WHITHER CYBERNETICS: PAST ACHIEVEMENTS AND FUTURE PROSPECTS Available to Purchase

Cybernetics, the attempt to recreate mental phenomena in terms of physical action, is considered in three stages corresponding to the three decades since 1948. The first decade, based on ideas of information and the closed loop, showed parallels between biology and engineering and led to rapid development. The second decade saw a reaction against the apparent attempt to reduce and mechanise living forms, and some identified cybernetics with potentially oppressive technology. Most recently, considerations of self‐reference and the logic of living systems have led to ideas such as autopoiesis which promise a new role for cybernetics in clarifying mental life.