Name
Heinz von Foerster.
Introduction
Heinz von Foerster (1911–2002) was a key member of the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, the cornerstone collaborative organization for a number of natural and social science fields including biology, physics, cybernetics, and computer science (Markoff 2002; Muller 2000). Although the beginning of his career centered more so around weapons research, von Foerster made a significant contribution to a number of fields, including cybernetics particularly, through his research at the Biological Computer Laboratory (BCL). While von Foerster was a noteworthy contributor to theoretical development in communication and biology, his work also influenced the development of systems theory (Muller 2000).
Career
Born in Vienna, Austria, in 1911, von Foerster received his doctorate from the University of Breslau in 1944. His first employment position postdoctorate was in a radar laboratory during the height of World War II in Berlin (Markoff 2002). Here, he operated...
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References
Keeney, B. P., & Ross, J. M. (1983). Cybernetics of brief family therapy. Journal of Marriage and Family Therapy, 9(4), 375–382.
Markoff, J. (2002). Heinz von Foerster, 90, dies; Was information theorist. The New York Times.. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/09/us/heinz-von-foerster-90-dies-was-information-theorist.html.
Muller, A. (2000). A brief history of the BCL. Heinz von Foerster and the biological computer laboratory. Osterreichische Zeitschrift fur Geschichtswissenschaften, 11(1), 9–30.
von Foerster, H. (2003). Understanding understanding: Essays on cybernetics and cognition. New York: Springer.
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Dishon-Brown, A. (2019). Von Foerster, Heinz. In: Lebow, J.L., Chambers, A.L., Breunlin, D.C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49425-8_747
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49425-8_747
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