Bateson’s Ecology of Mind and critique of technical rationality

The paper analyzes the features of G. Bateson’s system-cybernetic approach in the aspect of the General problem of deep bases of consciousness. There is a presence in his concept of a clear understanding of the mental prerequisites of the negative consequences of technological progress. The relevance of Bateson’s views is associated with his criticism of the characteristic technocratic rationality of the desire to establish total power over the complex integrity, which includes man. Special attention is paid to the theme of restoring the lost sense of cosmic harmony. The philosopher draws attention to the illusion of total power over the system, of which the thinking being is a part. Here there is a risk of total subordination to powerful instrumental algorithms. It reveals the mechanism of substitution of active consciousness, during which the contact with the world is transmitted to some imitating form. The results of this research project are extremely valuable in terms of criticism of technocracy as a large-scale anthropological threat. The ecology of mind contrasts ruthless instrumentalism with the spirit of cooperation with nature, attracts with the combination of love and wisdom, and thus opens the horizons of new rationalism.