? POWER in Human Systems ? This is a QUERY, seeking exploration; not a question seeking answers. How do dictators rule? The lack of satisfactory explanations periodically bothers me. What is the psycho-dynamics that leads large populations to “worship” and “obey” some leaders?  How does the conceptual scheme labeled “celebrity” relate to this query? How…

A few days ago (from 6/23/2017), on one of my escape-from-senility adventures, I reviewed the 614 books I had borrowed from the Tucson Public Library over the past few years.  I was reminded of authors I valued highly and searched to discover any new writings. Three authors of speculative fiction stood out: Robert Sawyer, David…

The fuse has been lit, the bomb has been readied – but we still have time. Time to do what? Stopping the Bomb & Extinguishing the Fuse ARE NOT ACTIONS OR STRATEGIES, they are only OBJECTIVES. What must BE DONE to stop a bomb or extinguish a fuse? ****** Many decades ago I learned this…

Robert Kegan’s Theory of Human Development Randy G. Litchfield Methodist Theological School in Ohio (9/12/96) Based on The Evolving Self (Cambridge: Harvard, 1982) NOTIONS ABOUT PERSONS A person is as much an activity as a thing People construct their realities; they are meaning making creatures People move through periods of stability and change People have…

Brief metaphors about the magnitude of paradigm shifts we need: The “vehicle” you are driving through life is having difficulty. It will be critical whether you treat it analogous to a CAR   or   HORSE. ************ What is “humankind”? Are we using the appropriate “categories”? What if “humankind” doesn’t always function according to the Laws of…

PURPOSE & INTRO For decades I have noticed the virtual absence of quality Big Pictures presented by the best minds, and the seeming absence-of-existence of such in the wrlds of most persons. “Pictures” has long been an inappropriate metaphor for concepts we seek.  I believe this absence of Big THINKING to be very dangerous for…

INTRO – DEFINITIONS Do we error, dangerously, by modeling social/societal reality as interacting component Institutions/Organizations, such a Governments, Corporations, Agencies, Departments, Businesses, Universities, Armies, etc.? For this essay, I will label them Formal Societal Systems (FSS).  These can be defined in terms of their respective semfields – the various texts & documents that define, describe,…

I  just skimmed/read a most excellent “review” of Gregory Bateson’s key “PRESCIENT WARNING” as to the paradox of “CONSCIOUS PURPOSE” in relationship to the survival/thrival of humankind. CONSCIOUS PURPOSE IN 2010: BATESON’S PRESCIENT WARNING Phillip Guddemi Bateson Idea Group, Sacramento, California This is a 2010 review/analysis of Bateson’s 1968 invitational conference. In this conference he…

The demographics of human habitats have changed over its emergent history: from nomadic groups, to tribes, nations of similar tribes, villages, urban & rural systems, massive metropolis, favilas & slums, colonization, globalization, cities devastated by warfare, refuge movements and settlements. Yet, remnants of all types of habitats can be found in a few, small populations….