Replying to LO26801 --
Dear Organlearners,
Jan Lelie <janlelie@wxs.nl> writes:
>People swim in a river of problems. As an operational
>definition of a problem i use: a problem is the difference
>between (internal) expectations and the perceived
>(external) reality.
Greetings dear Jan,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. We let them question our
thoughts and we will question them ;-)
Your operational definition reminds me of Goethe. He stressed often that
"I had never separated these two", i.e. the Self and the External World.
He thought of the relationship between the two as "truth" (whereas you
think of it as "problem"). Thus he wrote: "And so each can have his own
truth, and it is neverteless always the same." (For you it can be written
"And so each can have his own problem, and it is neverteless always the
same." As for him, the "metamorphosis" (for you it would be "solution") of
this "truth" helped him profoundly to excell in his artistic gift.
Is it not incredible that in a time when few thinkers even used the words
problem and solution, Goethe called it the "metamorphosis of truth"? Is it
not fantastic how deeply he was aware that "problem solving" enriched his
artistic gift?
Bear in mind that what Goethe called "metamorphosis" will be called today
by names such as evolution, autopoiesis, self-organisation and complex
adaptation. Then we begin to get some idea of how far before his time he
was thinking. How many artists of today can admit, what to say of
articulating it, that their exploring of "evolution, autopoiesis,
self-organisation and complex adaptation" is the food for their artistry?
But even more important, how many investigators of "evolution,
autopoiesis, self-organisation and complex adaptation" are willing to take
artists with them on their investigations?
>I do not know what "THE" is problem. Knowing
>people, i assume that if we knew, we would have
>solved it by now. So "what is THE problem?" is
>not the problem. Try "Who is THE problem" or
>"Why is THE problem?".
Well, I have tried to do just that. Hope it gives you thoughts for
questioning.
With care and best wishes
--At de Lange <amdelange@gold.up.ac.za> Snailmail: A M de Lange Gold Fields Computer Centre Faculty of Science - University of Pretoria Pretoria 0001 - Rep of South Africa
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