295 The Fallen Ideal Of Classical Physics .......................... 296 Self-Ret1ective Nature ............................................ 297 Mimetic Reproduction ............................................ 298

RUDOLF TREUMANN ..................................................... 298 Artistic Form ....................................................... 298 Information And Time ............................................. 299 Science Mimics Nature ........................................... 300

PETER ALLEN AND MICHAEL LESSER ............................. 300 Average And Non-Average Detail .............................. 301 Selection ............................................................. 301 Cartesians And Stochasts ......................................... 302

ERVIN LASZLO ............................................................. 302 IGNAZIO MASULLI ....................................................... 303

Subduing The Earth ............................................... 303 Alternative Paradigms ............................................ 304 Bifurcating Paradigms ............................................ 304 The Industrial Revolution ........................................ 304 Progressing Beyond Progress .................................... 305

GEORGE KAMPIS .......................................................... 306 Referential Information ........................................... 306 Utterly Temporized Information ................................ 306 The Nature Of Cognitive Maps ................................. 307

Contents xxiii

Symbolic Information ............................................. 308 A Global Cultural Computer .................................... 309

MIRIAM CAMPANELLA .................................................. 310 The Rational Paradigm ........................................... 310 The Cognitive Paradigm .......................................... 310 Two Viewpoints, Two Strategies ............................... 311

SUMMARY ................................................................... 312

PART FOUR: FIVE EMERGING SYNTHESES

THE WORK OF CONDENSATION ..................................... 315 Systemic Content Analysis ....................................... 315 Condensation/Analysis Diagram ................................ 316

SYNTHESIS METHODOLOGy .......................................... 318 Interactive Management .......................................... 319 Advantages Of These Methodologies ........................... 320

Chapter 18: THE PRACTICE AND ETHICS OF DESIGN ................ 321

ABSTRACT ................................................................... 321 PRACTICE-ETHlCS-DESIGN ............................................. 322 OVERVIEW OF THE ENHANCEMENT PATTERN ................ 322 LEVEL-BY-LEVEL AND BOX-BY-BOX ELABORATIONS ...... 324

Level VI ............................................................. 324 Level V .............................................................. 325 Level IV ............................................................. 327 Level III ............................................................. 328 Level II ............................................................. 333 Level I .............................................................. 337

SUMMARY EXPLANATION ............................................ 339 DESIGN AND THE IDEAL SPEECH SITUATION .................. 339 SUMMARY .......... . ........................................................ 341

Chapter 19: THE STRUCTURE OF THE SOCIAL WORLD ............ 343

ABSTRACT ................................................................... 343 METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS ............................ 344 COMMENTS ON THE ATTRIBUTES FIELD ......................... 349 THREE NARRATIVES ..................................................... 350

xxiv Contents

The Discourse/Lifeworld Story ........ . ................... . ..... 351 The Autopoiesis Story .......................... . . . ......... . ..... 352 The Component-System Story ... .............. . . .. ............... 354

REFLECTIONS ON THE NARRATIVES ............................... 355 Lifeworld ........................................................... 355 Autopoiesis .............. . .... . ......... . .......... . ................ 356 Lifeworld And Autopoiesis ...................................... 358 The Component-System Profile .................................. 359 Component-System And Lifeworld ..................... . ....... 360 Component-Systems And Autopoiesis .......................... 361

CONCLUSION ............................................................... 362

Chapter 20: COMMUNICATION ....... . ............ .. .... .. .... .. .............. 367

ABSTRACT .... . ......... . .................................................... 367 SEMIOTICS ................................................................... 367 INTERCONNECTION ..................................................... 368 A FUZZY SET ............... . ............. . . . ....... . ...... .. ................ 369 MEANING ........................................................... .. . ...... 370

Non-Symbolic Signs ............ . ........ . ........ . ........ . ...... 370 Material Implications ..................................... ........ 370 Where Do Meanings Exist? ....................................... 371 Information-About And Information-For. ........ . ............ . 372

THE NATURE OF LANGUAGE ......................................... 372 COGNITIVE INTERACTION ............................................. 374

Non-Symbolic Interaction .. . ............. . .................. . .... 374 Symbols .............................................................. 374 Knots In The Evolutionary Tapestry ........................... 375 Variations On A Theme ......... . ................. . ............... 375

RATIONAL INTERACTION .............................................. 376 THE EVOLUTION OF CULTURAL COGNITIVE MAPS .......... 377 CONCLUSION ............................................................... 378

Chapter 21: COGNITION ............................................... . .. ....... 379

ABSTRACT .......................................... . ........ . ...... . ........ 379 STATEMENT OF THE PARADOX ...................................... 379 WHAT IS COGNITION? .. . ..... . ........... . ..... . .. . ...... . ...... . ....... 380 INFORMATION-FOR AND INFORMATION-ABOUT .............. 380 REPRESENTATION ......................................................... 381

Maturana And Varela ............................................. 381

Contents xxv

Luhmann ............................................................. 381 Kampis .............................................................. 382

THE COGNITIVE EQUATION ........................................... 383 THE ORIGINS OF LANGUAGE ......................................... 385 CONNECTING THE POLES .............................................. 387 OBSERVATION, AGENCY, AND MEANING ........................ 387 EXPECTATIONS AND NAMING ........................................ 388 NEGATIONS AND CONTRADICTIONS ............................... 389 THE REALITY OF COGNITIONS ...................................... 390

Postulating Reality ................................................ 390 Living Reality ...................................................... 391 "Universe" And "World" ......................................... 392

AN EVOLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVE ................................. 392 CONCLUSION .................................. . ............................ 394

Chapter 22: EPISTEMOLOGy .................................................. 395

ABSTRACT ................................................................... 395 CIRCULARITY ............................................................... 395

The Circularity Of Knowledge .................................. 395 Asymmetry ......................................................... 396 The Hermeneutic Circle ........................................... 396 Circular Epistemology ............................................ 397

REDUNDANCy .............................................................. 397 THE AUTOPOIESIS OF KNOWLEDGE ................................ 398 EPISTEMOLOGY OF SELF-REFERENCE ............................. 398 NATURALIZED EPISTEMOLOGY ..................................... 399 EPISTEMOLOGICAL RIGOR ............................................ 400

Luhmann ............................................................. 400 Warfield ............................................................ 401

CRITERIA OF VALIDITy ................................................. 402 SUMMARY ................................................................... 403 NEW HORIZONS ............................................................ 404 INTERNAL EVALUATION OF THIS RESEARCH .................. 405

Chapter 23: CONCLUSION ....................................................... 409

ABSTRACT ................................................................... 409 STRUCTURE TO PROCESS ............................................... 409 FROM PROCESS TO STRUCTURE .................................... 410 ITERATIVE SELF-REFLECTION ........................................ 410

xxvi Contents

SELF-ORGANIZED CRITICALITy ..................................... 411 AVENUES OF FUTURE RESEARCH ................................. .412

REFERENCES ......................................................................... 415

INDEX .................................................................................... 427