Title :
Was Norbert Wiener a metaphysician?
Author :
Touiza-Ambroggiani, Sara
Author_Institution :
Paris 8 Univ., Paris, France
Abstract :
Relying on a careful analysis of Norbert Wiener´s implicit philosophy, this article aims at showing the presence of a palpable tension in his general conception of human beings. Wiener saw no essential difference between living and non-living beings and even less between human and non-human beings. He explicitly and repeatedly made this claim. Furthermore, he defines us as sophisticated machines. But, how then can there be unsurpassable machines, as he said in many writings? I will try to find ways to answer this question. The thesis of this article is that the presence of some contradictions in Wiener´s philosophy testfies to a strong tension between two poles fighting in him. A tension that marked his life as a thinker : a tension between the scientfic mathematician and the philosophical metaphysician.
Keywords :
ethical aspects; philosophical aspects; social sciences; Norbert Wiener; Wiener philosophy; bioethics; human beings general conception; implicit philosophy; nonhuman beings; nonliving beings; palpable tension; philosophical metaphysician; scientfic mathematician; unsurpassable machines; Animals; Automation; Computers; Cybernetics; Ethics; Presses; Writing; Bioethics; Cybernetician philosophy; Human beings; Identity; Post humanism;
Conference_Titel :
Norbert Wiener in the 21st Century (21CW), 2014 IEEE Conference on
Conference_Location :
Boston, MA
DOI :
10.1109/NORBERT.2014.6893932