| | | Newsletter & General Systems Bulletin: April, 2024, Vol 3:4 | | |
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| | | In this Edition Editorial. Conference News. Programme of Mini-Symposia. News from the Board of Directors. Members' Initiatives and Perspectives. SIG News. News from the Book Club. Systems Events. Members' Publications. New Members. Readers' Letters. Employment Opportunities.
To contribute to any of these, please see the details at the end of this newsletter.
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Editorial Work is still progressing on this year's conference in Washington and it is shaping up to become a major systems event. This month's newsletter provides details. - 9th - 13th June, the ISSS Conference.
- 14th June, A one day workshop "Out of the Many: a United Voice".
- 15th - 19th June, the ASCs 60th Anniversary Meeting.
Regarding accomodation, the ASC website has details of suitable hotels and recommends early booking to avoid inflated prices. Claudia Westerman of the ASC has also offered to set up a forum on their website (limited to registered accounts) that would allow you to connect and discuss Airbnb options. The ISSS's "Research towards a General Systems Theory SIG" and "Holism SIG" are also making great progress and details are given in the SIG News Section. Finally, there are three mini-symposia in the coming month featuring Fabiana Crespo, Peter Erdi and Anthony Rodriguez. John |
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| | | | Conference News International Society for the Systems Sciences, 68th Annual Conference. We are still organizing the ISSS conference. The dates are 9th to 13th June, with exciting systems science and cybernetics events in D.C. following. The venue is Open Gov. Hub. https://www.opengovhub.org It’s a shared workspace and conference venue for non-profit organisations. Stand poised to register and to submit an abstract for a paper presentation or a workshop. To give you a head’s-up, the date for sending in the abstracts and proposals will be 1 May. The call for papers is not out yet, and so, you don’t have information about how, or where, to submit. Look at the ISSS webpage for information. It will come out progressively. The theme for the conference is influence and responsibility: the influence systems have on each other, on us and the influence we have on them. Because we have a privileged viewpoint, not commonly shared explicitly, as systems scientists we have a responsibility towards systems that we can influence. Being non-reductionist, and thinking widely, openly, holistically… we have the responsibility to share our understanding tools and perspectives with others. However, decision makers have a responsibility towards us. They have made a number of catastrophic mistakes; the number of mistaken policy decisions would decrease with a healthy dose of systems thinking. Their power puts them in a position of real responsibility - to inform themselves of the most sophisticated and latest thinking. Muse upon these thoughts as you compose your abstracts and proposals. Michele | | |
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| | | Programme of Online Mini-Symposia The mini-symposium meetings are advancing. I encourage you all to join the meetings for two reasons, one is to refresh our thinking and another is to share with more of you the very healthy and interesting discussions we have been having. The line-up so far is as follows. Michele 6 April, Fabiana Crespo. There is only ONE Truth that makes you Free! The “I Am System” “The connection with the Cosmic Universal Consciousness always has been, is and will be available for everybody. The opportunity is only for those who want to get it”. (Daniel Cipolat, 2020) We are living the most important cosmic cycle in the new Golden Era. As Ervin Laszlo describes “The Advent of the Akasha paradigm", he says: "we recognize the non-local interconnection of all things in space and time". There is an inclusive way of understanding that reaffirms the age old instinctive comprehension of deep connections among people, societies and nature, and integrates and transcends classical religious and scientific paradigms. (Laszlo Ervin, 2014) Ing. Rafael López Guerrero says that the universe is composed of 4% of normal atomic matter, 23% dark matter, 73% dark energy previously thought was empty space, called Akasha. It is like an invisible nervous system that runs through the universe connecting all things. Is Akasha, primary substance, is what forms the space itself and it extends over everything. We are vibrational beings living in a vibrational omniverso. Human history is full of testimonials of those who could develop their inner senses and made them see deeper within/outside. Remember Plato, his "Cavern's Theory," where human beings, “only can see as reality the shadows reflected in the cavern's walls". Or Shakespeare in "Midsummer night's Dream", where everybody live a dream, an illusion as reality. ISSS and SIG´s have basic principals and laws are insufficient to solve actual humanity existence problems. Break programs of the old paradigm such as think and define systems as limited, or that they are separated from the rest of existence. We are at the beginning of the “Technological Singularity” and “Quantum Supremacy” that produce a revolution in all systems, at all levels, as we know. When we realize that everything is a unified field, though the ONE system, works in a systemic way, is required to have a 360° multidimensional, non limited, infinite way of observation to perceive it. As a limitless hologram. Methodology: Skills that are latent in every human being such as openness, intuition, flexibility, elasticity, plasticity, telepathy, telekinesis, bilocation, etc., are required to develop a multidimensional systemic way of being used. First, we should detached of what we imagine in an obvious and predictable way. As an e.g. who could had imagined the possibility of the quick change of the timeline. The integration of other inter and intra related sciences: Quantum Physics, Astronomy, Astrology, Sacred Geometry, Numerology, among others, most of them, previously defined as speculative, and also codes of consciousness are needed to get the connection with Universal Cosmic Consciousness. If we observe from a different multidimensional infinite perspective, in an openminded, expanded way, we modify what is observed. So different multiple unimaginable realities can be co-created with good efficient results for “New Galactic Humanity”. We are MULTIDIMENSIONAL UNLIMITED CREATIVE BEINGS, subsystems of the ONE, that is the biggest. The human being is a sophisticated perfect powerful computer part of a Meta Spiritual System: the The “I Am (YOSOY) System” -the BIG MIND- that is ruled by a Meta System Science. To understand how the I Am System works, we have to know at least “The 7 Principals of the Kybalion”, that up to know Systems Thinking Theory does not include. Who I am?, Where do I come from?, Why am I here for? What Mission and purpose do I have? Where do I go? are essential questions to go on with deep changes we want to see not only in the world but within. Everything is energy, so do we. To understand how does energy work in the Universe and within is the key to be conscious and aware, to wake up from the delusion of separation we are programmed to live from. WE ARE ONE. We, with our thoughts, emotions, words and acts, all together create the dilution of separation. If we reset our minds, changing the program we can feel being unified, and also embody love and compassion. To be successful in this aim we have to delete the mental model on how we understand the world and ourselves, and how to take action. That is to say a complete reset. How? “poiesis” is the answer, the shift from within. Oneself, the fractal of the ONE. Then, through “autopoiesis”, each one and altogether can create whatever. If we develop consciousness we’ll soon have amazing results. Imagine my “I Am” is God in an infinitesimal way. Warm regards,
Fabiana Crespo 13 April, Peter Erdi. Repair. The book propagates a new way of thinking about managing our resources. By resources, the authors mean things and gadgets, such as our cell phones and cars, and human resources, such as family members, friends, and the small and large communities to which we belong. The combine the approaches of the theory of complex systems and of social psychology. People often should decide when to attempt to repair and when it is better to save one's energy and let it go. The authors' goal was twofold. First, an integrative framework for the theory and practice of repairing is provided. Integrative, since the book discusses repair mechanisms that occur at very different levels of biological and social organization from inanimate objects, ourselves, our relationships, and our whole society. Second, guidelines are provided for dealing with impaired systems in the 21st century. People should understand how to repair themselves and their reputations, accept the "new normal," and contribute to repairing the world. Some topics: - Do we live in the best possible world, and/or are we living in the shadow of a global existential threat?
- Why do things go wrong?
- The pathways back to "normal": stability
- Transition to the new normal
- Repair the World!
Péter Érdi, pe...@kzoo.edu, is Henry R. Luce Professor at the Center for Complex Systems Studies, Kalamazoo College and at the Department of Computational Science, Wigner Research Centre for Physics, Budapest. For more information see:20 April, Anthony Rodriguez. “Open Gov. Hub – What it is and how it works”. Open Gov. Hub is a shared workspace and conference facility for non-profit organizations. It is where the ISSS conference will take place in June. We have over 20 NGOs working in the space, and they collaborate as a result. We planned the space to be central, easily accessible, and deliberately ensure lots of opportunities for interaction and exchange. The “Gov.” stands for government and governance. The NGOs and non-profits are interested in changing the world for the better, and we are the facilitators. Many are influencing government, or decision makers around the world. I’ll explain how the space works and the conception behind it. | | |
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| | | News from the Board of Directors The hard work continues on conference planning. Details are given in that section and in "Forthcoming Systems Events". | | |
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| | | Members' Initiatives and Perspectives Dennis Finlayson Being a systemic activist starts and ends with conversations, usually in a pub. In this way I have just persuaded a colleague to join the UK's Cooperative Party. The next level is canvassing and attending local meetings of the party. There are also regional meetings and national conferences. All of the above have Zoom events too.
My personal inputs to the party are on international development and young folk. I attend weekly openmike nights at other pubs where I meet the bands and their followers as well as some parents and even grandparents.
International linking is nowadays primarily online and at conferences like those of the ISSS. But I also communicate with former colleagues from my development contracts in various countries notably in Africa, SE Asia and Latin America. In addition, I have continuing links with Fairtrade, the Cooperative College and Science Education institutions in, for example, West Africa.
Through canvassing with councillors, parliamentary candidates and regional mayors, I share ideas on policies and projects. These are especially in my home area of Tees Valley, and similar areas with heavily industrialised estuaries. I also have interactions, primarily online, with folk involved in indigenous societies and the areas in which they live.
So, just zooming with the ISSS not enough…get out there on the doorstep or at least in social settings like my pubs. | | |
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| | | SIG News Research Toward a General Systems Theory SIG The GST SIG is opening for business. A zoom meeting is planned for April 18th, (third Thursday of the month) at 11:00 am Pacific Time and another in May in preparation for the ISSS conference in June. This meeting is open to all ISSS members, it will be an introduction to what the SIG steering committee has planned for its work in the future. We will continue to have monthly meetings starting up again in September. The format for these meetings will be the following: Each month we will circulate a document, journal paper, book chapter, or other written material that is a sample of the work done by a contemporary researcher. We ask that participants read that work prior to the meeting and develop directed questions to the author(s); send the questions (or comments) to me. Only those participants who have sent queries to me will be granted mic privileges during the meeting. We seek to ensure that the ensuing discussions will be kept relevant to the author(s) work. The meetings will be 1 1/2 hours (recorded) after which we may go into a less formal mode. What we hope to accomplish is to take a broad survey of what we're calling "candidate" GSTs or systems theories that may contribute to the construction of a GST as envisioned by Ludwig von Bertalanffy. In the SIG meetings we will have a community-based discussion of these candidates with the goal of understanding them from multiple perspectives and hopefully finding commonalities between them as a basis for eventual integration into a more complete theory. One of our steering committee members (Rob Young) has been collecting various candidate theories and another member (Bruce McNaughton) has developed the start of a method for comparing and contrasting elements of theories. On going, the SIG members will be asked to help with further collection of theories and development of the method. If you are interested in participating please email me at gmo...@uw.edu with GST SIG in the subject, by April 10. I will send you the documentation to read and consider your responses. Then send me your questions, etc. by April 15. I will be sending out zoom invites on the 17th. The concept of GST is at the heart of the ISSS and plays a role in the first goal of the organization codified in the bylaws. The work of this SIG would seem vital to fulfilling the goals. Regards all. For more information on the SIG go to our ISSS website: https://www.isss.org/research-to-general-theories/ . George Mobus Holism SIG We have been working on a statement of definitions for Holism. We use a consensus method. So, we are at the point where we can seek responses from the general membership. Draft Two is below.
Statement of Definitions of Holistic Systems
1. Basic Holism There are three basic definitions of holism. a. Universe Holism argues that since everything is related to everything else the only true whole is the Universe of all and everything. b. Materialist Holism or Both/And Holism defines a whole as a collection of things. It consists of a list of things and is called holistic if it includes all the items on the list. The original concept was of a set of material objects, but it has been expanded to refer to anything that can be put on a list. The whole is a set and is equal to the sum of the parts. c. Logical Holism or Either/Or Holism defines a whole as an idea. Because it is an idea, it has a definition, a boundary that distinguishes between the whole and its context. It is the logical element either/or, a difference that makes a difference. Because it has a boundary it has an inside and an outside. The parts of the whole are inside the whole and are defined by their relationship to the whole which is the context for the parts. The whole can be a part of a larger whole. This dual aspect of logical wholes is called a “holon,” and the hierarchical structure of these wholes can be called a “holarchy.” 2. Extended Holism a. Universe Holism has no extended version because it is already all and everything. b. Materialist Holism can be extended by simply listing the elements that are considered a part of the whole. Thus the meaning of “holistic medicine” depends entirely on which items are on the list. It is sufficient for a Materialist holism to have simply two items. Some people, however, consider this a false dualism and affirm that to be an actual whole it has to have three elements. c. Logical Holism can be extended by communication and control. The parts can communicate with the whole and the whole can communicate with the parts. This applies to every level of the holarchy. The control system means that each whole and each part has a purpose that involves a change in the larger whole. The whole has to perceive what is going on in the environment and then based on the purpose decide on an alternative to affect the environment. [This was the meaning of Smuts' holism when he coined the term. He was looking at creating a League of Nations that would be a whole that would then be able to control the member states in order to prevent another world war. He saw the development of larger wholes as the basic movement of evolution.] Please email me with your thoughts and comments. Love and Peace, Robert Johannson | | |
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| | | News from the Book Club The next ISSS Book Club meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 18 from 12:30-2:00 pm EST. We will be discussing Chapters 9-11 of The Embodied Mind: Cognitive Science and Human Experience (revised edition) by Francisco Varela, Evan Thompson, and Eleanor Rosch. In February several of us in the Book Club attended ASC’s Cybernetic Salon entitled “Mind, Ecology, Enaction: Encounters between Bateson and Varela.” As a result, we have decided to read Steps to an Ecology of Mind by Gregory Bateson next and postpone our book vote until after that. Here are the reading assignments: - May 16: Foreword and Part I
- June: No meeting
- July 18: Part II
- August 15:”Social Planning and the Concept of Deutero-Learning” through “The Group Dynamics of Schizophrenia”
- September 19: “Minimum Requirements for a Theory of Schizophrenia” through “Comment on Part III”
- October 17: Part IV
- November 21: Parts V and VI
Please join us for a great conversation. Happy reading! Warm regards, Marty | | |
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| | | Forthcoming Systems Events | | |
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| | | Out of the Many, a United Voice: How Separate Systems Organizations can Collaborate to Change the Institutional Landscape and Enable Governing for Transformation Systemically & Cybernetically This workshop will be held on the 14th June, in Washington, between the ISSS and ASC conferences. It will be a full day programme starting at 10am and finishing with a reception for attendees between 5 and 7pm. The design will be a blend of Systemic co-inquiry and IFSR style conversation. It will be free to all Members of IFSR organisations and a donation will be requested from others. We would like about 4-6 attendees from each of as many IFSR organisations as possible and Forum, and others keen on the agenda of bringing cybersystemics to greater prominence in governance innovation. Michele | | |
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| | | | ASC's 60th Anniversary Meeting 'living cybernetics | playing language' Washington, DC, USA, June 15-19 2024 Dear WOSC members and friends, I am writing to invite you to this interesting event. Its date and location are well aligned with the ISSS's 2024 Conference and the Forum for Democracy event, both of which will take place a few days before the ASC Meeting. with best wishes,
Theme The theme of this year's conference 'living cybernetics | playing language' suggests that cybernetic languaging, in all forms and media, shares a logic that is informed by understandings of processes of living as they exist and may exist. Playing is a means to reach out into possible futures, to initiate the not-yet-existent. In homage to past experiments in conversational framings of ASC conferences, the ASC’s 60th Anniversary Meeting will engage in situational enactments of cybernetics at four locations in Washington, DC, ranging from an arts center to the zoo. The four locations (two indoor / two outdoor) are within a short walking distance from each other. Below is a rough overview of the schedule. Saturday, June 15 The ASC’s 60th anniversary meeting will begin at the Friends Meeting of Washington at Decatur Place. The Assembly Room and the adjacent terrace and garden offer opportunities for a variety of session formats, including a conference dinner session in the evening. (The dinner is included in the registration fee.) Sunday, June 16 The day will begin with various sessions in the zoo, weather permitting. The DC Arts Center’s theater will serve as a second venue and as a backup in case of rain in the morning. Sessions in the afternoon will take place at the Friends Meeting. The walking distance between the two locations is 17 minutes. You can expect the journey between the two locations to be a cybernetic one. Monday, June 17 On Monday, sessions will take place at the Friends Meeting and the DC Arts Center’s theater. Weather permitting, some sessions might be held outdoors in the zoo and Rock Creek Park. Tuesday and Wednesday, June 18–19 Tuesday and Wednesday are our workshop days. Workshops will take place at the DC Arts Center, and weather permitting, they could also be held outdoors. Accomodation We remind you that it might be wise to book accommodations early, considering that Washington is known for its elevated accommodation prices. Our conference website lists a few hotels that are within a very short 10-minute walking distance of the two main indoor locations – the Friends Meeting and the DC Arts Center. https://events.asc-cybernetics.org/2024/accommodation/I have heard some members consider sharing an Airbnb. If there is any interest, we could set up a forum on the website (limited to registered accounts) that would allow you to connect and discuss Airbnb options. Please get back to me if you are interested in such a forum. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out. Editor's note: Unfortunately, the deadline for the submission of abstracts has now passed. | | |
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| | | WOSC 19th Congress 2024, Shaping collaborative ecosystems for tomorrow, 11. - 13. September 2024 at Lady Margaret Hall in Oxford, UK. https://wosc.world/index.php/wosc-congress-2024/ To take advantage of the early bird registration and be part of a CyberSystemic assembly, please submit your abstract by 1st May 2024. This will secure your eligibility for early bird registration benefits, available until 15th May 2024. In collaboration with Please check if your organisation is collaborating in designing the congress since this makes you entitled for a registration discount. Author Guidelines Please use the abstract/paper template and follow the submission process for the abstract submission. Please use the formatting options provided by the template. In the abstract acceptance letter you will receive the registration guidelines. Publication opportunities In line with the congress's tradition of fostering ground breaking research, we are excited to announce that the best papers presented will be considered for publication in prestigious journals, including: | | |
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