Dennis Coffey
Nelson,
Thank you for this positive (but realistic) message. When I travel upon Grandfather Mountain, a local biosphere, I feel at peace; I feel connected to the world. My peace derives from my deep connection to the natural world.
Whiteheadian process philosophy is helping me to understand why my feelings of peace emanate from the natural world. I am learning more each day about this philosophy; I wish I had encountered it earlier in my life. I remember that all is ephemeral, and that is a good thing as Dr. Mesle points out in his preface on page x.
Dennis
Greg,
The Houston Foresight program has a fantastic director, Andy Hines. Not only is he an academic, but he is deeply experienced in foresight issues. He also has what I think are progressive ideas.
I did my culminating project in foresight studies for Andy. I enjoyed doing that project immensely. He gave me the freedom to “hang myself,” but I didn’t. That degree was completed long ago.
I was instrumental in getting the foresight program added to what we call the academic common market. That resulted in significant cost savings for us in North Carolina. I was likely the last person to take advantage of that opportunity. Republicans took over our legislature, and one of their first acts was to “kill” participation in the academic common market.
Houston may be calling you.
Dennis
Greg,
Thanks for this thoughtful posting. I view the materials contained in Ecological Civilizations: Just and Compassionate Communities as big and audacious. These materials represent goals to strive toward, and I fully appreciate them.
In my futures program at the University of Houston, we would label the future implicitly outlined in this presentation as a preferable future. Achieving this preferable outcome is up to all of us. Let’s get started!
Dennis
Dennis
George and Andrew,
I was fortunate enough to have taken Capra’s inaugural offering of his course–it was an exhilarating experience. Last year in Dr. Moore’s class Jeremy Lent was a guest visitor, and he made a super presentation. He will be presenting via Capra next month. Our fellow classmates may find this of interest. See attached.
Dennis
Good morning, George,
Systems thinking has been around for some time, dating back to Jay W Forrester’s work at MIT around the mid-1950’s. Formal systems thinking holds great promise for understanding how virtuous and vicious cycles are created. True, its (ST) diffusion in scientific thinking seems stymied, but it (ST) does hold great promise for thinking about factors that may lead to more desirable systems outcomes.
As I have stated in another posting, I took a complete course in systems thinking. This course was in the context of a graduate futures program (University of Houston). We were able to map the likely impact of small (or large) changes on a system’s outcome.
Anyone who may have an interest in systems thinking may want to begin with the late Donella H Meadow’s book, Thinking in Systems: A Primer. She was passionate about systems thinking. She also participated in the writing of Limits to Growth: The 30-Year Update. By the way, there are limits to growth, though many seem not to recognize that.
I know we cannot know the future, but we can attempt to create conditions such that a future system will use these conditions to create itself, to use Whiteheadian thinking. 🙂
Dennis
P.S. One of the central aspects of ST is archetypes that describe systems behavior given various input changes. Understanding these archetypes was challenging for me. Supposedly, these archetypes are limited in number.
Hello everyone,
I came across an article in the publication, Nautilus that came out today. The article talks about a wife-husband team who addresses tree rings in an artistic way. If interested, you should be able to access the article at https://nautil.us/the-language-of-tree-rings-1192018/?_sp=2f4181fa-7f58-43e2-a0da-0e2eec60b6d2.1740330970561.
Dennis
Greg,
While reading your reply took some time, the effort was well worthwhile. Your discussion was rich, rich, rich. I appreciate your response, and I know I will read it again.
One comment: For the first time in my seventy-four years, I fear my own government. The goal of this administration seems to be to hurt as many people as possible, as quickly as possible. There are many, many people who are fearful and who are suffering.
A recommendation: If you have not read Tyson Yunkaporta’s book, “Sand Talk,” I found it highly informative. I look forward to reading his new book, “Right Story, Wrong Story: How to Have Fearless Conversations in Hell” whenever I get a chance.
Once again, thank you for your well-reasoned, rich posting.
Dennis
Daryl,
A simple question: Do you equate anti-capitalism to anti-free markets?
Irrespective, we will never rid ourselves of capitalism. I earned a PhD in finance with a support area in monetary economics in 1988. I hated the program, and I eventually left teaching that subject area. The overarching concept that I was required to teach was that the key legal goal of a corporation is “to maximize shareholder value.” I felt like a hypocrite because I was one; I felt teaching this overarching goal was wrong-minded. In 1996 my academic career took a big turn. I retooled to teach new subject areas, construction management and building science, areas that are more down to earth. In these areas I was required to teach how to construct buildings that wouldn’t fall down. I was much happier teaching in these more earthy areas. I was free to introduce construction concepts that were more friendly to the environment–that can be done.
Dennis
Chris,
I don’t think you are being cynical but, indeed, you are being a realist. Last time I went through this program I made the assertion that I felt that process philosophers are, by nature, somewhat pollyannaish. I count myself as a one who embraces process philosophy, but I have avoided having the blinders of too much optimism clouding my thinking. We have to navigate this time with great care, with a realistic understanding of the situation.
People have been contacting me who are frightened. One person called two days ago and talked for two hours. I felt her pain, and I tried to assuage it as much as possible. I think providing a listening outlet can be of great help to those feeling aggrieved.
I will keep doing my best to help people.
Dennis
George,
Thank you for your response and reference. There is another fascinating study done years ago by Benjamin Libet. The executive summary of a paper written on this study is as follows:
Summary: A famous experiment of Benjamin Libet and his colleagues has been interpreted as showing that our brains initiate voluntary movements before we are aware of having decided to move, and that this calls into question the efficacy of our wills. These claims have been contested by many neuroscientists and philosophers. This paper provides an introduction to the controversy.
I have attached the paper should anyone want to read it.
I think Libet’s study, to a degree, calls into question absolute free will.
Dennis
Christie,
Thank you for the references you provided in your posting. I was not aware of any of them.
Yes, it is a great cohort!
Dennis
Nelson,
Hopeful commentary; thank you. I would encourage you to take Dr. Moore’s class, Process Thought & Ecological Civilization. Grassroots activism is advocated in that class. Additionally, she is a fantastic leader!
If a person can have too much empathy, then count me in that category. If a person can have little or no empathy, then count Trump in that area. I genuinely feel the pain that many of my fellow citizens experience. I may feel this pain because I come from a deeply impoverished Appalachian background. I know what it is like to suffer from food insecurity. I am also a believer that people in tough situations must help themselves as much as possible.
Once again,
Thank you, Nelson, for your posting.
Dennis
Robert,
Thank you for your response. I am in North Carolina, a fifty-fifty state. We are so heavily gerrymandered that the Blues can only win about three to four of the fourteen seats in the US House. State-wide elections, Democrats do extremely well; gerrymandering matters little statewide.
My only concern with your idea is that we may become a nation of people who live in silos. We may already do that. I have a friend with whom I spoke this morning. He is a Trumper. While he is well-educated, his education is narrowly focused. His PhD is in electrical engineering, and he is very good in that area. Unfortunately, he has erected fences around that area and has little respect for the softer academic areas. He sees little need for philosophy and has advocated for its elimination as a study area. His argument for this is that nothing in philosophy can be proven. He is also a fundamental Christian, and since I am not one, our conversations are quite strained at times. But I will keep conversing civilly with him as much as possible.
Once again, thanks for your posting and let us continue marching on peacefully.
Dennis