Ivan Illich on the cybernetic "system"

The characteristic of the contemporary age, says Ivan Illich (1926-2002), is “system”, understood through the science of cybernetics as a comprehensive metaphor to describe the computer world "information revolution". This term “system” marks the end of, what Illich calls, “The Age of Instrumentality” which he understood as a time in which our relationship to the world was mediated, primarily, by our tools. Using the term "tool" in its widest possible sense to signify any engineered instrumental means of mediation, Illich argues that what characterises a tool is what makes it distinct from its user. By contrast, the “system” lacks this distinction because it integrates its user within it. In cybernetics the world system, metaphorically, becomes a "network" and an "ecosphere" whereby the computer becomes increasingly identified with the self. Paradoxically, for Illich, this does not lead to holistic integration, but rather to disembodiment.



In essence, Illich radically challenges us to seek out ways to rehumanise our institutional systems through holistic reintegration. As Peter M. Lichtenstein remarks: “Illich, [Paolo] Freire, and [John] Dewey make an important contribution to the definition of a radical liberal humanistic vision of the future. Their contribution lies in the fact that their educational philosophies keep alive the dream of a humanistic libertarian society in which the dignity of man replaces the calculus of production for profit. Education in such a humanistic society would necessarily be a critical endeavor and would foster the development of people who are motivated by cooperation, altruism and compassion instead of by competition, egoism and hedonism.” (Lichtenstein, 1995, p. 51).


An extract from Canadian Broadcasting's The Corruption of Christianity, which featured Ivan Illich in conversation with David Cayley, broadcast in 2000.

Further Reading
Lichtenstein, P. (1995). 'Radical Liberalism and Radical Education: A Syntbesisand CriticalEvaluationof Illich, Freire, and Dewey.' American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Vol. 44, No. 1 (January), pp. 39-53.
Cayley, D. (2005). The Rivers North of the Future: The Testament of Ivan Illich. House of Anansi Press.

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