History and epistemology of early cybernetics: the case of the homeostat
W. R. Ashby is known as a central figure of the mid-twentieth century cybernetics movement. Here his historical significance concerning the following development of the cognitive and behavioral sciences is assessed. Specifically, the paper focuses on the epistemological and methodological assumption...
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Format: | Online |
Language: | spa |
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Universidad Nacional de Córdoba
2016
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Online Access: | https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/racc/article/view/10454 |
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author | Venturelli, Alfonso Nicolás |
author_facet | Venturelli, Alfonso Nicolás |
author_sort | Venturelli, Alfonso Nicolás |
collection | Portal de Revistas |
description | W. R. Ashby is known as a central figure of the mid-twentieth century cybernetics movement. Here his historical significance concerning the following development of the cognitive and behavioral sciences is assessed. Specifically, the paper focuses on the epistemological and methodological assumptions and implications behind the homeostat, a famous cybernetic device presented by Ashby during the 1952 Macy conference in order to study adaptive behavior. On the one hand, the contact points between the behavioral tradition in psychology and the theoretical and programmatic statement underlying the homeostat are considered: Over and above Ashby’s strong behaviorist roots, it will be shown how the homeostat also clearly departs from behaviorism. On the other hand, the guidelines of a solid philosophy of scientific modeling stemming from Ashby’s early contribution are highlighted. |
format | Online |
id | oai:ojs.revistas.unc.edu.ar:article-10454 |
institution | Universidad Nacional de Cordoba |
language | spa |
publishDate | 2016 |
publisher | Universidad Nacional de Córdoba |
record_format | ojs |
spelling | oai:ojs.revistas.unc.edu.ar:article-104542019-06-04T13:40:38Z History and epistemology of early cybernetics: the case of the homeostat Historia y epistemología de la cibernética temprana: el caso del homeostato Venturelli, Alfonso Nicolás modelos científicos cibernética conductismo William R. Ashby scientific models cybernetics behaviorism William R. Ashby W. R. Ashby is known as a central figure of the mid-twentieth century cybernetics movement. Here his historical significance concerning the following development of the cognitive and behavioral sciences is assessed. Specifically, the paper focuses on the epistemological and methodological assumptions and implications behind the homeostat, a famous cybernetic device presented by Ashby during the 1952 Macy conference in order to study adaptive behavior. On the one hand, the contact points between the behavioral tradition in psychology and the theoretical and programmatic statement underlying the homeostat are considered: Over and above Ashby’s strong behaviorist roots, it will be shown how the homeostat also clearly departs from behaviorism. On the other hand, the guidelines of a solid philosophy of scientific modeling stemming from Ashby’s early contribution are highlighted. W. R. Ashby es reconocido como una figura fundamental de la cibernética de mediados del siglo veinte. Aquí se evalúa su relevancia histórica para el desarrollo posterior de las ciencias cognitivas y del comportamiento. En particular, se analizan los supuestos y las implicaciones epistemológicas y metodológicas del homeostato, un conocido dispositivo cibernético presentado por Ashby durante la conferencia Macy de 1952 para el estudio del comportamiento adaptativo. Por un lado, se evalúan los puntos de contacto entre la tradición conductista en psicología y el planteo teórico y programático subyacente al homeostato: más allá de la fuerte raigambre conductista de Ashby, se evidencia en qué sentido el homeostato marca también un claro distanciamiento de aquella tradición. Por otro lado, se subrayan los lineamientos de una sólida epistemología de los modelos científicos en esta temprana contribución de Ashby. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba 2016-08-20 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion application/pdf https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/racc/article/view/10454 Argentinean Journal of Behavioral Sciences; Vol. 8 No. 2 (2016): Número Especial: "Historia de las Ciencias del Comportamiento"; 124-133 Revista Argentina de Ciencias del Comportamiento; Vol. 8 Núm. 2 (2016): Número Especial: "Historia de las Ciencias del Comportamiento"; 124-133 1852-4206 10.32348/1852.4206.v8.n2 spa https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/racc/article/view/10454/VENHISpdf Derechos de autor 2016 Alfonso Nicolás Venturelli |
spellingShingle | modelos científicos cibernética conductismo William R. Ashby scientific models cybernetics behaviorism William R. Ashby Venturelli, Alfonso Nicolás History and epistemology of early cybernetics: the case of the homeostat |
title | History and epistemology of early cybernetics: the case of the homeostat |
title_alt | Historia y epistemología de la cibernética temprana: el caso del homeostato |
title_full | History and epistemology of early cybernetics: the case of the homeostat |
title_fullStr | History and epistemology of early cybernetics: the case of the homeostat |
title_full_unstemmed | History and epistemology of early cybernetics: the case of the homeostat |
title_short | History and epistemology of early cybernetics: the case of the homeostat |
title_sort | history and epistemology of early cybernetics the case of the homeostat |
topic | modelos científicos cibernética conductismo William R. Ashby scientific models cybernetics behaviorism William R. Ashby |
topic_facet | modelos científicos cibernética conductismo William R. Ashby scientific models cybernetics behaviorism William R. Ashby |
url | https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/racc/article/view/10454 |
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