Gregory Bateson (1904-1980) was a British philosopher and anthropologist best known for his analysis of how nature relates to humans. Wikipedia says,
"Gregory Bateson was an English anthropologist, social scientist, linguist, visual anthropologist, semiotician, and cyberneticist whose work intersected that of many other fields.... Bateson's interest in systems theory forms a thread running through his work." (Wikipedia: Gregory Bateson, 8.5.21 UTC 11:21)The rest of this post is some quotes from Bateson.
Concepts
"In order to proceed with abstraction, the organism must be exposed to a sufficient number of events which contain the same factors. Only then is a person equipped to cope with the most frequent happenings that they may encounter." (Communication: The Social Matrix of Psychiatry, 1951)
"Human sense organs can receive only news of difference, and the differences must be coded into events in tie (i.e. into changes) in order to be perceptible." (Mind and Nature: A Necessary Unity, 1988)
"Objects and circumstances which remain absolutely constant relative to the observer, unchanged either by external events, are in general difficult and perhaps always impossible to perceive." (Communication: The Social Matrix of Psychiatry, 1951)
Science
"As I see it, the advances in scientific thought come from a combination of loose and strict thinking,and this combination is the most precious tool of science." (Culture Contact and Schismogenesis, 1935)
"Science, like art, religion, commerce, warfare and even sleep, is based on presuppositions. It differs, however, from most other branches of human activity in the not only are the pathways of scientific thought determined by the presuppositions of the scientists but their goals are the testing and revision of old presuppositions and the the creation of new." (Mind and Nature: A Necessary Unity, 1988)
