Feedback – Dialectic Inquiry
Apr 30th, 2007 by John
“…in perfecting feedback and the means of rapid data manipulation, the science of cybernetics was gaining a deeper understanding of life itself as being, at its core, the processing of information.” Theodore Roszak, The Cult of Information
“We shape our tools and thereafter they shape us.” - Marshall McLuhan
In every feedback loop, as the name suggests, Information about the result of a transformation or an action is sent back to the input of the system in the form of input data. If these new data facilitate and accelerate the transformation in the same direction as the preceding results, they are positive feedback – their effects are cumulative. If the new data produce a result in the opposite direction to previous results, they are negative feedback – their effects stabilize the system. In the first case there is exponential growth or decline; in the second there is maintenance of the equilibrium.
Dialectic Inquiry is a powerful means of deepening one’s evolution of consciousness, personal process, and relationships. In dialectic inquiry the poles of inquiry which could be two or more units of consciousness involve themselves in a feedback loop that establishes a field effect of consciousness. This field optimizes the process of each unit and the field itself toward greater awareness and freedom.
Image by Peter Sharpe
“…in perfecting feedback and the means of rapid data manipulation, the science of cybernetics was gaining a deeper understanding of life itself as being, at its core, the processing of information.” 
