Robert K Logan
Biographic Data
| ID | 744943 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Robert K Logan |
| GIVEN NAMES | Robert K |
| FAMILY NAME | Logan |
| SIGNATURE | LOGAN R K |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Toronto |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-4714-5632 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 24 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 13 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 24 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1970 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Generative Knowledge: Think, Learn, Create with AI, Paolo Granata (2025)
Review of: Generative Knowledge: Think, Learn, Create with AI , Paolo Granata (2025) Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell, 288 pp., ISBN 978-1-394-36300-1, p/bk, USD 27.95 ISBN 978-1-39436-301-8, e-book, USD 22.00
McLuhan in Reverse
This text is the transcription of the speech given by the author during the 22nd Annual Convention of the Media Ecology Association. PUC-Rio, July 8-11, 2021
Awareness, involvement and detachment: Understanding McLuhan’s notions of the subliminal, Narcissus narcosis, figure/ground and the anti-environment
Use is made of Daniel Lewis’s idea that ‘awareness depends not only on involvement, but detachment as well’ to better understand McLuhan’s notion of the following ideas: the subliminal effects of media and technology, Narcissus narcosis, figure/ground and the relationship of environment and anti-environment
General systems theory and media ecology: Parallel disciplines that animate each other
Parallels between general systems theory and media ecology are drawn. It is shown that cybernetics, general systems theory, complexity theory, emergent dynamics and media ecology are interconnected and that they inform and cross-pollinate each other
Mind and media: Exploring the Freud-McLuhan connection
In this article we examine the thesis that Sigmund Freud might have had a possible influence on the thinking of Marshall McLuhan. We also develop the parallels in their thinking. The first hint of this connection is that McLuhan frequently refers to Freud in his writings. The second hint is that both men were battling invisible forces - unnoticed or subliminal effects of media for McLuhan and repressed memories and the unconscious for Freud. We p…
Media ecology, the biology of Stuart Kauffman and Terrence Deacon’s Incomplete Nature: Much Ado About Nothing
A review is made of the systems biology work of Stuart Kauffman and Terrence Deacon. A parallel between their work and media ecology is developed. An argument is made that Media Ecology is about the application of systems thinking to understanding media, communications and the impact of technology
The recursive mind: The origins of human language, thought and civilization
The Emergence of Language as an Autocatalytic Set of the Elements or Mechanisms that Make Speech Possible An Inquiry
Preview this article: The Emergence of Language as an Autocatalytic Set of the Elements or Mechanisms that Make Speech Possible An Inquiry, Page 1 of 1 /docserver/preview/fulltext/eme/9/3/s3-1.gif
MCommunication The Emergence of Mobile Communication within the Media Ecosystem
Communication mediated by mobile devices is one of the most dynamic sectors of the/nglobal economy and is transforming many aspects of our social lives, including ways of/nrelating to each other and our production, distribution and consumption of cultural/nartifacts. We examine these transformations of mobile communications from a media/necology perspective by applying McLuhan’s Laws of Media. We also propose a research/nagenda for studying mobil…
The Biological Foundation of Media Ecology
Preview this article: The Biological Foundation of Media Ecology, Page 1 of 1 /docserver/preview/fulltext/eme/9/3/s2-1.gif
Digitally Augmented Books The sBook Platform for Books that are Smart, Readable, Searchable, Networked, Updatable, and Promote Active Reading
The sBook platform that provides for the convergence of the printed codex book (p-book) and the e-book is described. The sBook platform combines the advantages of both the p-book and the e-book and incorporates some additional features that make the book smart, social and a vehicle for “active reading”. We will describe a number of different forms of the sBook that can operate on the sBook platform we are proposing. We will describe the different…
The Convergence of the Codex Book and the e-Book
We are proposing a platform for a new form of the book, the sBook, which is a combination of the codex book and the e-book. The sBook combines the advantages of these two formats of the book as well as some additional features that we have designed for this new hybrid book. We describe one possible form of an sBook, which is a codex book that has been “smart tagged” so that the book directs one’s Enabler to a Web site that contains the digital fo…
The Medium is the Message is the Content Meaning, Media, Communication and Information in Biosemiosis and Human Symbolic Communication
We wish to distinguish between two forms of communication or the transfer of information in the biosphere, namely biosemiosis in living organisms mediated by the chemical interactions of biomolecules and other forms of physical interactions such as signaling, on the one hand, and human communication and interaction in the form of language and culture mediated by symbols, on the other hand.This study will describe and contrast the nature of meanin…
The Extended Mind: The Emergence of Language, the Human Mind, and Culture
The ability to communicate through language is such a fundamental part of human existence that we often take it for granted, rarely considering how sophisticated the process is by which we understand and make ourselves understood. In The Extended Mind, acclaimed author Robert K. Logan examines the origin, emergence, and co-evolution of language, the human mind, and culture. Building on his previous study, The Sixth Language (2000) and making use …
The Biological Foundation of Media Ecology
Media ecology is shown to embrace not only the \nstudy of media but also the study of language, culture and \ntechnology and the interaction of these four domains. It is \ndemonstrated that language, culture, technology and media \nbehave like living organisms in that they are emergent \nphenomena and that they evolve, propagate their organization \nand interact with each other in a media ecosystem. This \nmodel allows us to explore the biologica…
Neo-dualism and the bifurcation of the symbolosphere into the mediasphere and the human mind
An extension is made of the neo-dualist model of Logan and Schumann (2005) where a distinction is made between the symbolosphere, which includes the human mind and all its thoughts and communication processes such as language and the physiosphere, which is simply the physical world and includes the human brain. The notion that the symbolosphere can be thought of as consisting of two separate subdomains, the Mind, and the mediasphere is examined. …
Making sense of the visual — is Google the seventh language
The visual bias of all written or notated forms of language is examined. These include writing, math, science, computing and the Internet which together with speech form an evolutionary chain of six languages. The proposition that Google might be the seventh language is explored
The symbolosphere, conceptualization, language, and neo-dualism
It is shown that Schumann’s notion of the Symbolosphere, the non-physical world of symbolic relationships and Logan’s (2000a) Extended Mind model in which the mind is defined as the brain plus language entail a form of dualism. A distinction is made between the symbolosphere, which includes the human mind and all its thoughts and communication processes such as language and the physiosphere, which is simply the physical world and includes the hum…
The Five Ages of Communication
The social, economic, and educational impacts of notational systems
L'A. montre que les systemes de notation ont eu un impact critique sur la creation des institutions et des systemes sociaux, economiques, educatifs, depuis les debuts de l'ecriture jusqu'aux derniers developpements informatiques et telecommunicatifs (Internet et World Wide web). L'ordinateur est considere comme un outil de traitement de l'information et de la communication. De ce fait le systeme d'ecriture n'est pas une simple maniere de coder la…
The Alphabet Effect: The Impact of the Phonetic Alphabet on the Development of Western Civilization
The Alphabet Effect: The Impact of the Phonetic Alphabet on the Development of Western Civilization
The Origin and Evolution of Language and the Propagation of Organization
In this presentation we will study propagating organization. We begin by examining the evolution and origin of language by briefly reviewing the impact of the phonetic alphabet (Logan 2004a), the evolution of notated language (Logan 2004b), the origin of language and culture (Logan 2006, 2007), the role of collaboration in knowledge management (Logan and Stokes 2004), the impact of “new media” (Logan in preparation). We will then connect this wor…
En busca de una teoría: Público, medio ambiente y medios de comunicación
The emphasis of this essay is to challenge scholarship about the news media and the environment and to explore an alternative theoretical framework that might overcome some of the acknowledged differences among the public and experts regar-ding ecological issues. The paper briefly reviews longstanding scholarly emphases in public understanding of the environment and notes some barriers that mass media theory inadvertently has created. The intent …
The Biological Foundation of Media Ecology
Media ecology is shown to embrace not only the \nstudy of media but also the study of language, culture and \ntechnology and the interaction of these four domains. It is \ndemonstrated that language, culture, technology and media \nbehave like living organisms in that they are emergent \nphenomena and that they evolve, propagate their organization \nand interact with each other in a media ecosystem. This \nmodel allows us to explore the biologica…
Awareness, involvement and detachment: Understanding McLuhan’s notions of the subliminal, Narcissus narcosis, figure/ground and the anti-environment
Use is made of Daniel Lewis’s idea that ‘awareness depends not only on involvement, but detachment as well’ to better understand McLuhan’s notion of the following ideas: the subliminal effects of media and technology, Narcissus narcosis, figure/ground and the relationship of environment and anti-environment
General systems theory and media ecology: Parallel disciplines that animate each other
Parallels between general systems theory and media ecology are drawn. It is shown that cybernetics, general systems theory, complexity theory, emergent dynamics and media ecology are interconnected and that they inform and cross-pollinate each other
Mind and media: Exploring the Freud-McLuhan connection
In this article we examine the thesis that Sigmund Freud might have had a possible influence on the thinking of Marshall McLuhan. We also develop the parallels in their thinking. The first hint of this connection is that McLuhan frequently refers to Freud in his writings. The second hint is that both men were battling invisible forces - unnoticed or subliminal effects of media for McLuhan and repressed memories and the unconscious for Freud. We p…
The symbolosphere, conceptualization, language, and neo-dualism
It is shown that Schumann’s notion of the Symbolosphere, the non-physical world of symbolic relationships and Logan’s (2000a) Extended Mind model in which the mind is defined as the brain plus language entail a form of dualism. A distinction is made between the symbolosphere, which includes the human mind and all its thoughts and communication processes such as language and the physiosphere, which is simply the physical world and includes the hum…
MCommunication The Emergence of Mobile Communication within the Media Ecosystem
Communication mediated by mobile devices is one of the most dynamic sectors of the/nglobal economy and is transforming many aspects of our social lives, including ways of/nrelating to each other and our production, distribution and consumption of cultural/nartifacts. We examine these transformations of mobile communications from a media/necology perspective by applying McLuhan’s Laws of Media. We also propose a research/nagenda for studying mobil…
The Biological Foundation of Media Ecology
Preview this article: The Biological Foundation of Media Ecology, Page 1 of 1 /docserver/preview/fulltext/eme/9/3/s2-1.gif
The Origin and Evolution of Language and the Propagation of Organization
In this presentation we will study propagating organization. We begin by examining the evolution and origin of language by briefly reviewing the impact of the phonetic alphabet (Logan 2004a), the evolution of notated language (Logan 2004b), the origin of language and culture (Logan 2006, 2007), the role of collaboration in knowledge management (Logan and Stokes 2004), the impact of “new media” (Logan in preparation). We will then connect this wor…
En busca de una teoría: Público, medio ambiente y medios de comunicación
The emphasis of this essay is to challenge scholarship about the news media and the environment and to explore an alternative theoretical framework that might overcome some of the acknowledged differences among the public and experts regar-ding ecological issues. The paper briefly reviews longstanding scholarly emphases in public understanding of the environment and notes some barriers that mass media theory inadvertently has created. The intent …
The Alphabet Effect: The Impact of the Phonetic Alphabet on the Development of Western Civilization
The Alphabet Effect: The Impact of the Phonetic Alphabet on the Development of Western Civilization
The social, economic, and educational impacts of notational systems
L'A. montre que les systemes de notation ont eu un impact critique sur la creation des institutions et des systemes sociaux, economiques, educatifs, depuis les debuts de l'ecriture jusqu'aux derniers developpements informatiques et telecommunicatifs (Internet et World Wide web). L'ordinateur est considere comme un outil de traitement de l'information et de la communication. De ce fait le systeme d'ecriture n'est pas une simple maniere de coder la…
The Five Ages of Communication
Making sense of the visual — is Google the seventh language
The visual bias of all written or notated forms of language is examined. These include writing, math, science, computing and the Internet which together with speech form an evolutionary chain of six languages. The proposition that Google might be the seventh language is explored
The symbolosphere, conceptualization, language, and neo-dualism
It is shown that Schumann’s notion of the Symbolosphere, the non-physical world of symbolic relationships and Logan’s (2000a) Extended Mind model in which the mind is defined as the brain plus language entail a form of dualism. A distinction is made between the symbolosphere, which includes the human mind and all its thoughts and communication processes such as language and the physiosphere, which is simply the physical world and includes the hum…
Neo-dualism and the bifurcation of the symbolosphere into the mediasphere and the human mind
An extension is made of the neo-dualist model of Logan and Schumann (2005) where a distinction is made between the symbolosphere, which includes the human mind and all its thoughts and communication processes such as language and the physiosphere, which is simply the physical world and includes the human brain. The notion that the symbolosphere can be thought of as consisting of two separate subdomains, the Mind, and the mediasphere is examined. …
The Extended Mind: The Emergence of Language, the Human Mind, and Culture
The ability to communicate through language is such a fundamental part of human existence that we often take it for granted, rarely considering how sophisticated the process is by which we understand and make ourselves understood. In The Extended Mind, acclaimed author Robert K. Logan examines the origin, emergence, and co-evolution of language, the human mind, and culture. Building on his previous study, The Sixth Language (2000) and making use …
The Biological Foundation of Media Ecology
Media ecology is shown to embrace not only the \nstudy of media but also the study of language, culture and \ntechnology and the interaction of these four domains. It is \ndemonstrated that language, culture, technology and media \nbehave like living organisms in that they are emergent \nphenomena and that they evolve, propagate their organization \nand interact with each other in a media ecosystem. This \nmodel allows us to explore the biologica…
The Medium is the Message is the Content Meaning, Media, Communication and Information in Biosemiosis and Human Symbolic Communication
We wish to distinguish between two forms of communication or the transfer of information in the biosphere, namely biosemiosis in living organisms mediated by the chemical interactions of biomolecules and other forms of physical interactions such as signaling, on the one hand, and human communication and interaction in the form of language and culture mediated by symbols, on the other hand.This study will describe and contrast the nature of meanin…
The Convergence of the Codex Book and the e-Book
We are proposing a platform for a new form of the book, the sBook, which is a combination of the codex book and the e-book. The sBook combines the advantages of these two formats of the book as well as some additional features that we have designed for this new hybrid book. We describe one possible form of an sBook, which is a codex book that has been “smart tagged” so that the book directs one’s Enabler to a Web site that contains the digital fo…
The Emergence of Language as an Autocatalytic Set of the Elements or Mechanisms that Make Speech Possible An Inquiry
Preview this article: The Emergence of Language as an Autocatalytic Set of the Elements or Mechanisms that Make Speech Possible An Inquiry, Page 1 of 1 /docserver/preview/fulltext/eme/9/3/s3-1.gif
MCommunication The Emergence of Mobile Communication within the Media Ecosystem
Communication mediated by mobile devices is one of the most dynamic sectors of the/nglobal economy and is transforming many aspects of our social lives, including ways of/nrelating to each other and our production, distribution and consumption of cultural/nartifacts. We examine these transformations of mobile communications from a media/necology perspective by applying McLuhan’s Laws of Media. We also propose a research/nagenda for studying mobil…
The Biological Foundation of Media Ecology
Preview this article: The Biological Foundation of Media Ecology, Page 1 of 1 /docserver/preview/fulltext/eme/9/3/s2-1.gif
Digitally Augmented Books The sBook Platform for Books that are Smart, Readable, Searchable, Networked, Updatable, and Promote Active Reading
The sBook platform that provides for the convergence of the printed codex book (p-book) and the e-book is described. The sBook platform combines the advantages of both the p-book and the e-book and incorporates some additional features that make the book smart, social and a vehicle for “active reading”. We will describe a number of different forms of the sBook that can operate on the sBook platform we are proposing. We will describe the different…
The recursive mind: The origins of human language, thought and civilization
Mind and media: Exploring the Freud-McLuhan connection
In this article we examine the thesis that Sigmund Freud might have had a possible influence on the thinking of Marshall McLuhan. We also develop the parallels in their thinking. The first hint of this connection is that McLuhan frequently refers to Freud in his writings. The second hint is that both men were battling invisible forces - unnoticed or subliminal effects of media for McLuhan and repressed memories and the unconscious for Freud. We p…
Media ecology, the biology of Stuart Kauffman and Terrence Deacon’s Incomplete Nature: Much Ado About Nothing
A review is made of the systems biology work of Stuart Kauffman and Terrence Deacon. A parallel between their work and media ecology is developed. An argument is made that Media Ecology is about the application of systems thinking to understanding media, communications and the impact of technology
General systems theory and media ecology: Parallel disciplines that animate each other
Parallels between general systems theory and media ecology are drawn. It is shown that cybernetics, general systems theory, complexity theory, emergent dynamics and media ecology are interconnected and that they inform and cross-pollinate each other
Awareness, involvement and detachment: Understanding McLuhan’s notions of the subliminal, Narcissus narcosis, figure/ground and the anti-environment
Use is made of Daniel Lewis’s idea that ‘awareness depends not only on involvement, but detachment as well’ to better understand McLuhan’s notion of the following ideas: the subliminal effects of media and technology, Narcissus narcosis, figure/ground and the relationship of environment and anti-environment
McLuhan in Reverse
This text is the transcription of the speech given by the author during the 22nd Annual Convention of the Media Ecology Association. PUC-Rio, July 8-11, 2021
Generative Knowledge: Think, Learn, Create with AI, Paolo Granata (2025)
Review of: Generative Knowledge: Think, Learn, Create with AI , Paolo Granata (2025) Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell, 288 pp., ISBN 978-1-394-36300-1, p/bk, USD 27.95 ISBN 978-1-39436-301-8, e-book, USD 22.00
Philosophy (15 works) · Sociology (15 works) · Psychology (14 works) · Linguistics (12 works) · Computer Science (11 works) · Biology (8 works) · Cognitive science (7 works) · Epistemology (7 works) · Media, Communication, and Education (7 works) · Cognitive Science and Education Research (6 works)