Peace as a meta-pattern of resonance: psychosocial, implicit and emergent?

Middle East Peace Potential through Dynamics in Spherical Geometry (Part #12)

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There is of course a very extensive literature on peace -- from a multitude of perspectives. In the case of the Middle East -- as in other arenas of continuing violence -- concern is repeatedly expressed with respect to the "peace process", its breakdown, and "getting it back on track". The argument above is merely a further development of a possibility previously envisaged (Computer-aided Visualization of Psycho-social Structures: peace as an evolving balance of conceptual and organizational relationships, 1971).

"Voluminous thinking"? The emphasis here is on the contrast between the peace so desperately sought within a two-dimensional framework and that implied by a three-dimensional framework. The feasibility of peace in the former case were caricatured by comparison with the "forcing" the pieces into a jigsaw puzzle -- despite the fact that they do not interlock. Banging them in is not a viable solution -- irrespective of the quality of the "lateral thinking" applied to that process. The question explored here is with regard to a three-dimensional framework. Might the pieces fit together when understood in that way? The point was made above by reference to "voluminous thinking", illustrated by the example of housing shortage (From Lateral Thinking to Voluminous Thinking: unexplored options for subterranean habitats in dense urban areas, 2007).

A major concern is that two-dimensional peace is intuitively comprehensible and appealing, notably in the light of its implications regarding resolution of disputes over flat territory. However it is evident that this is perspective is inadequate -- as when the jigsaw puzzle pieces do not "fit" together. Three-dimensional peace indicates that it might imply counter-intuitive comprehension -- as suggested in some measure by the Biblical peace which "passeth all understanding". Hence the value of animations. The symmetry group mathematics and its visual renderings suggest that there may forms of peace which are an even greater challenge to comprehension (Dynamics of Symmetry Group Theorizing comprehension of psycho-social implication, 2008).

Ironically the three-dimensional approach lends itself more readily to comprehensible visualization as illustrated by the association football with which people interact worldwide. A "peace football" could be made simply by appropriately applying the symbols of the two conflicting Middle Eastern cultures to each of its 32 facets. This could well enable reflection on Transcending Simplistic Binary Contractual Relationships: what is hindering their exploration? (2012).

Peace as a meta-pattern: The nature of cognitive incommensurables, as reflected in geometrical patterns, may require the exploration of far more paradoxical forms. For example, the Stella Polyhedron Navigator facilitates visual exploration of patterns in four-dimensions to some degree. The epistemological implications were explored to a degree in the later work of Gregory Bateson (Angels Fear: towards an epistemology of the sacred, 1987). In this sense peace is best understood, not so much as a pattern in three dimensions, but as a meta-pattern to which Bateson refers (above). Such consideration of meta-pattern is evoked in Quaker reflection (Approaches to Peace and Non-Violence for Modern Quakers, 2005).

Emergent insight: Curiously the process of constructing a football from flat pieces results in a form of "emergence" of a new pattern when these are folded and stitched into spherical form. The step-by-step logic of this process can be readily followed, although it is only through the making process (understood as poieisis) that its significance is best realized -- as the emergence of a new form of order. It might be said to defy explanation and justification within a two-dimensional framework. Relevant arguments regarding recognition of the bigger picture implied by peace are offered by Silvia Hartmann (Meta Patterns and Genius: a simple game to increase a child's intelligence, 2005; The Problem With Peace: why peace is NOT the answer, 2009). Does the surprising recent recognition of a new form of carbon -- previously assumed to be one of the commonest and best known elements -- imply the possible emergence of a new form of peace?

Indications of counter-intuitive comprehension: It is useful to note the variety of metaphorical and other pointers to such a counter-intuitive form -- of which there is evidently a degree of intuitive comprehension:

• understandably, the pieces of a football need to be "curved up" into three dimensions (as suggested by the animation)
• any "curving up" requires a degree of recognition of a virtual centre -- an empty centre around which the curving takes place
• success may be described in terms of "integrating" previously disparate pieces, recognized as "fitting" and an "appropriate fit"
• the consequence may be seen as an exemplification of "faith" or "belief", which may be held to be essential to recognition of that emergence and sustaining that counter-intuitive form
• more precisely this may be recognized in terms of the "interlocking" or "interweaving" which ensures (three-dimensional) connectivity previously lacking -- as in the construction of a geodesic dome from disparate elements
• failure may be described in terms of the classic phrase "the centre cannot hold" in the poem by William Butler Yeats (The Second Coming, 1919). It may also be described in terms of something having been "broken", possibly in the form of faith or trust, consequent upon its abuse (cf Abuse of Faith in Governance, 2009). This is curiously marked by characterizations of the statements of politicians as "empty" -- as with respect to the outcome of the recent Earth Summit.
• efforts may be made, by those who otherwise deprecate the intangible nature of "faith", to remedy such disintegration by "confidence-building" measures -- as currently evident with respect to the financial system (and bankers), the political system (and politicians), science (and scientists), and the challenge to Iran (with respect to the intentions of its nuclear programme).
• in the case of the global financial system, such confidence-building is recognized as vital to ensuring necessary circulation of resources. Emergent "confidelity" is however ambivalently related to abuse of "confidence" to which systems dependent on confidence are vulnerable (Primary Global Reserve Currency: the Con? Cognitive implications of a prefix for sustainable confidelity, 2011).
• such "circulation" may be understood more generally in terms of intangible "values" (Circulation of the Light: essential metaphor of global sustainability? 2010). In terms of the three-dimensional forms indicated above this circulation may be especially associated with great circle pathways whose interlocking is fundamental to the integrity of the system. The counter-intuitive subtle nature of these "pathways", and how they may be "walked", might even be associated with a mythical "elven" quality (Walking Elven Pathways: enactivating the pattern that connects, 2006).
• the capacity enabled by transformation from a "flatland" mindset into a form articulated in three-dimensions may be recognized in legend as the special interweaving required to construct and empower a "magic carpet" (Magic Carpets as Psychoactive System Diagrams, 2010) or the more recent possibility of constructing a web-enabled "wizdome" (Transforming Static Websites into Mobile "Wizdomes": enabling change through intertwining dynamic and configurative metaphors, 2007).

With respect to the "weaving" metaphor of connectivity, it is appropriate to note the beading diagrams for the fullerenes as explored by Bih-Yaw Jin (C60 beading procedure. The Beaded Molecules: the wonderful world of beaded fullerenes, October 2011). It is also appropriate to note the importance of carpet design to the principles of order identified in the work of Christopher Alexander (A Foreshadowing of 21st Century Art: the color and geometry of very early Turkish carpets, 1993).

Design as its own metaphor: It is intriguing that the challenge of "peace", especially in the Middle East, could be framed metaphorically in terms of design and the tools which currently enable it. The production of the above animation, using one of the common design applications, enables a two-dimensional pattern to be manipulated into three dimensions. The key to this process is the common instruction to "select all", thereby grouping all the elements on the drawing board. With respect to "peace", the sense of how to "select all" remains elusive, usefully understood as the challenge of "seeing things whole" or the ability to distinguish the "wood from the trees". The tendency is simply to select a sub-set of elements, treating the remainder as externalities, as separately discussed (Reintegration of a Remaindered World: cognitive recycling of objects of systemic neglect, 2011).

Echoing the quest of physicists for a Theory of Everything in a universe characterized by subtle understanding of curvature, peace might then be understood in terms of enabling curvature into a "global configuration of everything". The challenge might be expressed metaphorically in terms of (en)activating the "great circle" pathways.

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