Herbert Brün Society

A Note on the Causes of Campus Disorders
by
Heinz Von Foerster
University of Illinois

Learning is understood as the sum total of the processes by  which knowledge is acquired. In times of socio-cultural continuity “knowledge” is treated as a commodity which can be passed on from man-to-man or from generation-to-generation, and in such times “learning” is then thought of as the acquisition and memorization of that commodity.

In times of rapid technological and scientific innovation and progress, and of rapid population expansion, that is in times of socio-cultural discontinuity it is precisely the knowledge of one man, or of one generation, which is contested by another man or the next generation, for new relations between man and objects and between man and man are perceived or discovered.

In such times, as we experience them today, learning must be foremost concerned with the acquisition process of any knowledge–that is learning of learning–rather than with the memorization of (contestable) descriptions of facts.

It is my contention that the lag of our ability to teach how to learn, to perceive and to discover with respect to our ability to teach a specific subject matter is sensed by the younger generation without, however, being identified. This gap between what ought to be done and what is done leads to tensions which, when exploited by politicos for their own purpose, may lead to violent disruptions.

If we wish to regulate we have to learn how to listen.