cybernethics -- Cyber'N'Ethics
About cybernethics	English (USA)
[2009-01-09: This list is now closed. For my ramblings, see my blog Cybernethics.] I've long felt a need for a place where to discuss about issues of cybernetics and ethics. Maybe "ethics" is redundant: "cybernetics" (from the greek word for the pilot of a ship, which means by extension "governor") is the science of the flow of information and decision-taking, and decisions intrinsically carry a notion of ethics: the mere fact of preferring an option to another is a commitment with ethical implications. Conversely, ethics is precisely about taking decision, and we can't make a theory of it without taking into account the decision-taking process. Nevertheless, I'm coining a new word, or rather a new spelling, so as to insist on the deep though often ignored relationship between those two topics. Topics to be discussed include, but are not limited to: cybernetics, ethics and their relationship with art, biology, computer science, ecology, economics, evolution theory, fiscal policies, free software theory, futurology, geostrategy, history, law, (classical) liberalism, literature, memetics, metaphysics, philosophy, physics, poetry, politics, religion, sociology, technology, zoology, and whatever you want. To be fair, I also needed a place to post messages according to my mood, for I like to think that perhaps somewhere, someone, someday, might share my opinions, feelings, interests, and be enlightened, or even better (to me) might step in, and enlighten me. As we say in french: "les paroles s'envolent, les écrits restent", so by publishing on a publicly archived mailing-list, I increase the odds of spreading my memes... This list has a french-speaking counterpart, cybernethique@tunes.org Traffic is usually low to non-existent, with sudden flares of activities as some thread gets crossposted from another forum. To see the collection of prior postings to the list, visit the cybernethics Archives.
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