Integrative Problem-Solving in a Time of Decadence

555 Pages·2011·4.031 MB·English

by  George Christakos (auth.)

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
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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.