Challenges to Comprehension Implied by the Logo
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30 September 2024 | Draft

Pathways in Governance between Logic, Emotion, Spirituality and Action

AI-assisted clarification of contrasting modalities of persuasion

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Introduction
Potential correspondences between logical, emotional, spiritual and practical modalities
Challenge of remembering a 16-fold pattern and its connectivity
Identification of pathways between cognitive modalities
Chess and Go implications for Ukraine-Russia, Israel-Palestine, China-Taiwan, and the Koreas
Implications for dialogue in addressing international conflicts
Pathways between cognitive modalities in courtship
Dynamics of bipedalism and quadrupedalism indicative of "cognitive gait"
Connective "borrowing" between cognitive modalities
Insightful representation of pathways of 4-fold cognitive patterns
Systematic avoidance of complex modality patterns in governance
Emergent integrative perspective from a 4-fold to a 5-fold modality
Transcending the strange cognitive attractor of binary dynamics
Corresponding intelligent connectives in animals and plants?
Embodying patterns of cognitive pathways within a complex polyhedron
Bridging pathways between cognitive modalities through humour
AI analysis of connectives in the UN's Pact for the Future and its Global Digital Compact
References

Introduction

Faced with the challenges of the times, there are many initiatives which could be claimed to be "logical" or "rational". Many initiatives of the past were held to be rational and appropriate, although history now calls such appreciation into question. Increasingly the use of logic is readily challenged from other perspectives -- as with the manner in which science is now deemed suspect by many. Emotion may well be a factor in determining disagreement and the failure to "like" a strategy advocated as reasonable.

Reference may be made to spiritual factors as reframing what might otherwise be deemed reasonable -- whether framed as intuition, in aesthetic terms, or as "values". That dimension may be held to be of primary significance, taking precedence over any other and determining the nature of what is rational. The subtleties of logic, emotion and spirituality may well be set aside in favour of action as a primary necessity -- however it is "rationalized" -- irrespective of whether it is extremely disagreeable to some, possible including those undertaking it. Each of these modalities is the preoccupation of extensive commentaries and explored in a various ways, whether by academia, the arts, religions, or those focused on the concrete.

Framed in this way, it may then be asked how individuals and societies move from a logical justification to one which people "like" -- however unreasonably so -- or to justifying initiatives in terms of spiritual priorities or those of necessity. What are the convoluted pathways between these modalities, irrespective of how any one of them is held to be of primary importance -- at least for a period? Is the recognition of such pathways susceptible to rational analysis or explanation -- or is it also called into question and set aside by emotional, spiritual priorities, and those of necessity? Are the pathways bettern understood otherwise, through the arts, spiritual practice, or other disciplines?

Such concerns may necessarily be held to be an indulgence in times of major conflict and its anticipation -- as seemingy heralded by those of Ukraine-Russia, Israel-Palestine, Taiwan-China, and the Koreas. What role does "logic" play in exacerbating such conflict -- in contrast to other factors? How does discussion of them shift between incommensurable modes of discourse?

In this period the United Nations has just approved a Pact for the Future and a Declaration for Future Generations -- on the occasion of its Summit of the Future. Crafted with necessary attention to their legal credibility, these could be acclaimed as eminently "rational" and "logical" in the face of the strategic challenges of global civilization. Whilst they may indeed be held to embody an emotional dimension articulated by the world leaders in drafting and approving them -- purportedly to ensure that they are "liked" by the populations which they are held to represent -- the question as to whether they will in fact be "liked" by those populations in practice is quite another matter. For many such articulations will be read through a "spiritual" lens, as possibly understood from an aethetic perspective. Others may set aside such modalities and see the UN initiatives as an urgent necessity determining the practical action framed by the Sustainable Development Goals and its 169 tasks.

The period is also witness to widespread concern with misinformation and disinformation -- with "fake news" (Varieties of Fake News and Misrepresentation, 2019; Vital Collective Learning from Biased Media Coverage, 2014). Acclaiming any initiative as appropriate by whatever modality is now readily called into question from that perspective. The pattern is effectively instutionalized in legislative assemblies in which opponents may use any modality to condemn and dismiss strategies advocated by others. The pattern is as evident in the relations between religions and their adherents, as it is in that between academic disciplines and government agencies.

Curiously the posssibility that AI might be of considerable value in response to this global crisis is obscured by relatively ill-informed fear-mongering regarding the threat of AI to the future of human civilization. Little attempt is seemingly made to explore and demonstrate in detail how AI might be used to mitigate the challenges to the governance of a knowledge-based civilization -- emotion "trumping" logic? The outcome of the UN-organized AI for Good Summit (2023) does not seem to have contributed to more balanced understanding. Unfortunately the fear-mongering has effectively been embodied in the Global Digital Compact, as approved at the Summit of the Future. Somewhat ironically even the possibility of using AI -- to summarize, analyze and render comprehensible the documents emanating from the Summit of the Future -- has been avoided.

The UN's ambition to "turbocharge" the Sustainable Development Goals on the occasion of the 2024 Summit of the Future was previously explored through a series of interactions with AI (Turbocharging SDGs by Activating Global Cycles in a 64-fold 3D Array, 2024). The detection by inspection, and subsequent visualization of feedback loops in that experimental procedure with ChatGPT and Claude, proved to be encouraging to the point of envisaging an AI-enabled automated detection of indicative SDG cycles that could be essential to their viability. More generally the case was previously made for the use of AI with regard to "Yes" and "No" campaigns on controversial issues and enhancing the coherence of governance in such cases (Use of ChatGPT to Clarify Possibility of Dialogue of Higher Quality, 2023; Coherence of Sustainable Development Goals through Artificial Intelligence, 2023).

Inspired by the understanding of key cycles essential to biological life, there is then a case for challenging AI to suggest correspondences in systemic terms to cycles potentially relevant to sustainable governance -- in the spirit of general systems research. As an earlier exchange has indicated, both AIs responded surprisingly proactively to this challenge (Viability of Sustainable Development as Implied by Metabolic Cycles, 2024).

The responses to the earlier exchange included the implication that AI might well be able to offer significant insights into the transitions between logic, emotion, spirituality, and action -- to the pathways between them -- and the manner in which each was potentially able to "trump" the other. The following is a further exploration of that possibility. A particular interest of such exercises is the question of what can be gleaned from AI "re-search" of its unprecedented access to vast data resources in response to evocative questions. Also of interest is the manifest engagement of AI with such challenging questions -- if only from a speculative perspective, calling for repeated iteration by which insights of practical value could potentially be derived.

The exploration enabled the Pact for the Future, the Declaration for Future Generations, and the Global Digital Compact -- as adopted by the UN's Summit of the Future -- to be analyzed by AI in terms of the connectives they failed to use, with the implications for future governance.

As in the previous experiments, the responses of ChatGPT 4o are distinctively presented below in grayed areas, in parallel with those of Claude 3.5. Given the length of the document to which the exchange gives rise, the form of presentation has itself been treated as an experiment -- in anticipation of the future implication of AI into research documents. Reservations and commentary on the process of interaction with AI to that end have been discussed separately (Methodological comment on experimental use of AI, 2024). Whilst the presentation of responses of two AIs could be readily considered excessive, it offers a "stereoscopic" perspective highlighting the strengths and limitations of each.

As in the previous experiments, the responses of ChatGPT 4o are distinctively presented below in grayed areas, in parallel with those of Claude 3.5. Given the length of the document to which the exchange gives rise, the form of presentation has itself been treated as an experiment -- in anticipation of the future implication of AI into research documents. Web technology now enables the whole document to be held as a single "page" with only the "questions" to AI rendered immediately visible -- a facility developed in this case with the assistance of both ChatGPT and Claude 3 (but not operational in PDF variants of the page, in contrast with the original). Reservations and commentary on the process of interaction with AI to that end have been discussed separately (Methodological comment on experimental use of AI, 2024). Whilst the presentation of responses of two AIs could be readily considered excessive, it offers a "stereoscopic" perspective highlighting the strengths and limitations of each.

Potential correspondences between logical, emotional, spiritual and practical modalities

Logical connectives are fundamental to the operation of computers and AI. They are linguistic elements that connect words or phrases in a sentence to express logical relationships between propositions. The set of 16 logical connectives can be variously discussed and represented, notably in relation to the logic of opposition (Oppositional logic and its geometry -- 16 minus 2 connectives? 2021). In a period of global concern with misinformation, the relation of those connectives to truth tables is especially relevant.

Given increasing perception that "everything is connected to everything", the connectives are of particular importance in the light of the perceived threat of AI (Speech acts in being spoken to by artificial intelligence, 2023). In a period in which there is concern with disconnection from nature, and "cognitive disconnect", connectives are clearly of relevance to the manner by which the global condition is perceived and how it is modelled (Dangerous loss of connectivity in global modelling and misinformation detection by algorithm? 2021; Variety of "ways of looking" -- binary or otherwise, 2021).

Given the way in which emotion may displace logic in practice, there is necessarily a case for exploring an analogous set of emotional connectives, especially given the perceived forms of emotional artificial intelligence (Artificial Emotional Intelligence and its Human Implications, 2023). The argument can be generalized to include spiritual connectives, given the manner in which values and principles may take precedence. Similarly it may be asked whether there action-oriented connectives which take precedence over abstractions -- especially in which there are widespread predictions of nuclear war. In the case of global summitry, there is therefore an argument for exploring the various uses of such connectives (Relative frequency of use of logical connectives in discourse, 2023; Ranking dialogues in terms of use of logical and emotional connectives, 2023).

It could be assumed that the consideration of abstract connectives of whatever form has little relevance to the articulation of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. Given the confusion of the times, the fact that both articulations are characterized by 16-fold patterns could well imply that collective organization of strategy derives from unexplored considerations, as separately argued (Systemic Coherence of the UN's 17 SDGs as a Global Dream, 2021). The 17th Goal can be set aside as a meta-goal. Indications with regard to the cognitive of such disparate patterns are offered by George Lakoff and Rafael Núñez (Where Mathematics Comes From: how the embodied mind brings mathematics into being, 2000).

A major challenge is the limited awareness of the complete array of connectives, despite a degree of familiarity for their expression in drama. The most helpfully extensive presentation of the array of distinct logical connectives in comprehensible form appears to be that of Maarten van Wijk (English language lexicalisations of all 16 connectives, Universiteit Leiden, 2006). An adaptation is reproduced separately (Application of insights from ChatGPT interaction to use of AI -- and to other initiatives, 2023).

Question: Could you summarize your earlier response with regard to potential correspondences between logical connectives, emotional connectives, spiritual/intuitive connectives, and practical/action connectives

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The following is reproduced from a question posed in the earlier exercise (Viability of Sustainable Development as Implied by Metabolic Cycles, 2024).

Question: Is it not possible that the articulations of "true vs false" in the 16-fold pattern of logicl connectives could usefully reframe "like vs dislike", "good vs evil", and "appropriateness vs inappropriateness". It is curious that the extensive reflection on the square of opposition and oppositional logic does not seem to have been adapted to such possibilities.

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Speculative application of logical connectives to other modalities by Claude 3.5
(in response to the question above)
# Logical connectives Emotional connectives (Like vs. Dislike) Spiritual connectives (Good vs. Evil) Practical connectives (Appropriate vs. Inappropriate)
1 Contradiction (p ∧ ¬p) Ambivalence (Like ∧ Dislike) Moral Ambiguity (Good ∧ Evil) Contextual Ambiguity (Appropriate ∧ Inappropriate)
2 Tautology (p ∨ ¬p) Emotional Engagement (Like ∨ Dislike) Ethical Relevance (Good ∨ Evil) Situational Relevance (Appropriate ∨ Inappropriate)
3 Conjunction (p ∧ q) Mutual Appreciation (Like ∧ Like) Virtue (Good ∧ Good) Social Harmony (Appropriate ∧ Appropriate)
4 Disjunction (p ∨ q) Diverse Preferences (Like ∨ Like) Moral Pluralism (Good ∨ Good) Diverse Norms (Appropriate ∨ Appropriate)
5 Material Implication (p → q) Acquired Taste (Dislike → Like) Redemption (Evil → Good) Adaptation (Inappropriate → Appropriate)
6 Converse Implication (q → p) Nostalgia (Like → Dislike) Corruption (Good → Evil) Social Faux Pas (Appropriate → Inappropriate)
7 Biconditional (p ↔ q) Consistent Feeling (Like ↔ Like) Moral Consistency (Good ↔ Good) Consistent Behavior (Appropriate ↔ Appropriate)
8 Exclusive Disjunction (p ⊕ q) Conflicting Opinions (Like ⊕ Like) Ethical Dilemma (Good ⊕ Good) Cultural Misunderstanding (Appropriate ⊕ Appropriate)
9 Negated Conjunction (¬(p ∧ q)) Indifference (¬(Like ∧ Like)) Amorality (¬(Good ∧ Good)) Social Neutrality (¬(Appropriate ∧ Appropriate))
10 Negated Disjunction (¬(p ∨ q)) Polarization (¬(Like ∨ Like)) Moral Relativism (¬(Good ∨ Good)) Cultural Relativism (¬(Appropriate ∨ Appropriate))
11 Material Nonimplication (p ∧ ¬q) Disappointment (Like ∧ ¬Like) Tragic Flaw (Good ∧ ¬Good) Social Transgression (Appropriate ∧ ¬Appropriate)
12 Converse Nonimplication (¬p ∧ q) Pleasant Surprise (¬Like ∧ Like) Unexpected Virtue (¬Good ∧ Good) Unexpected Propriety (¬Appropriate ∧ Appropriate)
13 Nand (¬(p ∧ q)) Emotional Complexity (¬(Like ∧ Like)) Moral Complexity (¬(Good ∧ Good)) Behavioral Complexity (¬(Appropriate ∧ Appropriate))
14 Nor (¬(p ∨ q)) Apathy (¬(Like ∨ Like)) Nihilism (¬(Good ∨ Good)) Social Anarchy (¬(Appropriate ∨ Appropriate))
15 Projection Function p Personal Preference Personal Ethics Personal Standards
16 Projection Function q Others' Preference Societal Ethics Societal Standards

In the quest for pathways between essential incommensurable cognitive modalities, the insights offered by the set of familiar dramatc roles identified by Georges Polti are a potential source of clues (The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations, 1895). These are discussed separately as a means of interrelating the array of narratives, plots, agendas, stories and conspiracy theories (Thirty-six Dramatic Situations faced by Global Governance? 2022). The question is whether that set is comparable to that of the Chinese classic illustrating a series of stratagems used in politics, war, and civil interaction (Thirty-Six Stratagems)

Question: My question relates to the framework by which people might be assumed to transit from logic, to emotion, to spirituality, or to action and whether the juxtaposition of those connectives suggests pathways between them. Potentially relevant in this regard are the 36 dramatic plots of Georges Polti and the 36 stratagems of China. How these might suggest pathways is far from clear, especially if the connectives are held together within a truncated tesseract as previosly envisaged. Could you comment on any such transition, given its particular relevance when governance may be determined by any of the 4 sets

# Show/Hide AI response #

Curiously the set of 16 connectives is questionably reduced to 14 in conventional discussion of connectives (From 16 to 14 connectives -- precluding a logical meta-perspective? 2021). The focus on 14 is however potentially of relevance to 14-foldness in governance and aesthetics -- given the challenges to memorability and comprehension (Pattern of 14-foldness as an Implicit Organizing Principle for Governance? 2021; Variety of Rhyming Patterns in Standard 14-line Sonnets, 2021).

Question: As a parenthetical comment, I note the manner in which you give focus to "contradiction" and "tautology" in the case of the logical connectives. It is precisely these 2 of the 16 which are set aside in the logic of opposition to enable a focus on 14. My reference to dramatic conditions was evoked by recognition of the manner in which each any framing by each of the four may be "trumped" by that of another -- as drama makes only too evident, and is evident in political dynamics. In that sense none of the four can be used to "explain" the transition -- better understood through games.

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Question: As yet to be clarified is how the contrasting dramatic plots (and potentially the stratagems) enable any of the transitions through trumping -- namely a dramatic twist. Especially challenging is how 4x8 (+4) plots might provide such pathways. It is intriguing to note that Western and Eastern swordsmanship employ 14-fold and 8-fold patterns. In the tradition of western swordsmanship, the swordsman is understood to be able to adopt essentially 14 recognizable and effective fighting postures (guards/wards/stances) overall. Of these five are major universal ones that correspond to High, Middle, Low, Hanging, and Back positions. Poetry makes significant use of 14 -- offering another "cognitive lubricant" for any such transition

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Challenge of remembering a 16-fold pattern and its connectivity

Somewhat ironically, there is an unexplored challenge to remembering both the 16 (+1) SDGs and the 16 (-2) logical connectives -- and that of the relationships within those patterns. One implication is that it is highly problematic to communicate such patterns and to discuss them. This has been previously addressed through various approaches to their mapping, notably on polyhedra with the aid of AI (Comprehensible Mapping of the Variety of Fundamental Governance Functions, 2024; Memorable Configuration of Psychosocial "Vitamins", "Amino acids" and "Minerals", 2024; Eliciting a Pattern that Connects with AI? 2024; Comprehensible Organization of Strategic Complexity in 3D and 4D, 2024; Time for Provocative Mnemonic Aids to Systemic Connectivity? 2018).

Previous consideration of the mapping challenge focused on the truncated tesseract and the facetted square antiprism (Indicative mapping of 16 SDGs onto 16-edged faceted square antiprism, 2024).

Provocatively it can even be argued that if such a pattern is not "singable" in these times it is unlikely to be memorable or evoke sustainable uptake as a strategy (A Singable Earth Charter, EU Constitution or Global Ethic? 2006). Neither the SDGs nor the connectives are currently "singable" and there is little motivation to represent them in that mode -- given the manner in which music is deprecated in academia as a mnemonic aid -- with the curious exception of the compilation by Harold Baum (The Biochemists Songbook, 1982).

Question: Given the fundamental importance of the array of logical connectives -- and potentially their analogues -- could you comment on the apparent lack of any mnemonic aid to remembering them. The challenge could be compared to remembering the months of the year, the multiplication tables -- or in the past -- the zodiac or a pantheon.

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Question: The irony of the question, and even the inconclusive response, is that the world is effectively confronted with a call to remember the 16 SDGs -- readily held to be unmemorable as a set (even by those in the policy community). By contrast there is the expectation that the alphabet be learnt at an early age, as with the multiplication table. An additional requirement for such a mnemonic aid could also be a sense of pattern, as offered by that relating the astrological signs. It is noteworthy that pantheons are rendered memorable by narratives as might be the case with the iconic 12 disciples of Christianity. Narratives may not be sufficiently succinct

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Question: Given your renowned skills in elaborating poems on any theme, it is surprising that you do not suggest a rhyming pattern by which the connectives could be recalled. It is noteworthy that in this exchange the responses have focused on a subset of the connectives. Could the SDGs be recalled through a succinct poetic device

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Question: The creativity of that response is appreciated. Potentially preferable in terms of the succinct requirement would be an acrostic, as with: “My Very Educated Mother Just Sent Us Nine Pizzas” to help remember the nine planets and their order in the solar system. A proposal for the 12 Christian Apostles is: Bart And John Fill Tom’s Mat with two Jameses, two Simons, and two Judases. Missing in such sequences is any sense of relationships, as with a proposal made for the SDGs: PEACE AND JUSTICE FOR ALL GOOD PARTNERSHIPS -- perhaps not especially enchanting, and therefore of limited value as a mnemonic

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Question: The clearest articulation I have seen, but not as memorable as one would wish, is in the shared document (Maarten van Wijk, English language lexicalisations of all 16 connectives, 2006, p. 70-71)

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Question: An elaboration for the full set would be much appreciated. Related thoughts would be the relevance to the set of SDGs, with the approach recalling manual sign language -- ironically appropriate for the "deaf"

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Identification of pathways between cognitive modalities

As indicated above, it is particularly questionable whether the pattern connectives is well-recognized in a global civilization in which connectivity is widely emphasized and valued. Clearly some of the connectives are very familiar -- even excessively so given the reliance on them. A concern is therefore how people navigate between cognitive modalities characterized by corresponding connectives -- and whether limited recognition of those connectives renders them vulnerable to those with greater skill in that regard. How many connectives are used in political or religious rhetoric?

Question: In the light of the earlier response it could be assumed that you would be willing to speculate in more detail on the convoluted pathways between the four connective modes. Of relevance is the limited recognition of the more subtle and elusive logical connectives. There might therefore be a case for focusing on the 8 most familiar in identifying such pathways. Also of relevance is the extent to which those with the art of persuasion for marketing or other purposes may make use of such pathways -- possibly as "games people play" and various forms of blackmail as a trumping device. Entertainment may well have rendered such ploys familiar, in practice without being able to name them. Given to articulation already achieved, my interest is in the seemingly limited ability to recognize and name possible pathways between the four modalities as might be suggested by particular connectives. It is my suspicion that there is great familiarity with many of them (especially the simpler 8) in drama, persuasive rhetoric, "games people play", and the like. I am less interested in the case of particular campaigns, except as offering memorable instances to identity particular pathways

# Show/Hide AI response #

In an earlier exchange, AIs were challenged to explore the analogy between logical connectives and chess pieces, in the light of how the "moves" of different connectives in dialogue might be distinguished (Memorable patterns of dialogue in the light of patterns of chess, 2023).

Question: Arguably there is a degree of recognition in the various adaptations of "games people play" to various domains. Of relevance are Georges Polti's 36 dramatic conditions and the 36 Chinese stratagems. By contrast is the detailed analysis of "moves" and strategies in chess, suggesting the somewhat naive question of how many chess strategies have been rendered familiar by naming. Can pathway exploration be taken further with respect to the four modalities in the light of your response

# Show/Hide AI response #

Chess and Go implications for Ukraine-Russia, Israel-Palestine, China-Taiwan, and the Koreas

Question: It would indeed be beneficial to go further -- possibly as a means of looking at current debates on Ukraine-Russia or Israel-Palestine. Before doing so, given AI expertise in the game of go, in addition to chess, how would you apply the go framing to the pathway question (as you have applied the chess framing)

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Question: The examples of Israel-Palestine and Russia-Ukraine could have been extended to the Koreas and China-Taiwan -- thereby framing the question as to why cultures with familiarity with the 36 Stratagems and the game of go do not develop the analysis you have offered

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Implications for dialogue in addressing international conflicts

Of particular interest in these experimental exchanges with AI is whether artificial intelligence may in future enable dialogue of greater relevance to global issues and conflicts (Use of ChatGPT to Clarify Possibility of Dialogue of Higher Quality, 2023; Facilitating Global Dialogue with AI? 2024).

Question: Claims are frequently made regarding the urgent need for dialogue between adversaries faced with prospect of violent conflict. References in the media may well be made to the engagement in such dialogue. Almost nothing is however said about the nature of that dialogue and how it may have been undertaken using negotiation strategies informed by chess or go (for example). By contrast any encounter between "grand masters" of chess or go will be widely followed with the greatest intensity -- move by named move. Given the potential importance of geopolitical dialogue in preventing conflict, could you comment on the nature of such dialogues and the possibility that their secrecy may well conceal strategies which would be considered simplistic by comparison with those of chess or go

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Pathways between cognitive modalities in courtship

Question: In contrast with the above considerations of the elusive pathways between logic, emotion, spirituality and action, there is a case for recognizing the proactive exploration of such pathways in the various courtship rituals of different cultures in which there may be much effort invested in a "number", a "line", and making a "move". Persuasion in other domains may borrow from such patterns -- whether as "getting to yes" or "scoring". Could you comment on how the contrasting modalities are entangled in such processes -- variously celebrated in poetry and song.

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Question: Alleged to be one of the highest ranking non-fiction books of the 1990s, the relationship counsellor John Gray framed the argument that Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus. In exemplifying one of the most divisive distinctions recognized in society, to what extent might such an argument be insightfully reframed with respect to "Western" chess-based strategy in contrast with "Eastern: go-based strategy.

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Dynamics of bipedalism and quadrupedalism indicative of "cognitive gait"

There are seemingly no specific references to use of "gait" as a metaphor in relation to organizations and institutions -- if not to societies. The implication is evident in specific references to organizational agilty (Jorgen Hesselberg, Unlocking Agility: an insider's guide to agile enterprise transformation, 2018; The Keys to Organizational Agility, McKinsey, 1 December 2025). A sense of institutional gait is implied by an early study of large corporations (Rosabeth Moss Kanter, When Giants Learn to Dance : mastering the challenge of strategy, management, and careers in the 1990s, 1989).

Question: That response offers insights regarding the need to "walk on two legs" in metaphorical terms -- namely the bipedalism typically associated with walking upright in hominid evolution. The concept of “walking on two legs” has been proposed as a guide to restoration scientists and practitioners in advancing the interconnected processes of indigenous-led restoration and reconciliation in indigenous territories. The argument above with respect to four complementary modalities recalls the phrase of George Orwell: Four legs good, two legs bad. It is upheld as a simple but powerful phrase that encapsulates the core theme of his iconic novel, Animal Farm (1945). Could you comment on what might remain to be learned by humanity from quadrupedalism as a cognitive metaphor with insights into "cognitive gait"

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Question: Given the challenge of comprehending the full array of logical connectives, do you have any trace of research on the ages at which such awareness develops -- and for which connectives, to whatever degree -- from childhood to maturity. Presumably it could be assumed that such awareness develops at a diferent rate for emotional, spiritual and action-focused connectives.

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Question: Discussion of logical connectives, especially given its relation to computers and AI, seemingly takes little account of the manner in which the connectives of that modality and others may tend to be understood quite otherwise in other cultures and languages. This could suggest the existence of other connectives in other contexts -- or the absence of connectives held to be unquestionable in English. Do you have any trace of relevant research analogous to that of Geert Hostede on Culture's Consequences and Work-related Values. With respect to physical gait, particular attention is accorded to gait disorders. Does this suggest the possibility of "cognitive gait disorders" -- similarly associated with ageing. Could you comment on the possibility that a proportion of those in policy-making roles may well be vulnerable to such disorders -- whether or not they embody a requisite array of connectives for viable cognitive gait.

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Question: With respect to the concern with a 4-fold "cognitive gait" as a metaphor, could you comment on the relevance of the homonym of "gate" given the manner in which 4-gatedness is of considerable importance in architectural symbolism, notably in the case of the Forbidden City in Beijing and in the novel of Doris Lessing (The Four-Gated City, 1969).

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Question: How would you adapt that response to the gates of global governance, such as in the context of UN dialogues or SDG strategy?

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Connective "borrowing" between cognitive modalities

Much is made of the constraints of binary thinking. Ironically it is binary dynamics which constitute the major attractor of a wide variety of games. As a metaphor "game" may consequently be applied to relations between people, institutions and states. The dynamics of democracy and politics is readily framed as a binary game -- with problematic consequences (Destabilizing Multipolar Society through Binary Decision-making, 2016). Embedded in what could be caricatured as a "2-stroke democracy", there is a curious lack of interest in more complex games which 3-sided or 4-sided ball games might otherwise suggest (Insights for democratic global governance from 4-team ball-games: 2-way football? 2016)

Question: The useful coherence offered by recognition of the four modalities as four "cognitive legs" detracts from recognition of the manner by which they are linked -- even coordinated -- by various pathways between them. Reverting to the correspondence between the four sets of 8 connectives, it remains a challenge to distinguish their 32 articulations and to recognize how a connective in one set may disguise or "borrow" from that in another. This seems to be especially the case with the simplest. The true/false logical distinction is readily "borrowed" in emotional, spiritual or action-oriented terms -- "translated" into like/dislike, good/evil, action/nonaction. Especially problematic is the embodiment of that distinction in game dynamics as "win/lose" in the engagement with another -- further transformed into the problematic dynamics of "anti-otherness". Could you comment on the singular investment in binary ball games (football, tennis, etc) and the avoidance of experimentation with 3-sided and 4-sided games -- as with two teams playing across another two teams -- despite some experimentation with 3-sided chess and 3-sided football.

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Insightful representation of pathways of 4-fold cognitive patterns

Question: That response acknowledges the challenge of the problematic cognitive load associated with interpreting more complex games -- and the consequent lack of satisfaction offered by a binary outcome. Other than the games mentioned, or 4-footedness, it is therefore intriguing to consider the variety of ways in which a 4-fold pattern of interactions might be represented such as to offer an "overview". Mandala-style diagrams can trace out connectivity between four sides (especially as in yantras). A phase diagram can suggest the boundaries between different physical conditions -- framed by pressure and temperature. Intriguingly a 3-ringed set of Borromean rings (as logo of the International Mathematical Union) offers a suggestive understanding of the relationship between 3-fold, 4-fold (its loop extremes), and 5-fold (the observer's perspective). Could you comment on this challenge of representation of 4-foldness with other examples.

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Systematic avoidance of complex modality patterns in governance

Question: That response necessarily focuses on a "gross" framing of 4-foldness, avoiding to some degree the 8-fold articulation suggested by a simpler set of logical connectives. Curiously, as noted above, their comprehension tends to be cognitively embodied in argumentation, in interpersonal relations (especially drama), and in the tactics of games. AI is clearly designed to handle the 8-fold pattern through algorithms. The question is how to render them "nameable" and comprehensible -- especially with their 32-fold implications through all 4 modalities. To what extent is global governance determined (unconsciously) by patterns whose exploration and (conscious) recognition is systematically avoided

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Emergent integrative perspective from a 4-fold to a 5-fold modality

Question: Those responses are indicative of the curious significance of "plus one" in relation to patterns of 4-foldness, 8-foldness, or 16-foldness -- as with focus on the 5th discipline, 9-fold configurations, and the 17th Goal of the UN's SDGs. There is necessarily a perspective from which 4-foldness, 8-foldness, or 16-foldness is perceived -- imply a degree of comprehension and integration. Somewhat ironically this function is evident in the role of the "steering wheel" in a 4-wheeled vehicle. Is there a problematic confusion between 4-fold and 5-fold articulations as embdied in 5-fold strategic articulations like that of the UN and Earth4All.

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Transcending the strange cognitive attractor of binary dynamics

Question: This exchange suggests a variety of ways of reframing the tendency to ovesimplified discourse exacerbating the challenges of governance. Given the caapacity of AI to make explicit use of 8 logical connectives (if not 16), the question remains as how best to apply that capacity to reframing the binary framings of ongoing conflicts (Russia-Ukraine, Israel-Palestine, China-Taiwan, the Koreas, and those of lower global visibility). The exchange has highlighted the value of naming a wider variety of connectives of relevance to problematic "anti-otherness" and misplaced concreteness -- together with that of their representation in other media (visualization, sonification). Less evident are the practicall ways forward -- given the manner in which binary articulations function as a "strange attractor".

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Corresponding intelligent connectives in animals and plants?

Of provocative relevance with respect to logical connectives is whether other species can be understood as using them in some manner. To the extent that the number of connectives employed (and of which modality) is an indication of degrees of intelligence, how humans might be distinguished according to such criteria also merits consideration -- with implication for any hypothetical encounter with etraterrestrials. In the case of non-human animals there is renewed debate regarding their relative consciousness -- however that might relate to their intelligence (Marjorie Hecht, Do Other Animals Have Consciousness? Science Could Force Us to Rethink Our Relationships With Them, Human Bridges; The New York Declaration on Animal Consciousness, 19 April 2024; [P. Low, The Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness, Proceedings of the Francis Crick Memorial Conference, Cambridge University, 7 July 2012)

Question: There is considerable human focus on intelligence and its relationship to logic, irrespective of any recognition of multiple ntelligences. Arguably this extends to the implications for any hypothetical encounter with extraterrestrials. There is however a distinctive preoccupation with the connection with the nature and any problematic disconnect in that regard. The question might then be asked whether animals (if not plants) show evidence of recognizing analogues to logical connectives, most notably in the case of emotional intelligence and practical intelligence. From that perspective, is there any trace of their recognition of an 8-fold set of connectives (if not a 16-fold). More intriguing, given the importance attached by many humans to spiritual intelligence (perhaps framed aesthetically or simply as values), to what extent might animals (or plants) be said to cultivate such intelligence

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Question: Potentially, and far more speculatively, there is the sense in which forms of intelligence are inferred by traditional knowledge systems in the case of natural features -- whether trees, rocks, rivers or mountains -- occasionally accorded particular status in lore, if not in conventional legislation. This process may be entangled with traditional recognition of totem species and the curious significance attached to national symbolic anaimals and by some modern institutions to their mascots. As forms of connection, it is far from clear how thise might relate to any articulation of connectives.

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Embodying patterns of cognitive pathways within a complex polyhedron

Whether 4-fold, 8-fold or 16-fold cognitive patterns are distinguished, the challenge remains of how best to provide them with an integrative context suggestive of the memorable coherence of their pathways -- and the potential strategic implications. The use of a truncated tesseract, as a polyhedron of requisite complexity, was a focus of previous AI-assisted clarification of the cognitive challenge of organization of disparate memes (Comprehensible Mapping of the Variety of Fundamental Governance Functions, 2024). In specific response to the focus of the UN's Summit of the Future, the contrasting cycles within that configuration were then explored in terms of their potential systemic significance for governance (Turbocharging SDGs by Activating Global Cycles in a 64-fold 3D Array, 2024).

Given the potential cognitive correspondences between the 16-fold pattern of logical connectives and that of the SDGs highlighted above, the mapping of those distinctions within the truncated tesseract call for further clarification. This is especially inspired by the formal configuration of 14 of the logical connectives in Hasse diagrams and on a rhombic dodecahedron in studies relating to the logic and geometry of opposition, as reproduced below from Eliciting Potential Patterns of Governance from 16 Sustainable Development Goals (2022). The diagrams have been "augmented" by Venn diagram reepresentations of the distinctions, as discussed separately with other images and animations (Oppositional logic and its geometry -- 16 minus 2 connectives? 2021).

Alternative representations of arrays of logical connectives
Representation of square of opposition Hasse diagram
with binary codings added
Hasse rhombic dodecahedron
with indicative Venn diagrams added
Aristotelian rhombic dodecahedron
with indicative Venn diagrams added
Representation of square of opposition Hasse diagram with binary codings added with indicative Venn diagrams added  with indicative Venn diagrams added
"Tilman Piesk", Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Augmented from Watchduck (a.k.a. Tilman Piesk), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Augmented from Lorenz Demey and Hans Smessaert (Geometric and Cognitive Differences between Logical Diagrams for the Boolean Algebra B4)

Question: In the light of the commentary on the 16 logical connectives in this exchange, do you have any trace of the representation of 14 of them in 4 digit binary form, as configured as a Hasse diagram on a rhombic dodecahedron in studies of the logic of opposition -- or as an Aristotelian rhombic dodecahedron

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Question: That response implies that removing SDG10 and SDG17 reduces the pattern to 14. My sense is that SDG17 should be set aside and two others should be removed for the exercise. How could they be selected

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Question: In an earlier segment of this exchange consideration was given to mapping hexagrams onto the 64 vertices of a truncated tesseract. Its cubic structure offers 4 diagonals to each of which 16 nodes are related. Of interest as implied in that exploration was the mapping on each corner of 8 hexagrams (half the diagonal) using a common trigram with a trigram of variable configuration. Assuming the 16 logical connectives can be split into 2 clusters along the diagonal (common and less common?), the question would be whether it is necessary to set 2 aside and how the connectives might be positioned as tetragrams encoding the binary representation potentially relating them to the representation in the Hasse diagram

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Question: Each of the 4 diagonals of the cubic structure of the 64-vertexed truncated tesseract position 16 vertexes -- effectively with 8 for each corner. The 8 take the form of two "tetrahedral" clusters of 4 (linked at one apex). In the light of the above responses, can you suggest how the 16 logical connectives (reduced by 2?) could meaningfully form 2 distinctive clusters of 8, each forming two clusters of 4.

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Question: This is much appreciated as a clarification. My main difficulty is that much emphasis in the literature -- on the reduction from 16 to 14 -- is placed on the exclusion of the conditions of tautology and contradiction. These you have however included in your mapping attributions, thereby excluding two others from the 16 that you do not mention

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Question: Clearly any such possible mapping calls for much further consideration, especially in terms of any correspondence with a 16 fold mapping of SDGs. The corner configurations recall the comprehension constraints of George Miller's influential l study (Magic Number Seven Plus or Minus Two, 1956). From a strategic perspective, the contrast between the 7 (or 8) more frequently used connectives (at one diagonal extreme) and the 7 (or 8) less well-recognized connectives at the other invites particular commentary -- as does the contrast between the "outer" and "inner" tetrahedral configurations

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Question: The points appropriately made in this exchange do not call into question the setting aside of 2 of the connectives from the 16 -- which notably allows the 14 to be mapped onto a rhombic dodecahedron -- in the absence of more suitable 16-vertexed polyhedra in 3D. Arguably tautology and contradictions do however have their place in political discourse and debate -- whatever the justification for ignoring them. The proposal to map the set of 14 or 6 onto a truncated tesseract has avoided reference to the fact that that configuration is in fact a 4D hypercube and the mapping possibilities have focused on its projection into 3D. Any such projections calls for comment on the cognitive and strategic implications of such projection.

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Bridging pathways between cognitive modalities through humour

Many appreciate the reframing of cognitive straitjackets offered by humour. The relevance to international relations is variously recognized. It can be argued that, with playfullnes, it constitutes a vital integrative process in governance, religion and transdisciplinarity, if only potentially (Humour and Play-Fullness, 2005). It is appropiate to note the early compilation by Victor de Guinzbourg -- and the failure to update it (The Wit and Wisdom of the United Nations: proverbs and apothegms on diplomacy. 1961).

Question: Whilst "cognitive gait" offers one coherent insight into the use of complementary "legs", potentially far more widely appreciated is the manner in which humour may shift skillfully between different modalities. Whereas references was made above to the manner in which one mode may "trump" another -- undermining its strengths -- humour may use each to reframe another, potentially such as to offer a transcendent perspective. However the ability to "see the joke" highlights the challenge for those who fail to do so. Could you comment on the role of humour in providing transitions between otherwise incommensurable perspectives.

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Question: Given the recognition of four complementary sets of connectives in this exchange, including their configuration on polyhedra, could it be argued that humour navigates to an unusual degree betweenn logical, emotional, spiritual and practical perspectives -- with the latter exemplified by "practical jokes". Less evident is which connectives of the 16-fold patterns in each case tend to be evoked which not, and the extent to which the subtlety of some connectives inhibits "seeing the joke"


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Question: Given the abstract manner in which connectives are presented and discussed, could it be argued that is is primarily through humour that the subtlest connectives are recognized and appreciated -- if only unconsciously, with whatever familiarity. With respect to such "unconscious" recognition, in contrast with conventional formal explanations, does the familiarity with connectives in humour suggest the relevance of the much-quoted classic remark of Moliere's Le Bourgeois gentilhomme : For more than forty years I have been speaking prose while knowing nothing of it, and I am the most obliged person in the world to you for telling me so.

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Analysis of the pattern of connectives in the UN's Pact for the Future and its Global Digital Compact

Prior to their adoption by the UN's Summit of the Future, the key texts were presented to AIs for comment, most notably the Global Digital Compact in the light of its relevance to AI (Reframing UN's Global Digital Compact as a coherent memorable pattern, 2024). Following their adoption, those texts were also presented to AI for analysis in terms of their use of connectives (Summit of the Future -- Outcome Documents: Pact for the Future, Global Digital Compact, and Declaration on Future Generations, United Nations, 2024).

The documents have already evoked critical commen, as summarized by Thalif Deen (UN Summit Declaration Receives Critical Response, Eurasia Review, 30 September 2024). There it is noted that

What is striking is that the majority of the text is made up of rehashed and recycled wording from previously agreed upon UN documents and the language is largely vague and aspirational. There are hardly any concrete, actionable conclusions that could advance the lofty objectives of the Summit. Instead, there are more calls for reports by the Secretary General and more global meetings (Jamal Benomar, Diplomacy Now).

Question: In the light of the considerations on which you have commented in this exchange, to what extent would it be feasible for you to review the texts of the UN's recently adopted Pact for the Future, the Declaration for Future Generations, and the Global Digital Compact. The analysis requested would be to identity the number of instances of use of each of the 16 logical connectives, or indication of use of analogous emotional, practical or spiritual connectives -- with due recognition of the reservations made in that regard. Spiritual connectives could be understood as references to values or principles beyond any logical framework. The Pact for the Future, as adopted, is hereby shared. Note that Global Digital Compact is Annex I in that document. The Declaration for Future Generations is Annex II

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Question: Could further insight have been gained by taking the analysis further. Given the focus on AI (dependent on the logical connectives) in the Global Digit Compact is the absence of many of the 16 connectives especially significant

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Question: If you can see a way to refine the analysis further this would be appreciated, especially of you could comment further on the absence of the more subtle connectives with which many are totally unfamiliar -- but which are presumably of significance to the future development of AI -- whether in terms of logic or through their correspondences with emotional, action oriented and value oriented preoccupations

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References

George Lakoff and Rafael Núñez. Where Mathematics Comes From: how the embodied mind brings mathematics into being. Basic Books, 2000 [summary]

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