OBSERVATION: The autopoietic view
Charles François (2004). OBSERVATION: The autopoietic view, International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics, 2(2): 2336.
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 2336 ▶ |
| Object type | Epistemology, ontology or semantics, Methodology or model |
O. THYSSEN (1995, p. 20) explains as follows the nature of observation , as understood by N. LUHMANN, in his autopoietic interpretation: “LUHMANN does not base his systems theory on ontology , but on distinction . Even being, or what is observed as real, is a distinction between being and not being.
- “In observing , autopoietic systems use codes to distinguish between positive and negative values of a distinction, artificially doubling the world (+/-, true/false, government/opposition, good/bad)… They use programmes in order to distribute the +/- values of the code to positive and negative prototypes. And they use interpretationsTemplate:Ency textitevents \textit{}”
Moreover:
- “Any observation is based on the fundamental distinction between self reference and external reference . The two types of reference imply each other so that no materialism (only external reference) and no idealism (only self-reference) is possible. At the same time, the system environment distinction is an internal distinction, as no system can operate outside itself. So, the world is at the same time ”out there“, as external reference, and ”in here“, as the re-entry of the distinction system/environment in the system.
- “The ”world“ is a borderline concept which cannot be negated”
See also
Model, Models, Recursion, Recursivity