Integrative Problem-Solving in a Time of Decadence PDF
Preview Integrative Problem-Solving in a Time of Decadence
Integrative Problem-Solving in a Time of Decadence George Christakos Integrative Problem-Solving in a Time of Decadence GeorgeChristakos [email protected] ISBN978-90-481-9889-4 e-ISBN978-90-481-9890-0 DOI10.1007/978-90-481-9890-0 SpringerDordrechtHeidelbergLondonNewYork #SpringerScienceþBusinessMediaB.V.2011 Nopartofthisworkmaybereproduced,storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmittedinanyformorbyany means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permissionfromthePublisher,withtheexceptionofanymaterialsuppliedspecificallyforthepurpose ofbeingenteredandexecutedonacomputersystem,forexclusiveusebythepurchaserofthework. CoverImage#2010JupiterImagesCorporation Printedonacid-freepaper SpringerispartofSpringerScienceþBusinessMedia(www.springer.com) To the little girl of Damascus Foreword Thestagesofdevelopmenthavebeenrunthrough.Institutions functionpainfully.Repetitionandfrustrationaretheintoler- ableresult.Boredomandfatiguearegreathistoricalforces. JacquesBarzun Let me say at the very outset that readers who are convinced that they are right aboutallmattersofhumaninquiry,havingnodoubtswhatsoever,probablydonot need to read this book. They should, nevertheless, be reminded of Albert Camus’ quote:“Thosewhoclaimtoknoweverythingandtosettleeverythingendupkilling everything.” Instead, the book hopes to appeal to those problem-solvers, in the broadsense,whothink“outsidethebox;”whodeveloptheskillofthinkingabout thesolutionofaproblemratherthanmerelyadvancetheskillofsearchingforit;1 who possess a certain level of esprit de finesse in addition to analytical thinking and, hence, they would appreciate some flavor of philosophy, psychology, litera- ture,history,andartembeddedintheinterpretationoftheirformalscientifictools. This integration of seemingly remote and disparate intellectual domains produces fertileinteractionsthatcouldbeasourceofinspirationforfieldsinastateoflimited conceptual advancement and creativity. As such, the book is critical and prov- ocative rather than neutral and encyclopedic, and should be of interest to those who are willing to consider that all is notwell with the system within which they operate. Itshouldnotescapethereader’sattentionthatthebookwaswrittenduringatime of Decadence that characterizes every aspect of the society (politics, economics, culture, art, science, and education). A time of deep concern, confusion, and peculiar restlessness; a time of intellectual decline, superficiality, diminishing meritocracy, and decreasing social mobility; a time of pseudo-pragmatism and highly valued consumptionism, when the powers that be focus on agenda-driven policiesattheexpenseofhumanprinciples;atimeofpost-truthpoliticalandsocial 1IntheInternet,commercialtoolboxes,andthelike. vii viii Foreword environmentsinwhichargumentsaremerelyoperationalthanfact-based;atimeof vulgar corporatism characterized by deep-rooted corruption, greed, and institutio- nalized deception; a time of radical deconstruction and ahistoricism; a time of hostilitytomajorintellectualtraditionsandhumanachievementsofthepast;atime of the disappearance of significations, and the almost complete evanescence of valuesinfavorofanincreasinglymeaninglessworld;atimeofdevaluingandeven cheapeningbothhumankindandNaturewithoutanyseriousprotest;atimeofcrisis thatisnotonlyoutthereintheworld,butprimarilyinMan’s2ownconsciousness. Inhighereducationonewitnessesthenegativeeffectsoftheunholyallianceof financial corporatism and radical postmodernism (undermining tradition, knowl- edge, language, and achievements of the past; promotingnihilism, and seeking to satisfylowerneeds).Asaresult,theuniversityisunabletopreparestudentsforthe most critical element of life in the twenty-first century: the largely unknown yet potentiallycatastrophicconsequencesoftheconsiderableslowingdownofmaterial growthandprosperityduetoclimatechange,economicglobalization,international competition, and instability. Changes linked to material growth (industrial pollu- tion, diminishing resources and the like) impose unavoidable restrictions on the statusquoworldwide,includingpeople’sstandardsofliving,consumerismobses- sion of western societies, and the monomaniac focus on perpetual economic growth.Itishighlyuncertainthatthecrucialissuesemergingfromtheserestrictions worldwidecanberesolvedwithdemocraticprocedures. ItisnotthatthereisnotsufficientactivityduringthetimeofDecadence.Onthe contraryitisoftenanactivetimeperiod,buteffortandenergyarelargelymisdir- ected,therearenoclearlinesofadvance,andnosenseofpossibility.Nodoubt,there isplentyofaction,forexample,intermsofgovernmentthinktanks,agenda-driven institutional panels, and self-congratulatory committees. But this is mostly action withoutintrospectionanddeeperthought,whichmakesitlikeshootingwithoutaim. Many of these committees are what Richard Harkness identified as groups of unwillingindividuals,chosenamongtheunfit,todotheunnecessary.Inthisrespect, relevantistheoldGreekproverb:‘Osoidensk(cid:1)eptontai,sυsk(cid:1)eptontai(i.e.,those whocannotthink,co-think).Alas,thisuninspiringsocialclimatethatfavorsblind action and keeps human intellect thus subordinate is the same climate that char- acterizedthepre-Enlightenmentera. The above happen on the surface of the societal domain. But deeper under the surface, widespread cynicism, ruthless utilitarianism, and a prevailing sense of meaninglessness dominate most sectors of the society. In essence, it is hard to find the environment of intellectual refinement and freedom of thought that could facilitate the emergence of the fertile and inspiring genius of a Michelangelo, an El Greco (Dome´nikos Theotoko´poulos), an Immanuel Kant, a Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, a Charles Darwin, a Miguel de Cervantes, a Fyodor Dostoevsky, a HenriPoincare´,aNielsBohr,oraBertrandRussell.Thiskindofgeniusesnotonly 2ForthescholarlyreasonsdiscussedinBarzun(2000:82–85)theword“Man”isusedthroughout thebookinthesenseofhumanbeing(s)ofeithersex. Foreword ix donotexisttoday,buttheyarenotevenconceivableinthecurrentcorporatismera dominated by what has been called the Greediest Generation (Pizzigati, 2004; Kristof, 2005): the generation of people who consumed the abundance that was builtbytheirparentsandtookpassiveprofitsattheexpenseoftheirchildren.Thisis a generation which, unlike earlier generations (Brokaw, 1998), has every reason that many of its actions be forgotten, which is perhaps why it has embraced the ahistoricaloutlookofpostmodernism.3 Arguably, two distinct elements characterize the dynamics of any given phase of civilization: the momentum generated by past achievements, and a strong senseofprospectandpossibility.WeareinaphaseofDecadencethatisdispropor- tionatelydominatedbytheformerratherthanthelatterelement.Mostpeopleprefer to live comfortably in a material world and to operate mechanically or self- unconsciously within the landscape created by others, letting those others decide about them – before them. Experience is mostly sensual, and there is no time for inwardness, and seeing through the mind’s eye. The commodification of even humans implies that humanity can exist as a mere factor of production measured inmonetaryterms,whichisasocietalmodelthathasdetractedfromauthenticwell- being and created an amoral or even immoral system. No doubt, we live in times that try people’s souls. Which means that there are no innocent bystanders. ExemptingoneselffromthestruggleagainsttheforcesofDecadence,andpretend- ing that the struggle one witnesses is not really one’s concern, is the highest expressionofirresponsibility. Inviewoftheaboveconsiderations,thisbookbuildsitscasethroughintegrative discussionsofscience,mathematics,philosophy,education,epistemology,andthe questforagenuineinquiryprocess. Thus,thebookisconcernedwiththedevelop- ment of a framework of integrative problem-solving (IPS) that encourages and enhancestheinvestigator’sindividualcharacteristicsanddifferencesinthespiritof what may be called non-egocentric individualism. This is the state of delivering one’s values and purpose without being self-centered in value thinking. In non- egocentric individualism one experiences human inquiry in the way one experi- ences Byzantine hymns: As a unique fusion of heavenly melody and intellectual depth. Engagingthehighercerebralfractionsforlessthanasecond,theauthorcameup with the term Epibraimatics to denote the use of epistemic ideas and principles (Epi)frombrainsciences(brai)todevelopaction-basedmathematics(-matics)for the solution of real-world problems under conditions of multisourced uncertainty and composite space–time dependency. It is then a fundamental premise of Epi- braimatics that an IPS approach, designed to fit neuropsychological functions shaped during many years of evolution, should be more creatively and efficiently implementedbythehumanbrainthanconventionalapproachesthatdonotaccount 3InthewordsofThomasL.Friedman(2010)thisisthegenerationthathas“eatenthroughallthat abundance like hungry locusts,” so that the next generation of young people has been dubbed GenerationDebt. x Foreword for these functions. Epibraimatics’ aim, at a minimum, is to lay bare some of the relevantIPSissuesthathavebeenhiddenbythemainstreamanswers. The considerations above express a change of perspective. First, while it is commonlyassumed,andjustifiablyso,thatasoundknowledgeofphysicalsciences is a crucial prerequisite for a deeper understanding of the sciences of living organisms, the opposite can be also valid: the understanding of a physical system and the solution of the relevant problems can be affected in a fundamental way by the agent’s4 knowledge of mental functions and brain activities. Second, Epibraimatics should be distinguished from other scientific inquiries that also study the brain’s structure and patterns, but with different objectives, such as building intelligence machines or developing computerarchitectures that are syn- tacticenginesratherthansemanticones.Infact,theprimeconcernofEpibraimatics is not whether computers think but whether people do. Third, Epibraimatics does not seek to copy physical brain activities (how neurons interact, cell functions etc.),5butrathertodevelopIPSmethodsthatbestfitimportantmentalfunctionsof a well-rounded investigator. In other words, while it is surely very important to understand how a brain made purely of material substance somehow gives rise to mental functions characterizing an agent’s experience, the primary focus of Epibraimatics is the mental functions themselves and how they are involved inIPS,andnothowexactlytheyarosefromphysicalbrains.Inthissense,Epibrai- matics focuses mainly on the “software” of the human brain rather than its “hardware.” To achieve its goals, Epibraimatics revisits vital concepts and notions of prob- lem-solving, and emphasizes their contextual meaning and implementation in the IPSmilieu.Itdirectlyintroducesbasictheoreticalconsiderationsinthequantitative studyofnaturalsystems(physical,biological,social,orcultural).Intheprocess,it raisesanumberofimportantquestionsregardingtheterm“problem–solution”and itsmeaningfromdifferent viewpoints:physical,mathematical,philosophical,and psychological. Therefore, instead of the dry presentation of a problem–solution techniquewithinahermeticallysealedmathematicsdiscourse,6onefocusesonthe basic inquiry process that investigates the problem’s conceptual background and knowledge status, and presents it in a methodological setting that accounts for “world-agent”interactions,andintroducesmathematicaltoolsinanenvironmentof realisticuncertainty.Thischangeinperspectiveimpliesthatscientistswhowishto accomplishtheireducationalandresearchgoalsonoccasionmayneedtoapproach theirworkinaliteraryway,aswell. It has been said that often the road to understanding is via negativa: Much of learning is done through unlearning of what is established yet outdated. In this spirit, Epibraimatics suggests revisiting certain unreflective views about 4Hereintheterm“agent”willrefertoarationalhumanbeing. 5Likeneuralnetworksdo,forexample. 6Indeed,manytheoriststendtowrestlemuchmorewithtechnicalissuesthanconceptualonesand, wheneverpossible,theytransformthelatterintotheformer.
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