BCSSS

International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics

2nd Edition, as published by Charles François 2004 Presented by the Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science Vienna for public access.

About

The International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics was first edited and published by the system scientist Charles François in 1997. The online version that is provided here was based on the 2nd edition in 2004. It was uploaded and gifted to the center by ASC president Michael Lissack in 2019; the BCSSS purchased the rights for the re-publication of this volume in 200?. In 2018, the original editor expressed his wish to pass on the stewardship over the maintenance and further development of the encyclopedia to the Bertalanffy Center. In the future, the BCSSS seeks to further develop the encyclopedia by open collaboration within the systems sciences. Until the center has found and been able to implement an adequate technical solution for this, the static website is made accessible for the benefit of public scholarship and education.

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FIGURE-GROUND 3)5)

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"The characteristically unequal emphasis in human visual perception on a figure, which stands out against an undifferentiated background, which merely contributes to that perception" (K. KRIPPENDORFF, 1986, p.30).

This is a basic condition in Gestalt theory of perception. It has been used by many artists, as for example M.C. ESCHER, to create optical illusions.

The concept is not merely limited to visual perception. KRIPPENDORFF observes that the same "… unequal emphasis is found in the distinction between a word and its context, between an organism and its environment or between pattern and chance" (Ibid).

He also states that "… visual examples of figure and ground reversals… are the equivalent of paradoxes" (p.31). Double-bind statements illustrates the same point in logics.

From a systemic viewpoint it is significant of the usefulness of subsystems good identification, and of making clear the difference between the system and its environment.

Janet McIntyre suggests that "when communicating in the caring professions we need to be constantly aware of this figure/ground nexus.

The analogy can help us to understand that the perception of the same situation can differ, depending on what you are concentrating on"(1988, p. 113)

Using the figure-ground as an illustrating metaphor can be quite helpful in psychological and psychiatric situations, as the "patient" does not live isolated from his/her environment.

Even conflictive socio-cultural issues could be usefully looked at in this way.

In her paper Mcintyre also draws analogies with other multi-facets models, as Mc LUHAN and POWERS tetrad and DE BONO six thinking hats (1989)

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Categories

  • 1) General information
  • 2) Methodology or model
  • 3) Epistemology, ontology and semantics
  • 4) Human sciences
  • 5) Discipline oriented

Publisher

Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science(2020).

To cite this page, please use the following information:

Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science (2020). Title of the entry. In Charles François (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics (2). Retrieved from www.systemspedia.org/[full/url]

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