FORM (Laws of)
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 1316 ▶ |
| Object type | General information, Methodology or model |
- “A logical calculus of distinctions and indications” (K. KRIPPENDORFF, 1986, p.44).
This calculus was developed by G. SPENCER-BROWN (1969). It is basically “an arithmetic whose geometry as yet has no numerical measure: and astonishing as it may seem, the propositions of logic, as well as those of wider and more powerful applications, turn out to be wholly derivable from calculi so constructed” (p. XI).
The real scope of this calculus is still unclear, but SPENCER-BROWN seems to have done for logic in general what G. BOOLE did for binary logic, i.e. give it its general axiomatics and codification.
The first significant derivation of this calculus has been giving a firm formal basis to self-reference. This was done by F.A. VARELA (1975). Somewhat later J.A. GOGUEN and F.A. VARELA, applied the concepts of distinction, duality and complementarity to systems (1979).
The subject demands a serious study of SPENCER-BROWN's own work.