This article examines the intersection of philosophy and cybernetics, proposing Niklas Luhmann’s systems theory as a crucial foundation for renewed cybernetics in the twenty- first century. By revisiting Norbert Wiener’s foundational insights and reinterpreting key cybernetic principles, it explores how Luhmann’s second-order observation and the concept of meaning challenge the traditional…

This chapter outlines the main debates on the meaning of human dignity from Western humanist thought and perspective. These debates have edges and complexities that, although they began in antiquity, are still ongoing and open. The various tensions that accompany the debate make it impossible to reach a consensus on the character of human dignity. Rather than resolving these tensions in order…

The climate crisis is humanmade. Its main cause is the burning of fossil fuels. To combat climate change, we have to understand how we arrived at where we are. Carbon Societies explores the reasons why human societies have embarked on the trajectory of ever-increasing use of fossil fuels.

To sustain a growing…

This article outlines the main debates on the concept of dignity in thought using Reinhardt Koselleck's conceptual history methodology. These debates present dimensions and complexities that, although they began in antiquity, are still ongoing and open. The various tensions that accompany the debate make it impossible to reach a consensus on the character of dignity; moreover, the concept has…

This articleis oriented around the inquiry about the type of relationship that exists between the individual and society in systems theory. The characterizations of systems theory as a conflationist theory based on a negative anthropology are presented and discussed. It is then shown, as an alternative, a positive interpretation of the human being based on an operational primacy of the…

Collective action in our current global situation is often associated with growing intolerance, xenophobia and exclusion, or it is regarded as incapable of making a real and positive difference in the lives of individuals. This book acknowledges the severe problems with effective and significant collective action, but it arrives at a more optimistic diagnosis of our time by rethinking the…