INTRODUCTORY COMMENTS TO FRANCISCO VARELA' S CALCULUS FOR SELF-REFERENCE

Abstract
Paradox is central to all logical inquiry; it affects the general validity of logical formalism per se, and must be dealt with at the outset in any logical theory. A common characteristic of paradoxes is self-reference or reflexiveness. In the present scientific revolution, a shift is occurring from causal unidirectional to mutualistic systemic thinking, from a preoccupation with the properties of the observed to the study of the properties of the observer. The precursors of Varela''s Calculus for Self-Reference are discussed. Varela opens the possibility of a Calculus of Responsibility.

This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit: