Lynn Segal

The Dream of Reality

Heinz von Foerster¿s Constructivism
Mitarbeit: Foerster, Heinz von; Watzlawick, Paul

• Broschiertes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

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 ho w 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.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Springer / Springer New York / Springer, Berlin
• Artikelnr. des Verlages: 978-0-387-95130-0
• 2nd ed.
• Seitenzahl: 184
• Erscheinungstermin: 1. Mai 2001
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 235mm x 155mm x 11mm
• Gewicht: 292g
• ISBN-13: 9780387951300
• ISBN-10: 038795130X
• Artikelnr.: 09367035

Autorenporträt

Heinz von Foerster (1911 - 2002) war nach dem Studium der Physik in Wien in verschiedenen Forschungslaboratorien tätig, bevor er 1949 in die USA übersiedelte. An der Universität von Illinois gründete er das inzwischen legendäre Biologische Computer-Laboratorium die Wiege jener Erkenntnistheorie, die später unter der Bezeichnung Konstruktivismus für Aufsehen sorgen sollte.

Paul Watzlawick, geb. 1921 in Villach/Kärnten, Studium der Philosophie und Sprachen. Psychotherapeutische Ausbildung am C. G. Jung-Institut in Zürich. 1960 war er Professor für Psychotherapie in El Salvador; seit 1960 ist er Forschungsbeauftragter am Mental Research Institute in Palo Alto/Kalifornien. Außerdem lehrte er an der Stanford University. 2007 verstarb Paul Watzlawick.

Inhaltsangabe

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.

Rezensionen

SOME PRAISE FOR THE PREVIOUS EDITION: "Segal...amicably succeed(s) in making rather profound insights seductively easy to read and in maintaining von Foerster's oratory flair..." -JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION "(a) richly provocative book..." -JOURNAL OF MARITAL AND FAMILY THERAPY From the reviews of the second edition: "Segal, a psychotherapist, initiated this work as a transcription of von Foerster's lecture material; but it evolved instead into interpretation of von Foerster's ideas in accessible language. ... The appendix contains an interview with von Foerster himself. This second edition is essentially a reissue of the first ... but it incorporates corrections and clarifications that von Foerster added to the German edition ... ." (Reference & Research Book News, November, 2001)