Evolutionary Epistemology

A Personal Interpretation of John Boyd's Destruction and Creation

Franklin C. Spinney

July 31, 1997

Republished here by permission.
March 02, 2008

Disclaimer:

This presentation represents my interpretation of John Boyd’s September 1976 paper. (Updated by some of his subsequent work and my views) While I worked closely with him and helped him to produce this paper, it is his creation and my role was that of an understudy. Consequently, any misrepresentation of Boyd’s work or errors are mine alone and this briefing should not be considered a definitive description of his work--FCS

Aim:

To understand how the MIND evolves an interior mental orientation (or changing constructs of meaning or what Thomas Kuhn called “paradigms”) … To permit ... individuals and groups to shape & adapt to changing external conditions (i.e., a changing environment)

Points of Departure

Biological Imperative:

• Creates purposive behavior (i.e., GOAL Striving): to survive on our own terms ... or put another way, to increase our capacity for independent action.

Environment: (Limited Resources and Skills)

Real world constraints limit capacity for independent action and threaten survival.

Implication:

• Combination of goal striving & scarcity sets the stage for COMPETITION among individuals and groups as they struggle to OVERCOME environmental constraints.

Consequence:

• To survive and grow relatively free of debilitating constraints, individuals and groups MUST MAKE DECISIONS and TAKE ACTIONS to overcome physical obstacles and social competitors.

Central question:

How do we generate the mental concepts needed to support this decision-making activity? ... Put another way ... How do we evolve mental concepts to ...

• Identify WHAT decisions and actions are necessary or appropriate?

• MONITOR the effect of actions to support subsequent decision-making activities?