UNCERTAINTY (in psychological sense)
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 3671 ▶ |
| Object type | Human sciences, Epistemology, ontology or semantics |
Any interaction between an observer and what is observed, changes both.
D. Mac KAY writes: “The second type of ”absolute“ uncertainty attends our knowledge of one another in interpersonal dialogue (as distinct from detached physical observation. Quite independently of any physical indeterminacy of our brain mechanism, this uncertainty reflects the fact that, in the public calculus of two or more persons in dialogue, no valid definitive prediction exists for their detailed future behavior. In this relationship the action of each has an irreductible (potential) selective information-content, for his fellows as well as for himself” (1969, p.154).
Here again, like in the case of indeterminacy, it is arguable if every individual (and every group) can ever act outside the global determinism, as the product of education and instruction within a specific culture, not to speak of the general human conditionings.