# Second-order cybernetics
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## From the Real GENERATIVE library (beauty pass)
*Second-order cybernetics — image hotlinked from Wikimedia Commons (via the Real G.E.N.E.R.A.T.I.V.E. course library, Information room). [Details & license](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SOCyberntics.png).*
> Second-order cybernetics, also known as the cybernetics of cybernetics, is the recursive application of cybernetics to itself and the reflexive practice of cybernetics according to such a critique. It is cybernetics where "the role of the observer is appreciated and acknowledged rather than disguised, as had become traditional in western science".[1] Second-order cybernetics was developed between the late 1960s and mid 1970s[note 1] by Heinz von Foerster and others, with key insp ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second-order_cybernetics))
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> Summary stub · part of Systems Thinking · [Wikipedia source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second-order_cybernetics)
## Summary
Second-order cybernetics, also known as the [[Cybernetics|cybernetics]] of cybernetics, is the recursive application of cybernetics to itself and the reflexive practice of cybernetics according to such a critique. It is cybernetics where "the role of the observer is appreciated and acknowledged rather than disguised, as had become traditional in western [[Science|science]]".[1] Second-order cybernetics was developed between the late 1960s and mid 1970s[note 1] by [[Heinz_von_Foerster|Heinz von Foerster]] and others, with key inspiration coming from [[Margaret_Mead|Margaret Mead]]. Foerster referred to it as "the control of control and the communication of communication" and differentiated first-order cybernetics as "the cybernetics of observed systems" and second-order cybernetics as "the cybernetics of observing systems".
## Key points
- Second-order cybernetics, also known as the cybernetics of cybernetics, is the recursive application of cybernetics to itself and the reflexive practice of cybernetics according to such a critique.
- It is cybernetics where "the role of the observer is appreciated and acknowledged rather than disguised, as had become traditional in western science".
- Second-order cybernetics was developed between the late 1960s and mid 1970s[note 1] by Heinz von Foerster and others, with key inspiration coming from Margaret Mead.
- Foerster referred to it as "the control of control and the communication of communication" and differentiated first-order cybernetics as "the cybernetics of observed systems" and second-order cybernetics as "the cybernetics of observing systems".
## Relation to Systems Thinking
Second-order cybernetics 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
- [Second-order cybernetics — Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second-order_cybernetics)
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**Universals (6):** 🟡 system (22) · 🟡 science (12) · 🟢 recursion (4) · 🟢 emergence (2) · 🟢 feedback (2) · 🟢 control loop (1)
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## Wikipedia : Wikitube
**Strict pair:** [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second-order_cybernetics) : [Wikitube](https://en.wikitube.io/wiki/Second-order_cybernetics)
## Previous hub tags
Tree parents: [[Complex_system]] · [[Control_theory]] · [[Cybernetics]] · [[Decision_theory]] · [[Emergence]] · [[Feedback]] · [[Information_theory]] · [[Self-organization]] · [[Systems_science]] · [[Systems_theory]].
Legacy hubs: none.
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*Sources: 2 legacy notes. Minted wave 1, 2026-07-30 (v1.6 order).*