OBSERVATION (Self)
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 2335 ▶ |
| Object type | General information, Human sciences, Epistemology, ontology or semantics |
In the tracks of SOCRATES, E. MORIN states that we need a rationality that be not only critical, but also self-critical.
He writes: “Learning of self-observation is part of learning lucidity” 1999 (p. 55). If we cannot do it, we are condemned to self-deception in the guise of very “imperfect perceptions and hallucinating rationalizations”(ibid.)
Of course, the basic condition for self-observation is the acquisition of awareness under the guidance of systemic understanding of our own complexity (biological, mental and psychological) and of our interrelation with our natural and socio -cultural environment.
Self-observation by the observer is certainly a most needed endeavor…and at the same time probably the most difficult; as so many people are loath to question themselves.
It is however a systemic and cybernetic absolute necessity. We need a permanent revalidation of our views and frames of reference . And this amounts to a mental and even more difficult psychological disjuntion from ourselves.
We would need feedbacks on our own thoughts and decisions , in order to try to avoid being puppets of ourselves (and, by the way, of other people)
This should start by self-inquiry , answering questions as for instance:
- why do I (drink, smoke, quarrel, etc.)?
- why did the results of this or that decision be so adverse?
- in which way did I misunderstood this issue ?
- why is this fellow so hostile to me?
We should always remember J. FOURASTIE's comment: “There is something worse than ignorance; it is the ignorance of ignorance”. And still worse is the ignorance of the causes of ignorance.
What we need basically are mental, behavioral and even physiological feedbacks to ourselves. If we don't know how to create and understand them, we cannot become good systemists, nor managers of ourselves or anything else.
See also
Autopoiesis, Behavior (Self-organizing), Cybernetics (2$^{nd}$ . Order), Double-bind, Psychology (Systemic), Self-exception fallacy, Self-reference