Biography of an ecological stroll
The influence of Gregory Bateson on the work of Eliseo Verón
Abstract
The goal of this article is to study the influence of Gregory Bateson on the work of Eliseo Verón, focusing on how the Argentine semiotician picked up the conceptual threads left behind by the British cyberneticist. By understanding creativity through ideas — rather than through individuals — we can grapple with the complexity and the participatory character of the creative process. In what follows, we will look at the similarities and differences in the works of Bateson and Verón, documenting the transition from the former’s ecological perspective to the latter’s social semiosis. First, we will describe what a biography of an idea entails, and summarize the main texts of both authors. Then we will explain how Bateson and Verón agree on interpersonal communication and disagree on the concepts of “mind” and “observer.” Finally, we will chart the emergence of the social semiosis model. Although both authors took steps toward an ecology of mind — to paraphrase the title of Bateson’s famous book — both followed their own path to that goal.
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