A Social Cybernetic View of Violence and Some Paradoxes of Working with Violent Abusers

Victor MacGill

doi:10.2174/1874110X01812010020

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A Social Cybernetic View of Violence and Some Paradoxes of Working with Violent Abusers

Journal article

Open access

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A Social Cybernetic View of Violence and Some Paradoxes of Working with Violent Abusers

Victor MacGill

The Open Cybernetics & Systemics Journal, Vol.12, pp.20-28

2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2174/1874110X01812010020

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Abstract

cybernetics

violence

boundary

recursive

structural violence

complex adaptive systems.

This paper commences with a theoretical underpinning of the nature of violence from a social cybernetic perspective, exploring the interactions between parts and wholes where boundaries are transgressed or vital flows are disrupted. A case study of Rangi, a perpetrator of family violence, who is a hypothetical composite of people the author has worked with over the years, demonstrates how cybernetic principles can be used to understand the nature of human violence on an individual level and inform ways of working with clients aiming to reduce the frequency and severity of violence in their lives and the people around them. The focus then shifts to structural violence imposed on the parts of the system by the whole. First, this is examined at a societal level, then returning to the case study of Rangi, there is an exploration of structural violence within the criminal justice system revealing paradoxes to be confronted in working with violent clients.

Details

Title: A Social Cybernetic View of Violence and Some Paradoxes of Working with Violent Abusers
Authors: Victor MacGill (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Arts, Business and Law
Publication details: The Open Cybernetics & Systemics Journal, Vol.12, pp.20-28
Publisher: Bentham Open
Date published: 2018
DOI: 10.2174/1874110X01812010020
ISSN: 1874-110X
Copyright note: Copyright © 2018 Victor MacGill. Open-Access License: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode). This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Organisation Unit: School of Social Sciences - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99450998502621
Output Type: Journal article

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