Macy_conferences - Wikiparency

# Macy conferences ## Links (Wikipedia order)  `A_Mathematical_Theory_of_Communication` · `Academic_discipline` · `Adrenal_cortex` · `American_Society_for_Cybernetics` · `Anthropology` · `Antioxidant` · `Arturo_Rosenblueth` · `Behavioral_pattern` · [[Black_box]] · `Blood_pressure` · `Boolean_algebra` · [[Claude_Shannon]] · `Cognitive_distortion` · [[Cognitive_science]] · [[Complexity]] · `Computer` · `Connective_tissue` · `Consciousness` · [[Cybernetics]] · [[Decision_theory]] · `Donald_MacCrimmon_MacKay` · `Ernst_Mayr` · `Erving_Goffman` · `Ethics` · [[Feedback]] · `Feedforward` · `Frieda_Fromm-Reichmann` · `Gestalt_psychology` · [[Gregory_Bateson]] · `Hallucination` · `Hans-Lukas_Teuber` · `Heinrich_Klüver` · [[Heinz_von_Foerster]] · [[Homeostasis]] · `Horst_Mittelstaedt` · `Human` · `I._A._Richards` · [[Information]] · [[Information_theory]] · `Integrative_learning` · `Intelligibility_(communication)` · [[Interdisciplinarity]] · `Interrogation` · `J._C._R._Licklider` · [[John_von_Neumann]] · `Karl_H._Pribram` · `Konrad_Lorenz` · `Kurt_Lewin` · `LSD` · `Lawrence_K._Frank` · `Lawrence_Kubie` · [[Margaret_Mead]] · [[Medicine]] · `Memory` · `Mimesis` · `Mind` · [[Nervous_system]] · [[Neural_network]] · `Neuron` · `Neurosis` · `New_York_City` · [[Norbert_Wiener]] · `Obsessive–compulsive_disorder` · `Oskar_Morgenstern` · `Paul_Lazarsfeld` · `R._Duncan_Luce` · `Rafael_Lorente_de_Nó` · `Robert_Jay_Lifton` · [[Second-order_cybernetics]] · [[Self-reference]] · [[Signal]] · [[Systems_theory]] · `Teleology` · `Walter_Pitts` · `Warren_Sturgis_McCulloch` · `William_Grey_Walter` · `Yehoshua_Bar-Hillel` > Summary stub · part of Systems Thinking · [Wikipedia source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macy_conferences) ## Summary The Macy conferences were a set of meetings of scholars from various academic disciplines held in New York under the direction of Frank Fremont-Smith at the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation starting in 1941 and ending in 1960. The explicit aim of the conferences was to promote meaningful communication across scientific disciplines,[1] and restore unity to [[Science|science]].[2] There were different sets of conferences designed to cover specific topics, for a total of 160 conferences over the 19 years this program was active;[3] the phrase "Macy conference" does not apply only to those on [[Cybernetics|cybernetics]], although it is sometimes used that way informally by those familiar only with that set of events. Disciplinary isolation within [[Medicine|medicine]] was viewed as particularly problematic by the Macy Foundation, and given that their mandate was to aid medical research, they decided to do something about it. ## Key points - The Macy conferences were a set of meetings of scholars from various academic disciplines held in New York under the direction of Frank Fremont-Smith at the Josiah Macy Jr. - Foundation starting in 1941 and ending in 1960. - The explicit aim of the conferences was to promote meaningful communication across scientific disciplines, and restore unity to science. - There were different sets of conferences designed to cover specific topics, for a total of 160 conferences over the 19 years this program was active; the phrase "Macy conference" does not apply only to those on cybernetics, although it is sometimes used that way informally by those familiar only with that set of events. - Disciplinary isolation within medicine was viewed as particularly problematic by the Macy Foundation, and given that their mandate was to aid medical research, they decided to do something about it. ## Relation to Systems Thinking Macy conferences sits within the Systems Thinking cluster of related concepts. Its principles contribute to understanding [[Feedback|feedback]], [[Emergence|emergence]], and dynamic behavior in complex adaptive systems. ## Sources - [Macy conferences — Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macy_conferences) Back to Systems Thinking ---  ## Semiotic profile > *The semiotic universals this article invokes, machine-derived from the crossref — **unverified** (born so). Populated 2026-07-06 for the Systems room.* **Universals (4):** 🟡 system (7) · 🟡 science (3) · 🟢 emergence (2) · 🟢 feedback (2) **Enter by sign:** Systems Semiotic Gateway · Alphabetum · Icon Registry · ← Systems Portal  ## Wikipedia : Wikitube **Strict pair:** [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macy_conferences) : [Wikitube](https://en.wikitube.io/wiki/Macy_conferences) ## Previous hub tags Tree parents: [[Cybernetics]] · [[Systems_theory]]. Legacy hubs: none. --- *Sources: 1 legacy note. Minted wave 1, 2026-07-30 (v1.6 order).*