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Ego and the Denial of Complexity

This began as a comment to an article by Flemming Funch on Denial of complexity, but it grew too large for that format.

The comments that he made strongly resonate with my own ideas so I feel inspired to share some of those resonances in the hope that it may add something to this discussion. I'll extemporise on his comments and quote them extensively, weaving my own ideas around them...

" "The essence of tyranny is the denial of complexity". -Jacob Burkhardt What a great quote! "

It is a great quote. I've included that quote right at the start of my latest e-book on the subject - thanks for bringing it to my attention. It sums up the essence of the issue in 9 words but to explain the implications of those 9 words takes a few more words.

It revolves around "the basic idea of being able to study and describe different periods as a whole" because the system that we are a part of functions as a 'whole' even though the "simple mind" only perceives it as separate parts. That is why I apply system theory to conceive of the functioning of the whole and some very startling ramifications come from such an analysis - which he also hints at in his article.

"Life is complex, biologically, socially, culturally. The most awesome stuff that exists is complex. The universe, evolution, eco-systems, art, adventure, human culture in general, and the human mind."

People too often neglect this most important fact and our traditional discourses simply cannot comprehend that complexity. They create a simplistic context that gives rise to simplistic agendas and simplistic rationalisations. They speak of left-wing, right-wing, politics, economy, human rights, society and so on. These simplistic discourses lead us to believe that these are simple phenomena that are fully defined by the simplistic ideas associated with those words and that the reality can be comprehended and engineered by merely manipulating those simplistic ideas. We too often don't recognise that these ideas are just symbols that refer to cultural interpretations of minute aspects of a much deeper and more complex 'whole'. When we think only through the narrow channels of traditional discourses and we act from that narrow thinking. We may seem rational in the narrow context of those discourses but those discourses cannot comprehend the reality so in reality we are in fact being dangerously irrational and our actions are destructively out of alignment with reality.

The "human mind is at a crucial point in its evolution. We can consciously think abstractly. But not very well. The part of our mind we're conscious of, and that we usually identify with as "me", typically has an extremely inflated idea of its own worth and its own independent existence. That despite that it can only solve extremely simple problems, and it doesn't even know how. It over-simplifies everything, and it tends to think it is in charge."

This is the ego and it has been known by the wise to be the root cause of all suffering and dysfunction in the world for exactly the reasons that Flemming mentions, i.e. it has "an extremely inflated idea of its own worth and its own independent existence... it can only solve extremely simple problems, and it doesn't even know how. It over-simplifies everything, and it tends to think it is in charge." This means that when the ego reigns supreme our understanding is distorted, our agendas are out of alignment with reality and our actions create disturbance in the wider holistic context.

The most interesting bits are yet to come...  More >

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Preview of a new e-book soon to be released.

It's a system theoretic analysis of the ego and its role in the cult of authoritarianism, which leads to tyranny. The analysis isn't an intellectual exploration, instead it seeks to encourage a deep understanding of the nature of events in our lives and in the world and to spark up a discourse amongst progressive communities that can lead to practical and effective strategies to resolve the growing crisis in civilisation and to navigate the transition to a new and more sustainable civilisation.

The Gaian-Ego Hypothesis
or
Systems Analysis of Organisation,
Ego, Control and Authoritarianism

"There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root."
(Henry David Thoreau)

"The essence of tyranny is the denial of complexity" [FR]. "Truth, in its complexity, cannot be advanced if the discourse of intellectuals conforms to a self-reproducing closed loop of hidden assumptions." [FR] The purpose of this analysis is to step out of the loop of subtle dogma and to expand the scope of potential discourse so that we may better comprehend the complexity by discerning its underlying pattern, thereby we may see through our errors and not merely repeat them. This overall analysis is humbly offered to help fuel a communal discussion that can bringing together the knowledge and expertise of progressive minds into a coherent and effective discourse that can peacefully resolve the crisis in civilisation.

The Situation

Most human expressions, activities and inventions first arise as thoughts and are shared via communication, therefore civilisation can be described as the outward manifestation of a communal understanding or a resonance of minds or a memeplex [FR]. The breakdown of communal understanding lies at the heart of the breakdown of this civilisation. The work of rebuilding communal understanding must ultimately be the foundation of any effective attempt to resolve the crisis. The cause of the breakdown is complex but ultimately stems from the corruption of public discourse by manipulative agendas and the remedy is for humanity to reclaim that discourse and clarify the confusions thus creating a space for rebuilding a communal understanding. "Speech is civilization itself.... it is silence which isolates." [FR] From this, greater awareness will arise and collectively we will know how to act to resolve the crisis and put civilisation on a firm and realistic foundation.

Whilst ever the dominant discourse is corrupt the voice of reason is just noise in the background that cannot meaningfully penetrate the discourse and bring sanity into the overall situation. There is already a vast body of knowledge that provides detailed evidence and deep analysis of the many problems but these have been accumulating for decades, even centuries, and have had minimal overall impact. Whilst these analyses are vital in the long term, at present they are largely impotent because the dominant discourse cannot entertain the simple logic and has no desire to act on it even when it can. Furthermore analysing and exposing issues one at a time is a reactionary strategy that creates an information overload that people cannot properly digest because there is no coherent paradigm within which to make sense of it all. What is required is a subtler strategy that can eventually penetrate then wall of denial.

There are rapidly growing numbers of open minds and we have the potential to form a diverse and integrated community that can create a parallel discourse that weakens the corrupt discourse and shifts the balance of power. But we need a way to manage the information overload and integrate it into a coherent and compelling communal understanding that forms the seed of a more humane and more sustainable civilisation.  More >