Steps to an Ecology of Mind: Collected Essays in Anthropology, Psychiatry, Evolution, and Epistemology

Bateson outlines his approach to understanding ideas and the interconnected systems they create. He coins the term “ecology of mind” (xxiii) to describe a conceptual framework for exploring how ideas interact, evolve, and sustain themselves. Bateson opposes conventional science, which, according to him, often focuses on substance and measurable phenomena. Instead, he argues in favor of observing form, pattern, and relationships, believing these principles to be the foundation of human behavior, biological evolution, and even cultural phenomena.

The Introduction critiques the over-reliance on inductive reasoning (reasoning based on empirical observation) in behavioral sciences, which, according to Bateson, fail to connect with fundamental scientific principles. Bateson instead advocates for a dual methodology for studying phenomena—a methodology that integrates empirical data with foundational knowledge, in which observation and philosophical principles converge.

Bateson reflects on his intellectual journey and his realization in 1969 that his studies in anthropology, schizophrenia, and biological symmetry contribute significantly to a new scientific paradigm. His work, as he describes it, redefines phenomena like play, grammar, and evolution through the lens of systems theory and cybernetics, emphasizing the contextual and relational nature of meaning and order.

Bateson also discusses the limitations of 19th-century science in addressing behavioral and mental processes rooted in the idea of form rather than that of substance.