Enlarged version: challenges to comprehension
Home/Search
Articles  >>
Themes  >>
Visuals  >>
Context  >>
FAQ/Contact  >>

Joy in the Present
      

22 April 2007 | Draft

Consciously Self-reflexive Global Initiatives

Renaissance zones, complex adaptive systems, and third order organizations

- / -


Introduction
Recursion and self-reflexivity
Dematerialization and virtualization
Progressive self-reflexive learning
Progressive integration of the shadow of non-self-reflexivity
Insightful "rebirth" and emergent thought structures
Imagination, constructivism, faith-based reality, revisionism and "spin"
Form, geometry, pattern and dimensionality
Cybernetics of cybernetics: complex adaptive systems?
Indicative examples of 2nd and 3rd order environments
Conclusion: emergence of "post-systemic" forms of organization of "higher order"?

Introduction

The case is frequently made for "new thinking" better adapted to the complex of challenges foreseen for the 21st century -- and the decades immediately to come. In the light of learning regarding the relative inadequacy of the forms of organization and practice typically considered appropriate to thechallenge, the question is how to explore the possibility of new forms of organization -- whether of knowing or as embodied in collective initiatives.

The following sections consider different ways in which the mode or form of "description" of an organizational system is itself progressively brought into question from increasingly recursive or self-referential perspectives. The cognitive assumptions associated with the "perspective" metaphor may also be called into question with greater self-reflexivity, notably in the light of the arguments of enactivism.

The sections on dematerialization and virtualization endeavour to highlight the extent to which centre of gravity of modes of cognition and practice has shifted away from the tangible and immediately concrete. Thereafter the sections indicate various understandings of the spectrum of "higher" degrees of subtlety, notably as encoded in form, geometry, pattern and dimensionality. The insights of the cybernetics of cybernetics are then distinguished to highlight the shift in current interest to complex adaptive systems. Resources on possible examples of such self-reflexive adaptive initiatives are then presented. The conclusion is used to present a table juxtaposing these various understandings of organization of an increasingly higher order.

The implicit question throughout is how to distinguish and comprehend the forms of genuinely self-reflexive global initiatives appropriate to the challenges of the times -- and how to give organized form to such understanding. This is an effort to challenge the dangerous assumption of simplicity made by many with aspirations for responsibility in global governance. It is too readily assumed that the complexity of policy control, and switching between programmes, is of the same order as that of using a TV remote controller -- when many would be challenged to programme a VCR, or to comprehend the manual provided.

Recursion and self-reflexivity

As an introduction to the sections that follow, Donald H. McNeil (What’s Going on with the Toplogy of Recursion? S.E.E.D. Journal: Semiotics, Evolution, Energy, and Development, 4, 1, 2004) provides a helpful overview of the challenging confusions currently associated with various notions of recursion -- and its central importance in the search for invariance. He introduces his summary as follows:

The notion of “recursion” — by various definitions — goes around and about in scholarly circles, but too often without the appreciation which it deserves. Meanwhile, the quest for invariants lies at the core of human pursuits generally.... Throughout, however, it will be assumed that recursion proper involves at least one cyclical process which produces some of its results by using or referring back to some of the previous results of that same process, thus to evince a kind of “circular causality.” Along the way it will be remarked that recursions are to be found at the core of invariances and vice versa, the two together being prerequisites for selfness as a whole. Moreover, it will become apparent that it is not primarily the morphology but rather the topology of processes that serves best to enlighten our appreciation of recursion and of the spin-offs therefrom.

He concludes:

The metaphor of the sphere which so dominates the Western Rational Tradition is important, of course, but counts for nothing without an appreciation of the tore. It is no accident that our reflective metaphors such as “grasp” and “comprehension” are inherently toroidal. Moreover, circular logic is unavoidable, and the topology of self-reference is, after all, that of recurrent processes. Even such progressions as re-volution and e-volution turn upon themselves. Without goings around there could be nothing going on. It is through the web of dynamic, recyclical processes that our being emerges embodied as an eddy, persists as a relative invariant, reflects upon itself, construes meaning, and eventually disperses. That is what the topology of recursion is all about.

The associated notion of self-reference or self-reflexivity was given a particular focus through the work of Douglas Hofstadter (Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid: a metaphorical fugue on minds and machines in the spirit of Lewis Carroll, Basic Books, 1979). Hilary Lawson (Reflexivity: the post-modern predicament, 1986) has clarified the dilemmas it implies for the future -- exemplified in its relevance for administration (Ann L.Cunliffe and Jong S. Jun, The Need for Reflexivity in Public Administration, Administration & Society, 2005, 37: 225-242). In relation to complexity, an example of self-reference situation is autopoiesis, namely as the process of auto (self) creation that is presumably at the core of any adaptive reorganization in response to the challenges of the times (cf Bibliography on Self-Reflexivity; James Juniper, A Critique of Social Applications of Autopoiesis, International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, 1, 3; Felix Geyer and Johannes van der Zouwen, eds., Sociocybernetics: complexity, autopoiesis, and observation of social systems, Greenwood Publishing, 2001)

Dematerialization and virtualization

As argued elsewhere (Reframing Sustainable Sources of Energy for the Future: the vital role of psychosocial variants, 2006), in the case of an economic perspective on the future, the focus is typically on how the economic system is to be sustained, notably through development. This is undergirded by a focus on the stability of the financial system, primarily in its monetarized form. In considering the monetary system, it is important to recognize that it is based fundamentally on confidence and trust -- namely trust that monetary tokens can be exchanged for goods and services later in time at an acceptable rate. Not only is "energy" itself, in any form, essentially intangible, but the forms through which it manifests may themselves be intangible. With the increasing importance of the "service industry", economics has had to come to terms with a process of "dematerialization" of the products with which it is concerned. In 1999, half of Business Week’s one hundred biggest global corporations in 1999 were in information and financial services.

More broadly, dematerialization now refers to the absolute or relative reduction in the quantity of materials required to serve economic functions (cf Iddo K. Wernick et al. Materialization and Dematerialization: measures and trends, Daedalus 125, 1996, 3). This may be expressed as reducing the total material that goes toward providing benefits to customers -- accomplished through greater efficiency, the use of better or more appropriate materials, or by creating a service that produces the same benefit as a product (cf Dematerialization and Immaterialization)

It could be argued that the evolution of organizations into more sophistoicated or subtler forms is characterized by a progressive dematerialization (or virtualization) of the distinct "vehicle" for the identity that it engenders and "incubates". As such the process of virtualization may be usefully be understood as a process of disidentification -- well-understood metaphorically in the psychological disidentification of a child from its parents. As a consequence, and as conventionally understood, there is no active interface between the stages of such transformation, other than that internalized within the individuals operating according to both logics.

Dematerialization has taken on a wider significance in relation to electronic information. It may then be understood as a process to convert assets and securities held in physical form into electronic form or to directly allot securities in electronic record form. Ecological sustainability may be assessed as the dematrialization of production and consumption (cf Peter Bartelemus, Dematerialization and Capital Maintenance: two sides of the sustainability coin, 2002). An important potential avenue for achieving sustainability objectives is to develop policies aimed at dematerialization of consumer preferences and consumption patterns (cf Dematerialization, habit formation and social interactions in consumer behaviour, 2005).

The widely-recognized emergence of a knowledge-based society, matched by an increasing concern with faith-based structures and disciplines, also points to the importance of dematerialization. This trend is better recognized under the term "virtualization" as discussed in exploring the case for "cognitive fusion" (Dematerialization and Virtualization comparison of nuclear fusion and cognitive fusion, Annex B of Enactivating a Cognitive Fusion Reactor: Imaginal Transformation of Energy Resourcing, 2006) under the following headings:

  • Information system virtualization: This concept has been intimately associated with the development of computer and information technology over the past decades. In computing, virtualization is the process of presenting a logical grouping or subset of computing resources, whether hardware or software, so that they can be accessed in ways that give benefits over the original configuration. Virtualization can therefore be understood as an abstraction layer that allows multiple virtual machines, with heterogeneous operating systems to run in isolation, side-by-side on the same physical machine. It is widely promoted as the direction of development of computer-related processes, notably knowledge-related applications.

  • Artistic virtualization

  • Economic virtualization: The internet is now understood to be fundamentally reshaping businesses and the industries in which they compete. A form of virtualization of the contemporary economy is now taking place even though the basic rules of the "old" economy have regained their currency, and the issues as business cycle, cost, quality, inventory, productivity or traditional measures of profitability and economic value are valid.

  • Social virtualization: The challenge of progressive virtualization of society was explored under the editorship of Magid Igbouria (Virtual Societies: Their Prospects and Dilemma, The Information Society, 14(2), 1998). The concern goes beyond virtual classrooms, virtual universities, virtual organizations, and even virtual communities. There is relatively little awareness of how people can live and work in societies in which these and other virtual practices and social forms are widespread and mixed in with face-to-face relationships [more].

  • Virtualization of reality: This phenomenon has been framed in a variety of ways. Concern has been expressed at the psychological fallout of the virtualization of reality through the death of affect. J.G. Ballard has called this "the greatest casualty of the twentieth century" -- a psychic numbness that cultural commentators from Camus to McLuhan have argued is a salient characteristic of our media-bombarded, hyperstimulated culture. It is distinguished by the disengagement from immediate experience, a cauterization of the soul. [more]

  • Virtualization of identity: The implications of cyberspace for identity have long been explored. More intriguing is the sense in which identity may be as much a metaphor as anything more identifiable, as noted by Kenneth Boulding (Ecodynamics; a new theory of social evolution, 1978)
    • Our consciousness of the unity of self in the middle of a vast complexity of images or material structures is at least a suitable metaphor for the unity of group, organization, department, discipline or science. If personification is a metaphor, let us not despise metaphors -- we might be one ourselves.

  • Virtualization of organization: This is an organization existing as a corporate, not-for-profit, educational, or otherwise productive entity that does not have a central geographical location and exists solely through telecommunication tools. Scott M. Preston (Virtual Organization as Process: Integrating Cognitive and Social Structure Across Time and Space, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication) argues that:
    • Virtual organization requires a different way of perceiving the world by those who wish to participate in it. There are four key characteristics of virtual organization as process. First, virtual organization entails the development of relationships with a broad range of potential partners, each having a particular competency that complements the others. Second, virtual organizing capitalizes on the mobility and responsiveness of telecommunications to overcome problems of distance. Third, timing is a key aspect of relationships, with actors using responsiveness and availability to decide between alternatives. Last, there must be trust between actors separated in space for virtual organization to be effective. This paper describes the perceptual and social requirements of virtual organization and suggests a research plan for explicating the structure, process and content of any system based on its elements. The structures of individual actors’ perceptions and expectations and the social processes that supply the content of their social experience must be addressed if virtual organization and its advantages are to be understood

  • Virtualization of community: The "organizational" variant overlaps with a virtualization of community, possibly extendingto "virtual nations" (cf Howard Rheingold, The Virtual Community, 1999).

  • Virtualization of psychosocial activity: The increasing extent to which many now live significant portions of their day in virtual worlds has been a topic of repeated comment. This may take the form of:
    • e-shopping and e-consumption
    • e-gambling, including variants using virtual funds
    • e-gaming, notably to the point of engaging individuals for many hours per day
    • e-socializing, notably through chat rooms and including e-dating

  • Virtualization of social constructs: As the above items indicate, within the emerging psychosocial environment of the 21st century many elements of "reality" may be as real, if not more real, in a virtual sense than in a more tangible sense. This applies to different degrees to each of the following:
    • money: it is only economic threat, and the increasing purchase of gold, that provides a striking reminder of the intangible nature of money and its primary existence as a virtual entity (cf Peter Koenig, 30 Lies About Money, 2003)
    • institutions: as noted with respect to organizations, duly constituted institutions may be understood as existing as virtual entitites to a higher degree than as tangible entitites (irrespective of office buildings and factories)
    • plans, programmes, schedules: as patterns of intent, their "existence" as coherent entitites is a matter of interpretation and an expression of shared confidence. The problematic nature of the existence of such entities is evident with respect to vanishing pension plans and strategic plans that are continually rolled over without producing what is promised.
    • contracts: the "existence" of many entities is seemingly ensured through legally binding contracts but such texts merely provide a pattern for actions which may or may not conform to them
    • meetings: face-to-face gatherings may be understood as somewhat chaotic assemblages of people for which varuing degrees of order and coyherence can be claimed. But, as with virtual meetings, the degree to which the various face-to-face interactions constitute an identifiable and coherent whole is debateable.
    • threats: in a society subject to skillful warnings regarding threat (such as "weapons of mass destruction") the reality of such threats is increasingly questionable
    • values
    The extent to which a social construct is "real" or "virtual" might lend itself to a social application of Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle in quantum mechanics (cf Shay David, On the Uncertainty Principle and Social Constructivism: the case of Free and Open-Source Software, 2003; Garrison Sposito, Does a generalized Heisenberg Principle operate in the social sciences? Inquiry, 1969), The challenge of self-referential reflexivity is understood as a methodological issue in the social sciences analogous to that principle. However the principle is frequently, but incorrectly, confused with the "observer effect" since it associates precision in measurements related to changes in velocity and position of certain particles relative to the perspective the observer takes on them.

  • Virtualization and image: The extent to which "reality" is now treated as "plastic", to be moulded by through image management and public relations, is now widely recognized. Social entities, whether individuals, corporate bodies, programs, products or policies, all lend themselves to being repackaged independently of their facticity. The media have a central role in the process of image formation and sustainability. Psychosocial entities may usefully be understood as constructs -- memes -- travelling along the many currents of public opinion.

Progressive self-reflexive learning

UNESCO, notably throught the International Commission of Education for the Twenty-first Century, gave prominence to the notion of a "learning society" and subsequently to the "connected learning society". This had followed a much earlier report to the Club of Rome (James W Botkin, Mahdi Elmandjra, Mircea Malitza. No Limits to Learning; bridging the human gap. Oxford, Pergamon Press, 1979; Societal Learning and the Erosion of Collective Memory: a critique of the Club of Rome Report: No Limits to Learning, 1980). Botkin subsequently raised the question whether the Club itself was a learning organization (Jim Botkin, The Club of Rome: a learning organization? 1996). In relation to the previous section, the 1979 report identified of the important caracteristics of the knowledge society as being : the immaterialization of the material and the materialization of the immaterial..

Framed in this way, self-reflexiveness of an increasingly subtler nature results from a progression such as the following:

  • learning facts
  • learning information about facts
  • learning from experience regarding facts and information
  • learning the appropriateness of various philosophical perspectives
  • learning to learn

This progression through learning stages can be explored in various ways, including the many highlighted elsewhere (Varieties of Rebirth: distinguishing ways of being "born again", 2004) and discussed below, especially from a cognitive perspective. In particular, tThis progression may be explored in the light of the development of critical thinking.

Of particular interest in any such progression, as pointed out by Donald Michael (On Learning to Plan and Planning to Learn, 1973; The Unprepared Society: Planning for a Precarious Future, 1969), is the " requirement to embrace error":

More bluntly, future-responsive societal learning makes it necessary for individuals and organizations to embrace error. It is the only way to ensure a shared self-consciousness about limited theory on the nature of social dynamics, about limited data for testing theory, and hence about our limited ability to control our situation well enough to be successful more often than not

Also of interest is the process of learning under uncertainty (R L Flood. Rethinking the fifth discipline: learning within the unknowable. Routledge, London, 1999)

Progressive integration of the shadow of non-self-reflexivity

The successive phases in the evolution of insight are frequently depicted in Zen Buddhism by a traditional sequence of 10 ox-herding pictures, each with a brief commentary (cf D T Suzuki; Kubota Ji'un, Ten Ox-herding Pictures with the Verses Composed by Kakuan Zenji, 1996). As argued elsewhere (Enlightening Endarkenment: selected web resources on the challenge to comprehension, 2005), these are of special interest because of their indication of a person's progressive discovery and interplay with a shadowy element denoted by an ox. In a Commentary on the Integration of perceived Problems in the Human Development section of the Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential, the following attempt was made to suggest how that classical sequence might be interpreted for clues to an unfolding relationship between humanity and its shadow (in the shape of the complex of world problems).

The phases in the sequence, here to be reinterpreted in terms of their self-reflexive implications, are:

  • (a) Undisciplined exploration of the problematique: Humanity, having violated its own inmost nature, loses track of the problematique and its significance. It is then led astray by the delusions to which it succumbs, such as desire for gain and fear of loss, and is confused by a multiplicity of views of right and wrong, appropriateness and inappropriateness. Although distracted by this confusion, and exhausted by its efforts, humanity continues its search for a sustainable solution. At this time, it would appear that humanity, as represented by the international community, continues to be embroiled in the pre-systemic, single-factor perspectives of this first phase (ozone, acid rain, "health-for-all", substance abuse, illiteracy, terrorism, AIDS).
  • (b) Recognizing traces of the problematique as an integrated system: Repeated (and basically unsuccessful) attempts to locate and contain the problematique through uncoordinated initiatives provide humanity with occasional insights into its nature, especially when more integrated approaches are used. Although recognizing that the problematique, by whatever means, is in some sense engendered by humanity as a whole, there remains a basic confusion between truth and falsehood, especially when it seems obvious to some that another particular group can be usefully blamed for specific problems. Environmental and systems insights (tropical forests, global warming) are shifting the focus to this second phase.
  • (c) Focusing on the problematique as a whole: Having cultivated a more intuitive insight, enabling it to integrate its complementary modes of perception, humanity focuses directly on the problematique, recognizing its many manifestations as consequences of different forms of inappropriate human intervention. There are episodic exercises in focusing on the problematique as a whole (Brandt Report, Brundtland Report), although what they fail to take into account quickly condemns them as sub-systemic and inappropriate and encourages further initiatives of a similar nature.
  • (d) Encompassing the problematique: Humanity grapples with the problematique directly for the first time. The momentum of the problematique, developed over the long periods during which it was uncontained, and the pressures and habitual opportunities of an undisciplined social environment, make it extremely difficult to control. Severe disciplinary measures are necessary. The various development strategies, especially the current attempt at "sustainable development", correspond to this fourth phase, but only to the extent that efforts are made to implement them. On the national level, the structural adjustment required by the IMF is indicative of the political will required -- although typically such adjustment fails to take into account many facets of the problematique.
  • (e) Orienting the problematique: Every insight concerning the problematique leads humanity to further insights in an endless pattern. With discernment these will all be of value. But when humanity deceives itself, confusion will prevail and the problematique will reassert itself in an inappropriate manner. Constant vigilance is required to discipline the problematique and orient its manifestations within appropriate bounds. The seeds of this fifth phase may be seen in the increasing recognition of the need for a disciplined and radical change of life style, especially on the part of the industrialized countries.
  • (f) Using the problematique as a vehicle for sustainable development: The struggle of humanity with the problematique is over. Humanity is no longer traumatized by gain or loss, which are assimilated as phases in a larger process that is now the focus of attention. Rhythms of action in harmony with nature are cultivated. The problematique is used as a vehicle moving in sympathy with those rhythms towards the re-enchantment of the Earth. The old modes of action are not considered viable and their advocates are no longer heeded. Some indications of the nature of this phase are to be found in the writings of the "deep ecology" movement and in the preoccupations of some forms of sustainable agriculture -- although their obvious limitations lie in their inability to deal realistically with the conditions of industrialized, urban societies and the impoverishment of an overpopulated planet. The missing insight would seem to be how to achieve the transition to this stage by benefiting from the problematique itself.
  • (g) Transcending the realm of the problematique: Having used the problematique as a vehicle to reach a sustainable condition, it is no longer required. However, the necessary disciplines for humanity to handle it remain available. Humanity can now act with serenity guided by insight that is no longer obscured by the dynamics of the problematique. There are writings on paradigm shifts into a new consciousness (in which the problematique no longer figures) and these do offer clues as to the nature of this phase. However, their neglect of the problematique would seem to be more a question of avoidance rather than transcendence, indicating that such perspectives lack vital insights.
  • (h) Disappearance of both humanity and the problematique: The dualistic mindset through which humanity is perceived, in opposition to the problematique and to other species, is itself transcended, as are the disciplines through which that relationship is articulated. Confusion disappears. But there is no question of being either entranced by more integrative insights or entrapped by lesser ones. The nature of this condition does not lend itself to definition. Typically, any desire for it renders it unattainable or unsustainable.
  • (i) Expression of essential humanity: Grounded in its essential nature, humanity stands untouched by inappropriateness. Processes of integration and disintegration are witnessed from a perspective that enfolds them. Neither formulation nor reformulation are necessary to ensure sustainability. Change, as perceived, is necessarily appropriate however paradoxical it may appear.
  • (j) Human intervention in the world: Human action is no longer associated with any particular mindset, nor does it follow any recognizable path. It cannot be assessed by any form of conventional wisdom, nor does it depend on any particular tools. No special effort is made to preserve forms of any kind -- including those of humanity itself. Insight into the emptiness underlying form enfolds any form of action in a more meaningful context, thus enabling greater appropriateness to emerge as required.

Insightful "rebirth" and emergent thought structures

Progressive evolution of recursive self-reflexiveness may also be framed in terms of some form of "rebirth". This has been explored elsewhere (Varieties of Rebirth: distinguishing ways of being "born again", 2004; Web Resources on Being "Born Again", 2004). The following clusters of ways were described.

G. Experiential rebirth (operacy, flow, emdiment of mind, speaking with God, born-again, possession, psychedelic experience, embodiment in song, spiritual rebirth) F. Cognitive perspective (metacognition, critical thinking, philosophy, aesthetic sensibility, orders of thinking, systematics, orders of abstraction, disciplines of action)
E. Therapeutical rebirth (release from trauma, mentors, self-help, discipleship) D. Developmental rebirth (education, perspective, initiation, cultural creativity, individuation)
C. Psycho-behavioural rebirth (sin-to-virtue, changing patterns of consumption, conversion) B. Socio-religious rebirth (birthright, destiny, reincarnation, socal status, ceremony, ritual, group affiliation, games, sports)
A. Cultural rebirth (renaissance, aesthetic birth, mytho-poesis)

The nine levels of emergent thought structure distinguished in Spiral Dynamics, described as vMemes, might be understood in terms of degrees of self-reflexiveness and recursion.

Imagination, constructivism, faith-based reality, revisionism and "spin"

There has recently been official recognition of the "failure of imagination" by the international community in relation both to "terrorism" (Failure of imagination to deal with an alternative logic, 2005) and to many other challenges calling for new thinking and a "paradigm shift" (cf Documents relating to Paradigm Change, Social Transformation). The question is whether there is a more fundamental failure of imagination in relation to the emergence of insight -- and its expression through forms appropriate to the challenges of the 21st century.

As concluded elsewhere (Enactivating a Cognitive Fusion Reactor: Imaginal Transformation of Energy Resourcing, 2006), like it or not, governance in the 21st century will be significantly influenced by the imagination -- whether as manipulated by news management and media phenomena, by the faith-based articulations of different belief systems, or by the search for imaginative relief from the constraints of simplistic governance, insensitive planning and the incompatible preferences of others. "Urban myths", notably regarding "immigrants" and minority groups, may have increasing influence on social unrest and remedial policies. Imagination will be called upon, through self-reflexive processes, to reframe depression, anxiety and existential doubt. Relief will be increasingly sought in alternative realities, whether private (including drug-enabled), virtual or elective communities, in which primacy is given to imaginative connectivity to provide coherence.

Imagination is a vital quality sought and cultivated, notably by politicians, in envisaging viable future possibilities -- beyond the tired formulas of "business as usual" and "more of the same".

There is now recognition of a vital distinction made between "faith-based" and "reality-based" decision-making at the highest level, as noted in a much-cited article by Ron Suskind (Without a Doubt, The New York Times, In The Magazine, 17 October 2004) regarding an exchange with an aide in the decision-making circle of President Bush:

The aide said that guys like me were ''in what we call the reality-based community,'' which he defined as people who ''believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality.'' I nodded and murmured something about enlightenment principles and empiricism. He cut me off. ''That's not the way the world really works anymore,'' he continued. ''We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality -- judiciously, as you will -- we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.''

The challenge of imagination in relation to self-rfeflexivity might be framed in terms of how much "spin" makes for what degree of recursive self-reflexiveness -- provided their is awareness of the degree of spin, namely of the degree of disconnectivity from unspun reality.

As in the 1960s, it is once again a case of "l'imagination au pouvoir". Just as each of the above may be understood as an exercise in imposing and eliciting particular imaginative strategies, so individuals are now free to dissociate themselves from such "stories" and develop their own (cf Imaginal Education: game playing, science fiction, language, art and world-making, 2003).

Form, geometry, pattern and dimensionality

The pattern or form through which insight is organized and expressed implicitly constrains or reinforces certain modes of understanding. Various authors have explored the extent of this influence in different ways.

Form/Medium: As discussed elsewhere (Psychosocial Work Cycle: beyond the plane of Möbius, 2007), the focus of Michael Schiltz (Form and Medium: a mathematical reconstruction, Image [&] Narrative, 6, 2003) follows from that of the calculus of indications of George Spencer-Brown (Laws of Form, 1969/1994). Schiltz notes that form/medium is "the image for systemic connectivity and concatenation", as described by Humberto Maturana and Francesco Varela. For Schiltz, the notion of "space" is the key to reflexivity appropriate to any discussion of form and medium, citing Spencer-Brown as follows:

In all mathematics it becomes apparent, at some stage, that we have for some time been following a rule without being aware of it. This might be described as the use of a covert convention. [… Its] use can be considered as the presence of an arrangement in the absence of an agreement. For example, in the statement and theorem.... it is arranged (although not agreed) that we shall write on a plane surface. If we write on the surface of a torus the theorem is not true […] The fact that men have for centuries used a plane surface for writing means that, at this point in the text, both author and reader are ready to be conned into the assumption of a plane writing surface without question. But, like any other assumption, it is not unquestionable, and the fact that we can question it here means that we can question it elsewhere.

Schiltz then comments, regarding covert conventions:

It was our choice to write in a plane surface that has made that distinctions indeed do cut off an inside from an outside, that ‘differences do make a difference’ (Gregory Bateson). Covert conventions at a level deeper than the level of form, preceding the level of form, have determined what the form would do. There lies a chance for developing a medium theory here. In this concrete case: the medium of the plane surface makes the difference. And in general: the topology of the medium makes the difference between distinctions making a difference and distinctions not making a difference. “It is now evident that if a different surface is used, what is written on it, although identical in marking may be not identical in meaning"... Spencer-Brown has shown us that the ‘medium is the message’ (Marshall MacLuhan).....

The inadequacy of conventional frameworks to subtler insight is usefully highlighted by Ken Wilber (On the Nature of a Post-Metaphysical Spirituality: response to Habermas and Weis, Consumercide) in relation his AQAL framework:

Trying to fit the transpersonal in an abstract and theoretical framework is a hopeless enterprise, all mystics have said the spiritual cannot adequately be formulated. Yes, and all of traditions of the mystics have nonetheless offered general maps of the journey to Spirit (such as the ten Zen Ox-Herding pictures). It turns out that there are family resemblances to these maps, and these resemblances seem to reflect certain deep potentials in the human bodymind (deep potentials for self-transcendence given as the Great Nest). We don't try to fit anything into an abstract and theoretical framework. Instead, we attempt a reconstructive science that concludes, based on empirical and phenomenological research and evidence, that there are higher states and stages available to men and women (but again, not in a predetermined fashion, since their manifestation is molded by all four quadrants -- behavioral, intentional, social, and cultural). This is a much fuller approach than Weis offers, I believe.

Geometry: For some the focus is on geometry, as with:

  • John Allen. Succeed: structuring managerial thought (Tucson, Synergetic Press, 1988)
  • Arthur Young. Geometry of Meaning (Boston, Delacort Press/Seymour Lawrence, 1978)
  • R Buckminster Fuller. Synergetics: explorations in the geometry of thinking (New York, Macmillan, 1975 (vol. I), 1979 (vol. II))

Fuller focused on the role of the set of polyhedra in modelling cognitive systems of different complexity. The cognitive and organization implications of his exploration of tensegrity are discussed elsewhere (From Networking to Tensegrity Organization, 1984; Implementing Principles by Balancing Configurations of Functions: a tensegrity organization approach, 1979; Groupware Configurations of Challenge and Harmony: an alternative approach to alternative organization, 1979; Tensing Associative Networks to contain the Fragmentation and Erosion of Collective Memory, 1980). A variety of tensegrity structures can be displayed in virtual reality over the web (cf Bob Burkhardt, VRML Tensegrity Models, 2006).

Fuller's work was subsequently a basis for the work of