family psychotherapy: cybernetics
The term "cybernetic" [Greek kybernetes, pilot, steersman] was coined by the mathematician Norbert Wiener in 1948 to encompass "the entire field of control and communication theory, whether in the machine or in the animal" (p.11). Cybernetics is concerned with scientific investigation of systemic processes of a highly varied nature, including such phenomena as regulation, information processing, information storage, adaptation, self-organization, self-reproduction, and strategic behavior. Within the general cybernetic approach, the following theoretical fields have developed: systems theory (system), communication theory, game theory, and decision theory.*
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- Wiener, Norbert Cybernetics or Control and Communication in the Animal Paperback 1965
- Wiener, Norbert Norbert Wiener - Cybernetics, Science and Society (Collected Works, Vol 4) Vol 4 Hardcover 1986
- Wiener, Norbert The Human Use of Human Beings - Cybernetics and Society Paperback 1988
*Extracted with permission from Simon, Fritz et al Language of Family Therapy - A Systemic Vocabulary and Source Book (Family Process Press Series) Paperback 1985 Family Process, Inc.