Complementary Visions
Preview
The following sets of parallels attempt to show how different ways of seeing can lead to contrasting representations of the way we relate to one another and other forms in our living space. These contrasting representations can and do bring many of us into conflict. They need not do so, however, because in reality they live in a complementary relationship with one another, and can be reconciled. Indeed, one representation, corresponding with what has been termed the ‘excluded middle’ of dialectic philosophy and here described as ‘inclusional’, provides a permeable connection between the others.
One of the difficulties in this portrayal is the need to use language as a means of describing different views. This difficulty arises because the idea that it is possible to use language precisely and unambiguously is itself the product of just one, very particular view. Other views imply that the meanings conveyed by words are at most ambiguous, strongly dependent on context and always subject to change. So it is important to be receptive to words as conveyances of intention rather than as having a literal meaning in themselves – in a sense, all words are metaphors. One such word is ‘rationality’. This word has become made increasingly synonymous by general usage with ‘reason’ and ‘logic’, but has philosophical roots in just one view – the same one, as it happens, that regards language as definitive. The other views, although clearly having their own logic and reason, can hence be perceived as ‘irrational’ and thereby as ‘illogical’ or ‘unreasonable’. The resultant rejection of these other views, and hegemony of the one is characteristic of much modern thinking, and engenders considerable psychological, social and environmental damage. But the rejection of this hegemonic rationality, rather than its integration with and through the others into a potentially more balanced and realistic view, would be just as damaging, if not more so – a missed opportunity to heal and celebrate our differences.
In the table below, imagine dotted lines on either side of the middle column to indicate the accessibility of the inclusional from both rationalistic and primordial views. In practice, however, the potential for reconciliation between these latter views is lost because each tends to claim an aspect of the inclusional view for itself, whilst holding firmly to its own fundamental presuppositions. Only when the common ground represented by the inclusional view, as both product of and intermediary between the others, is fully acknowledged can reconciliation and transformation be achieved. This inclusional view is like the banks of a river, both shaper of and shaped by the dialogue between stream and landscape.
As your eye moves from column to column, ask yourself what is moving, and how you are relating to the use of language. Does your ‘reference frame’ change? Do you tensely swallow the words whole, relax and dance engagingly with the words as they open up new vistas of possibility, or do you ignore the words as your mind imposes its own certainties?
Please feel free to use the space at the bottom of the table to add your own representations.
Rationalistic View Inclusional View Primordial View From detached, purely objective way of seeing From combined detached and immersed ways of seeing From immersed, purely subjective way of seeing Observer excluded from observed Observer included with the observed Observer = observed Spatial Isolation Spatial Togetherness Spatial Enclosure Independence Interdependence Dependence ‘One’ is many ‘wholes’ (parts) There are many holes in ‘One’ ‘Many’ is one ‘Whole’ ‘Reductionism’ favoured Neither/nor, both/and ‘reductionism’ and ‘holism’ favoured ‘Holism’ favoured Space is excluded from Matter Space is an inclusion of Matter, both enveloped and enveloping Space is Wholly enclosed Explicit content matters, spatial context is ignored Content and context are co-creative Context is all that matters Space, Time, Energy and Matter are discrete and separable Space, Time, Energy and Matter are distinct and inseparable Space, Time, Energy and Matter are One Boundaries define fixed, closed limits Boundaries are dynamic fulcra – variably permeable dynamic relational interfaces There are no boundaries Penetration Interpermeability Absorption Absolutes exist Absolutes are unreal Absolute exists Existence is primarily static, a state forced into motion or change by outside agencies Existence is primarily dynamic, a flow linking inner through outer domains There is no outside; everything revolves around a still centre Entities are discrete bodies, isolated in surrounding empty space Identities are distinct features, dynamic embodiments of space All is one complete, self-contained entity Entities exist as entireties, wholes, complete and self-contained Identities emerge co-creatively, and are necessarily incomplete Reality is continuous Separateness Holeyness Wholeness I am not you I am with you I am you Particles Waves Field Freedom Indeterminacy Confinement Randomness Indeterminacy Determinacy Probability Possibility Totipotency Incoherent Universe Dynamic Universe Coherent Universe Order must be imposed Order emerges Order is intrinsic Patriarchal Governance Non-hierarchical governance Matriarchal governance Centralization Decentralization Centralization Authoritarian dictation Arthurian participation Constraining influence Imposed rules and laws, abstracted from nature Natural process Natural inertia Homogeneity is sought and valued Heterogeneity is acknowledged and valued Homogeneity is valued Monoculture favoured Diversity valued Monoculture favoured Consensus is sameness of view Consensus is integration of diverse views Consensus is sameness of view Photographic representation Holographic representation Monographic representation Space and boundaries isolate, impeding communication Space and boundaries connect, facilitating communication Space is unbounded, communication intrinsic Information is particulate, transmitted from source to receiver as monologue Information is emergent, relationally co-created through dialogue Information is unnecessary Information is reproduced Information is recreated There is one creation Noise is outside interference, to be suppressed Interference creates meaningful, transformative dialogue Interference is absent Dissonance Harmony Silence Feedback Resonance Stillness Language defines meaning unambiguously Language conveys meaning ambiguously Meaning is inexpressible as language Meaning is explicit in content Explicit content conveys implicit meaning in the 'space between the lines' Meaning is implicit context Pre-meditative Responsive Meditative Adult Child Egg Father Progeny Mother Mars Earth Venus Hermes Hermaphrodite Aphrodite 'Masculine' 'Ambisexual' 'Feminine' Assertive Inductive-assertive Inductive Active Involved Involving Passive space Participatory space Confining space Emotion is the Enemy of Reason There is Reason in Emotion Reason is the Enemy of Emotion Either you are with me or against me I am with you You are me Severance Dancing together Fusion I am alone I am a couple; we are a couple of couples We are One Entities are 'onesomes' - independent units Identities are 'threesome-onesomes', dynamic couplings of inner and outer via inter-space phases All is one entity and identity Reality is primarily linear Reality is primarily non-linear Reality is Wholeness Natural Geometry is primarily Euclidean - space-excluding points, lines and plane surfaces Natural Geometry is primarily Post-Euclidean, space-including fractals and spirals Natural Geometry is primarily spherical containment of space Logic is binary - either/or Logic is ternary - both/and Logic is unitary - no alternative F(a) + F(b) = F(a + b) F(a) + F(b) =/= F(a+b) F(a) = F(b) Additivity Emergence Changelessness Apartness Togetherness Wholeness Imagination is 'out there' Creativity combines 'in here' with 'out there' Imagination is 'in here' Science Science in Art, Art in Science Art Conscious Awareness Liminal Awareness Unconscious Awareness Independent selves Universal outer self together with local inner selves One Self One changes after another changes One changes reciprocally as another changes One is changeless Sequential causality Reciprocal causality One causality Left brain hemisphere dominant Corpus callosum active Right brain hemisphere dominant Death is an ending Death is an opening Death is nothing Death consumes life Death feeds life Life defies death Natural selection Natural Inclusion Changelessness Eliminative evolution Transformative evolution Convolution Competition is natural, co-operation is enforced Co-operation is natural, competition is enforced Competition does not exist Adaptation Attunement Atonement Elimination Multiplicity Assimilation Purification Continual transformation Return to the primordial essence Destruction annihilates form Destruction 'exforms' - opening up spatial possibility There is no destruction Construction generates form Construction 'informs' - closing down spatial possibility All is already present Life is assembled from 'building blocks' Life moulds and is moulded Life is eternal Organisms are information machines - calculators Organisms are embodied water flows Organisms are Purity is perfect being Purity is unbecoming Purity is perfect being Impurity is sin/error/contamination, to be excluded/confined Impurity is vital for evolution Impurity is absent Superiority Courage in imperfection Inferiority Performance-related love Unconditional love Love-in Fear is fearful, to be fought against Fear is protective, to care and be cared for Fear is absent Pain is fearful, to be fought against Pain is protective, to care and be cared for Pain is absent Fear compounds fear, in a vicious cycle Fear invokes care and forgiveness Fear is absent Love is something Love is the receptive space that invokes care and forgiveness Love is no thing