Selected papers contributed to Kybernetes by Charles Muses

Citation

(2002), "Selected papers contributed to Kybernetes by Charles Muses", Kybernetes, Vol. 31 No. 7/8. https://doi.org/10.1108/k.2002.06731gaa.003

Selected papers contributed to Kybernetes by Charles Muses

Introduction

The bibliography included in this dedication to Charles Musès, provides an indication of his prolific writings on a whole range of subjects. Unfortunately because of space limitations in this journal, we can only publish a representative selection of his work and this is confined to the articles and papers contributed to this journal and relevant to the fields of cybernetics and systems.

Although only a representative section is published here, we are fortunate that Kybernetes Online provides an advanced knowledge resource for the entire organisation and (access via the Emerald Library – www.emeraldinsight.com) will allow all the contributions to be perused.

The bibliography provided in this issue gives details of his work published as books, in other published journals, or as texts, and concerned with other fields of interest.

Selection of papers

In choosing the papers and extracts of his works from those published over the years in Kybernetes we were particularly pleased that Mrs Jacqueline Musès has been involved. She sums up the main theme of his articles in Kybernetes as:

1. 1.

   Cybernetics is the key science of our times because it is the "master-control science" or "watch-dog for science"; and the role of cyberneticians should be to monitor, anticipate needs and implement measures in systems that minimize dangerous and destructive positive feedbacks.

2. 2.

   The need for cybernetic analysis and application of the highest quality is more urgent than at any previous time in the history of the world. "The current agonizing ecological problems, for instance, are prime examples of destructive positive feedback loops gone out of control".

3. 3.

   Cybernetics necessarily embraces all the sciences, as every aspect of reality contributes feedbacks, whether anticipated or unexpected, to the deeply interwoven ecological and social systems of our world.

4. 4.

   Cyberneticians need "to recognize and deal with all feedback effects, including the consequences of omissive conception" – that is to say, deconditioning oneself is essential before one can anticipate and detect feedbacks most clearly and fully.

5. 5.

   Highly centralized systems are not necessarily the most healthy ones, quite the contrary, and that one of the greatest needs of our times is to learn how to simplify unnecessarily complex systems.

Three articles that particularly come to mind in connection with these themes are:

1. 1.

   "Simplifying Complexity: the greatest present challenge to manage-ment and government" – Kybernetes, Vol. 29 Nos 5/6, 2000.

2. 2.

   "The Unique Role of Cybernetics in our Fin-de-Siecle" – Kybernetes, Vol. 24 No. 7, 1995.

3. 3.

   "Recollections of Norbert Wiener, Warren McCulloch and Stafford Beer" – Kybernetes, Vol. 23 No. 2, 1994.

Mrs Musès has also expressed the wish that in addition to these articles, if space allows, the papers "Consciousness: The Holy Grail of Science" (Kybernetes, Vol. 25 Nos. 7/8, l996) and "System Theory and the Roots of Democracy (Kybernetes, Vol. 25 No. 4, 1996), which also represents his main themes should be included in this selection.

The abstracts for both these papers are as follows:

Consciousness: the Holy Grail of Science C. Musès Keywords: Cognititive mapping, Cybernetics

Presents consciousness as not only cognitive awareness in sensory, imaginational, remembered and dream contexts, but also as the awareness in all of us that is not necessarily accessed by or immediately accessible only to the conscious mind. Sees consciousness, because of its primal and pervasive nature, as the Holy Grail of the scientific quest. Provides examples of how it can be misunderstood and exposed to sources of confusion. Discusses the resulting scenarios and considers global re-assessments, including one of evolutionary theory.

System theory and the roots of democracyC. MusèsKeywords: Cybernetics, Democracy, Social sciences, Society, Systems theory

Considers the relationship between system theory and the roots of democracy. Discusses democracy in the context of the societal system and examines the need for awareness of the way in which it has developed. Introduces a simple scheme with remarkable natural affiliations to illustrate the socio-cybernetic viewpoint and explains how acentric, bilateral symmetry is the basis of natural system generation. From this analysis studies the positive feedbacks in relation to global crime and war. Looks at the state of contemporary awareness of the societal forces that have been analysed and described.

Both these contributions and the remaining papers that have been published in Kybernetes are listed in the Bibliography included in this tribute to his work and can be accessed using Kybernetes Online.