CHOICES ABOUT CHOICES

In this contribution to the Festschrift devoted to Heinz von Foerster, choices are shown to be constitutive in processes of human self-organ ization. This is pursued along three dimensions that are seen as inher ently connected: the epistemological dimension of reality construction ; the communal dimension of dialogical closure; and the ethical dimens ion of autonomy and dialogical responsibility. In order to exemplify h is style of working as a mentor, Heinz von Foerster is portrayed in in teraction, drawing largely on the author's experience. As one concrete case of a far-reaching general approach, the paper brings out the imp lications of his way of thinking for cooperative software design. This leads to an epistemological view of the design process, to guidelines for communal work focussing on dialogue and self-organization, and to the ethics of systems design, which means taking responsibility for t he choices made in design and the choice scopes associated with comput er-based systems.