Erich Jantsch
Encyclopedia
Erich Jantsch was an Austria
n astrophysicist.
In the mid-1960s his increasing concern regarding the future led him to study forecasting
techniques. He does not believe forecasting or science can be neutral.
Jantsch's Gauthier Lectures in System Science given in May 1979 at the University of California
in Berkely became the basis for his book The Self-Organizing Universe: Scientific and Human Implications of the Emerging Paradigm of Evolution, published by Pergamon Press
in 1980 as part of the System Science and World Order Library edited by Ervin László
. The book deals with self-organization
as a unifying evolution
ary paradigm
that incorporates cosmology
, biology
, sociology
, psychology
, and consciousness
. Jantsch is inspired by and draws on the work of Ilya Prigogine
concerning dissipative structures and nonequilibrium states.
Now out of print for many years, The Self-organizing Universe has been influential among interdisciplinary proponents of biomimicry
alternatives to understanding science
like holism
, co-evolution
, and self-organization
. It was extensively cited in Ken Wilber
's integral philosophy book Sex, Ecology, Spirituality: The Spirit of Evolution
.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n astrophysicist.
In the mid-1960s his increasing concern regarding the future led him to study forecasting
Forecasting
Forecasting is the process of making statements about events whose actual outcomes have not yet been observed. A commonplace example might be estimation for some variable of interest at some specified future date. Prediction is a similar, but more general term...
techniques. He does not believe forecasting or science can be neutral.
Jantsch's Gauthier Lectures in System Science given in May 1979 at the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
in Berkely became the basis for his book The Self-Organizing Universe: Scientific and Human Implications of the Emerging Paradigm of Evolution, published by Pergamon Press
Pergamon Press
Pergamon Press was an Oxford-based publishing house, founded by Paul Rosbaud and Robert Maxwell, which published scientific and medical books and journals. It is now an imprint of Elsevier....
in 1980 as part of the System Science and World Order Library edited by Ervin László
Ervin László
Ervin László is a Hungarian philosopher of science, systems theorist, integral theorist, originally a classical pianist. He has published about 75 books and over 400 papers, and is editor of World Futures: The Journal of General Evolution...
. The book deals with self-organization
Self-organization
Self-organization is the process where a structure or pattern appears in a system without a central authority or external element imposing it through planning...
as a unifying evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
ary paradigm
Paradigm
The word paradigm has been used in science to describe distinct concepts. It comes from Greek "παράδειγμα" , "pattern, example, sample" from the verb "παραδείκνυμι" , "exhibit, represent, expose" and that from "παρά" , "beside, beyond" + "δείκνυμι" , "to show, to point out".The original Greek...
that incorporates cosmology
Cosmology
Cosmology is the discipline that deals with the nature of the Universe as a whole. Cosmologists seek to understand the origin, evolution, structure, and ultimate fate of the Universe at large, as well as the natural laws that keep it in order...
, biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
, sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
, psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, and consciousness
Consciousness
Consciousness is a term that refers to the relationship between the mind and the world with which it interacts. It has been defined as: subjectivity, awareness, the ability to experience or to feel, wakefulness, having a sense of selfhood, and the executive control system of the mind...
. Jantsch is inspired by and draws on the work of Ilya Prigogine
Ilya Prigogine
Ilya, Viscount Prigogine was a Russian-born naturalized Belgian physical chemist and Nobel Laureate noted for his work on dissipative structures, complex systems, and irreversibility.-Biography :...
concerning dissipative structures and nonequilibrium states.
Now out of print for many years, The Self-organizing Universe has been influential among interdisciplinary proponents of biomimicry
Biomimicry
Biomimicry or biomimetics is the examination of nature, its models, systems, processes, and elements to emulate or take inspiration from in order to solve human problems. The term biomimicry and biomimetics come from the Greek words bios, meaning life, and mimesis, meaning to imitate...
alternatives to understanding science
Earth science
Earth science is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth. It is arguably a special case in planetary science, the Earth being the only known life-bearing planet. There are both reductionist and holistic approaches to Earth sciences...
like holism
Holism
Holism is the idea that all the properties of a given system cannot be determined or explained by its component parts alone...
, co-evolution
Co-evolution
In biology, coevolution is "the change of a biological object triggered by the change of a related object." Coevolution can occur at many biological levels: it can be as microscopic as correlated mutations between amino acids in a protein, or as macroscopic as covarying traits between different...
, and self-organization
Self-organization
Self-organization is the process where a structure or pattern appears in a system without a central authority or external element imposing it through planning...
. It was extensively cited in Ken Wilber
Ken Wilber
Kenneth Earl Wilber II is an American author who has written about mysticism, philosophy, ecology, and developmental psychology. His work formulates what he calls Integral Theory. In 1998, he founded the Integral Institute, for teaching and applications of Integral theory.-Biography:Ken Wilber was...
's integral philosophy book Sex, Ecology, Spirituality: The Spirit of Evolution
Sex, Ecology, Spirituality
Sex, Ecology, Spirituality: The Spirit of Evolution is integral philosopher Ken Wilber's 1995 magnum opus. Wilber intends it to be the first volume of a series called The Kosmos Trilogy, but subsequent volumes were never produced. The scholarly work comprises 850 pages, including 270 pages of notes...
.