Intelligence and Ignorance: a necessary complementarity?

Implication of Indwelling Intelligence in Global Confidence-building (Part #16)

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The volume of religious literature on "indwelling" with its focus on positive attributes of the divine (notably including "intelligence"), highlights the question long debated by theologians of how "God" could have enabled the creation of the negative attributes -- especially including "ignorance". The matter is of current strategic relevance given the destruction and loss of life increasingly evident as a consequence of natural disasters in a God-fearing country like the USA (cf Acts of God vs Acts of al-Qaida: Hurricane Katrina as a message to Bible Belt America? 2005).

The polarity intelligence-ignorance is an example of the unquestioning use of the positive-negative frame explored by Barbara Ehrenreich (Bright-sided: how the relentless promotion of positive thinking has undermined America, 2009; Smile Or Die: how positive thinking fooled America and the world, 2010) and discussed separately (Being Positive Avoiding Negativity: management challenge of positive vs negative, 2005). A counter-perspective is offered by Walter Earl Fluker (Dangerous memories and redemptive possibilities: reflections on the life and work of Howard Thurman, Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy, 2004):

On this view, positive thinking becomes a process of identification with an indwelling intelligence that lies at the heart "of our mental and bodily processes"

Current crises have highlighted the dangers of uncritical appreciation of "intelligence" in relation to weapons of mass destruction, bankers, military competence, and the like -- notably on the part of centres of excellence complicit in such assessments (cf Abuse of Faith in Governance: mystery of the unasked question, 2009; Transforming the Unsustainable Cost of General Education: strategic insights from Afghanistan, 2009). Such crises might also be said to reflect a lack of appreciation for the perspectives of those deprecated as "ignorant" -- notably now obliged, as tax payers, to compensate for the forms of intelligence that have been so disastrously deployed.

There is therefore a case for reframing "intelligence" to incorporate "ignorance" in some way, if only in terms of the mysterious nature of whatever is not understood regarding intelligence or of the systemically fruitful role of ignorance. A striking metaphor is offered by the proportion of "dark matter" of which the universe is mysteriously composed, with its associated "dark energy" -- according to the current understandings of astrophysicists.

Given the manner in which "intelligence" is associated with a high degree of order in contrast with "ignorance", the two might be fruitfully interrelated using as metaphor various forms of matter -- from crystal to clay, for example, given that precious stones are readily associated with attributes of intelligence. Clearly both have vital functions. It is in soil ("dirt") that plants grow; precious stones are "sterile". This raises the question of the nature of intelligence associated with different forms of order and the value of the "intelligence" that might be associated with "lower" forms of order or those of a more diffuse or chaotic nature. Given preferences in that respect, the arguments of a range of authors for a spectrum or set of preferred mental frameworks merits consideration, as introduced separately (Systems of Categories Distinguishing Cultural Biases, 1993).

More suggestive in clarifying this argument is a phase diagram such as follows.

Tentative adaptation of general phase diagram (for water) to suggest non-linear relationship between data -- information -- knowledge

Curves: Indicate the conditions of "temperature" and "pressure" under which equilibrium between different phases of insight can exist Critical point: The "temperature" above which the gas cannot be liquefied no matter how much pressure is applied (the kinetic energy simply is too great for attractive forces to overcome, regardless of the applied "pressure") Triple point: The particular condition of "temperature" and "pressure" where all three states are in equilibrium NB: Phases may be subdivided into a complex pattern of sub-phases (exemplified by the variety of forms of ice as solid water) [more]

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