Replying to LO26332 --
A few notes on this thread: I think there is objective reality -- absolute
truth (small letters), phenomena that are out there, external to oneself,
something one cannot simply wish away. Then there are one's subjective
perceptions (relative, incomplete truths) of that objective reality --
one's experiences of that objective reality.
One person's perceptions may hew closely (not sure if we can say
"exactly") to some objective reality, in which case one may "succeed" in
dealing with that reality in the way one originally wished. E.g., George
drives off road through a rocky valley in his SUV, sees an object (the
reality) looming before him, decides it is the side of a cliff, from what
he's heard about cliffs (George's subjective perceptions), and veers away,
thereby avoiding the cliff wall.
Another's perceptions may be way off, in which case one may "fail" in
dealing with that reality. Say, Bill is now driving where George was an
hour ago. He sees a looming object, decides it's just a huge dark shadow,
and speeds right along -- and smashes his SUV against the cliff wall. Or
perhaps, Bill knows that the looming object is indeed a cliff wall, but
strangely, he decides to just close his eyes, hoping it'll just go away.
If George were really unsure about what happens when you smash against a
cliff wall and just did what he did on the basis of what he's heard
earlier from other off-roaders, witnessing Bill's tragedy may raise his
subjective perceptions to some conceptual level: "Don't smash against a
cliff wall; you can get hurt." From perceptual knowledge of the cliff wall
to conceptual knowledge of a cliff wall -- the latter state, for George,
somehow much closer to the objective reality of a cliff wall.
Cliff-climbers will have their own subjective perceptions of a cliff wall.
So too will road engineers. Their sets of perceptual knowledge, raised to
the level of conceptual knowledge -- the concept of a cliff wall -- brings
us much closer to the objective reality that is a cliff wall.
Is the cliff wall absolute? Is objective reality absolute? I don't think
so. The cliff wall (possibly all cliff walls, by some world-wide decree)
may cease to exist a year from Bill's tragedy -- a new highway in its
place, the new highway being a new objective reality. If Bill still has
use of his limbs by then, he could be speeding along the same route, using
the new highway -- instead of smashing against the cliff wall again.
Objective reality can change, and we can move on along with it. In
political life, the objective reality of a Clinton administration is
replaced by the objective reality of a Bush presidency. A number of us may
want to wish the Bush presidency away and continue to believe that Clinton
rules -- but where will it get us?
Is there an "Objective Reality", an "Absolute" (big letters)? A topic for
another day, perhaps.
But in sum: I think (1) there is objective reality that we cannot simply
wish away. And (2) there are, and will be, a variety of subjective
perceptions arising from our own uneven learning (or becoming) as
individuals. (3) Both objective reality and subjective perceptions are
operative in a specific historical period, a specific place and time. (4)
Both are essentially in some dialectical relationship: Objective reality
draws out subjective perceptions, and subjective perceptions attempt to
validate objective reality and invalidate other subjective perceptions in
the process. (5) Subjective perceptions that survive are those that tend
to validate objective reality. (6) At some point a conceptual leap may
occur (e.g., let's blow up the cliff wall, instead of just closing our
eyes and wishing it away), and another objective reality may emerge.
Consider Albert a year from now, confronting a new objective reality and
foolishly disregarding it -- for reason beyond us, he decides to do some
cliff-climbing, where there was a cliff a year before, but is no longer
there. Then the process of learning begins all over again, but perhaps at
another qualitatively different level.
Forgive the rambling, but these thoughts, drawn from here and there, have
somehow helped me along in trying to pin down "systems thinking." Thanks
for allowing me to share.
A lurker,
Archie Carlos
Aldersen Institute
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