"We can of course say that we mean something different by communication with God. But then, what do we mean? And can we, without stumbling over the paradox, say that we do not mean what we say knowing that others will not know what we mean when we say that we do not mean what we say?"
-Niklas Luhmann (Society, Meaning, Religion -- Based on Self-Reference)
9 comments:
I'm going to have to read this at least a dozen more times before I'm ready to remark.
In order to even (purposefully) fall down the rabbit hole of this particular discourse we have to get away from thinking about communication (even at the highest level of cybernetics) in a human realm and start asking questions about what other forms of communication(s) there are. This line of discussion, via Luhmann, will inevitably lead us to the disappearance of the singular human agent but it could be a good starting point for us.
Could communication outside of a human context? I am having trouble conceiving of non-human communication beyond things like animal communication. Even trying to abstract further from this context I find myself thinking about things like responsive systems (i.e. weather systems/ ecological systems like food chains). Could you say more about communication in a non-human sense?
Are there any good Luman links that I could post to the blog?
the wiki page is the only resource that is worth anything and let me tell you it is not worth much. radicalconstructivism.com is a great resource, indirectly.
Cells, for example, communicate through acidic traits (which are like encoded DNA). Cells will commit suicide (metaphorically) because of the communicative strains they get from the encoding. This is a superficial example but something much more reflexive than me buying a burger from McDonald's (which, later on, I would contend has nothing to do with communication):
"Humans cannot communicate, only communication communicates."
I meant to say that me buying a burger at McDonald's has nothing to do with human communication because I am not sure how humans can communicate.
I was trying to stay away from second order cybernetics (where human agency gets lost) but it happened. I will have to think in a more adaptable environment.
I wish I had some Gershom Scholem on hand.
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