ABSTRACT
This article relates the thinking of Norbert Wiener and his understanding of science and ethics to the development of cybernetics through historical analysis. This research includes understanding the mathematical logic that led the researcher to conceive of his cybernetic theoryand relate its comprehensiveness, as well as the social and scientific problematic that Cybernetics imposes on the contemporary world. The temporal locus of this research is, historically, between 1894 and 1964, years respectively related to the birth and death of the mathematician. The aim is to build a history not only of the Wiener’s works and documents, but also of the relations provided by facts, their problematizations and their historical context. Bibliographical and documentary research was based on the works and documents of the mathematician available at MIT. In summary, final considerations point out that cybernetics has interdisciplinarity as a fundamental characteristic, due to the way in which Wiener saw science, its formation and its professional and personal relations. Thus it is considered that Wiener’s personal and professional path was essencial for the development of his Cybernetic Theory.
Keywords
History of Mathematics; Norbert Wiener; Cybernetics; Second World War