{"id":988,"date":"2019-03-13T22:31:12","date_gmt":"2019-03-13T21:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wissenskulturen.de\/wp_wissenskulturen\/?page_id=988"},"modified":"2022-11-10T13:49:32","modified_gmt":"2022-11-10T12:49:32","slug":"what-is-sociocybernetics","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.wissenskulturen.de\/wp_wissenskulturen\/index.php\/what-is-sociocybernetics\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Sociocybernetics?"},"content":{"rendered":"

See also: Was ist Sozioky\u00adber\u00adnetik?<\/a> and \u00bfQue es Sociocibernetica?<\/a><\/p>\n

Socio\u00adcy\u00adber\u00adnet\u00adics is the appli\u00adca\u00adtion of sys\u00adtems think\u00ading and cyber\u00adnet\u00adic prin\u00adci\u00adples in soci\u00adol\u00ado\u00adgy and oth\u00ader social sci\u00adences in order to analyse social phe\u00adnom\u00ade\u00adna regard\u00ading their com\u00adplex\u00adi\u00adty<\/em> and dynam\u00adics.<\/em> Research inter\u00adest focused on han\u00addling com\u00adplex\u00adi\u00adty. A sys\u00adtemic view is an obser\u00adva\u00adtion attempt\u00ading to trace the diver\u00adsi\u00adty of inter\u00adac\u00adtion in real\u00adi\u00adty instead of ana\u00adlyt\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly iso\u00adlat\u00ading indi\u00advid\u00adual causal rela\u00adtions and explor\u00ading them in their entire depth. Sys\u00adtems are defined by a cer\u00adtain form of dis\u00adtinc\u00adtion from their envi\u00adron\u00adment. It is not causal\u00adi\u00adty but the mutu\u00adal influ\u00adence of dynam\u00adic self-reg\u00adu\u00adlat\u00ading sys\u00adtems that research focus\u00ades on. With a cyber\u00adnet\u00adic approach, one has opt\u00aded for the exam\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtion of the basic forms from which the inter\u00adnal order of a sys\u00adtem results rather than for observ\u00ading indi\u00advid\u00adual properties.<\/p>\n

Cybernetic Principles<\/h3>\n

Opt\u00ading for a cyber\u00adnet\u00adic approach in research means accept\u00ading a num\u00adber of fun\u00adda\u00admen\u00adtal prin\u00adci\u00adples that are not always unam\u00adbigu\u00adous\u00adly defined in lit\u00ader\u00ada\u00adture but can be best described as a par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar mode of thought, as a par\u00ada\u00addigm, or \u2013 as Gor\u00addon Pask once put it \u2013 as an art, phi\u00adlos\u00ado\u00adphy or also a way of life. While math\u00ade\u00admati\u00adcian Nor\u00adbert Wiener stress\u00ades the aspects of con\u00adtrol and com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adca\u00adtion in nat\u00adur\u00adal sci\u00adence and human\u00adi\u00adties con\u00adtexts, neu\u00adro-philoso\u00adpher War\u00adren McCul\u00adloch defines cyber\u00adnet\u00adics as an epis\u00adte\u00admol\u00ado\u00adgy deal\u00ading with the gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion of knowl\u00adedge by com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adca\u00adtion. Man\u00adage\u00adment con\u00adsul\u00adtant Stafford Beer regards cyber\u00adnet\u00adics as the sci\u00adence of organ\u00adi\u00adsa\u00adtion. To Lud\u00adwig von Berta\u00adlanffy, cyber\u00adnet\u00adic sys\u00adtems are a spe\u00adcial case of sys\u00adtems dif\u00adfer\u00ading from oth\u00ader sys\u00adtems by the prin\u00adci\u00adple of self-reg\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtion. As a sci\u00aden\u00adtif\u00adic dis\u00adci\u00adpline, cyber\u00adnet\u00adics dis\u00adtin\u00adguish\u00ades itself by con\u00adcen\u00adtrat\u00ading on the research of con\u00adtrol mech\u00ada\u00adnisms, bas\u00ading its activ\u00adi\u00adties on infor\u00adma\u00adtion and feed\u00adback as key con\u00adcepts. Wal\u00adter Buck\u00adley for\u00admu\u00adlates the con\u00adtext in a sim\u00adi\u00adlar man\u00adner by regard\u00ading con\u00adcepts such as infor\u00adma\u00adtion, com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adca\u00adtion, cyber\u00adnet\u00adics, self-reg\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtion and self-organ\u00adi\u00adsa\u00adtion as well as adapt\u00adabil\u00adi\u00adty as sub-areas of gen\u00ader\u00adal sys\u00adtems the\u00ado\u00adry. Sys\u00adtems the\u00ado\u00adry is under\u00adstood here not so much as a uni\u00adform the\u00ado\u00adry but more as a the\u00ado\u00adret\u00adi\u00adcal frame\u00adwork and a set of method\u00adolog\u00adi\u00adcal tools that can be applied in dif\u00adfer\u00adent fields of research. To Heinz von Foer\u00adster the fun\u00adda\u00admen\u00adtal prin\u00adci\u00adple of cyber\u00adnet\u00adic is self-ref\u00ader\u00aden\u00adtial\u00adi\u00adty<\/em>. He speaks of cir\u00adcu\u00adlar\u00adi\u00adty, refer\u00adring to all con\u00adcepts that can be applied on them\u00adselves, process\u00ades in which a state ulti\u00admate\u00adly repro\u00adduces itself.<\/p>\n

Unity of Sciences and Humanities<\/h3>\n

What is high\u00adly sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcant and is again and again point\u00aded out by all authors is that cyber\u00adnet\u00adics can\u00adnot be restrict\u00aded to a spe\u00adcial field of research objects. This meta-dis\u00adci\u00adpli\u00adnary view and its inter\u00addis\u00adci\u00adpli\u00adnary options for appli\u00adca\u00adtion would already suf\u00adfice to dis\u00adtin\u00adguish cyber\u00adnet\u00adics in an aca\u00add\u00ade\u00adm\u00adic world that is still char\u00adac\u00adterised by the the\u00ado\u00adret\u00adi\u00adcal and method\u00adi\u00adcal dual\u00adism of nat\u00adur\u00adal sci\u00adences and the human\u00adi\u00adties. Sim\u00adi\u00adlar fun\u00adda\u00admen\u00adtal prin\u00adci\u00adples of organ\u00adis\u00ading indi\u00advid\u00adual ele\u00adments as a sys\u00adtemic whole can be found in organ\u00adisms, in soci\u00adety, and in tech\u00adni\u00adcal arte\u00adfacts. In the first chap\u00adter of \u201cAn Intro\u00adduc\u00adtion to Cyber\u00adnet\u00adics\u201d, Ash\u00adby writes that cyber\u00adnet\u00adics \u201ctreats not things but ways of behav\u00ading. It does not ask \u2018What is a thing?\u2019 but \u2018What does it do?\u2019\u201d. Biol\u00ado\u00adgist Hum\u00adber\u00adto Mat\u00adu\u00adrana express\u00ades this in a sim\u00adi\u00adlar way in his answer to the ques\u00adtion of life. Accord\u00ading to Mat\u00adu\u00adrana, the ques\u00adtion of life can\u00adnot be answered by seek\u00ading the nec\u00ades\u00adsary prop\u00ader\u00adties of the ele\u00adments con\u00adsti\u00adtut\u00ading liv\u00ading organ\u00adisms, but by trac\u00ading the fun\u00adda\u00admen\u00adtal organ\u00adi\u00adsa\u00adtion\u00adal prin\u00adci\u00adples in which \u201cliv\u00ading sys\u00adtems\u201d acquire their iden\u00adti\u00adty and through which liv\u00ading sys\u00adtems dif\u00adfer from non-liv\u00ading sys\u00adtems. What Niklas Luh\u00admann fas\u00adci\u00adnates about cyber\u00adnet\u00adics is that the prob\u00adlem of con\u00adstan\u00adcy and invari\u00adance of sys\u00adtems is tak\u00aden up and explained in a high\u00adly com\u00adplex, change\u00adable world. This \u201cqual\u00adi\u00adfies cyber\u00adnet\u00adics as an uncom\u00adpro\u00admis\u00ading\u00adly non-onto\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal research approach and reveals a sur\u00adpris\u00ading prox\u00adim\u00adi\u00adty to the func\u00adtion\u00adal\u00adist sys\u00adtems the\u00ado\u00adry of soci\u00adol\u00ado\u00adgy\u201d (Luh\u00admann 1968).<\/p>\n

Information: Third Factor alongside Matter and Energy<\/h3>\n

Sys\u00adtem process\u00ades, espe\u00adcial\u00adly the rela\u00adtion between the sys\u00adtem and the envi\u00adron\u00adment, are under\u00adstood as \u201cinfor\u00adma\u00adtion\u00adal process\u00ades\u201d in which con\u00adtin\u00adgen\u00adcies exist and selec\u00adtion occurs rather than as neces\u00adsi\u00adties in the sense of a strict causal\u00adi\u00adty. Infor\u00adma\u00adtion is often referred to as a func\u00adtion of the organ\u00adi\u00adsa\u00adtion of sys\u00adtems. Some nat\u00adur\u00adal sci\u00aden\u00adtists regard infor\u00adma\u00adtion as a \u201cthird fac\u00adtor\u201d next to mat\u00adter and con\u00adscious\u00adness (v. Weizs\u00e4ck\u00ader 1974) or mat\u00adter and ener\u00adgy (Stonier 1990). The pur\u00adpose\u00adful influ\u00adenc\u00ading of social phe\u00adnom\u00ade\u00adna always amounts to an attempt to inter\u00advene in high\u00adly com\u00adplex sys\u00adtems with self-organ\u00adis\u00ading (dis\u00adsi\u00adpa\u00adtive) struc\u00adtures. These sys\u00adtems respond to attempts to reg\u00adu\u00adlate them com\u00ading from their envi\u00adron\u00adment only on the basis of their inter\u00adnal struc\u00adture. Thus reg\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtion has to han\u00addle the phe\u00adnom\u00ade\u00adnon of the deter\u00admined\u00adness of sys\u00adtems\u2019 structures.<\/p>\n

The fol\u00adlow\u00ading aspects can be empha\u00adsised that may be seen as char\u00adac\u00adter\u00adis\u00adtic of our research approach based on sociocybernetics:<\/p>\n