CALCULUS FOR SELF-REFERENCE
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 350 ▶ |
| Object type | Methodology or model |
This logical calculus has been introduced by F. VARELA as an extension of G. SPENCER BROWN's calculus of indications aiming “… to encompass all occurences of self-referential situations” (VARELA, 1975, p.5).
VARELA explains: “This is done through the introduction of a third state in the form of indication, a state seen to arise autonomously by self-indication” (Ibid).
This third state represents the unavoidable organizational closure of the observer. In VARELA's words: “… a third, not so obvious but distinct domain, of a self-referential autonomous state which other laws govern and which cannot be reduced by the laws of the dual domains. If we do not incorporate this third domain explicitly in our field of view, we force ourselves to find ways to avoid it as has been traditional) and to confront it, when it appears, in paradoxic forms” (Ibid., p.19).
Known, assumed and well understood self-reference leads to a quite different viewpoint in comparison to unconsciousness of self-reference (see “Self-reference in logic”).
For a complete development of this calculus, see VARELA'S reference.
See also
Laws of form