The Logic of Design
CIS548
Philosophico-Linguistic Roots
Logos :: logic, logistics, ology, knowledge, form, internal structure, principle
In pre-Socratic philosophy, the principle governing the cosmos, the source of
this principle, or human reasoning about the cosmos.
Among the Sophists, the topics of rational argument or the arguments
themselves.
In Stoicism, the active, material, rational principle of the cosmos; nous.
[http://www.answers.com/topic/logos]
The Greek word logos (traditionally meaning word, thought, principle, or
speech) has been used among both philosophers and theologians. In most of its
usages, logos is marked by two main distinctions - the first dealing with human
reason (the rationality in the human mind which seeks to attain universal
understanding and harmony), the second with universal intelligence (the
universal ruling force governing and revealing through the cosmos to
humankind, i.e., the Divine).
[http://www.pbs.org/faithandreason/theogloss/logos-body.html]
The Greek word λόγος or logos is a word with various meanings. It is often translated into English as “Word” but can also mean thought, speech, reason, proportion, principle, standard, or logic, among other things. It has varied use in the fields of philosophy, analytical psychology, rhetoric and religion. . . In ancient philosophy, Logos was used by Heraclitus, one of the most eminent Pre-Socratic Greek philosophers, to describe the inherent order in the universe. Logos means the underlying order of reality of which ordinary people are only unconsciously aware. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logos]
Λόγος is from the root λεγ, appearing in λεγω, the primitive meaning of which is to lay: then, to pick out, gather, pick up: hence to gather or put words together, and so, to speak. Hence λόγος is, first of all, a collecting or collection both of things in the mind, and of words by which they are expressed. It therefore signifies both the outward form by which the inward thought is expressed, and the inward thought itself, the Latin oratio and ratio: compare the Italian ragionare, "to think" and "to speak."
As signifying the outward form it is never used in the merely grammatical sense, as simply the name of a thing or act (επος, ονομα, ρημα), but means a word as the thing referred to: the material, not the formal part: a word as embodying a conception or idea. See, for instance, Matthew 22:46; 1 Corinthians 14:9, 19. Hence it signifies a saying, of God, or of man . . : a decree, a precept. The ten commandments are called in the Septuagint, οἱ δέκα λόγοι, "the ten words", and hence the familiar term decalogue. It is further used of discourse: either of the act of speaking, of skill and practice in speaking, or of continuous speaking. Also of doctrine . . .; of narrative, both the relation and the thing related; of matter under discussion, an affair, a case in law.
As signifying the inward thought, it denotes the faculty of thinking and
reasoning; regard or consideration; reckoning, account; cause or reason.
[http://www.bible-researcher.com/logos.html]
logic a The branch of philosophy dealing with the principles of
reasoning. [ http://www.bartleby.com/59/5/logic.html ];
the branch of knowledge that studies and seeks to articulate the
requirements of right reason [ http://plusroot.com/term.html ].
logistics a Logistics is the science of planning and implementing the
acquisition and use of the resources necessary to sustain the operation of
a system. [http://www.logisticsworld.com/logistics.htm ]
ology a study of, science of, branch of knowledge, a branch of learning,
science, theory, study
reason (noun) a The basis or motive for an action, decision, or conviction.
[http://www.bartleby.com/61/41/R0074100.html ]
reason (verb) a To use the faculty of reason; think logically.;
To talk or argue logically and persuasively;
To determine or conclude by logical thinking;
To persuade or dissuade (someone) with reasons.
[http://www.thefreedictionary.com/reason ]
judgment a The act or process of judging;
The formation of an opinion after consideration or deliberation;
The mental ability to perceive and distinguish relationships;
discernment: Fatigue may affect a pilot's judgment of distances;
The capacity to form an opinion by distinguishing and evaluating;
The capacity to assess situations or circumstances and draw sound
conclusions; good sense.
An opinion or estimate formed after consideration or deliberation,
especially a formal or authoritative decision.
[http://www.answers.com/topic/judgment ]
The act of judging; the operation of the mind, involving comparison and
discrimination, by which a knowledge of the values and relations
of thins, whether of moral qualities, intellectual concepts, logical
propositions, or material facts, is obtained.
[http://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/Judgment]
Order (noun) :: harmony, tranquility, orderliness, organization, sequence,
succession, classification, arrangement, categorization
Order (verb) :: arrange, sort, organize, regulate, classify, categorize, command,
direct, instruct, charge
Nous :: mind, intellect, reason, knowledge
Reason and knowledge as opposed to sense perception.
The rational part of the individual human soul.
The principle of the cosmic mind or soul responsible for the rational order of the cosmos.
In Stoicism, the equivalent of Logos.
In Neo-Platonism, the image of the absolute good, containing the cosmos of intelligible beings.
[http://www.answers.com/topic/nous]
Telos :: goal, purpose, objective, aim, target, function, intention, reason
teloV [télos]
Greek term for the end, completion, purpose, or goal of any thing or activity. According to Aristotle, this is the final cause which accounts for the existence and nature of a thing. Following Wolff, modern philosophers (often pejoratively) designate as teleological any explanation, theory, or argument that emphasizes purpose. [http://www.philosophypages.com/dy/t.htm]
goal a The purpose toward which an endeavor is directed; an objective.
[http://www.thefreedictionary.com/goal];
target area: in a game such as soccer or hockey, the space or opening
into which a ball or puck must go to score points,
[http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861614407]
The final purpose or aim; the end to which a design tends, or which a
person aims to reach or attain. [http://www.selfknowledge.com/40766.htm]
purpose a A result or effect that is intended or desired; an intention.
[http://www.ask.com/reference/dictionary/ahdict/40663/purpose ]
objective a something which you plan to do or achieve
[http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=54690&dict=CALD]
something toward which effort is directed : an aim, goal, or end of action; a strategic position to be attained or a purpose to be achieved by a military operation. [http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary]
function a The action for which a person or thing is particularly fitted or
employed; Assigned duty or activity; A specific occupation or role.
[http://www.thefreedictionary.com/function]
The action for which a person or thing is specially fitted or used or for which a thing exists; any of a group of related actions contributing to a larger action; especially : the normal and specific contribution of a bodily part to the economy of a living organism. [http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=function]
intention a a determination to act in a certain way; what one intends to do or
bring about.
[http://m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=intention]
reason (n.) a The basis or motive for an action, decision, or conviction.
[http://www.bartleby.com/61/41/R0074100.html]
Teleios, teleos :: complete, perfect, brought to its end, finished, wanting nothing for completeness, adult, of full age, mature
Teleology :: philosophical study of purpose
Teleology (telos: end, purpose) is the supposition that there is design, purpose, directive principle, or finality in the works and processes of nature, and the philosophical study of that purpose.
For example, the view of philosophical naturalism is that man sees because he has eyes. Teleology, on the other hand, holds both that man sees because he has eyes and has eyes so that he can see. As Aristotle wrote in support of teleology, "Nature adapts the organ to the function, and not the function to the organ" (De partib., animal., IV, xii, 694b; 13). Lucretius replied in support of philosophical naturalism: "Nothing in the body is made in order that we may use it. What happens to exist is the cause of its use." (De nat. rerum, IV, 833; cf. 822-56)
Teleology also has a technology-oriented history. The study of "teleological mechanisms" in machinery (i.e. machines with corrective feedback) dates back at least to the late 1700s when James Watt's steam engine was equipped with a governor. The 1943 paper "Behavior, Purpose and Teleology" by Arturo Rosenblueth, Norbert Wiener, and Julian Bigelow [http://www.uni-essen.de/~bj0063/doc/Wiener_1943.pdf] provides a conceptual framework. One of these authors, the famous mathematician Norbert Wiener, coined the term 'cybernetics' to denote the study of "teleological mechanisms," which was popularized through his book Cybernetics, or control and communication in the animal and machine (1948). Cybernetics is the study of the communication and control of regulatory feedback, both in living beings and machines, and in combinations of the two. Since that time the term "teleologic" in particular has been frequently used in the scientific literature to capture the sense of purposeful, iterative, goal-directed behavior in biological and technological control systems." [http://www.answers.com/topic/teleology]
kubernan :: govern, steer, navigate, control
"Contemporary cybernetics began as an interdisciplinary study connecting the fields of control systems, electrical network theory, logic modeling, and neuroscience in the 1940s. The name cybernetics was coined by Norbert Wiener to denote the study of "teleological mechanisms" and was popularized through his book Cybernetics, or Control and Communication in the Animal and Machine (1948).
The word cybernetics ('cybernétique') had, unbeknownst to Wiener, also been used in 1834 by the physicist André-Marie Ampère (1775-1836) to denote the sciences of government in his classification system of human knowledge. It was also used by Plato in The Laws to signify the governance of people. The words govern and governor are also derived from the same Greek root.
The study of "teleological mechanisms" ("teleos" is Greek for "end" in the sense of "purpose for") in machinery (i.e. machines with corrective feedback) dates back at least to the late 1700s when James Watt's steam engine was equipped with a governor, a centrifugal feedback valve for controlling the speed of the engine. In 1868 James Clerk Maxwell published a theoretical article on governors. The Romanian scientist Ştefan Odobleja published Psychologie consonantiste (Paris, 1938), describing many cybernetic principles. In the 1940s the study and mathematical modelling of regulatory processes became a continuing research effort and two key articles were published in 1943. These papers were "Behavior, Purpose and Teleology" by Arturo Rosenblueth, Norbert Wiener, and Julian Bigelow; and the paper "A Logical Calculus of the Ideas Immanent in Nervous Activity" by Warren McCulloch and Walter Pitts."
"In scholarly terms, cybernetics is the study of systems and control in an abstracted sense — that is, it is not grounded in any one empirical field.
The emphasis is on the functional relations that hold between the different parts of a system, rather than the parts themselves. These relations include the transfer of information, and circular relations (feedback) that result in emergent phenomena such as self-organization, and, (expressed as a term coined much later by Humberto Maturana, Francisco Varela and Ricardo Uribe), autopoiesis. The main innovation of cybernetics was the creation of a scientific discipline focused on goals: an understanding of goal-directedness or purpose, resulting from a negative feedback loop which minimizes the deviation between the perceived situation and the desired situation (goal). As mechanistic as that sounds, cybernetics has the scope and rigor to encompass the human social interactions of agreement and collaboration that, after all, require goals and feedback to attain." [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybernetics]