Originally published in 1983. Using a dual approach, this book evaluates communication in all its facets so that the practical issues of communication can be viewed as they relate to the human condition itself.

Introduction Part 1: The Foundations – Feedback and Reflexion 1. The Idea of Feedback 2. Interdependency and Human Needs 3. Reflexion and the Social Order 4. Modes of Human Communication Part 2: The Empirical Enclosures 5. The Classical Models of Information 6. Instrumental Information 7. Social Information 8. Information and Codification Part 3: Intersubjectivity – Modes of Symbolic Interaction 9. Language 10. Story Systems 11. Symbols and Symbolization 12. Symbol Internalization Part 4: Bias – The Semiotic Web 13. Perceptual Bias 14. Interactional Bias 15. Representational Bias Part 5: The Production of Culture 16. Media and the Public 17. The Development Process 18. Culture and Social Meaning Part 6: Principles and Practices 19. The Legitimization Process 20. Research, Designs, and Judgments 21. The Human Conversation