At the core of the gordian knot tying up our world is our need to look at problems and solutions per se.
In times of transition, complexity, uncertainty, or faced with chaos, there is a tendency to seek out absolute foundations - certainty, simplicity and a framework that will make sense of the world and reduce our anxiety. Today, these frameworks are informed by reductionistic and dualistic thinking that dramatically reduce the complexity of our world. We are dominated by the principles of disjunction, reduction and abstraction.
Reductionism is coupled with disjunction - an "us and them" response to the world. As Montuori states:
"We can simply say 'they' are fundamentally evil and forget about their humanity... We can then avoid looking into the complexity of our shared humanity and the very real possibility that we ourselves may be capable of horrific behaviors."
Universiteit Twente Mesa Plus Escher Object.
(Image by Wikipedia (commons.wikimedia.org), Author: Berteun Damman (I self)) Details Source DMCA
We tend to overlook the fact that we can step back from specific problems and deeply inquire into observe our approach to difficulties in general.
As a society we have not yet explored cutting-edge research into the bare-bones of problem-formation and problem-solution - and in particular the ways our solutions often exacerbate problems... or themselves become the problem. This is an essential topic.
**
Life may very well become more difficult in the coming years (see Duane Elgin, Choosing Earth). Today, we are already facing impasses, knots, and deadlocks, which are created by our mishandling of difficulties.
Our societal problems may eventually become more egregious; if this occurs, we may finally become ready to explore the relevance of new insights that humans need in order to function effectively to solve our increasingly complex social problems.
Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
2
2
1
