Thanks At for your kind and thoughtful response on trust, creativity and
anthropocentrism.
Allow me to ask some questions, elaborated a bit, and then see what others
think.
First, is creativity an expression of human freedom, and therefore an
expression of humanity in proper relation to all creation?
Anthropocentrism, which elevates humanity to a place of exagerated
importance, is really representative of a disfunctional relationship to
creation or nature.
At, you use Jesus, the Son of Man, as an example. For all my years of
studying the Bible in school, then as a parish minister, what always
amazed me more than anything, were not the miracles, but his relationships
with people. Here God in human flesh relating to average people in ways
that validates their value and dignity in such creative, constructive
ways. He was creative in dealing with people who sought to bring him
down, embarrass him or discredit him by seeing through their motives. I
think that he was able to be that creative in his dealings with others
because his focus or orientation was not toward what was personally
beneficial, but toward the community or group that was gathered around.
He was creative because he operated from a wider perspective than mere
selfishness. I think this is part of what he meant when he claimed that
he came to do his Father's will, not his own.
Second question: how much of creativity in an organizational sense is a
matter of perspective? Seeing things differently than is conventionally
viewed. It in an organization we view the interactions of persons and
groups just from a power or political point of view, then we may miss out
on the real opportunities available. This reminds me of what Peter
Drucker wrote about in his book Innovation and Entrepreneurship. \
Third question: What is the relation between innovation and creativity?
Are they the same, different sides of the same phenomenon, or different
human actions?
Fourth question: What is the basis of creativity from a non-religious or
non-theistic(God) point of view? In the Judeo-Christian tradition,
creativity is an expression of God's image in humanity. The Scripture
says God created out of nothing (creatio ex nihilo) and declared in all
good. The purpose of creation from this perspective was a demonstration
of God's essential character and being, with integrity, wholeness, beauty
and goodness. (Another LO thread speaks of What is good?) How can
humanity reflect these same creative qualities and more in our creative
acts? And specifically to our concerns in building learning
organizations, how do we creative organizations which reflect integrity,
wholeness and beauty?
While not the time to pursue it, Jonathan Edwards, a early 18th century
American theologian, philosopher and pastor, wrote much about beauty,
creation and humanity. I'll try and did up some pithy pieces which may be
relavant to our inquiry.
Thanks again for helping us reflect on our human nature in relation to God
and our life in organizations.
Ed Brenegar
Leadership Resources
Hendersonville, N.C. 28791
brenegar@bulldog.unca.edu
--Edwin Brenegar III <brenegar@bulldog.unca.edu>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>