Estrangement of Meaning in a Wealth of Information

The expression offered by the editors as a prompt for thought (“observing technologies of observation”) is twisted here, briefly and provocatively, in a kind of radical way, intensifying both its informational (cybernetic) connotation and the intuition of a spiraling (psychotic) twirl. Reminiscences...

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Main Author: Fabian Muniesa
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Bologna 2025-05-01
Series:Sociologica
Subjects:
Online Access:https://sociologica.unibo.it/article/view/21052
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author Fabian Muniesa
author_facet Fabian Muniesa
author_sort Fabian Muniesa
collection DOAJ
description The expression offered by the editors as a prompt for thought (“observing technologies of observation”) is twisted here, briefly and provocatively, in a kind of radical way, intensifying both its informational (cybernetic) connotation and the intuition of a spiraling (psychotic) twirl. Reminiscences of “Von Foerster’s conjecture” (a theory of alienation in second-order observation once formulated by Jean-Pierre Dupuy) are used in order to interrogate the depletion of signification in a society that is now conceived of as a computational product. The problem of aesthetics, the essay concludes, becomes then crucial.
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spelling doaj-art-b3994e9546cc4d84bb2cd59d40b4129e2025-08-20T03:11:33ZengUniversity of BolognaSociologica1971-88532025-05-0119118519310.6092/issn.1971-8853/2105219426Estrangement of Meaning in a Wealth of InformationFabian Muniesa0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8756-3241Centre de Sociologie de l’Innovation (CNRS UMR 9217), Mines Paris - PSLThe expression offered by the editors as a prompt for thought (“observing technologies of observation”) is twisted here, briefly and provocatively, in a kind of radical way, intensifying both its informational (cybernetic) connotation and the intuition of a spiraling (psychotic) twirl. Reminiscences of “Von Foerster’s conjecture” (a theory of alienation in second-order observation once formulated by Jean-Pierre Dupuy) are used in order to interrogate the depletion of signification in a society that is now conceived of as a computational product. The problem of aesthetics, the essay concludes, becomes then crucial.https://sociologica.unibo.it/article/view/21052theorycyberneticsinformationmeaningpsychosis
spellingShingle Fabian Muniesa
Estrangement of Meaning in a Wealth of Information
Sociologica
theory
cybernetics
information
meaning
psychosis
title Estrangement of Meaning in a Wealth of Information
title_full Estrangement of Meaning in a Wealth of Information
title_fullStr Estrangement of Meaning in a Wealth of Information
title_full_unstemmed Estrangement of Meaning in a Wealth of Information
title_short Estrangement of Meaning in a Wealth of Information
title_sort estrangement of meaning in a wealth of information
topic theory
cybernetics
information
meaning
psychosis
url https://sociologica.unibo.it/article/view/21052
work_keys_str_mv AT fabianmuniesa estrangementofmeaninginawealthofinformation