1. From Second Order Cybernetics to Second Order Science Keynote Address Annual Conference of the American Society for Cybernetics (ASC) Washington, October 25, 2005 Karl H. Müller (WISDOM) mueller@wisdom.at

2. The World as We Knew It …. in 1965 London, July 11 to July 17, 1967: International Colloquium on Philosophy of Science at Bedford College, Regent’s Park Three Volumes with Imre Lakatos as Editor: Problems in the Philosophy of Mathematics (1967) The Problem of Inductive Logic (1968) Problems in the Philosophy of Science (1968) Imre Lakatos and Alan Musgrave as Editors: Criticism and the Growth of Knowledge (1970)

3. Meta- Philosophy of Science: Level Meta-Language, Meta-Criteria, Normative Object- Scientific Disciplines; LevelScience of Science; Transdisciplinary Programs Robust Knowledge as a Circular Feedback Loop between Scientific Hypothesis and Theories at the Object Level and Philosophy of Science Assessments at the Meta-Level Knowledge Organization in the World as We Knew It

4. Transdisciplinary Programs (1948 – 1965) The Miracle Year 1948 General Systems Theory Information Theory Cybernetics Cognitive Science Artificial Intelligence Bionics

5. Second Order Cybernetics (SOC) SOC Emerged Gradually during the Early Seventies 1972Heinz von Foerster, “Notes on an Epistemology for Living Things” (second order relators, third order relator ….) 1974Heinz von Foerster et al. (eds.)(1974), Cybernetics of Cybernetics 1979Heinz von Foerster “Cybernetics of Cybernetics” 1981pp.Cybernetics of Cybernetics Understanding Second Order Cybernetics Cybernetic Reflections ….

6. Second Order Cybernetics (SOC)  Expressed More as a Vision than as a Framework for Research  Directed against Objectivity and  Context-free Methodologies Centered around  Observer  Self-Referentiality

7. From the World as We Knew It ….. ….. to the World as We Know It Decline of Philosophy of Science Decline of First Order Cybernetics Decline of Second Order Cybernetics

8. Risk-Society (Ulrich Beck) Modernity I→ Modernity II Logic of Wealth-Production→Logic of Risk-Production Classes, Strata→Individualization Traditional Science→Self-Reflexive Science Self-organization of the Scientific System towards Self-Reflexivity

9. Second order Science (SOS) Topical ClosureMeta-Analysis Self-ReferentialityObserver

10. Basic Configuration across All Four Domains First Order Second Order FOSSOS Robust Knowledge as a Circular Feedback Loop within the Second Order Science Domain

11. Topical Closure FOS-Concepts, Scientific Fields SOS Examples: Goals of Goals, Purposes of Purposes …. Evolution of Evolution Cybernetics of Cybernetics (Second Order Cybernetics) First Order Cybernetics: The Cybernetics of Observed Systems Second Order Cybernetics: The Cybernetics of Observing Systems Sociology of Sociology …..

12. Meta-Analysis since the 1980ies Frequency of the Concept „Meta-Analysis“ in Psychological Abstracts Year Number of Counts 1967 – 1976 0 1977 2 1978 4 1979 6 1980 9 198118 198232 198355 198463

13. Meta-Analysis First Order Second Order Tests, Test Results Tests of Tests, ´Test Results of Test Results

14. Self-Referentiality First OrderSecond Order Functions, Operations, Models, Attributes, Relations Attributes of Attributes, Relations of Relations Functions of Functions, Operations of Operations, Models of Models Example for Attributes of Attributes as Robust Search Strategy Robert Axelrod (1984), The Evolution of Cooperation Second Order Search for Attributes of First Order Attributes

15. On Observers First Order Second Order Theory of the Brain Theory of Living Organisms Theory of Living Organisms Theory of the Brain First Order Second Order