NLP Podcast 32: The Life of Gregory Bateson

Richard Bandler and John Grinder are the co-founders of NLP. But how did the two actually meet? Did you know that Gregory Bateson established the crucial contacts with the founders of NLP and thus contributed to the intellectual development of NLP?

Gregory Bateson (*1904 †1980)

Gregory Bateson was born in May 1904 in Grantchester, England. The anthropologist, biologist, social scientist, cybernetician, and philosopher had a significant influence on systems and family therapy and impacted various theories in sociology and anthropology. Bateson played a crucial role in the development of cybernetics. Cybernetics is defined as the science of control and regulation of machines and systems. Bateson was the first to introduce systems-theoretical and cybernetic approaches into the social and human sciences and is regarded as the intellectual father of the systemic therapy form. From 1951 to 1962, Gregory served as a visiting professor at Stanford University near Palo Alto. During this time, he also met John Grinder and Richard Bandler, whom he brought together. In addition to his work as a scientist, Bateson was also active as an author. Two of his most well-known books are the socially critical work "The Roots of Ecological Crises" and the book "Ecology of Mind." Bateson died in 1980 in San Francisco at the age of 76. In the complete podcast episode, you will learn more about how Bateson brought together the two NLP founding fathers Bandler and Grinder. Enjoy listening!