Two Logics of Systems Thinking and its Two Powers: Hidden, Unknown and Open, Known Five Questions * to the Book Authors: “The Hidden Power of Systems Thinking” (2020) ** Dr. Ray Ison and Dr. Ed Straw Publication: In English: https://peacefromharmony.org/?cat=en_c&key=940 In Russian: https://peacefromharmony.org/?cat=ru_c&key=836 The Anthropocene intellectual experience demonstrates two logics/strategies of systems thinking and cognition: 1. From infinite parts to a single systemic whole and 2. From a systemic whole to infinite parts. Each of them has many definitions but most often the first is called partial, inductive or fragmentary, and the second is called holistic, deductive or cybernetic. Their position in society is fundamentally different. Figuratively speaking, the first dominates in society by 99% and practically exhausts the mainstream traditional thinking and consciousness, while for the second remains only 1% that makes it marginal, ignored and almost unknown, inaccessible and not applicable. Epistemologically, this is due to the simplicity and wide empirical accessibility of the first and highest theoretical complexity of the second. Their extreme position also has well-known social preferences, interests and motives. The most prominent representatives of the second, holistic logic of systems thinking are: Mahatma Gandhi, Albert Einstein, Norbert Wiener, Vladimir Vernadsky, Talcott Parsons, Riane Eisler and some others, who became the founders of fundamental scientific directions and theories. Almost all of them emphasized the limitations, insufficiency, and even perniciousness of traditional thinking in extreme conditions. Probably best of all, Einstein expressed it: “The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.” Therefore, in the interest of humanity’s survival, “we shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if humankind is to survive.” For 70 years after Einstein, the task of a “substantially new manner of thinking” has remained unresolved so far in the framework of traditional thinking. The global human problems, primarily environmental and militaristic ones, calling into question its survival, are created by traditional, partial thinking, which are absolutely insoluble for it as the last century shows. They are solvable only by a “substantially new manner of thinking” of the spheres and spherons of humanity, which is impossible without partial thinking, but complements, organizes, systematizes and governs it as a system priority that defines its true, not hidden, but open, conscious and theoretical “power”. Its intellectual advantage is instrumented by spheral statistics in the same holistic logic on the Gandhian peacemaking platform of the system spheral or tetranet thinking.The partial, empirical thinking is necessary, but it is not enough, the whole is inaccessible for it. The whole is accessible to know for holistic, system spheral theoretical thinking in indissoluble unity with empirical. The holistic thinking, called “system spheral” or “tetranet thinking”, which integrates all the constructive achievements of named coryphaeuses and other similar thinkers, is detailed and fundamentally substantiated by world statistics of 76 countries in a collective book, briefly titled “Gandhica”. It was created by 82 coauthors from 25 countries as a result of almost 15 years of research and practice of the peacemaking “Global Harmony Association” (GHA: https://peacefromharmony.org/). But its research began more than 40 years ago. This book is published in three languages and is available in all forms here: https://peacefromharmony.org/?cat=en_c&key=848. Its most important qualifications and reviews are presented on two pages in the appendix. On these methodological and theoretical grounds, please allow Five questions to the authors: 1. What is the logic / strategy of systems thinking of your wonderful book? 2. Do you recognize the need for integration and complementarity of its two logics? 3. Do you know the holistic “system spheral approach” of theoretical sociology and sociocybernetics, presented in many books and publications? If so, what is your attitude towards it? 4. Do you admit the possibility of a holistic synthesis of your 26 principles of system governance in the “substantially new manner” of spheral thinking (thinking by spheres and spherons)? 5. How do you feel about our invitation to cooperate in the methodological and conceptual integration of the two logics / strategies of systems thinking for governing in a climate emergency based on it? Thanks for the answers, with respect and best regards, Dr. Leo Semashko, GHA Founder and Honorary President, initiator, lead author, manager and editor-in-chief of Gandhica, Personal page: https://peacefromharmony.org/?cat=en_c&key=253 Email: leo.semashko@gmail.com 14-04-20
* If you cannot join us on the day, recordings will be available to watch on YouTube (search for The Open University: STEM) or on Facebook (@theopenuniversitySTEM) and questions sent to STEM-News@open.ac.ukand response sent within a few days. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/virtual-book-launch-the-hidden-power-of-systems-thinking-tickets-101883929576?utm-medium=discovery&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&aff=esfb&utm-source=fb&utm-term=listing&fbclid=IwAR2MuR0U66D9QVWet5o_I0H3jyO9EDtL2YMoA78kUaobc8ZLUKhk6wGxycE **https://www.routledge.com/The-Hidden-Power-of-Systems-Thinking-Governance-in-a-Climate-Emergency/Ison-Straw/p/book/9781138493995
Order the English “Gandhica” at European Publisher “Lambert” you could here: http://www.morebooks.shop/bookprice_offer_78b30280e54970a11bda68c9483794a8469de121?locale=gb¤cy=EUR Appendix. About the Gandhica book “The Queen wished to thank you for your book, called Gandhica, which has been written by several authors in commemoration of Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th anniversary” - Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain “The world needs a great vision of peace and prosperity of all the nations. Global Peace Science from harmony and its continuation in Gandhica are the dawn of a shining, harmonious vision of peace and prosperity for all nations! Together with it, the enlightened citizens will emerge, able of building a harmonious civilization of peace and prosperity on the planet Earth.” - Abdul Kalam, President of India “The challenges that the world faces today are serious, and we cannot succeed in overcoming the threats to human civilization and the biosphere without close cooperation. This is why the GHA holistic researches of global peace in its many books especially in Gandhica are so vitally important.” - John Avery, Nobel Peace Laureate, "One of the greatest living intellectuals on Earth", Denmark “The Leo Semashko’s first key and fundamental systemic discovery was made more than 40 years ago – it is societally equal and srructurally constant but historically transient universal clusters of the population, covering all people in general from birth to death and differing on employment in one of the four spheres of social production. Therefore, they were called by ‘spherons’. In the GHA’s ninth book Gandhica, the concept of spherons received full empirical evidence from the world statistics of the 76 countries that turned it from a hypothesis into the first fundamental peace science.” - Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate, North Ireland “Gandhica is a treatise on the political and philosophical vision of Mahatma Gandhi and its application to society today. The book makes history, compiling articles, opinions, poems and pictorial expressions of renowned world intellectuals all of whom are committed to universal peace and human rights.” - Prof. Ernesto Kahan MD, Former Vice President of IPPNW: Association awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, Israel “Gandhica is the scientific foundation for peacebuilding Gandikratia-2020 - Gandhian nonviolent democracy of equal varnas/spherons as a reconciliatory political revolution of the XXI century.” - Subhash Chandra, Professor, GHA President, India “Dreams of humankind always were the big challenge to achieve peace from harmony. The GHA first penetrates in Gandhica into the social foundation – into the deep structure of equal spherons' harmony as social actors of perpetual global peace. The peoples have long been waiting for this discovery. This science is the dawn of shining light in our era; it becomes a Copernican Revolution of the public conscience in the 21st century. Gandhica will be the joint spiritual ground of the peoples to establish humanity entirely exempt from war, militarism and violence for prosperity of every nation and peaceful life for all.” - Susana Roberts, poet and writer, Argentina “The developed in Gandhica argumentation of spherons is quite satisfactory from a scientific point of view. The scientific conclusion about reality of spherons is fundamental and logically impeccable as all its premises are logical and factual flawless: Maturana, Parsons and others.” - Rudolf Siebert, Professor of Sociology and Religion, USA “Global Peace Science is concentrated in the GHA Gandhica, which is a logical enlargement of Dr. L. Semashko’s tetrasociology. The author reformulates basic tenets of K. Marx’s social classes and the dimensions of sociologist Talcott Parsons’ theory about the functional prerequisites of socio-cultural systems. The ultimate goal of Dr. Semashko’s social philosophy is very lofty. It ensures the achievement of global peace from the harmony of structurally equal spherons. Their equality and harmony in peace determine the highest social value. ” – Reimon Bachika, Professor of Sociology, Japan "The GHA Gandhica great project of our century is making a networked world a collaborative enterprise. Awareness of interdependence of the holistic spherons is a valuable instrument for achieving high level of enlightened consciousness and global peace." - Michael Brenner, Professor Emeritus of International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh, USA “The genius of Gandhi anticipated the revolution of non-violence, theoretically revealed in Gandhica. Therefore, it self became an intellectual revolution. Gandhi’s mental experience compressed in Gandhica allowed its initiator and editor-in-chief, GHA leader, Professor Leo Semashko responsibly to declare: “The war killed my father, and I killed the war intellectually.” Gandhica inspires confidence that in our time it is possible to achieve universal peace from the harmony of varnas/spherons following for Gandhi.” - Takis Ioannides, writer, historian, Greece “Leo Semashko has joined a long list of Russian truth-seekers and visionaries: the holy elders of the Orthodox Church, Leo Tolstoy and Feodor Dostoevsky, Vladimir Soloviev, Nikolai Fedorov, Elena Blavatskaya, Nikolai and Helena Roerich, Boris Pasternak, Mikhail Bakhtin and Alexander Solzhenitsyn. Semashko, inspired by his predecessors, especially Gandhi’s teachings on nonviolence of equal varnas/spherons, created the science of global peace, which is most fundamentally disclosed in Gandhica." - Vladislav Krasnov, historian, RAGA President, USA “Since I first became acquainted with Leo Semashko’s tetrasociology (in 2002) his theorising has become more detailed and more complex. However, the underlying logic remains the same: it begins with the four spheres of social production of the young Karl Marx and the autopoiesis of Humberto Maturana. Semashko’s four spherons/classes employed in them are equal and found the sources in Gandhi’s teachings on equal ancient varnas of India, which at the present level are revealed in detail and empirically proved by world statistics in the GHA Gandhica. This book is a new fundamental step in sociocybernetic science.” - Bernard Scott, Doctor of Sociocybernetics, Britain “Gandhica is humanity's choice: a Gandhian nonviolent hack of militarism or dying in an escalation of violence. Our current delicate balance of terror of hypersonic nuclear weapons will leave no time for human to respond and find rescue solution from global genocide/ecocide. Digitalization globalized Gandhi's golden rule of non-violence. We either imagine and act on a common non-violent solution, as Gandhica suggests, or soon any moment of humanity's digital transformation, even without human interference, could be our last.” - Lucas Pawlik, cybernetician and philosopher, Austria “Analogy in the approaches of two humanists of nonviolence: Mahatma Gandhi and Léo Semashko. Leo Semashko is inventor of the tetrasociology and spherons as the center of Global Peace Science (2016) and Gandhica (2019). Léo is right that our scientific and humanistic approach of the Gandhica irrigates the world! I publish this treasure in France to revive the Gandhian Enlightenment in the new century.” - Guy Crequie, French philosopher and writer Read more: https://peacefromharmony.org/?cat=en_c&key=938
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