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Self-reflexivity: Armageddon as the ultimate Battle with Otherness


Evil Rules: Guidelines for Engaging in Armageddon Now (Part #10)

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The suggestion was made above that the simplicity of Armageddon, as traditionally envisaged, needs to be understood otherwise in terms of the sophistication of modern warfare -- and potentially in terms of its subtle psychological dimensions. This is consistent with the subtle complexities of comprehension of "good" and "evil" -- at least in the eyes of some. The slogan of "Brother against Brother" is indicative in this respect. The dangerous imminence of Armageddon in such simple terms has been usefully articulated by Bob Harris (Sleepwalking Toward Armageddon, 10 September 2014). Understood as a potential surprise, it can be explored otherwise (Spontaneous Initiation of Armageddon: a heartfelt response to systemic negligence, 2004).

Otherness: One approach to the nature of Armageddon is as a Battle with Otherness. So framed it is those who are "normal" who are to be recognized as the "good". Then it is clear that it is "others" who are unambiguously associated with abnormality and evil -- if only potentially so. The battle is then about how to reform others -- making them over into our image. Clearly weapons of every kind may be used to achieve this -- as a conventional approach to reformation (extensively demonstrated in Iraq and Afghanistan).

The challenge of otherness and altereity continues to be the theme of various conferences, notably the annual International Conference on Engaging the Other. For example the Psychology and the Other Conference (Harvard, 2015) endeavours to enrich conversations at the intersections of philosophy, psychology, and theological/religious studies. As noted by Marie Meudec (Challenging the concept of Otherness, 2014), the notion of otherness is at the heart of the anthropological discipline:

However, this concept is essentialist, and so, makes invisible the dynamic nature of its production and its renewal. This can be seen by taking into account othering process(es), designed as logics of social and moral differentiation and socio-historical and political distancing. Understanding the production of the Other dynamically invites also to address the "active" receipt of Othering and the participation of individuals in the creation of new social and moral relations.

Mirroring: The question of "otherness" is strikingly reframed through a reflecting mirror and related metaphors. How does use of a mirror challenge conventional understanding of otherness? Clues include:

  • perception in a distorting mirror (as at a fair ground): Does this suggest that any "other" may be a distorted perception of oneself -- with the effect being "in the eyes of the beholder"
  • self-recognition in a mirror (as in the mirror test of self-awareness): In engaging with an "other", to what extent is one engaging with oneself -- or aware of any implication in that regard?

Paul Demiéville (The Mirror of the Mind, 1947) reviewed the range of ways the mirror metaphor is used in Chinese, Indian and Christian thinking across the centuries. He concluded:

To some, reflections in a mirror serve to illustrate the unreality of the phenomenal world. to others, on the contrary, the clear mirror is like the absolute, reflecting back to man his ideal image. Or again, the mirror's property of faithfullty reflecting objects without being touched by them is compared to the detachment of the sage, who apprehends reality in an impersonal immediate manner. These are in short the two aspects of a mirror, the one active, the other passive.

Of interest is whether those attrbuting evil to others ever see themselves in a mirror -- or consider that they may ever have made a mistake. Mor challenging is the the possibility that huamn it may be subject to a form of mirror test in the event of any encounter with extraterrestials (Self-reflective Embodiment of Transdisciplinary Integration (SETI): the universal criterion of species maturity? 2008).

Our selves: Armageddon can be explored otherwise as a Battle with Ourselves in the light of the sense of the otherness of oneself. This reflects the self-estrangement and self-alienation which many may experience, namely of having a variety of "selves" through which to engage with the world and with others -- in the absence of any comprehensible form of transcendent integrity. This would be consistent with recognition that one may engage in activities which one regrets and with which one does not wish to be associated.

Arguments framed by the Jungian shadow are relevant in this respect. It is also consistent with the observation of Arnold Toynbee: Civilizations die from suicide, not by murder. recently explored by S. Fred Singer (A Suicidal Collapse of Western Civilization? AmericanThinker, 16 November 2014).

Language and self-reflexivity: As noted above, "otherness" is even more appropriately understood self-reflexively as a struggle with regard to meaning, identity, credibilty and their comprehension. Viable communication of such comprehension requires a language that calls itself into question, challenging premature closure on particular definitions. It is the particularity of definitions, and assumptions regarding their definitive nature, that engenders disagreement. This then frames the other as an unbeliever in the truth of an experience transcending any such definition. Beyond any battle of words and their interpretation, the "battle" can then be recognized as a mysterious form of memetic warfare especially appropriate to forms of cognitive entrapment in the current era (Richard Falk, The Semantics of Struggle, Transcend Media Service, 11 May 2015. As indicated by Geoffrey Vickers: a trap is a function of the nature of the trapped (Freedom in a Rocking Boat: changing values in an unstable society, 1972)

When use of language is itself challenged, there is a case for eliciting insight from a variety of devices and disciplines -- prudently avoiding dependence on any of them. These might include:

Cybernetics and self-reflexivity: Of particular relevance is the sense in which the primary discourse regarding evil and terrosim is in terms of reactive cybernetics, namely of the first order. There are fundamental challenges to the comprehension of cybernetics of higher order, despite the focus on the second order by the above-mentioned journal on Cybernetics and Human Knowing. Hence the relevance of cybernetics of higher order, as explored by Maurice Yolles and Gerhard Fink (A General Theory of Generic Modelling and Paradigm Shifts: cybernetic orders. Kybernetes, 2015).

As suggested above with respect to the emerging significance of cyberwarfare in cyberspace, higher orders of cybernetics are likely to have implications for forms of memetic warfare which may characterize jihad -- in future, if not now.

Indicative metaphors: Other "devices" can be used to clarify such distinctions:

Struggle for comprehension as jihad: The argument can be usefully developed by the suggestion that the challenge of jihad is one of acquiring a degree of comprehension of the extremely elusive, paradoxical and counter-intuitive. The challenge of the times can then be most fruitfully compared to that of comprehending what is acknowledged as being fundamental to understanding the nature of matter (with which all are supposedly familiar), as illustrated by classical quotes regarding quantum mechanics. Why is it so readily assumed that jihad poses no similar challenge to its comprehension, as can be highlighted by the following comparison. Should the challenge not be recognized as being necessarily commensurate -- rather than more obvious and easy? Is failure to do so effectively an insult to the nature of jihad?

Fundamental comprehension?
Fundamental comprehension of matter Fundamental comprehension of ?
I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics (Richard Feynman) I think I can safely say that nobody understands jihad (?)
... those who are not shocked when they first come across quantum theory cannot possibly have understood it. (Niels Bohr) ... those who are not shocked when they first come across jihad cannot possibly have understood it (?)
We have always had a great deal of difficulty understanding the world view that quantum mechanics represents... I cannot define the real problem, therefore I suspect there's no real problem, but I'm not sure there's no real problem. (Richard Feynman) We have always had a great deal of difficulty understanding the world view that jihad represents... I cannot define the real problem, therefore I suspect there's no real problem, but I'm not sure there's no real problem. (?)
It is often stated that of all the theories proposed in this century, the silliest is quantum theory. In fact, some say that the only thing that quantum theory has going for it is that it is unquestionably correct. (Michio Kaku) It is often stated that of all the theories proposed in this century, the silliest is jihad. In fact, some say that the only thing that jihad has going for it is that it is unquestionably correct. (?)
. ..the "paradox" is only a conflict between reality and your feeling of what reality "ought to be." (Richard Feynman) ... the "paradox" is only a conflict between reality and your feeling of what reality "ought to be." (?)
Theology, philosophy, metaphysics, and quantum physics are merely ways for God to have his smart people believe in him (Jeremy Aldana) Theology, philosophy, metaphysics, and jihad are merely ways for God to have his smart people believe in him (?)
If quantum mechanics hasn't profoundly shocked you, you haven't understood it yet. (Niels Bohr) If jihad hasn't profoundly shocked you, you haven't understood it yet. (?)
Nothing can create something all the time due to the laws of quantum mechanics, and it's -- it's fascinatingly interesting. (Lawrence M. Krauss) Nothing can create something all the time due to the laws of jihad, and it's -- it's fascinatingly interesting (?)
In the future, maybe quantum mechanics will teach us something equally chilling about exactly how we exist from moment to moment of what we like to think of as time. (Richard K. Morgan) In the future, maybe jihad will teach us something equally chilling about exactly how we exist from moment to moment of what we like to think of as time. (?)
Quantum theory was split up into dialects. Different people describe the same experiences in remarkably different languages. This is confusing even to physicists. (David Finkelstein) Jihad theology was split up into dialects. Different people describe the same experiences in remarkably different languages. This is confusing even to theologians (?)

The question has been asked: Will we ever... understand quantum theory? (Philip Ball, BBC, 25 January 2013). Of relevance is a recent survey of quantum physicists which established that they did not share a consensus on the nature of quantum electrodynamics and were perplexed by the meaning framed by the models they variously preferred (Sean Carroll, The Most Embarrassing Graph in Modern Physics, 17 January 2013). Would this necessarily also be the case with respect to jihad or any Christian equivalent (Is the World View of a Holy Father Necessarily Full of Holes? Mysterious theological black holes engendering global crises, 2014)?

As a struggle for comprehension, jihad can be compared with the early conflicts within Christianity regarding the nature of the Trinity, and especially that between Eastern and Western churches regarding Filoque (with its fundamental implications for comprehension of the Trinity). Wikipedia notes:

The Christian doctrine of the Trinity... defines God as three consubstantial persons, expressions, or hypostases: the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit; "one God in three persons". The three persons are distinct, yet are one "substance, essence or nature"... According to this central mystery of most Christian faiths,there is only one God in three persons: while distinct from one another in their relations of origin... and in their relations with one another, they are stated to be one in all else, co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial, and "each is God, whole and entire". Accordingly, the whole work of creation and grace is seen as a single operation common to all three divine persons, in which each shows forth what is proper to him in the Trinity, so that all things are "from the Father", "through the Son" and "in the Holy Spirit".

As separately stated in Wikipedia with respect to the Trinitarianism in the Church Fathers:

Some Trinitarians state that the doctrine of the Trinity was revealed in New Testament times; others, that it was revealed in the Patristic period. Nontrinitarians, on the other hand, will generally state that the traditional doctrine of the Trinity did not exist until centuries after the end of the New Testament period. Some Trinitarians agree with this, seeing a development over time towards a true understanding of the Trinity. Trinitarians sometimes refer to Christian belief about God before the traditional statements on the Trinity as unsophisticated, 'naive', or 'incipient Trinitarianism', and that early Christians were 'proto-Trinitarian, partially Trinitarian', etc. Unitarians would state that this means those early Christians were not actually Trinitarians.

Should such disagreement be compared with that currently so evident between Sunni and Shiite?

Greater jihad: As carefully noted in the Wikipeda entry on jihad, there are many strongly held interpretations regarding its nature and significance. Many naturally focus on the justification for the use of force to persuade others to convert to a particular interpretation. Relatively few seem to attach deeper spiritual significance to an "inner" or "greater jihad" (Taylor McNeil, The Greater Jihad, Tufts Journal, Narch 2008; Reza Shah-Kazemi, From the Spirituality of Jihad to the Ideology of Jihadism, Journal of Zaytuna, 2005; Imam Khomeini, Jihad al-Akbar: The Greatest Jihad: Combat with the Self).

As a characteristic of the ongoing dynamic, the notion of a greater jihad is even asserted to be unorthodox and heretical to the majority of the world's Muslims, as argued by Hugh Fitzgerald (Greater Jihad and Lesser Jihad, Jihad Watch, 28 August 2008). Similarly, as noted with respect to Lesser vs Greater Jihad in WikiIslam -- which specifically offers a critique of Islam -- that entry concludes with the following citation:

In reading Muslim literature -- both contemporary and classical -- one can see that the evidence for the primacy of spiritual jihad is negligible. Today it is certain that no Muslim, writing in a non-Western language... would ever make claims that jihad is primarily nonviolent or has been superseded by the spiritual jihad. Such claims are made solely by Western scholars, primarily those who study Sufism and/or work in interfaith dialogue, and by Muslim apologists who are trying to present Islam in the most innocuous manner possible (David Cook, Understanding Jihad, 2005, pp.165-6)

Critical views of "greater jihad" are to be contrasted with those which endeavour to render it comprehensible, as that of John Heit (What is Jihad? Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, 2005):

According to one tradition of the hadith (the sayings and life of the Prophet Muhammad), Muhammad tells his followers returning from battle that they have now returned from the 'lesser jihad' (battle) and must turn to the 'greater jihad' (inner struggle for true submission to God) (Johnson, p. 35; Feldman, p. 232). This is the first differentiation of the "lesser jihad", the physical holy war, and the "greater jihad", the inner struggle to submit to God. The greater jihad is further divided into three types of struggle: 1) Jihad of the Heart (the struggle for moral reformation and faith); 2) Jihad of the Tongue (the struggle to proclaim God's word abroad; right speech); 3) Jihad of the Hand (doing good works in accord with the will of God).

Jihad and its derivatives meaning struggle in the path of God appear 36 times in the Qur'an. Each of those 36 times, jihad is used in the context of struggling to submit to God (the greater jihad) (Johnson, p. 61). There is another word that appears in the Qur'an when reference is made to physical confrontation or fighting. This term, qital, more directly means "fighting" or "killing".

It could be said, as with quantum mechanics, that anything that can be said regarding appropriate comprehension of the Trinity or of jihad has significant probability of alienating those who think otherwise -- and might even be forcibly challenged for that reason. To this it might be added the suspicion that what is not understood by any one is projected negatively onto others framing matters otherwise.

The challenge of comprehension is well framed by the opening lines of the Tao Te Ching:

The Way that can be told of is not an unvarying way;
The names that can be named are not unvarying names.
It was from the Nameless that Heaven and Earth sprang;
The named is but the mother that rears the ten thousand creatures, each after its kind.

Within this framework there is a case for suggesting that unquestionable declarations regarding the nature of evil correspond to what might be understood as the lowest dan rankings with respect to combatting otherness -- possibly even to the lower kyu rankings. The progressive subtlety which is evident in efforts to nuance such understanding, through an increasing degree of self-reflexivity. corresponds to higher dan rankings -- or more insightful approaches to "ox-herding" in Zen terms. The comparison might be extended to playing chess or go with the most devious opponenent -- who may finally be recognized as oneself.

Whereas Christianity has indulged in conflicts associated with different comprehension of the Trinity, it is only too evident that Islam is now engaged in similar conflicts with respect to the nature of jihad and the enemy with whom struggle is necessary.

Christian Jihad and Jewish Jihad: It is extremely ironic that the prominence given to Islamic Jihad should have now evoked diverse framings of Christian Jihad and Jewish Jihad -- the former being readily compared with both the crusades and striving (Is there a jihad in Christianity? Arabic Noor; Ben-Dror Yemini, Jewish Jihad developing within us, Israel Opinion, 7 April 2014). It is therefore not surprising that confusion regarding Islamic Jihad has already evoked confusion with regard to a Christian Jihad and a Jewish Jihad.

The point to be made however is the tendency for these to be framed at the least subtle strategic level -- at the lowest dan ranking. They are typically reactive -- effectively corresponding to the patterns of first order cybernetics. The point is illustrated by Colonel V. Doner (Christian Jihad: neo-fundamentalists and the polarization of America, 2012), by Ergun Mehmet Caner and Emir Fethi Caner (Christian Jihad: two former Muslims look at the Crusades and killing in the name of Christ), and by Patrick Allitt (Christian Jihad, American Conservative, 31 January 2012), in his review of Philip Jenkins (Laying Down the Sword: why we can't ignore the Bible's violent verses, 2012).

More subtle insights emerge from the argument of Craig Considine (A New Perspective of 'Jihad' in Christianity and Islam. The Huffington Post, 8 May 2013), concluding that: In essence, Christians and Muslims share a similar "jihad". This "jihad" is one of non-violence, the love of humanity, the perfection of the soul, and the search for knowledge. Putting familiar words to spiritual experience in this way could however be construed as fundamentally misleading -- thereby recalling the arguments for apophasis (Michael A. Sells, Mystical Languages of Unsaying, 1994). To what extent is any essential incommunicability a matter of Ludwig Wittgenstein's concluding phrase: Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent (Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, 1921)?

Circling the elusive? The argument has associated what might be termed definitional overconfidence and overreach with premature closure (typically by fiat) in contrast with the fluidity characteristic of divergent interpretations. It is therefore appropriate to ask whether another "device" to enable comprehension would involve some form of semantic map, or concept map, whereby alternative understandings could be configured "around" that to which reference cannot be effectively made. Such a representation might incorporate the features of an argument map to hold the patterns of agreement and disagreement, especially where the latter have a tendency to engender conflict. It might take forms characteristic of empty-centered mandalas, or configurations of polygons or polyhedra, as explored separately (Embodying Global Hegemony through a Sustaining Pattern of Discourse, 2015; Memetic Analogue to the 20 Amino Acids as vital to Psychosocial Life? 2015).

More intriguing is the sense in which any such static map would also be inadequate to the challenges of definition, language and comprehension. Insights as to further possibilities could be derived from the counter-intuitive challenges of the design of a container for plasma in the ITER nuclear fusion reactor. The principal requirement is that the plasma not come in any contact with the walls of the enclosing container -- since any such contact would destroy the container (explosively) and render inoperable the fusion process. This offers a powerful and well-articulated metaphor for the manner whereby understanding of the fundamental struggle for comprehension may need to be contained by definition -- but dissociated from any such definition in an unconventional way in order for meaning to be sustained.

Currently under construction, the unusual design to enable the fusion process requires a toroidal form within which the plasma circulates, namely the container only works through ensuring a cyclic dynamic of the plasma. The viability of this unconventional design as a source of future energy raises the question as to whether a cognitive analogue is required to endeavour to "contain without containing" what is implied by the struggle for comprehension. The metaphor is explored separately (Enactivating a Cognitive Fusion Reactor: Imaginal Transformation of Energy Resourcing (ITER-8), 2006).

Potentially even more intriguing is the sense in which, as a metaphor, the solar system suggests another way of comprehending the necessary dynamic of detachment. Each planet can be understood as a particular definition in concrete conventional terms, each separated from the other but having a dynamic circling relationship to a distant central sun of quite different nature -- both sustaining life and with the potential to dissolve each of them. This image recalls The Pivot of Chuang Tzu.

The issue of the comprehension of subtle complexity therefore seems to require unconventional approaches that constrain the tendency to define and label. The solar system metaphor is indicative in that respect. Equally valuable is the comprehension of an atom with its circulating electrons, except that their distinctiveness has been called into question by comprehension of atomic orbitals in the light of quantum mechanics. This frames the question of whether there are subtleties of psychosocial "definition" that merit similar consideration, whether on the micro or the macro scale. Rather than a set of circulating definitions (or "models") around an undefinable core, further considerations apply as suggested by current understanding of orbitals.

Thus the orbiting electrons around a nucleus could not be fully described as particles (as might be conventionally defined), but needed to be explained by the wave-particle duality. In this sense, the electrons have the following properties -- with implications for subtler understanding of the relationship between "models" or "world views". As described by Wikipedia:

  • Wave-like properties:
    1. The electrons do not orbit the nucleus in the sense of a planet orbiting the sun, but instead exist as standing waves. The lowest possible energy an electron can take is therefore analogous to the fundamental frequency of a wave on a string. Higher energy states are then similar to harmonics of the fundamental frequency.
    2. The electrons are never in a single point location, although the probability of interacting with the electron at a single point can be found from the wave function of the electron.
  • Particle-like properties:
    1. There is always an integer number of electrons orbiting the nucleus.
    2. Electrons jump between orbitals in a particle-like fashion. For example, if a single photon strikes the electrons, only a single electron changes states in response to the photon.
    3. The electrons retain particle like-properties such as: each wave state has the same electrical charge as the electron particle. Each wave state has a single discrete spin (spin up or spin down).

Thus, despite the obvious analogy to planets revolving around the Sun, electrons cannot be described simply as solid particles. In addition, atomic orbitals do not closely resemble a planet's elliptical path in ordinary atoms. A more accurate analogy might be that of a large and often oddly shaped "atmosphere" (the electron), distributed around a relatively tiny Sun (the atomic nucleus).

Given the continuing conflict arising world-wide from conventional definitions, and the certainty that they are unquestionable, such indications offer a language which reframes the definitional process in ways which honour the subtlety implied by the beliefs they evoke. It is then useful to ask what can be understood as circulating (according to the fusion reactor metaphor) and how are more profound senses of meaning and identity to be related to a wave-particle duality (Circulation of the Light: essential metaphor of global sustainability? 2010; Being Neither a-Waving Nor a-Parting: cognitive implications of wave-particle duality in the light of science and spirituality, 2013; Being a Waveform of Potential as an Experiential Choice: emergent dynamic qualities of identity and integrity, 2013; Encountering Otherness as a Waveform -- in the light of a wave theory of being, 2013)

It is somewhat ironic to note that the capacity to enable exploration of a system of multiple "overly-definitive" models (as suggested above) has recently been considerably enhanced via the web using orbital layout animations with d3.js, most notably through the freely accessible experiments of Elijah Meeks (D3.js in Action, Manning Publications, 2015). The work is based on the Digital Humanities initiative at Stanford University. The freely adaptable experiments are indicated here [hierarchical data as orbits; using flare.json; solar system]. The irony lies in the fact that representation capacity (and its pace of development) now far exceeds consideration of the semantic implications of world views and models in orbits around more elusive understanding -- typically so controversially assumed to be unquestionably defined by those world views. At best it might be said, with respect to world views, that the transition has yet to be achieved from analogues to the epicycles of the Ptolemaic system of astronomy to current heliocentric understanding.

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