A Recursive Vision: Ecological Understanding and Gregory Bateson

by Peter Harries-Jones

Gregory Bateson was one of the most original social scientists of this century. He is widely known as author of key ideas used in family therapy - including the well-known condition called 'double bind' . He was also one of the most influential figures in cultural anthropology. In the decade before his death in 1980 Bateson turned toward a consideration of ecology. Standard ecology concentrates on an ecosystem's biomass and on energy budgets supporting life. Bateson came to the conclusion that understanding ecological organization requires a complete switch in scientific perspective. He reasoned that ecological phenomena must be explained primarily through patterns of information and that only through perceiving these informational patterns will we uncover the elusive unity, or integration, of ecosystems. Bateson believed that relying upon the materialist framework of knowledge dominant in ecological science will deepen errors of interpretation and, in the end, promote eco-crisis. He saw recursive patterns of communication as the basis of order in both natural and human domains. He conducted his investigation first in small-scale social settings; then among octopus, otters, and dolphins. Later he took these investigations to the broader setting of evolutionary analysis and developed a framework of thinking he called 'an ecology of mind.' Finally, his inquiry included an ecology of mind in ecological settings - a recursive epistemology. This is the first study of the whole range of Bateson's ecological thought - a comprehensive presentaionof Bateson's matrix of ideas. Drawing on unpublished letters and papers, Harries-Jones clarifies themes scattered throughout Bateson's own writings, revealing the conceptual consistency inherent in Bateson's position, and elaborating ways in which he pioneered aspects of late twentieth-century thought.

Genres: Anthropology, Psychology, Philosophy, Biology

358 pages, Paperback

First published June 15, 1995

Reviews

[Michael Kulyk · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author knows his subject but he doesn't have a clue about how to write about it. Gregory Bateson defines explanation as the mapping of a data onto a tautology or underlying framework for understanding the world. Bateson was always true to form about this and gave concrete examples (data) to map onto his cybernetic explanatory principles. But what one finds in this book is one abstract statement piled onto another with the result that for anyone who doesn't understand Bateson's ideas already there's bound to be confusion and misunderstanding of Bateson's ideas. This author's style of writing borders on legalese and spoils what should be an excellent book.
Bateson's writing in 'Steps', 'Mind and Nature' and 'Angels' isn't exactly easy reading for the average newbie to his work but it's certainly not impossible and much more accessible than this book. A good book that overviews Bateson's contribution to read is David Lipset's 'Gregory Bateson: Legacy of a Scientist'. It's written in a straightforward manner that provides the reader with an accessible account of Gregory Bateson's ideas. Bateson read and approved the manuscript himself. It provides an excellent introduction to Bateson's work.

[Christian Moore-Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book if you're interested in Bateson's ideas.

[Sarbajit Ghosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably have to read the book thrice to fully internalize it.

[Cornelis · Rating 5 out of 5]

If your aim is to better understand Gregory Bateson's thinking with regards to our ecological crisis I highly recommend this book. I was particularly interested in the application of cybernetics to ecology and for me this book supplements and in some way goes beyond books by other cyberneticists of Bateson's generation like William Ross Ashby and Stafford Beer. However, like Bateson's own work I found reading the book a challenge. Only after having read and digested some of Bateson's work did I get comfortable with the book's language. I'm sure I'll read it again to more deeply understand the contents of the book. This however, is not a criticism. It is very dense from an informational perspective, so I'm positive much of the information it contains will have a new meaning for me every time I read it again after having read and digested related material. To summarise: a challenging addition to greatly further my understanding of the work of Bateson and our ecological crisis.