Ethics and Second-Order Cybernetics

1 EthicsandSecond-OrderCyberneticsHeinzvon Foerster1991 LadiesandGentlemen:I amtouchedbythegenerosityoftheorganizerso fthisconferencewhonotonlyinvitedmeto cometo yourgloriouscityofParis,butalsogave wantedmetoaddressmyselfto EthicsandSecond-OrderCybernetics. To behonest,I wouldhave neverdaredtoproposesuchanoutrageoustitle ,butI mustsaythatI leftCaliforniaforParis,othersaskedmefull ofenvy, whatamI goingtodoinParis,whatwillI talkabout?WhenI answered IshalltalkaboutEthicsandSecond-OrderCybe rnetics almostallofthemlookedat meinbewildermentandasked, Whatis second -ordercybernetics? asif amrelievedwhenpeopleaskmeaboutsecond-ord ercyberneticsandnotaboutethics,becauseit is mucheasiertotalkaboutsecond-ordercyberne ticsthanit is is , andletmenow saya few wordsaboutcybernetics,andofcourse,thecyb erneticsofcybernetics, , cyberneticsariseswheneffectors(say, a motor, anengine,ourmuscles,etc.)

2 Areconnectedtoa NorbertWiener, whore-introducedtheterm Cybernetics , Thebehaviorofsuchsystemsmaybeinterpreted asdirectedtowardtheattainmentofa goal. Thatis,it looksasif thesesystemspursueda purpose!Thatsoundsverybizarreindeed!Butl etmegive youotherparaphrasesofwhatcyberneticsis MargaretMead,whosenameI amsureis :Asananthropologist,I have beeninterestedintheeffectsthatthetheorie sofCyberneticshave withinoursociety. I amnotreferringtocomputersortotheelectron icrevolutionasa whole,ortotheendofdependenceonscriptfork nowledge,orto thewaythatdresshassucceededthemimeograph ingmachineasa ,I amnotreferringtothewaythatdresshassuccee dedthemimeographingmachineasa :I specificallywantto considerthesignificanceofthesetofcross-d isciplinaryideaswhichwefirstcalled feed-back andthencalled teleologicalmechanisms andthencalledit Cybernetics , a formofcross-disciplinarythoughtwhichmade it possibleformembersofmany disciplinesto communicatewitheachothereasilyina Ethics ANDSECOND-ORDERCYBERNETICSA ndhereis thevoiceofherthirdhusband,theepistemolog ist,anthropologist,cybernetician,andasso mesay, thepapaoffamilytherapy, GregoryBateson, Cyberneticsis a branchofmathematicsdealingwithproblemsof control, , Cyberneticsisthescienceofeffective organization.

3 Andfinally, herethepoeticreflectionof MisterCybernetics, aswefondlycallhim,theCybernetician s cyberneti-cian;GordonPask, Cyberneticsis thescienceofdefensiblemetaphors. It seemsthatcyberneticsis many differentthingstomany becauseoftherichnessofitsconceptualbase; andI believe thatthisis verygood,otherwisecyberneticswouldbecome a , allofthoseperspectivesarisefromonecentra ltheme;thatofcircularity. When,perhapsahalfcenturyago,thefecundity ofthisconceptwasseen,it wassheereuphoriatophilosophize,epistemol ogize, ,somethingstrangeevolvedamongthephilosop hers,theepistemologistsand, begantoseethemselvesmoreandmoreasbeingin cludedina largercircularity;maybewithinthecircular ityoftheirfamily;orthatoftheirsocietyand culture;orevenbeingincludedina circularityofcosmicproportions!

4 Whatappearstoustodayasbeingmostnaturalto seeandthink,wasthennotonlydifficulttosee ,butwasn t is theprincipleofobjectivity. presentthisprinciplehere,initsmostbrutal form,todemonstrateitsnon-sensicality. Ifthepropertiesoftheobserver(namelytoobs erve anddescribe)areeliminated,thereisnothing left;noobservation, , therewasa justificationforadheringtothisprinciple, andthisjustificationwasfear; stealtheirwayintoa theoryis like ,theywereenteringintoa ,AimpliesB;BimpliesC;and(Oh,horror!)C impliesA!Orinthereflexive case,AimpliesB,and(Oh,shock!)B impliesA!Andnowthedevil scloven-hoofinitspurestform,theformofsel f-reference;A impliesA (Outrage!)I wouldlike to inviteyounow to joinmein a landwhereit is notforbidden;rather, whereoneis encouragedto outthere tolookingat lookingitself, aroseI think,fromsignificantadvancesinneurophys iologyandneuropsychiatry.

5 It appearedthatonecouldnow daretoaskthequestionofhow maybearguedthatoverthecenturiessinceAris totle, ,what s newoftoday s cyberneticians?Whatis newis theprofoundinsightthata brainis requiredtowritea theoryofa theoryofthebrain,thathasany aspirationsforcompleteness,hastoaccountf orthewritingofthistheory. Andevenmorefascinating, ;thecybernetician,byenteringhisowndomain ,hastoaccountforhisorherownactivity. Cyberneticsthenbecomescyberneticsofcyber netics, ,thisperceptionrepresentsa fundamentalchange,notonlyin thewayweconductscience,butalsohow weperceive teaching,learning,thetherapeuticprocess, organizationalmanagement,andsoonandsofor th;andI wouldsay, ofhow weperceive onefirstconsidersoneselftobeanindependen tobserverwhowatchestheworldgoby;asoppose dtoapersonwhoconsidersoneselftobea participantactorinthedramaofmutualintera ctionofthegive andtake Ethics ANDSECOND-ORDERCYBERNETICSI nthecaseofthefirstexample,asa resultofmyindependence,I cantellothershowtothinkandact, Thoushalt.

6 Thoushaltnot.. ,becauseofmyinterdependence,I canonlytellmyselfhow to thinkandact, I shall.. I shallnot.. Thisis togoaboutthis?Wheretobegin?Inmysearchfor a beginningI cameacrossthelovelypoembyYvelineRey lines: VousavezditEthique? D ej`a le murmurs sujetest-ilbr estaussid actualit withthethorns andI hope,a beginwithareLudwigWittgenstein s weretoprovidea titleforthistractatus,I wouldcallit , I amnotgoingtodefendthischoice,I rathertellyouwhatpromptsmetorefertoWittg enstein s mreferringtopointNumber6 conclusionwhichI willreadtoyouintheoriginalGerman, EsistKlar, dasssichEthiknichtaussprechenlaesst. I wishI knew a onlyknow two ,I willpresentmytranslationintoEnglish,with myconvictionthatthesimultaneoustranslato rswilldoa superbjobofpresentingWittgenstein s , Itis clearthatethicscannotbearticulated.

7 Now youunderstandwhyearlierI said, Mybeginningwillbethorns. Hereis anInternationalCongressonEthics,andthefi rstspeakersayssomethingtotheeffectthatit is impossibletospeakaboutethics!Butpleasebe patientfora quotedWittgenstein s is , ,whichI willreadina moment,providesa prepareforwhatyouareaboutto/hear, youshouldrememberthatWittgensteinwasa Thereforethereis akindofundergroundunderstandingwhichI ; Whenanethicallawoftheform Thoushalt.. is laiddown,one s firstthoughtis, Andwhatif I donotdoit? WhenI firstreadthis,mythoughtwasthatnoteverybo dywillshareWittgenstein s view. I , Itis clearhowever, ,theremustindeedbesomekindofethicalrewar dandpunishment,butthey mustresideintheactionitself.

8 They mustresideintheactionitself!Youmayrememb er, wecameacrosssuchself-referentialnotionse arlierwiththeexample, AimpliesA anditsrecursive a hintfromthesecommentsforhowtogoaboutrefl ectingaboutethics,andatthesametimeadhere toWittgenstein s criterion? myselftrytoadheretothefollowingrule;toma stertheuseofmylanguagesothatethicsis implicitinany discourseI mayhave.( ,inscience,philosophy, epistemology, therapy, etc.)WhatdoI meanbythat?BythatI meantoletlanguageandactionrideonanunderg roundriverofethics,andtomake surethatoneis canoneaccomplishthis?How canonehideethicsfromalleyesandstilllethe rdeterminelanguageandaction?Fortunately, ethicshastwo sisterswhoallow createforusa visibleframework;a tangibletissuewithinwhichanduponwhichwem ayweave sisters?

9 Oneis Metaphysics,theotheris Ethics ANDSECOND-ORDERCYBERNETICSM yjobnowistotalkaboutthesetwo ladies,andhowthey letyouseeat oncethedelightfulambiguitythatsurroundsh er, letmequotefroma superbarticle, TheNatureofMetaphysics , Almosteverythinginmetaphysicsis controversial,andit is thereforenotsurprisingthatthereis littleagreementamongthosewhocallthemselv esmetaphysiciansaboutwhatpreciselyit is they areattempting. Today, whenI invoke Metaphysics,I becauseIwanttosaypreciselywhatit is whenwebecomemetaphysicians, saythatwebecomea metaphysicianany ,hereis a decidablequestion, Isthenumber3,396,714divisibleby2? It willtake youlessthantwo secondstodecidethatindeedthisnumberis thatit willtake youexactlythesameshorttimetodecideif thenumberhasnot7,but7000or7 couldofcourseinventquestionsthataresligh tlymoredifficult;forinstance, Is3,396,714divisiblebythree?

10 , , s LastTheorem towhichthemostbrilliantheadshave puttheirbrilliantmindsandhave notyetcomeupwithananswer. OrthinkofGoldbach s Conjecture whichsoundssosimplethatit seemsa proofcannotbetoofaraway, Allevennumberscanbecomposedasthesumoftwo primes. Forexample,12is thesumofthetwo primenumbers5 and7;or20= 17+ 3;or24= 13+ 11, , nocounterexampletoGoldbach s allfurthertestswouldnotrefuteGoldbach,it stillwouldremaina conjectureuntila a justificationfornotgivingupandforcontinu ingthesearchforfindinga sequenceofstepsthatwouldprove is thattheproblemis posedina frameworkoflogico-mathematicalrelationsw hichguaranteesthatonecanclimbfromany nodeofthiscomplex crystalofconnectionstoany crystalofthoughtis BertrandRussell s andAlfredNorthWhithead smonumentalPrincipiaMathematicawhichthey wroteovera vol-umemagnumopusofmorethan1500pageswast oestablishonceandforalla conceptualmachinerythatwouldcontainnoamb iguities, ,in1931,KurtG odel,then25yearsofage, willgive younowinEnglish.