From Being to Doing: The Origins of the Biology of Cognition

Citation

Mann, C.J.H. (2005), "From Being to Doing: The Origins of the Biology of Cognition", Kybernetes, Vol. 34 No. 9/10. https://doi.org/10.1108/k.2005.06734iae.005

From Being to Doing: The Origins of the Biology of Cognition

From Being to Doing: The Origins of the Biology of CognitionHumberto R. Maturana and Bernhard PoerksenCarl-AuerHeidelberg2004 (German original 2002)ISBN 3-89670-448-6; ISBN 1-932462-15-5 (USA and Canada)208pp., 15 Illus.e27.95, US $37.95, sFr 48.00 (paperback)

In USA and Canada, order on www.zeigtucker.com in Europe www.carl-auer.com

The book carries on its back cover the following tribute by the late Heinz von Foerster:

1. 1.

   In the early 20th century physicists revolutionised the scientific view of the world. Today it is the biologists who are radically transforming our understanding of the processes of life and cognition.Probing the mysteries of the mind, they have been able to prove that, in the act of knowing, the observer and the observed, subject and object, are inextricably enmeshed. The world we live in is not independent from us; we literally bring it forth ourselves.One of the protagonists of this new kind of thinking is the internationally renowned Neurobiologist and Systems Theorist Humberto R. Maturana, who was interviewed for several weeks by Bernhard Poerksen, Journalist and Communication Scientist. In this book, they explore the limits of our cognitive powers, discuss the truth in perception, the biology of love, and give, all in all, an introduction to systemic thinking that is down to earth, imaginative and rich in anecdote.Wherever you read in this rewarding book, you will be enriched and stimulated in the mind.

C.J.H. MannBook reviews and reports editor