Ștefan Odobleja (; 13 October 1902 – 4 September 1978) was a

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n physician, scientist, and philosopher. He was known for his contributions to the study of

cybernetics Cybernetics is the transdisciplinary study of circular causal processes such as feedback and recursion, where the effects of a system's actions (its outputs) return as inputs to that system, influencing subsequent action. It is concerned with ...

and

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

. His major work, ''Psychologie Consonantiste,'' first published in 1938-39 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, introduced the concept of feedback in psychology.

Biography

Odobleja was born into a family of peasants in 1902, in Valea Izvorului (now Ștefan Odobleja),

Mehedinți County Mehedinți County () is a county () of Romania on the border with Serbia and Bulgaria. It is mostly located in the historical province of Oltenia, with one municipality (Orșova) and three communes (Dubova, Mehedinți, Dubova, Eșelnița, and Svi ...

. He attended the

Faculty of Medicine A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

and became a physician. He practiced medicine as a military doctor in cities including Bucharest, Dej, Drobeta Turnu-Severin,

Lugoj Lugoj (; ; ; ; ; ) is a list of cities and towns in Romania, city in Timiș County, Romania. The Timiș, Timiș River divides the city into two halves: the "Romanian Lugoj" that spreads on the right bank, and the "German Lugoj" on the left bank. Th ...

, and

Târgoviște Târgoviște (, alternatively spelled ''Tîrgoviște'') is a Municipiu, city and county seat in Dâmbovița County, Romania. It is situated north-west of Bucharest, on the right bank of the Ialomița (river), Ialomița River. Târgoviște was ...

. In 1936, Odobleja published "Phonoscopy and the clinical semiotics". In 1937, he participated in the IXth International Congress of Military Medicine with a paper entitled "Demonstration de phonoscopie", where he disseminated a prospectus in French, announcing the appearance of his future work, "The Consonantist Psychology". The most important of his writings is ''Psychologie consonantiste'', in which Odobleja lays the theoretical foundations of the generalized

. The book, published in Paris by (vol. I in 1938 and vol. II in 1939), is nearly 900 pages long, including 300 figures. The first Romanian edition of this work did not appear until 1982 (the first edition was published in French). The work was reprinted in 1983 as ''Cybernétique générale: psychologie consonantiste, science des sciences''. Odobleja retired from the army in 1946 and died of cancer on September 4, 1978. He was buried at the Orthodox Cemetery in Drobeta-Turnu Severin.

Legacy

His paper, "Diversity and Unit in Cybernetics" was presented at the Fourth Congress of Cybernetics and Systems in Amsterdam, August in 1978, being reportedly received "with great acclaim". His completed works run to over 50,000 pages. To reward his work of mapping the then little-known of field consonantist psychology, cybernetics, and general cybernetics, Odobleja was elected posthumously an honorary member of the

Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its bylaws, the academy's ma ...

in 1990. In 1982 a group of scientists established in Lugoj the Cybernetics Academy "Ștefan Odobleja", an organization dedicated to promoting a better knowledge of general cybernetics; the organization is registered in

Lugano Lugano ( , , ; ) is a city and municipality within the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It is the largest city in both Ticino and the Italian-speaking region of southern Switzerland. Lugano has a population () of , and an u ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, and is financed by the controversial Romanian billionaire Iosif Constantin Drăgan. High schools in Bucharest, Craiova, and Drobeta-Turnu Severin are named after Ștefan Odobleja. Streets in Bucharest, Craiova, Dej, Drobeta-Turnu Severin,

Oradea Oradea (, , ; ; ) is a city in Romania, located in the Crișana region. It serves as the administrative county seat, seat of Bihor County and an economic, social, and cultural hub in northwestern Romania. The city lies between rolling hills on ...

, and

Pitești Pitești () is a city in Romania, located on the river Argeș (river), Argeș. The capital and largest city of Argeș County, it is an important commercial and industrial center, as well as the home of two universities. Pitești is situated in th ...

are also named after him.

References

* Hinoveanu, Ilarie – ''Ștefan Odobleja: între "aventura științifică" și patimile glorificării'',

Craiova Craiova (, also , ) is the largest city in southwestern Romania, List of Romanian cities, the seventh largest city in the country and the capital of Dolj County, situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It i ...

, Scrisul Românesc, 2003.

External links

"Two Specialists in Cybernetics: Ștefan Odobleja and Norbert Weiner. Common and Different Features"
by Nicolae Jurcau, Twentieth World Congress of Philosophy, Boston, Massachusetts, August 10–15, 1998 * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Odobleja, Stefan 1902 births 1978 deaths Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy alumni Cyberneticists People from Mehedinți County Romanian military doctors 20th-century Romanian scientists Romanian inventors Members of the Romanian Academy elected posthumously Deaths from cancer in Romania