Why do we think the way we do?


The unleashed power of the atom has changed everything save our modes of thinking, and we thus drift toward unparalleled catastrophes.
                                                                                                            Albert Einstein

 Let me ask you another question. If you were sick, would you go to a doctor whose medical knowledge and training is based on the sciences of the 17th century? The answer is predicable.  Yet, it surprises people when they learn that our prevailing worldview and the way we work and relate to each other are deeply influenced by the thinking that originated in the 17th century!

This worldview is often referred to as the “Machine-Age” thinking. Order, hierarchy, predictability, stability, control, absolute, replaceable parts, and individuality characterize this thinking, aka, reductionist. The machine metaphor still persists in our vocabulary and consciousness: “Cogs in the Wheel”, “Wheels of Government”, and “Machinery of the State”, “Jigsaw Puzzle”, etc. This way of thinking is deeply embodied in our culture, politics, institutions and organizations - where we act as if the whole is the sum of its parts.
 
Oddly, the roots of this thinking can be traced in the sciences of then, and in particular the Newtonian atomistic physics.
 
Newton viewed the world as a machine that was created to serve its master – God[1]. Later, Newton’s scientific principles were extended to society where people were thought of behaving like isolated atoms, “each moving about chaotically and clashing with one another like billiard balls…. Political thinkers of the time compared these colliding atoms and their interacting forces to the behavior and interactions of individuals in society as they confront each other in pursuit of their self-interest.”[2]  Hence, individualism and conflict became the foundations of a new paradigm that has lasted nearly three hundred years.

I leave you with another question: What do we miss when we act as if the whole is nothing more than the sum of its parts? 


[1] R. Ackoff, Systems Thinking and Thinking Systems, Interact, June 1993
[2] D. Zohar & I. Marshal, The Quantum Society, Morrow Press, 1994, p. 24

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Can the Corona Crisis Change the World - Forever?

Image
Amidst the global uncertainty, fear and turmoil that the Corona pandemic has brought to the world, it is difficult to discern any long-term positives from this crisis.   No doubt, the systemic effects of the pandemic, be it loss of lives, economic downturns, financial hardships, or psychological stresses will be felt by all for a long time to come.   Yet, history has abundant examples of resilient societies emerging out of crises ­ – stronger and more progressive. The Black Death of the 14 th century – one of the most destructive pandemics in human history – decimated about one third of Europe’s population. Yet its social, political, economic, and religious consequences changed the course of history. The 15 th century Europe became a “golden age”, bringing an end to serfdom, questioning religious traditions and dogmas, and paving the way for scientific discoveries and social and economic opportunities for masses.   The American Civil War, while devastating, it forged th
Read more

KNOWING YOUR TRUE SELF by Dr Cyrus Varan

               Knowledge is the source of human strength and prosperity. Knowing your true self is no exception and is a life changer.   It helps a man walk with greater vision.   It transforms human values, objectives, and the experience of life.               Humans are unique creatures with immense capabilities.   The human brain is a small mass of flesh.   What gives the human brain its immense power is the key to the recognition of man’s true self. I.                THE DUAL NATURE OF MAN               Science focuses on the nature and response of material elements.   Human senses have limited capability.   They can only detect matter.   The combination of the nature of science and the limitation of the senses has led to the common misunderstanding that matter is all there is.   However, based on both physical and biological sciences, matter is not all there is.   (1) Sunlight is not composed of mineral elements; yet, it is instrumental in the existence of all of the plants
Read more

Why Do Smart Managers Make Bad Decisions?

Image
  What do racial injustice, pandemics, financial crises, globalisation, poverty, stock market, climate change, traffic, movement of billiard balls, swarming of birds, and your diet have in common?     Complexity .   Complexity lies beneath all natural, physical and human systems – as in ecology, biology, business, and economy. According to Peter Senge, complexity occurs where cause and effect are not close in time and space – like the lag time between a seed and a grown tree, injustice and revolt, eating and gaining weight. Unlike ‘complicated’, complexity is unpredictable (a car is complicated, traffic is complex) – as complexity arises from dynamic interactions of numerous variables encompassing, social, political, cultural, historical, and psychological domains. Biologist Lewis Thomas, observed “You cannot meddle with one part of a complex system from the outside without the almost certain risk of setting off disastrous events in other, remote parts. If you want to fix something y
Read more