Contents:
Volume
6 No. 3, 1999
Søren
Brier: Foreword Full Text
Dirk
Baecker: Gypsy Reason: Niklas Luhmann’s Sociological Enlightenment Abstract
Niklas
Luhmann: Sign as Form Abstract
Nina
Ort and Markus Peter: Niklas Luhmann: ‘Sign as Form’ — A comment Abstract
Burton
Voorhees:
Correlational
Analysis of Complex Systems Abstract
Columns
Louis
H. Kauffman: Virtual Logic — The Matrix Full
Text
Ranulph
Glanville, Bob Barbour, Michael Schreiber and Stuart Umpleby: A (Cybernetic)
Musing: The Millennium Bug Full
Text
Reviews
John
P. van Gigch: An Introduction to Epistemology
ASC Pages
Pille
Bunnell: An Invitation for Conversation and ReflectionFull
Text
C&HK
Homepage
Subscriptions
Index,
forewords and abstracts to back volumes |
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Introduction
Niklas Luhmann:
Cybernetics, Systems and Semiotics
by Soren Brier
The present issue is in honor
of the late Niklas Luhmann. It focuses on his view of the relationship
between cybernetics, systems and semiotics. Especially the constructivistic
cybernetic approach inspired by Spencer-Brown.
Dirk Baecker writes an overview of Luhmann’s work summing up important
aspects of his life’s work.
We present Luhmann’s article ‘Sign as Form’ from the English book of translated
Luhmann papers Problems of Form, which Dirk Baecker has edited. This paper
is the most central in Luhmann’s attempt to relate semiotics and constructivistic
cybernetic-systems theory.
We have asked Nina Ort and Marcus Peter to make a critical comment on the
paper’s assumptions and its attempt to integrate Peirce’s semiotics into
Luhmann’s system theoretical sociology.
As a paper outside the theme we bring Burton Voorhees discussion of correlation
analysis of complex systems and the epistemological crisis in science.
Then we bring the columns which were postponed from the last issue.
John P. van Gigch reviews Charles Landesman’s book An Introduction to Epistemology.
From this issue onwards the American Society for Cybernetics, represented
by its president Pille Bunell, will edit a column of four pages. The column
will express ASC, and ASC members’, opinions on some of the issues which
are shared by them and the agenda of this journal.
We welcome Allan Combs as a new consulting editor in the area of consciousness
studies. We will bring a review of his latest book in the next issue.
We thank Steffen Tast, the artist in this issue, for contributing his pictures.
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