Difference between revisions of "Holotopia"

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<p>The COVID-19 pandemic may require systemic changes <em>now</em>.</p>  
 
<p>The COVID-19 pandemic may require systemic changes <em>now</em>.</p>  
  
<blockquote>So <b>who</b>, what institution or <em>system</em>, will lead us through our <em>next</em> evolutionary challenge—where we will learn how to recreate <em>the systems in which we live and work</em>; in <em>knowledge work</em>, and beyond?</blockquote>  
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<blockquote><b>Who</b>—what institution or <em>system</em>—will take the leadership role, and guide us through our unprecedentedly immense creative and evolutionary challenges?</blockquote>
  
 
<p>Both Erich Jantsch and Doug Engelbart believed that "the university" would have to be the answer; and they made their appeals accordingly. But the universities ignored them—just as they ignored Vannevar Bush and Norbert Wiener before them, and so many others who followed. </p>  
 
<p>Both Erich Jantsch and Doug Engelbart believed that "the university" would have to be the answer; and they made their appeals accordingly. But the universities ignored them—just as they ignored Vannevar Bush and Norbert Wiener before them, and so many others who followed. </p>  
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<p>Why?</p>  
 
<p>Why?</p>  
  
<p>Isn't the call to restore agency to information and power to knowledge deserving of academic attention?</p>  
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<p>Isn't the prospect of restoring agency to information and power to knowledge deserving of academic attention?</p>  
  
 
<p>It is tempting to conclude that the university institution followed the general trend, and evolved as a <em>power structure</em>. But to see solutions, we need to look at deeper causes.</p>  
 
<p>It is tempting to conclude that the university institution followed the general trend, and evolved as a <em>power structure</em>. But to see solutions, we need to look at deeper causes.</p>  
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<h3>Diagnosis</h3>  
 
<h3>Diagnosis</h3>  
  
<p>The "pursuit of happiness" 'in the light of a candle' made two values prominent, at the detriment of others:  <em>convenience</em> (favoring what <em>appears</em> to be pleasant and easy) and <em>egotism</em> (favoring narrowly conceived "personal interests"). Both appear as scientific: <em>convenience</em> because it resembles the experiment; <em>egotism</em> because it is (claim the followers of Darwin) the way in which the nature herself pursues <em>wholeness</em>. Both are endlessly supported by advertising.</p>  
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<p>There is a popular <em>myth</em> which precludes information and knowledge to make a difference in this realm too—analogous and related to the <em>myth</em> of free competition that breeds the <em>power structure</em>. </p>
 +
 
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<blockquote>It is the belief that we don't really need information, or culture, because we can experience what makes us happy <em>directly</em>—and reach out toward it with the help of science and technology.</blockquote>
 +
 
 +
<p>Our "pursuit of happiness" 'in the light of a candle' made two values prominent, at the detriment of others:  <em>convenience</em> (favoring what <em>appears</em> to be pleasant and easy) and <em>egotism</em> (favoring narrowly conceived "personal interests"). Both appear as scientific: <em>convenience</em> because it resembles the experiment; <em>egotism</em> because it is the way in which nature herself pursues <em>wholeness</em>. Both values are, of course, endlessly supported by advertising.</p>  
  
 +
<blockquote>Those two values now guide <em>even</em> our choice and creation of information!</blockquote>
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<h3>Remedy</h3>  
 
<h3>Remedy</h3>  
  
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<p>We point to the remedy by the Convenience Paradox <em>ideogram</em>. Like all of us, the person in the picture wants his life to be convenient. But he made a wise choice: Instead of simply following the direction downwards, which <em>feels</em> easier, he paused to reflect whether this direction also leads to a more convenient <em>condition</em>. </p>
  
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<blockquote>It doesn't.</blockquote>
  
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<p>The <em>convenience paradox</em> is a <em>pattern</em>, where the pursuit of a more convenient direction leads to a less convenient situation. The iconic image of a "couch potato" in front of a TV is an obvious instance.</p>
  
<p>The <em>convenience paradox</em> insight—by which we point to a remedial course—may be understood in terms of three more specific insights. In a quite spectacular manner, those three insights become transparent as soon as we abandon our fascination with the stories or <em>socialized realities</em>—and focus on the <em>relevant</em> human experience that our traditions embody.</p>  
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<p>The <em>convenience paradox</em> is a result of us simplifying "pursuit of happiness" by ignoring its two most interesting <em>dimensions</em>—time; and our own condition, which makes us inclined or <em>able to</em> feel</em> in any specific way.</p>  
  
<ul>  
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<p>By depicting the <em>way</em> to <em>wholeness</em> as "yang" in the traditional yin-yang <em>ideogram</em>, it is suggested that its nature os paradoxical and obscure—and that the <em>way</em> needs to be illuminated by suitable <em>information</em>. This <em>way</em> is what the Buddhists call "Dhamma" and the Taoists "Tao". </p>
<li><em>Human wholeness exists</em>—and it feels dramatically or <em>qualitatively</em> better than what our culture lets us experience, or even conceive of</li>  
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[[File:Convenience Paradox.jpg]]
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<small>Convenience Paradox <em>ideogram</em></small>
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<p><em>Wholeness</em> is such a beautifully inclusive value, with so many sides! We may have everything else in the world—and the lack of vitamin C will make it all futile. </p>
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<blockquote>We showed that the <em>convenience paradox</em> is a <em>pattern</em> repeated or subtly reflected in all major aspects of our civilized human condition.</blockquote>
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<p>To illustrate it, however, we here focus on what might be its least known and most interesting side—<em>our capacity to feel</em>. We'll elaborate it in terms of three specific insights.</p>
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<blockquote>1. Human wholeness <em>feels</em> incomparably better than most of us can imagine.</em></blockquote>
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<p>We called this insight "the best kept secret of human culture" , and made it a theme of one of our chosen <em>ten conversations</em>. </p>  
  
<li><em>The way to it is paradoxical</em>—and needs to be illuminated by suitable information</li>  
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<p><em>It was a glimpse or an experience or side of human wholeness</em> that attracted our ancestors to the Buddha, the Christ, Mohammed and other adepts and teachers of the <em>way</em>, or "sages" or "prophets". C.F. Andrews described this in "Sermon on the Mount":</p>
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<blockquote>"(Through their practice, the early disciples of Jesus found out) that the Way of Life, which Jesus had marked out for them in His teaching, was revolutionary in its moral principles. It turned the world upside down (Acts 17. 6). (...) They found in this new 'Way of Life' such a superabundance of joy, even in the midst of suffering, that they could hardly contain it. Their radiance was unmistakable. When the Jewish rulers saw their boldness, they 'marvelled and took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus' (Acts 4. 13). (...) It was this exuberance of joy and love which was so novel and arresting. It was a 'Way of Life' about which men had no previous experience. Indeed, at first those who saw it could not in the least understand it; and some mocking said, 'These men are full of new wine' (Acts 2. 13)."</blockquote>  
  
<li><em>Human quality</em> plays in it an essential role</li>
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<p>The existence and character of this experience can, however, readily be verified by simply observing or asking the people who have followed the <em>way</em>, and tasted some of its fruits.</p>  
</ul>  
 
  
<p>While these insights will become clear as we make progress toward <em>holotopia</em>, a few hints will suffice to prime that quest.</p>  
+
<blockquote><em>2. The <em>way</em> to <em>wholeness</em> is counter-intuitive or paradoxical.</blockquote>  
  
<p>The first of the three insights, which we've branded "the best kept secret of human culture", is what made our ancestors flock around "enlightened" beings like the Buddha or the Christ. It can, however, also be easily verified by simply asking the people who have "done the work".</p>  
+
<p>But it follows a "natural law", which can be understood; not in a mechanistic-causal way, but when we focus on and <em>federate</em> the <em>phenomenology</em> manifsted in the world traditions.</p>
  
 
<p>
 
<p>
 
[[File:LaoTzu-vision.jpeg]]
 
[[File:LaoTzu-vision.jpeg]]
 
</p>  
 
</p>  
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<p>To get a glimpse of it, compare the above utterances by Lao Tzu, with what Christ taught in his Sermon on the Mount. Why was Teacher Lao claiming that "the weak can defeat the strong"? Why did the Christ asked his disciples to "turn the other cheek"?</p>
  
<p>To get a glimpse of the second insight, compare the above typical utterances by Lao Tzu, with what Christ taught in his Sermon on the Mount. Why was Teacher Lao saying that "the weak can defeat the strong"? Why did the Christ demand to "turn the other cheek"?</p>  
+
<p>Aldous Huxley's book "Perennial Philosophy" is <em>alone</em> sufficient to make this point.  Coming from a family that gave some of Britain's leading scientists, Huxley undertook to not only <em>federate</em> some of the core insights about the <em>way</em> (by demonstrating the consistency of both the relevant practices <em>and</em> their results across historical periods and cultures), but to also make a case for the method he used, as an extension of science needed to support core elements of our cultural heritage.</p>
  
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<blockquote><em>3. The key to unraveling the paradox is to <em>reverse</em> the values.</em></blockquote>
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<p><em>Convenience</em> must be replaced by (to use Peccei's keyword) "human development". <p>
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<p><em>Egotism</em> must be overcome through "selfless service".</p>
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<p>While this insight can easily be <em>federated</em> in the manner just described, we here point to it by a curiosity.</p> 
 
<p>
 
<p>
 
[[File:Huxley-vision.jpeg]]
 
[[File:Huxley-vision.jpeg]]
 
</p>
 
</p>
<p>To get a glimpse of the third, we may zoom in on a contemporary story. Coming from a family that gave some of Britain's leading scientists, Aldous Huxley undertook to <em>federate</em> some of the core elements of the new kind of science that we here see emerge. His "Perennial Philosophy" is alone largely sufficient to make a convincing case for the basic insight—that there <em>is</em> a "natural law" governing human wholeness, which we in our culture vastly violate and ignore. On a much more subtle note, the above quotation, from "The Art of Seeing", will suggest that <em>overcoming</em> egotism is necessary even for mastering <em>physical</em> skills!</p>  
+
<p>In "The Art of Seeing", Huxley observed that overcoming egotism is a necessary element of even <em>physical</em> wholeness!</p>
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<p>We may now perceive significant parts of our cultural history as struggle between <em>cultivation</em> of <em>wholeness</em> guided by insights into the nature of the <em>way</em>—and the <em>power structure</em>–related <em>socialization</em>, aided by the attraction of <em>convenience</em> and <em>egotism</em>. It is on the outcome of this struggle, Peccei observed, that our future will depend. </p>
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<blockquote>What hope do we have of reversing its course?</blockquote>
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<p>The answer is, of course, that we now have a whole dimension to work with.</p>
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<blockquote>We can <em>design</em> communication.</blockquote>
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<p>We can create media content that will communicate the <em>convenience paradox</em> in clear and convincing ways; we can guide people to an <em>informed</em> use of information; <em>and</em> we can create various elements of culture to <em>socialize</em> us or <em>cultivate</em> us accordingly. Including, of course, <em>the systems in which we live and work</em>. </p>
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<blockquote>A <em>vast</em> creative frontier opens up.</blockquote>
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<p>We illustrate this most fertile creative space, which the Holotopia project has undertaken to prime and develop, by a handful of examples.</p>  
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<p>We conclude this very brief exploration of our cultural blind spots and emergent opportunities by a handful of <em>keywords</em> and <em>prototypes</em>. As always, the [[design pattern|<em>design patterns</em>]] they embody will illustrate our handling of the larger issue at hand—how the change of the relationship we have with information (as modeled by the <em>holoscope</em>) can illuminate the way to "a great cultural revival" (modeled by the <em>holotopia</em>).</p>
 
  
 
<p>We motivated our definition of <em>culture</em> by discussing Zygmunt Bauman's book "Culture as Praxis"—where Bauman surveyed a large number of historical definitions of culture, and reached the conclusion that they are so diverse that they cannot be reconciled with one another. How can we develop culture as <em>praxis</em>—if we don't know what "culture" means? The change of the relationship we have with information, or in other words of <em>epistemology</em>, allowed us to define <em>culture</em> as a <em>way of looking</em> at the real thing or phenomenon—which illuminates its core <em>aspect</em> that tends to be ignored. We defined  <em>culture</em> by de defined <em>culture</em> as "<em>cultivation</em> of <em>wholeness</em>", where the keyword <em>cultivation</em> is defined by analogy with planting and watering a seed. A key point here (intended as a parable) is to observe that no amount of dissecting and studying a seed would suggest that it needs to be planted and watered. And hence that <em>cultivation</em> profoundly depends on taking advantage of the experience of others—regarding how certain actions produce certain effects <em>in the long run</em>. As soon as we apply the same idea to <em>human</em> cultivation—similarly spectacular insights and the opportunities come within reach.</p>  
 
<p>We motivated our definition of <em>culture</em> by discussing Zygmunt Bauman's book "Culture as Praxis"—where Bauman surveyed a large number of historical definitions of culture, and reached the conclusion that they are so diverse that they cannot be reconciled with one another. How can we develop culture as <em>praxis</em>—if we don't know what "culture" means? The change of the relationship we have with information, or in other words of <em>epistemology</em>, allowed us to define <em>culture</em> as a <em>way of looking</em> at the real thing or phenomenon—which illuminates its core <em>aspect</em> that tends to be ignored. We defined  <em>culture</em> by de defined <em>culture</em> as "<em>cultivation</em> of <em>wholeness</em>", where the keyword <em>cultivation</em> is defined by analogy with planting and watering a seed. A key point here (intended as a parable) is to observe that no amount of dissecting and studying a seed would suggest that it needs to be planted and watered. And hence that <em>cultivation</em> profoundly depends on taking advantage of the experience of others—regarding how certain actions produce certain effects <em>in the long run</em>. As soon as we apply the same idea to <em>human</em> cultivation—similarly spectacular insights and the opportunities come within reach.</p>  
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<p>We defined <em>religion</em> as "reconnection with the <em>archetype</em>". The <em>archetypes</em> here include "justice", "beauty", "truth", "love" and anything else that may make a person overcome <em>egotism</em> and <em>convenience</em> and serve a "higher" ideal.</p>  
 
<p>We defined <em>religion</em> as "reconnection with the <em>archetype</em>". The <em>archetypes</em> here include "justice", "beauty", "truth", "love" and anything else that may make a person overcome <em>egotism</em> and <em>convenience</em> and serve a "higher" ideal.</p>  
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<h3>Stories</h3>
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<p>Werner Kollath was a medical researcher, and pioneer of the scientific study of "hygiene" (which he understood most generally as life-enhancing lifestyle). Kollath observed that while scientific medicine developed through its successes in combating infectious diseases (where developing "causes" and "remedies" is most effective), the upsurge of lifestyle-caused diseases <em>requires a different approach to medicine</em> altogether. Kollath observed that this problem is <em>both</em> scientific <em>and</em> political (we must learn to overcome the <em>power structure</em>), and undertook to develop "political hygiene as science". The <em>power structure</em> of his day, however, thwarted his efforts.</p>
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<p>Aaron Antonovsky was a researcher in the sociology of health, who is today widely considered the progenitor of scientific "salutogenesis" (creation of health). In post-war Israel, Antonovsky studied women who were Holocaust survivers, and focused on about one third of them who did <em>not</em> develop otherwise common health problems. He found that what they had in common was a high level of what he branded "sense of coherence", which "integrates the meaningfulness, comprehensibility and manageability of a situation or disease". Later research confirmed his insight. </p>
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<p>Ven. Ajahn Buddhadasa was a Thai Buddhist monk and Buddhism reformer, who (having been disillusioned by the conventional monastery practice) withdrew into a forest near his home village Chaya and undertook to 'repeat the Buddha's experiment'. The result (Buddhadasa observed) was not only a rediscovery of the Buddha's  <em>way</em>—but also an antidote to the rampant materialism that in his time began to permeate the world. Dutifully, being a follower of Dhamma, Buddhadasa undertook to develop ways to <em>federate</em> his insight to the world.</p>
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<h3>Prototypes</h3>
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<p>The NaCuHeal-Information Design was our project developed in collaboration with the European Public Health Association, through Prof. Gunnar Tellnes who was then its president. In Norway Tellnes developed an authentic approach to health, which was based on nature and culture-related activities. This collaboration resulted in several <em>prototypes</em>, including
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<ul>
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<li>Kommunewiki—a <em>dialog</em>-based communication project for Norwegian municipalities (as basic units of Norwegian democracy), to empower their members to counter <em>power structure</em> lifestyle tendencies, and develop <em>salutogenic</em> new ones</li> 
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<li>"Healthcare as a <em>power structure</em>"—an application of <em>polyscopy</em> to historical development of health and healthcare</li>
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</ul>
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</p>
  
 
<p>We developed the "Movement and Qi" educational <em>prototype</em> as a way to add to the conventional academic portfolio a collection of ways to use human <em>body</em> as medium—and work with "human quality" directly.</p>   
 
<p>We developed the "Movement and Qi" educational <em>prototype</em> as a way to add to the conventional academic portfolio a collection of ways to use human <em>body</em> as medium—and work with "human quality" directly.</p>   
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<p>"Liberation", subtitled "Religion beyond Belief", is a book manuscript about to be turned into a book project. The book <em>federates</em> the message of Ven. Ajahn Buddhadasa, by
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<ul>
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<li>developing a concrete understanding of human <em>wholeness</em>, in terms of its four components (body, mind, creativity and vitality)</li>
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<li>explaining Buddhadasa's (or the Buddha's) insight as an essential and integral element of human <em>wholeness</em></li>
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<li>showing how the change of values that Buddhism is pointing also leads to social and cultural <em>wholeness</em>.</li>
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</ul>
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</p>
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<p>The "Liberation" book is intended to serve as part of the strategy to launch the Holotopia project. Religion tends to be a theme on which many people have strong opinions, either pro or against. What is told in the book will challenge both positions in equal measure—and at the same time offer a way to discharge and reconcile their differences.</p> 
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<p>We conclude this very brief exploration of our cultural blind spots and emergent opportunities by a handful of <em>keywords</em> and <em>prototypes</em>. As always, the [[design pattern|<em>design patterns</em>]] they embody will illustrate our handling of the larger issue at hand—how the change of the relationship we have with information (as modeled by the <em>holoscope</em>) can illuminate the way to "a great cultural revival" (modeled by the <em>holotopia</em>).</p>
 +
  
 
<p>The book "Liberation" subtitled "Religion beyond Belief" is an ice breaker. It <em>federates</em> "the best kept secret", and creates a <em>dialog</em>. </p>  
 
<p>The book "Liberation" subtitled "Religion beyond Belief" is an ice breaker. It <em>federates</em> "the best kept secret", and creates a <em>dialog</em>. </p>  
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Revision as of 08:57, 1 September 2020

Imagine...

You are about to board a bus for a long night ride, when you notice the flickering streaks of light emanating from two wax candles, placed where the headlights of the bus are expected to be. Candles? As headlights?

Of course, the idea of candles as headlights is absurd. So why propose it?

Because on a much larger scale this absurdity has become reality.

The Modernity ideogram renders the essence of our contemporary situation by depicting our society as an accelerating bus without a steering wheel, and the way we look at the world, try to comprehend and handle it as guided by a pair of candle headlights.

Modernity.jpg Modernity ideogram


Scope

We turn to culture and to "human quality", and ask:

Why is "a great cultural revival" realistically possible?

What insight, and what strategy, may divert our"pursuit of happiness" from material consumption to human cultivation?

We may approach the same theme from a different angle: Suppose we developed the praxis of federating information—and used it to combine all relevant heritage and insights—from the sciences, the world traditions, the therapy schools...

Suppose we used real information to guide our choices, instead of advertising. What changes would develop? What difference would they make?

During the Renaissance, preoccupations with original sin and eternal reward gradually gave way to a pursuit of happiness and beauty here and now; and the arts prospered.

What might the next "great cultural revival" be like?

Diagnosis

There is a popular myth which precludes information and knowledge to make a difference in this realm too—analogous and related to the myth of free competition that breeds the power structure.

It is the belief that we don't really need information, or culture, because we can experience what makes us happy directly—and reach out toward it with the help of science and technology.

Our "pursuit of happiness" 'in the light of a candle' made two values prominent, at the detriment of others: convenience (favoring what appears to be pleasant and easy) and egotism (favoring narrowly conceived "personal interests"). Both appear as scientific: convenience because it resembles the experiment; egotism because it is the way in which nature herself pursues wholeness. Both values are, of course, endlessly supported by advertising.

Those two values now guide even our choice and creation of information!

Remedy

We point to the remedy by the Convenience Paradox ideogram. Like all of us, the person in the picture wants his life to be convenient. But he made a wise choice: Instead of simply following the direction downwards, which feels easier, he paused to reflect whether this direction also leads to a more convenient condition.

It doesn't.

The convenience paradox is a pattern, where the pursuit of a more convenient direction leads to a less convenient situation. The iconic image of a "couch potato" in front of a TV is an obvious instance.

The convenience paradox is a result of us simplifying "pursuit of happiness" by ignoring its two most interesting dimensions—time; and our own condition, which makes us inclined or able to feel</em> in any specific way.

By depicting the way to wholeness as "yang" in the traditional yin-yang ideogram, it is suggested that its nature os paradoxical and obscure—and that the way needs to be illuminated by suitable information. This way is what the Buddhists call "Dhamma" and the Taoists "Tao".

Convenience Paradox.jpg Convenience Paradox ideogram

Wholeness is such a beautifully inclusive value, with so many sides! We may have everything else in the world—and the lack of vitamin C will make it all futile.

We showed that the convenience paradox is a pattern repeated or subtly reflected in all major aspects of our civilized human condition.

To illustrate it, however, we here focus on what might be its least known and most interesting side—our capacity to feel. We'll elaborate it in terms of three specific insights.

1. Human wholeness feels incomparably better than most of us can imagine.</em>

We called this insight "the best kept secret of human culture" , and made it a theme of one of our chosen ten conversations.

It was a glimpse or an experience or side of human wholeness that attracted our ancestors to the Buddha, the Christ, Mohammed and other adepts and teachers of the way, or "sages" or "prophets". C.F. Andrews described this in "Sermon on the Mount":

"(Through their practice, the early disciples of Jesus found out) that the Way of Life, which Jesus had marked out for them in His teaching, was revolutionary in its moral principles. It turned the world upside down (Acts 17. 6). (...) They found in this new 'Way of Life' such a superabundance of joy, even in the midst of suffering, that they could hardly contain it. Their radiance was unmistakable. When the Jewish rulers saw their boldness, they 'marvelled and took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus' (Acts 4. 13). (...) It was this exuberance of joy and love which was so novel and arresting. It was a 'Way of Life' about which men had no previous experience. Indeed, at first those who saw it could not in the least understand it; and some mocking said, 'These men are full of new wine' (Acts 2. 13)."

The existence and character of this experience can, however, readily be verified by simply observing or asking the people who have followed the way, and tasted some of its fruits.

2. The way to wholeness is counter-intuitive or paradoxical.</blockquote>

But it follows a "natural law", which can be understood; not in a mechanistic-causal way, but when we focus on and federate the phenomenology manifsted in the world traditions.

LaoTzu-vision.jpeg

To get a glimpse of it, compare the above utterances by Lao Tzu, with what Christ taught in his Sermon on the Mount. Why was Teacher Lao claiming that "the weak can defeat the strong"? Why did the Christ asked his disciples to "turn the other cheek"?

Aldous Huxley's book "Perennial Philosophy" is alone sufficient to make this point. Coming from a family that gave some of Britain's leading scientists, Huxley undertook to not only federate some of the core insights about the way (by demonstrating the consistency of both the relevant practices and their results across historical periods and cultures), but to also make a case for the method he used, as an extension of science needed to support core elements of our cultural heritage.

3. The key to unraveling the paradox is to reverse the values.

Convenience must be replaced by (to use Peccei's keyword) "human development". <p> <p>Egotism must be overcome through "selfless service".

While this insight can easily be federated in the manner just described, we here point to it by a curiosity.

Huxley-vision.jpeg

In "The Art of Seeing", Huxley observed that overcoming egotism is a necessary element of even physical wholeness!

We may now perceive significant parts of our cultural history as struggle between cultivation of wholeness guided by insights into the nature of the way—and the power structure–related socialization, aided by the attraction of convenience and egotism. It is on the outcome of this struggle, Peccei observed, that our future will depend.

What hope do we have of reversing its course?

The answer is, of course, that we now have a whole dimension to work with.

We can design communication.

We can create media content that will communicate the convenience paradox in clear and convincing ways; we can guide people to an informed use of information; and we can create various elements of culture to socialize us or cultivate us accordingly. Including, of course, the systems in which we live and work.


A vast creative frontier opens up.

We illustrate this most fertile creative space, which the Holotopia project has undertaken to prime and develop, by a handful of examples.