Understanding Understanding. Exploring Second-Order Science Fields
Second-order cybernetics, above all, is a way of doing things differently. Operating with the tools and instruments of second-order cybernetics in a particular science field, thus, should produce new and surprising results and insights.
The presentation wants to demonstrate the transformation capacity of second-order cybernetics in a particular area, namely in the field of social research. The lecture will focus on a series of recent investigations in which second-order cybernetics is used to create a new second-order field of analysis. For this purpose ordinary social science concepts like standard of living, social inequality or quality of life are transformed into second-order concepts.
The main part of the presentation is focused on the new and deeper insights which can be gained through this shift to the second-order level and through empirical investigations at a second-order level.
Finally, the presentation will conclude with a series of general conditions that apply to other fields outside the social sciences as well in which such a shift to second-order concepts should produce significant and innovative effects and results.
1 comment
Very interesting—the transformation into second order constructions. I look forward to a lesson in that.
Do you think that as an alternative to producing surprising results you might rather gain elegance in description and account?
Where are action, learning and understanding, in this story?