ABSTRACT
Abstract: This paper describes, in a personal way, a search for the links which could possibly bind together the many, apparently quite disparate areas, to which Ergonomists devote their efforts. Naturalistic observation of people’s behaviour highlights some puzzles that cry out for explanation. There is, for instance, their inability to verbalize even their own most simple skilled actions. To perform as they do, their world must have been represented internally in certain forms. Yet to be explained by neuropsychology, that world must be replicated in all its complexity by continuous processes in neural (brain) tissue, and the mental operations upon these representations must be both extremely precise and yet flexible enough to foresee future states of man-machine interactive system. It is shown that valid explanations must go beyond current preoccupations with computer analogies. The explanatory power of the concepts of autonomy and purposivity are explored. A broad concern with principles is necessary if responsible Ergonomists are to provide help in overcoming the hazards of Chernobyl and the Space Shuttle. Ergonomics, with its emphasis on practical application to normal humans, is seen as the life science par excellence.
