The Dream of Reality

	First edition cover
Author	Lynn Segal
Language	English
Subject	Heinz von Foerster, Constructivist epistemology
Genre	Philosophy
Publisher	WW Norton
Publication date	1986
Publication place	United States
ISBN	0393700267
OCLC	13005603
LC Class	BD161 .S39 1986
Website	http://lynnsegal.com/book_dream.html

The Dream of Reality: Heinz von Foerster's Constructivism is a book by Lynn Segal first published in 1986.^[1] Segal, a licensed clinical social worker, examines the constructivist epistemology of physicist and philosopher Heinz von Foerster. Originally intended as a transcription of von Foerster's lectures, the book evolved into Segal's interpretation of von Foerster's constructivism written in everyday language.^[2]

Synopsis

The book begins with a foreword by Paul Watzlawick, a preface by the author, and an introduction which provides a synopsis of the book's content and structure. In chapter one, The Myth of Objectivity, Segal introduces the objectivity vs. constructivist epistemology debate, illustrated with examples of making sense of undifferentiated sensory input and eigenvalue puzzles, where the observer is necessary. In chapter two, The Difficulties of Language, the author describes what we can learn about epistemology from syllogisms, paradox, self-reference, and causality, finally focusing on the circular causality described in cybernetics. In the third chapter, Maturana and the Observer, Segal reviews Humberto Maturana's "observer-based science" where the object observed is not assumed to exist independent of the observer. The Nervous System is the next chapter, where Segal surveys the historical theories connecting perception and thought, including theories by Aristotle, Alkmaeon, Hippocrates, Galen, William Harvey, René Descartes, and Santiago Ramón y Cajal. In this chapter the author also looks at the evolution, structure, and function, of the nervous system and its relationship to the endocrine system. The fifth chapter, Computation, examines how computation happens in both computers and brains, using formal logic and trivial and non-trivial logical machines as conceptual tools to distinguish the two. Humans have capacity to "compute" in additional domains beyond mathematical-logical, including sensory and semantic domains. In chapter six, Biocomputation, Segal looks at how neural circuits work to calculate Boolean operations, and how these circuits fire in the presence of different but ignore sameness. In the final chapter, Closure, the author looks at closure across thermodynamics, mathematics, systems theory, and autopoesis. Segal goes on to examine the double closure of the nervous system along its sensorimotor and synapitc-endocrine dimensions. He returns to mathematics to examine recursion theory, cognition, and solipsism. The book ends with an interview with Heinz von Foerster conducted by media studies professor Carol Wilder.

Publication

The first edition of the book was published in 1986 by W. W. Norton. A second edition of the book was published in 2001 by Springer with some corrections from von Foerster.^[3]

Reception

The book received both mixed and positive reviews from the mental health and academic communities. Psychiatrist Peter Bruggen, reviewing the book for the Journal of Family Therapy, notes that Segal's discussions around paradox, reality, and the role of the observer are easier to follow than other writers such as Bateson and Maturana, even if Segal's logic is difficult to follow at times.^[4] Writing for Contemporary Psychology, David E. Presti questions Segal's application of neuroscience principles to questions of epistemology,^[5] while Klaus Krippendorff reviewing for the Journal of Communication praises Segal's ability to clearly present von Foerster's ideas, even if the book doesn't explore counterarguments.^[6] Linda Ade-Ridder writes in her review for Family Relations, "Written for anyone interested in exploring the concepts of objectivity and reality, this concise volume translates the ideas behind radical constructivism into a very readable form. Therapists will find the ideas particularly thought-provoking through the exploration of how language and logic shape thinking, especially within psychotheraputic models."^[7] In The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, psychiatrist Bill McLeod describes the book as "difficult but rewarding."^[8]

References

^ Segal, Lynn (1986). The dream of reality : Heinz von Foerster's constructivism. New York: W. W. Norton. ISBN 978-0393700268. OCLC 13005603.
^ Book News, Inc. (November 2001). "The dream of reality; Heinz von Foerster's constructivism, 2d ed". Reference and Research Book News. 16 (4). ISSN 0887-3763. Segal, a psychotherapist, initiated this work as a transcription of von Foerster's lecture material; but it evolved instead into an interpretation of von Foerster's ideas in accessible language.
^ Segal, Lynn (2001). The dream of reality: Heinz von Foerster's constructivism (Second ed.). New York: Springer. ISBN 978-0387951300. OCLC 247384802.
^ Bruggen, Peter (1987). "Book Reviews: The Dream of Reality: Heinz von Foerster's Constructivism". Journal of Family Therapy. 9 (4): 398.
^ Presti, David E. (1987). "What Goes Around Comes Around...". Contemporary Psychology. 32 (6): 556–557. doi:10.1037/027236. Discussion proceeds from the myth of objectivity, to arguments that our language misleads us into believing that we discover things about the world rather than invent them, to outlines of notions about the nervous system and computation. However, the arguments proposed often have dubious relevance to the question (such as the derision of localization of function in the central nervous system) and are sometimes very misleading.
^ Krippendorff, Klaus (1987). "Nourishing the core". Journal of Communication. Spring: 155–158. Segal thus amicably succeeded in making rather profound insights seductively easy to read and in maintaining von Foerster's oratory flair -- one can virtually see von Foerster talk when reading the book....True to one of cybernetics' ethical imperatives -- that choices should always increase the range of options available-- the book opens more doors than it closes. Perhaps Segal could have been more critical and have explored the alternative paths behind these doors.
^ Ade-Ridder, Linda (April 1987). "Book Briefs: The Dream of Reality: Heinz von Foerster's Constructivism". Family Relations. 36 (2): 222. doi:10.2307/583958. JSTOR 583958.
^ McLeod, Bill (1990). "Book Reviews: The Dream of Reality: Heinz von Foerster's Constructivism". The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy. 11 (3): 187. doi:10.1002/j.1467-8438.1990.tb00820.x. ISSN 0814-723X. This is a difficult but rewarding book. It is difficult in that it skilfully presents the work of Heinz von Foerster while also presenting ideas from philosophy, cybernetics, physics and physiology. It is rewarding for it challenges our ordinary way of thinking and invites confrontation with the constructivist approaches to our knowledge of the world. Also it offers a challenge that if taken up will radically alter the conduct of therapy.

[1] Segal, Lynn (1986). The dream of reality : Heinz von Foerster's constructivism. New York: W. W. Norton. ISBN 978-0393700268. OCLC 13005603.

[2] Book News, Inc. (November 2001). "The dream of reality; Heinz von Foerster's constructivism, 2d ed". Reference and Research Book News. 16 (4). ISSN 0887-3763. Segal, a psychotherapist, initiated this work as a transcription of von Foerster's lecture material; but it evolved instead into an interpretation of von Foerster's ideas in accessible language.

[3] Segal, Lynn (2001). The dream of reality: Heinz von Foerster's constructivism (Second ed.). New York: Springer. ISBN 978-0387951300. OCLC 247384802.

[4] Bruggen, Peter (1987). "Book Reviews: The Dream of Reality: Heinz von Foerster's Constructivism". Journal of Family Therapy. 9 (4): 398.

[5] Presti, David E. (1987). "What Goes Around Comes Around...". Contemporary Psychology. 32 (6): 556–557. doi:10.1037/027236. Discussion proceeds from the myth of objectivity, to arguments that our language misleads us into believing that we discover things about the world rather than invent them, to outlines of notions about the nervous system and computation. However, the arguments proposed often have dubious relevance to the question (such as the derision of localization of function in the central nervous system) and are sometimes very misleading.

[6] Krippendorff, Klaus (1987). "Nourishing the core". Journal of Communication. Spring: 155–158. Segal thus amicably succeeded in making rather profound insights seductively easy to read and in maintaining von Foerster's oratory flair -- one can virtually see von Foerster talk when reading the book....True to one of cybernetics' ethical imperatives -- that choices should always increase the range of options available-- the book opens more doors than it closes. Perhaps Segal could have been more critical and have explored the alternative paths behind these doors.

[7] Ade-Ridder, Linda (April 1987). "Book Briefs: The Dream of Reality: Heinz von Foerster's Constructivism". Family Relations. 36 (2): 222. doi:10.2307/583958. JSTOR 583958.

[8] McLeod, Bill (1990). "Book Reviews: The Dream of Reality: Heinz von Foerster's Constructivism". The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy. 11 (3): 187. doi:10.1002/j.1467-8438.1990.tb00820.x. ISSN 0814-723X. This is a difficult but rewarding book. It is difficult in that it skilfully presents the work of Heinz von Foerster while also presenting ideas from philosophy, cybernetics, physics and physiology. It is rewarding for it challenges our ordinary way of thinking and invites confrontation with the constructivist approaches to our knowledge of the world. Also it offers a challenge that if taken up will radically alter the conduct of therapy.

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