Problems of society as "within" rather than "without"

Psychosocial Implication of Without Within (Part #8)

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It can be readily argued that "problems" in general are framed as cognitive constructs providing a focus for concerns, whether individual or collective. The ambiguity associated with their recognition is illustrated by the manner in which the "existence" of a tangible problem for one constituency is readily framed as illusory and misleading by others of contrasting persuasion. Curiously the existence of a problem is highly dependent on attachment to the significance of an associated value -- no value, no problem. Mapping this pattern of mutually challenging perceptions has been a concern of the Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential.

The argument has been developed separately (Existential Embodiment of Externalities: radical cognitive engagement with environmental categories and disciplines, 2009; Degrees of Cognitive Engagement with Interrelated Global Categories, 2009). The latter document relates the approach to a range of specific issues in the global problematique: hunger, pollution, unemployment, etc. via the following:

• Table 1: Source documents indicating issues
• Table 2: Issues indicated in source documents
• Table 3: Clustering of issues identified in source documents

Given the tragic suffering associated with perceived "problems" as experienced, much attention is required to the experiential interface with any treatment of them as externalities whose very existence can be so readily reframed as illusory, meaningless or negligible.

Arguably the allocation of of resources to fundamental physics of matter could be challenged -- in the absence of commensurate allocation of resources to the fundamental challenges of psychophysical reality, as recognized by Jung and Pauli together (as mentioned above). It could be argued that failure to do so is precisely what engenders the apparent "externality" of many problems as a systemic form of "learning" -- a "lesson from Gaia" in the terms of James Lovelock (The Vanishing Face of Gaia: a final warning: enjoy it while you can, 2009; The Revenge of Gaia: why the Earth is fighting back - and how we can still save humanity, 2006).

Curiously a careful examination of optical metaphors is called for -- given the manner in which these are used both in articulating strategic "visions" of remedial collective projects and in deprecation of perceived problems as illusory "projections". Optics would seem to offer a rich source of comprehensible metaphors for greater insight into both "illusion" and any "image" it is sought to cultivate as an indication of appropriate governance -- however illusory this might be held to be. This could apply to any cognitive "projection" implied by the framing of a "project" .

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