Logic Of The Third, The: A Paradigm Shift To A Shared Future For Humanity

by Wolfgang Hofkirchner

Overview

This book is a scientific basis for understanding the urgent need for a Great Transformation to a third step in social evolution. Already being a community of common destiny, humanity can form an actual unity through diversity to avoid extinction. Social actors can recognise informational imperatives for cognition, communication and co-operation to achieve such a unity. By doing so, they apply a logic that underlies the structuration of any agency, which is a real logic of self-organising systems from the physical to the social. This logic is the Logic of the Third — the Third is a meta-structure that emerges in a leap. The agents interact and when they co-act they are likely to form a real meta-structure of organisational relations. Informational agents anticipate this by generating requisite information in their attempt to cope with complex challenges. Such an information is a meta-structure too. The Third helps achieve synergy effects.This book discusses considerations from philosophy, systems theory, the study of information, social systems, social information, ecology and technology. It addresses ethical issues connected with the long-forgotten arms race in an atomic age, the global warming not yet under control, the pandemic misunderstood, the social question still unanswered.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789811261015
Publisher:	World Scientific Publishing Company, Incorporated
Publication date:	12/29/2022
Series:	World Scientific Series In Information Studies , #14
Pages:	316
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.75(d)

Table of Contents

Preface vii

List of Tables xv

List of Figures xix

Part I Towards a Science of Transformation 1

1 Revisiting the World, Systems and Information 3

1.1 The Logic of the Third 8

1.1.1 The Logic of the Third in the Designing Relation 9

1.1.2 The Logic of the Third in the Modelling Relation 11

1.1.3 The Logic of the Third in the Framing Relation 12

1.2 Emergentism: Unity-through-Diversity as Third 15

1.2.1 Emergent directionality 16

1.2.2 Emergent integrity 18

1.2.3 Emergent concreteness 19

1.2.4 The Principle of Unity-through-Diversity 20

1.3 Systemism: Self-Organisation as Third 22

1.3.1 Emergent functionality 24

1.3.2 Emergent systemicity 25

1.3.3 Emergent relationality 28

1.3.4 The Principle of Self-Organisation 30

1.4 Informationism: Information as Third 32

1.4.1 Emergent valuableness 33

1.4.2 Emergent reflectivity 35

1.4.3 Emergent semiosicality 38

1.4.4 The Principle of the Co-Extension of Information and Self-Organisation 40

Part II Steps to a Theory of the Social and of Social Information 43

2 From Systemism and Informationism to Criticism 45

2.1 Rethinking the Social; Critical emergentist Sociogenetics 48

2.1.1 Redesigning the social: the emergence of common goodness 51

2.1.1.1 Cycles for the good or for the bad 53

2.1.2 Remodelling the social: the emergence of sociality 56

2.1.2.1 Agency/structure dialectics 57

2.1.2.2 The architecture of society as nested systems 60

2.1.2.3 Socialisation/sociation, individialisation/individuation 62

2.1.3 Refraining the social: the emergence of structurality 63

2.1.3.1 The observable and the unobservable 64

2.1.3.2 Typology of social relations 67

2.1.4 The Principle of Commonism 70

2.2 Rethinking Social Information: Critical emergentist Noogenetics 72

2.2.1 Redesigning social information: the emergence of normativity 79

2.2.1.1 Two steps of noogenesis 81

2.2.1.2 Typology of the normative 84

2.2.1.3 Consensualisation qualities 85

2.2.1.4 The morals of the commons 86

2.2.1.5 Triple contingency 91

2.2.2 Remodelling social information: the emergence of discursivity 94

2.2.2.1 Consilience qualities 95

2.2.2.2 Double contingency 98

2.2.3 Refraining social information: the emergence of reflexivity 101

2.2.3.1 Conceptuality qualities 103

2.2.3.2 Concepts 104

2.2.3.3 Relational subjects and their relational goods 106

2.2.3.4 Typology of reflexivity 107

2.2.3.5 Reflexivity of ego and alter: I - You; Me - Us - Thee 108

2.2.3.6 Single contingency 110

2.2.4 The Principle of Eudaimonism 112

3 From Criticism to Critical Utopia 115

3.1 Rethinking the Social in the Age of the Great Bifurcation: Emergentist Bifurcationism 117

3.1.1 Redesigning the social in the Age of the Great Bifurcation: the emergence of common-destiny humanity 121

3.1.1.1 Enclosure of the commons carried to extremes 123

3.1.2 Remodelling the social in the age of the Great Bifurcation: the emergence of anthropocenic civilisationality 130

3.1.2.1 Anthropocene 132

3.1.2.2 Global Sustainable Information Society (GSIS) 136

3.1.3 Refraining the social in the age of the Great Bifurcation: the emergence of anthropo-relationality 149

3.1.3.1 The logics of human-human relations 151

3.1.3.2 The logics of human-nature relations 152

3.1.3.3 The logics of human-technology relations 153

3.1.4 The Principle of Planetarism 155

3.2 Rethinking Social Information in the age of a Great Transformation: Emergentist Transformationism 157

3.2.1 Redesigning social information in the age of a Great Transformation: the emergence of a planetary ethos for global governance 162

3.2.1.1 The imperative of a planetary ethos 165

3.2.1.2 Ethical global governance 170

3.2.2 Remodelling social information in the age of a Great Transformation: the emergence of planetary agreeableness for global dialogue 173

3.2.2.1 The imperative of a planetary agreeableness 176

3.2.2.2 Agreeable global dialogue 177

3.2.3 Refraining social information in the age of a Great Transformation: the emergence of planetary mindfulness for global citizenship 179

3.2.3.1 The imperative of a planetary mindfulness 182

3.2.3.2 Mindful global citizenship 184

3.2.4 The Principle of Convivialism 187

Part III Towards a Science for, about, and via the Techno-Eco-Social Transformation 191

4 From Critical Utopia to Visioneering. Rethinking Future Information Technology: Emergentist Techno-Social Systemism 193

4.1 Redesigning Information Technology for the Future: the Emergence of Digital Conscience 197

4.1.1 The normative implications of information society theories in the Anthropocene 202

4.1.2 ICTs as value-based techno-social systems 206

4.1.3 ICTs enhancing cognition, communication and co-operation 213

4.1.3.1 Tools for thought 213

4.1.3.2 Media 215

4.1.3.3 Technologies of co-operation 217

4.1.4 ICTs for peace, sustainability and (social) development 220

4.1.4.1 ICTs for war or peace 221

4.1.4.2 ICTs for disruption or sustainability 226

4.1.4.3 ICTs for misery or development 228

4.1.5 Responsible man-machine designs 235

4.1.5.1 Man-machine assimilation 236

4.1.5.2 Man-machine segregation 238

4.1.5.3 Man-machine integration 241

4.2 Remodelling Information Technology for the Future: The Emergence of Digital Intelligence 242

4.2.1 Man-machine monism 244

4.2.1.1 Technomorphism 244

4.2.1.2 Sociomorphism 245

4.2.2 Man-machine dualism (pluralism) 247

4.2.2.1 Technosingularism 247

4.2.2.2 Sociopomorphism 249

4.2.2.3 Techno/social indifferentism 250

4.2.3 Man-machine dialectic 250

4.3 Refraining Information Technology for the Future: The Emergence of Digital Ingenuity 255

4.3.1 Man-machine cross-disciplinarity 257

4.3.1.1 Techno-universalism 257

4.3.1.2 Socio-universalism 258

4.3.2 Man-machine pluridisciplinarity 259

4.3.2.1 Technoparticularism 259

4.3.2.2 Socioparticularism 260

4.3.2.3 Techno/social relativism 260

4.3.3 Man-machine transdisciplinarity 261

4.4 The Principle of Digital Humanism 264

4.5 A Transformation Science for a Shared Humanity 271

Bibliography 273

Index 289