Things I’d like to say if they wouldn’t think I’m a nut Or — Overgeneralizations that aren’t that far over.

This intro to PCT is slanted toward those coming into to this subject from the physical sciences. Bill Powers develops an argument that leads from conventional views of behavior to the new view that PCT gives us, emphasizing in the end the odd role that organisms, seen through the eyes of PCT, play in a world otherwise dominated by physical laws. The point will be to show that control theory provides us with the germ of a radically new understanding, a break with all traditional theories of behavior—and many new ones as well […]

Every child wonders, sooner or later, how it is that simply wanting one’s hands, arms, legs, body, head, or eyes to move suffices to create the wanted result…. — So begins this lovely essay and overview of the fundamental issues that cry out for answers. […]

William T. Powers Proceedings of the 1st European Workshop on Perceptual Control TheoryGregynog, The University of Wales23rd – 27th June 1994