![[Sui Generis]](sg.gif) "What all persons have in common is their uniqueness." -- Sam Keen & Anne Valley Fox, Telling Your Story
Theoretical Foundations of Sui Generis A society for originality and nonconformity? Is this not a contradiction of terms? Yes and no. Sui Generis is a paradox and makes no apologies for it. In fact it is proud of it. Sui Generis is a conundrum -- its message inplies both nonconformity as well as conformity. Paradox is at the basis of our lives. The only reason we can be an individual at all is because we are also in community. There can be freedom only where one limits oneself. We can breathe in only after we have breathed out. There is life only because there is also death. True paradox has to do in part with complementaries that are related to each other in such a way that enables them to oscillate between each other. When this oscillation is broken by holding or blocking one side or the other, paradox breaks down into linearity and rationality, and events become predictable and/or fixed. Paradox is not just at the edge of a reality system or "construct". It exists at every corner of whatever reality we live in. It is said that scientists meet paradox at the extremes, for example physicists at the level of the atom. But scientists exist in a sea of paradox. They are like the painter trying to paint a landscape, not realizing that the landscape is not complete because the painter himself is not included. And trying to include himself leads to paradox. In a variety of paintings M.C. Escher tried to address this problem in an effort to point out the connection between subject/object, observer/participator. His genius was evident in many drawings that show both the interconnectedness and the separateness of two or more complementary things. But in the end, when you come down to it, the dichotomy between the picture itself -- however accurate it is in depicting the complex interaction between subject/object -- and its viewer remains. Paradox is a wild beast that can not be tamed. We can only befriend it and learn to cooperate and live with it. In doing so we will save ourselves a lot of headaches. But it will be a surprise to many that it will actually enrich our lives. Paul Watzlawick and others have written on the destructive effect of paradox, particularly in the double bind. It is well-known that the presence of paradox can be like a hurricane that devastates an entire landscape of our reality. This destructiveness is inevitable when there is an effort to restrict reality to one part of a complementary system. Ultimately, paradox represents an effort to bring life into any situation. Where paradox is missing, life is curtailed and diminished. 2. Systems Thinking & Constructivism There are a group of researchers who have become aware of this and have done admirable work in setting in place a structure that is more favorable to life and paradox. The Systemic Approach is an effort to understand living systems by focusing on the flow of energy within that system. Complements are inherent in this approach in its balancing of flow with accumulators. Constructivism is another discipline attempting to understand life and paradox. It is way ahead of its time in its treatment of how we understand and interact with reality. Like the Systemic Approach, its starting point is living systems and how life is maintained. It honors paradox and shows how it is an essential part of the process of life. Unfortunately, any discipline that studies the phenomenon of life is part of life itself. Nothing can extricate itself from "reality" (however we understand that term), and expect to depict this reality "as it is". Like Escher's paintings, there will always be that dichotomy which can never be bridged with explanations or understandings of the mind. Be that as it may, we can come still closer than Constructivism. Rather than focus exclusively on what reality is or is not, we have not focused deeply enough on our own process of perception and understanding. The Systemic Approach and Constructivism still use the logic of rationality, which is solidly embedded in our language, to construct their frameworks and theories. Our language is based on the logic of duality as first articulated by Aristotle and further developed by Descartes. It enabled us to clearly distinguish between us and the world by creating a dichotomy between observer and observed. This has been the basis of our language and construction of reality, especially in the Western World. Granted there have been a few attempts to modify that system in an attempt to achieve a better "fit", such as introducing the "excluded middle", but this has been no more than a patch job. Our language and our way of perceiving the world determine the world we see. In spite of the fact that this is the main tenet of Constructivism, it has not fully come to terms with it. Constructivism may not be happy with Polarity Dynamics in being aware of, and pointing out, the limitations of Constructivism. Just as Escher is able to depict an intertwined world but is not able to include more than itself, Constructivism is not able to go beyond its own boundaries. Ultimately, there is still the dichotomy between theory and actuality. Polarity Dynamics overcomes this dilemma by not making any claims for itself to be totally comprehensive or inclusive. It readily acknowledges its limitations and makes room for the "other". In the epilogue to his book Inventing Reality, Paul Watzlawick addresses the objection that when Constructivism is applied to itself, one would have to maintain that Constructivism itself is just another construction of reality. He refutes this by saying that the dichotomy between subject/object has collapsed and therefore this objection is unfounded. But we have seen that this dichotomy has collapsed only in theory, not in actuality. In the end, like all other theories, it has its limitations: Gödel's theorem still rules. In spite of these limitations, Constructivism goes far beyond previous boundaries and provides many insights into paradox, life, interconnectedness, ecology, etc. Constructivism recognizes the fusion of object/subject, observer/participator. This does not happen in the realm of the mind, but in the domain of action, of the will. Only here does theory become alive and practical. But this fusion is not a return to the original primordial unity once experienced before the emergence of self-consciousness. For this reason there needs to be maintained a separation between subject/object and observer/participator. Fusion and separateness form the two complements, parameters or boundaries of the paradox inherent in this situation. Quantum Mechanics also makes a noble effort in dealing with the observed observer and takes us deeper into the reality we are trying so desperately to understand. But it is also ultimately limited by the cognitive framework that admittedly simplifies, but that we also need to make "sense" of things. We are ultimately grounded by our senses and these have become the ground of our understanding. Quantum Mechanics brings us to paradox and leaves us there, asserting that beyond this is an impenetrable mystery. If it is to reflect or represent the world with any accuracy, our language and our way of perceiving must incorporate into themselves the very nature of the interconnected, intertwined nature of that world. A language based on dualism trying to grasp an interconnected system can only lead to confusion and become locked up. Our logic will be projected onto whatever we do, however sophisticated our insights are. That is why a new logic and way of thinking are necessary for any major breakthrough to occur. This system of logic and way of thinking has already been discovered/created and is entitled Xenn Polarity, which is part of Polarity Dynamics. It is a logic that connects two complementarities in a manner where they are at once intertwined and separate. The logic itself mirrors the reality of what Constructivists are struggling to come to terms with and explain. When an understanding of Xenn Polarity is applied, anomalies and complexities melt away as they did in the shift from the Ptolemaic system to the Copernican system. Xenn Polarity incorporates both individuality and interconnectedness. As such it provides the theoretical basis for Sui Generis. Life does not consist only in a circular movement from one pole to its complement. The process or development from 1) a primordial unity, through 2) separation and dichotomy to 3) fusion and integration is a process I call the Trinity Cycle. This movement is linear relative to the previously mentioned circular movement but in itself it is also cyclical, or more accurately, spiral in nature. The fusion or integration that is achieved at its third stage forms the basis of a new unity that launches another cycle again. In the process there is a development or evolution that happens from simpler to more complex systems. The combination of both these movements is a spiral. The Trinity Cycle forms another foundation of Sui Generis. Only an effort towards finding an integration or synthesis between self and other is a person able to maintain one's originality. This maintains the balance between the individual and community and allows both to exist in a mutually beneficial as well as self-regulating way. Sui Generis finds its last foundation in what I call the "Concord Stream". The "Concord Stream" is that source of refreshment and inspiration that strengthens and enables and inspires a person to be true to who they are, no matter what that might be. (This freedom to be whatever they are is tempered by the first two principles, again creating a self-regulating system). The name comes from Concord, Massachusetts, which is the home of the Transcendentalist movement of the 19th century, particularly Emerson and Thoreau. These two men were fierce in their declaration in words and actions of their right and need to answer to their inner voice. As Thoreau wrote, "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him keep step to music which he hears, however measured or far away." But the "Concord Stream" represents more than just Transcendentalism or a philosophy of freedom, independence, and individualism. Viewed beneath the surface, it reveals a deep and rich spirituality that is certainly not limited to Concord. This stream runs deep beneath the surface of our lives but is accessible to all who are open to it and seek it out. Dipping into it supplies us with the courage, inspiration we need to be who we are and to do what is in us to accomplish. Emerson spoke often and eloquently of the "stream" within us whose source is unknown but whose voice we can hear if we listen. He spoke of self-reliance, of the "over-soul", of spiritual laws, and of the moral sentiment, and in hearing or reading his words, that noble and excellent self within us resonates to his call. Thoreau heard that voice when he spurned the mediocrity and the thoughtless habits and activities of so much of normal life. Seeking to hear that voice more clearly, he went to live in Walden woods. Spirituality is not to be found in numbers, in the masses, in possessions, in meaningless work, nor just in special events or places, but is within us at all times. When we become conscious of and align with this higher or true Self within us, we are ready to take our place in a society where peace, cooperation, justice and freedom can prevail. "This above all: to thine own self be true," wrote Shakespeare, "and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man." This basic principle of the "Concord Stream" is powerfully expressed in the writings and the lives not only of the Transcendentalists of Concord such as Thoreau and Emerson, but of many others as well. More of these can be found at this Sui Generis website. In being true to ourselves, we can be true to each other, thus providing the basis for a society in which not only both unity and diversity can occur, but also joy, peace, and fulfillment. We must not underestimate the potency of the "Concord Stream"! It has the ability to support a new society. How urgent it is to affirm the worth and potency of each person's unique being, including our own, and to live that potential in the present! The "Concord Stream" helps us as individuals to become aware of the significance of our uniqueness and that our existence, or our difference, can make a difference to others and to our world. May we be true to that call.
URL = http://www.polaritydynamics.com/sui-generis/theory.htm
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