Levels of Learning LO4556

mdarling@warren.med.harvard.edu
Tue, 2 Jan 1996 16:16:46 -0500

Replying to LO4514 --

Michael Ayers writes about Bateson's "The Logical Categories of Learning
and Communication" (from _Steps to an Ecology of Mind_):

>Incidentally, _Steps to An Ecology of Mind_ was copyrighted in 1972, and
>this particular chapter comes from a presentation Bateson made in 1969.
>My brother (whose interest in 'learning' and 'systems' is intimately
>connected with his profession as a family counselor) gave me a copy
>(cover price of $1.95!) which is now yellow with age, and which I did not
>understand much at all when I first plowed through it maybe fifteen years
>ago.

Bateson is not exactly bedtime reading. But he is worth slogging through!
My thinking was fundamentally transformed back in 1977 when I made my way
through this chapter at a Denny's restaurant, with the help of lots of
coffee. I wrote my masters thesis on it.

Having been asked about it recently, I took time over this holiday week to
re- read the chapter for the first time in 15 years. I still find it
profound, even though it is explained in a very Skinnerian framework. If a
reader can get past that, he/she will find an enlightening view of how we
learn, how and why we limit our ability to learn, and what happens when we
break through to a different type of learning.

Bateson does a nice job explaining the importance of context in learning.
His model also explains why faulty generalizations (Learning II) affect a
person's ability to accomplish what they intend in a particular setting.

I think this book may still be in print. But if it's not, I've seen it at
enough used book stores to think that it's pretty easy to get hold of.

Happy New Year, everyone!

--
Marilyn Darling
mdarling@warren.med.harvard.edu