Self-reflexivity through elaboration of better stories

Iconic Extrajudicial Execution of Jesus through Osama by US? (Part #14)

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"Eye am a strange loop": Curiously, when used as a metaphor for the most profound and insightful perception, the "eye" is singular -- as is the "I" of personal identity. In contrast with the above argument for truth requiring two eyes, cultures recognize the "Eye of God" or the "Eye of Horus" -- presumably a singularly integrated mode of seeing and knowing to which humanity can only aspire. For the intelligence community, this sense of an "all-seeing eye" is held to be implicit in various surveillance systems. The singular eye is also used with respect to individual disciplines imply comprehensive insight -- as with the "eye of science".

Use of the singular, as implied above, carries with it a degree of simplicity which in conventional understanding can only be simplistic. Hence the clash of civilizations and the dependence on adversarial politics. It is unclear, within this "view", how diversity is integrated into unity -- ironically upheld currently through the motto of the European Union.

Topological symbols: A more interesting case can be made for a more paradoxical basis to identity through the arguments of Douglas Hofstadter (I Am a Strange Loop, 2007; Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies, 1995). The subtler integrative understanding and identity might then be more appropriately framed as "Eye Am a Strange Loop". Aspects of the nature of the paradoxical understanding have been separately explored (¡¿ Defining the objective ∞ Refining the subjective ?! Explaining reality ∞ Embodying realization, 2011). By implication both the "I" and the "eye" of the observer are more appropriately understood as embedded in a strange loop.

The embodiment of "two eyes", or "two I's", can then be usefully represented through the following image based on a Möbius strip -- developed for a discussion of the collective implications of the cognitive paradoxes (Sustaining a Community of Strange Loops: comprehension and engagement through aesthetic ring transformation, 2010). Arguably such a paradoxical form is the simplest to embody the complexity of the integrative relationship between two eyes -- offering depth perception. Its main characteristic is to be able to hold the inherent illusion that there are "two sides" to the strip. Of similar nature, but more complex, is the Klein bottle -- having no distinct "inside" or "outside", as separately discussed (Intercourse with Globality through Enacting a Klein bottle Cognitive implication in a polysensorial "lens", 2009).

Inhibited transcendence: How significant to the inhibition of the emergence of any new framing of international two-party (archetypal) scenarios is the tendency to promote a simplistic unitary worldview. Such scenarios include:

• Palestine vs. Israel
• India vs. Pakistan
• North Korea vs. South Korea
• World Economic Form vs. World Social Forum (All Blacks of Davos vs All Greens of Porto Alegre: reframing global strategic discord through polyphony? 2007)
• science vs. religion

In a civilization in which great intellect and wisdom is invested in the factual reality and justification for each such polarized position, the framing of the articulation of the "other" as a fantasy is relevant to the possibility of transcending what the future will undoubtedly consider a hypersimplisitic dyamic between them. Going beyond the assertions in his recent book, Stephen Hawking (The Grand Design, 2010) has declared in an interview that a belief that heaven or an afterlife awaits us is a "fairy story" for people afraid of death (Ian Sample, Stephen Hawking: 'There is no heaven; it's a fairy story', The Guardian, 16 May 2011). The belief in that "story" is of course central to the relgious faith of many, including followers of Islam and Christianity -- a matter helpfully discussed in relation to science by Brad Hirschfield (Stephen Hawking's Sin In Denying Heaven, HuffPost Religion, 16 May 2011).

Curiously those persuaded by Hawking's views see no trace of inconsistency between denial of some kind of transcendental "heaven" and their own heavy commitment to a fundamental reality currently promoted as to be understood in from 10 to 26 dimensions (if not more). They are not the least embarrassed by the "fact" that the psychosocial implications of this unproven "story" are far beyond the capacity of most -- probably including those who "believe" in it (Dynamics of Symmetry Group Theorizing: comprehension of psycho-social implication, 2008). Hawking's qualification of a "fairy" story raises the question of the possible nature of higher dimensional "entities", notably with respect to their as separately discussed separately (Emergent Language of the Birds? 2010):

Language of Angels vs. Language of Angles? The Language of the Birds is also known as the angelic language. There is much speculation about the nature of angels on whose guidance many devoutly believe humanity is dependent -- probably to a greater degree than is attributed to politicians. "Angels" are of course deprecated as pure superstition by science. The study by Matthew Fox and Rupert Sheldrake is not very helpful in this respect -- and with but a passing reference to birdsong (The Physics of Angels: exploring the realm where science and spirit meet, 1996). Several alternative perspectives could however be fruitfully considered....

"Angels" might then be better understood as the fundamental nodal clusterings of memetic relationships in an appropriately dimensioned topological space -- thereby holding their "angular" relationship to one another. More cognitively problematic is the extent to which any "experience" of "angels" is liable to involve a challenging degree of self-reflexive mirroring... A related possibility is to consider that any multidimensional "movement" -- any detected (elegant) pattern of movement of memes -- might be equally difficulty to distinguish from "angelic" forms.

The current incompetence in reframing the dynamic between any two "poles" is endemic. Ironically the dynamic is fundamental to parliamentary debate and judicial processes. In each such case one "side" claims an appropriate grasp of factual reality whilst deprecating the other as indulging in a "fantastic story" -- but the variant preferred may depend on the coherence of the "story", irrespective of its factual basis. Strategic disasters and miscarriages of justice result as a consequence -- despite the promise of "heaven" by politicians in quest of a mandate. Minimally, a more fruitful approach is to recognize that each offers a distinct form of coherence which is preferred by some. As in politics, Hawking's assertion (on behalf of the "quants") will be barely meaningful to those (the "quals") believing otherwise. In the case of US vs. Taliban (Osama), the former relies on the "quantitative" (exemplified by military hardware), whereas the latter rely on the "qualitative" (exemplified by their belief that in dying for a cause they go to paradise). The "battle for hearts and minds" does not encompass this higher dimensionality -- where poetry offers a possibility (as noted below).

Curiously both quants and quals relate the coherence of their preferred reality to an understanding of beauty and perfection -- aspirations to the mathematical elegance of a Theory of Everything for the former, and the oft described perfections of paradise for the latter. More curious is however the irrelevance of the qualitative criterion of beauty to mathematical formalism, and the questionable factual basis of heaven as understood by the quals.

Reframing facts through stories: Focusing on environmental issues, contrasting perspectives are framed as dilemmas by George Monbiot (Our Crushing Dilemmas, 5 May 2011). He quotes Paul Kingsnorth (The Quants and the Poets, The Dark Mountain Project, 30 April 2011) as a means of exploring this problem. Kingsnorth's essay shows the way in which "the green movement has torpedoed itself with numbers". The case could be argued more generally with respect to the above dilemmas, namely that the emergence of a healthy global civilization is inhibited by the quant-style understanding of facts and a marked proclivity for their manipulation. Numbers are merely one form of fact. Kingsnorth argues, as cited by Monbiot:

What is missing here is stories, and an understanding of the importance of stories in getting to the bottom of what is really going on. Because at root, this whole squabble between worldviews is not about numbers at all "" it is about narratives." How to reassert the importance of stories, then, is perhaps a key question now. Green poets might perhaps start by observing that worlds are not "saved" by the same stories that are killing them. They might want to observe that saving worlds is an impossible business in the first place, and that attempting to do so is likely to lead to some very dark places. Or they might try and explore what it is about how we see ourselves which reduces us to this, time and time again "" arguing about machines rather than wondering what those machines give us and what they take away.

This is consistent with the argument for better stories made above by Adam Curtis in relation to the execution of Osama.

Aesthetic appreciation of stories: It is curious that world society has become so tortured by a need for facts -- even though they are variously called into question, as has been so evdient in the case of climate change (Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway, Merchants of Doubt, 2010). More curious is that these are presented as facts through the media -- constantly under pressure to identify and elaborate better "stories". In this sense the White House Press Secretary is far more appropriately understood as the White House Storyteller -- in the "battle for hearts and minds". As with any traditional storyteller in the Arab world, it is the credibility of the story which counts with the audience seated at his feet -- who may interact with him to explore the more intriguing details for those to whom they will in turn present a variant of the story.

It is stories that sell, not facts. Getting the story "right" may then be more a matter of aesthetic considerations and dramatic presentation -- frequent revision is then to be understood as merely part of the aesthetic process. The distinction between "fact" and "fiction" in a story capable of attracting and holding attention then becomes more mysterious -- perhaps most appropriately to be intertwined as in the Möbius strip used above. Challenges to one or other are then implied by the paradoxical integrative form of the media on which they are inscribed. The form is appropriately reminiscent of how a good storyteller "spins a tale" -- melding the "quant" and "poetic" dimensions.

Representation of the dynamic between fact and fiction

Framing the global knowledge society in terms of a multiplicity of stories is then more powerful in terms of communication and its credibility -- and of the capacity of the stories to "travel", like jokes. The capacity to switch between TV channels, or to surf the web, may be seen as the quest for more engaging stories -- however skillfully their tales may be spun. Is it a matter of "news stories" or "new stories"? Any solemnly asserted distinction between "fact" and "fiction" is then to be appreciated as a feature of a given story -- their relationship being also governed by the uncertainty principle, and the special "twist" essential to a good story (Engaging with Questions of Higher Order: cognitive vigilance required for higher degrees of twistedness, 2004). This framing is relevant to any strategic appreciation of the essential "slipperiness" of soap operas like Climategate and Cablegate, and the moulding of the relevance of any scientific consensus.

If the Möbius strip above is understood as representing a dynamic between "fact" and "fiction", is this the key to the process by which psychosocial energy is engendered, as separately discussed (Massive Elicitation of Psychosocial Energy: Requisite technology for collective enlightenment, 2011; Psychosocial Energy from Polarization: within a cyclic pattern of Enantiodromia, 2007)?

Freedom to elaborate intriguing stories: The official White House Storyteller is clearly selected and empowered to tell powerful stories. All are however free to tell their own -- perhaps using the elements provided through an official mode, adapting them in the light of other materials creatively obtained from elsewhere. There is therefore every scope for a "Back House Storyteller" -- in every community, as in the tradition of the village storyteller of every village in the Arab world. It is in this sense that so-called "conspiracy theories" may offer much more interestingly credible stories than those produced by the White House Storyteller. It is in this framework that the quest for premature closure through "facts" may be understood as a form of "fretting" that is less than useful -- as highlighted by the classic plea of the poet John Keats for negative capability:

I had not a dispute but a disquisition... on various subjects; several things dovetailed in my mind, and at once it struck me, what quality went to form a Man of Achievement especially in literature and which Shakespeare possessed so enormously -- I mean Negative Capability, that is when man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts without any irritable reaching after fact and reason -- Coleridge, for instance, would let go by a fine isolated verisimilitude caught from the penetralium of mystery, from being incapable of remaining content with half knowledge. This pursued through volumes would perhaps take us no further than this, that with a great poet the sense of beauty overcomes every other consideration, or rather obliterates all consideration.

Transforming global civilization through aesthetics: The case for an aesthetic dimension, to enable a more integrative understanding, has been argued separately (Enacting Transformative Integral Thinking through Playful Elegance, 2010; Aesthetics of Governance in the Year 2490, 1990). In the light of the case made by Kingsnorth and Curtis, as cited above, what is the nature of the more intriguing stories which enable a transformation of society -- and through what media might they be presented? Are they necessarily experienced as "gratuitously offensive", as with the Osama-Jesus example noted above?

The relevance of myth-making, as noted above, has been separately discussed (Relevance of Mythopoeic Insights to Global Challenges, 2009). Cases can also be made for the use of:

• epic and improvisational poetry: understood as interrelating all the relevant thematic material, as with the Kalevala (Poetry-making and Policy-making: arranging a marriage between Beauty and the Beast, 1993). This is potentially of relevance to current areas of conflict (Poetic Engagement with Afghanistan, Caucasus and Iran, 2009; Strategic Jousting through Poetic Wrestling, 2009)
• music and song: many possibilities of use of these media remain to be explored (A Singable Earth Charter, EU Constitution or Global Ethic? 2006; Structuring Mnemonic Encoding of Development Plans and Ethical Charters using Musical Leitmotivs, 2001)
• drama: what might be the role of a dramaturge, as previously suggested (Gorbachev as Dramaturge: lessons on social transformation for international organizations, 1992).

As a drama, references are currently made to stories about the "Osama execution" as a "soap opera". A similar framing is offered by the US response to Julian Assange -- fruitfully to be understood as a psychodrama (WikiLeaks and the First Global Condom War: political awakening through asymmetric psychodrama: US versus Assange, 2010). Reference is made there to "condom" as a suitable abbreviation of "confidence domination", which -- rather than the information domination currently framed as a strategic objective -- places the emphasis on the credibility characteristic of integrative stories. The current White House storytelling of the moment, in relation to the execution of "Osama", might then be framed as an exercise in confidence domination.

Reframing the observer: The media coverage of the execution of "Osama" raises questions about the attitude with which such information should be received -- especially since the presentation is crafted to have an effect, as was the crucifixion of Jesus. For some it evokes celebratory triumphalism -- "Mission Accomplished". They have long forgotten the 5,000,000 deaths in the Congo. Within what mindset can such "facts" be reconciled?

Supposedly, as "fact", the execution implies an interplay between "observer" and "objectivity" -- with the prefix "ob" implying "towards, against, or, in the way of". The "objective" of the US is claimed to have been achieved. However many "observers" now "object" -- perhaps to being confirmed as "servants of the ob", effectively "sub-servient"? What is the nature of the "sub-jective" impact that is sought -- in the "battle for hearts and minds"? Again, how are objecting and subjecting to be reconciled (¡¿ Defining the objective ∞ Refining the subjective ?! Explaining reality ∞ Embodying realization, 2011). What is the psychodynamic role of "Doubting Thomas"? How best to transcend the implied dilemmas and what effect do they have -- "objectively" or "subjectively"?

The situation may also be framed more dynamically. How are we effectively engaged in a higher order of game-playing by which we are variously entranced and enthralled? Who is messing with our minds? By whom is the game organized -- who is the Dungeon Master? How to imagine the possible objective of the game (Imagining the Real Challenge and Realizing the Imaginal Pathway of Sustainable Transformation, 2007)? Or is the game a characteristic of the more widely comprehensible framing -- that of the theme song We Are The World (1986)? Is the dynamic the game we are evoking -- and hence the physical similarities between the iconic Osama and Jesus? In the entanglement of objectivity and subjectivity are we now embodying paradoxically what some might claim to be purely "external" (Existential Embodiment of Externalities, 2009)?

Feel free to spin your own tale: It is perhaps appropriate to recognize that the web is increasingly about "stories" variously "decorated" with "facts". As noted by Robert McCrum (The web allows stories to be spun in new ways, The Observer, 8 May 2011). He argues that the use of multimedia is beginning to take storytelling in radical new directions, citing Frank Rose (The Art of Immersion: how the digital generation is remaking Hollywood, Madison Avenue, and the way we tell stories, 2011) with respect to the web as:

... the first medium that can act like all media. It can be text, or audio, or video, or all of the above. It is nonlinear, thanks to its adoption of the revolutionary convention of hyperlinking.

As a consequence, according to Rose:

... a new type of narrative is emerging "" one that's told through many media at once in a way that's nonlinear, that's participatory and often game-like, and that's designed above all to be immersive. This is 'deep media'.

McCrum reinforces this argument by reference to the Canadian writer Kate Pullinger, who is fascinated by the opportunities of deep media. Pullinger considers that "the new technology has the potential to inject a new dimension to storytelling". How might story themes then be interwoven in new ways, as separately discussed (Interweaving Thematic Threads and Learning Pathways, 2010). The question is the nature of any new kind of subjective engagement with such new kinds of stories. More problematic is the strong possibility that efforts will be made to ensure that only approved stories circulate -- following the long-established efforts of the different religions, and the current efforts of science -- "other" stories being framed as "evil" or the epitome of ignorance.

Does this chaotic situation anticipate a condition of zero collective credibility (Emerging Memetic Singularity in the Global Knowledge Society, 2009)? It is in this emerging context that a distinction might be made, with respect to the Osama-Jesus stories, between:

• fact, if it can be "defined", found and "authenticated" (whatever that can be held to mean)
• stories spun by the official White House Storyteller
• stories spun by "conspiracy theorists"
• stories spun by al-Qaida and sympathizers
• homespun stories -- which one is free, creatively to elaborate for whomever
• a tale such as that of this document: "my story", exploring what Jesus might have said -- "if you kill the other, then you kill me".
  
  

  "We've Lost Something of Our Soul" Michael Moore to Piers Morgan on Bin Laden (CNN, 5 May 2011)

  " I hear a lot of people often say, what would Jesus do? " he said. " I don't think Jesus would go down to Ground Zero like a lot of people did...and have a party. " Morgan asked him why he took issue with the way bin Laden died. Moore said that the killing deviated from the notion that everyone has a right to a trial: We've lost something of our soul here in this country...something that separates us from other parts, other countries where we say everybody has their day in court no matter how bad of a person, no matter what piece of scum they are, they have a right to a trial...after World War II, we just didn't go in and put a bullet to the head of all the top Nazis. We put them on trial. (as reported in The Huffington Post, 10 May 2011, with video)

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