Fivefold integrative dynamic inspired by nature

Reimagining Principles Enabling an Existential Ecostery (Part #9)

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Whereas the 12-fold can be said to "elude" closure in valuable ways vital to sustaining cognitive variety, a fivefold pattern is more readily accessible. Its continuing importance across the centuries within Chinese culture as Wu Xing is especially noteworthy, particularly its ambiguity as five "elements", "phases", "agents", "movements", "processes", or "stages". The dynamic between the distinguished qualities is especially emphasized. A degree of correspondence is to be found with the Mahabhuta (of Hinduism), the Pancha Tattva (of Vaishnavism), and the Godai (of Japanese philosophy).

Curiously the Pythagoreans were attentive to a similar pattern associated with the deity Hygieia and considered fundamental to health -- hence "hygiene" (Cycles of enstoning forming mnemonic pentagrams: Hygiea and Wu Xing, 2012). The latter notes other recognitions of a fivefold dynamic in relation to psychosocial organization, including the work of Peter Senge (The Fifth Discipline: the art and practice of the learning organization, 1990) and Henry Mintzberg (Structure in Fives: designing effective organizations, 1983). The implications of "healthy wholeness" suggest a particular relevance to a dynamic understanding of integrity (Wholth as Sustaining Dynamic of Health and Wealth: cognitive dynamics sustaining the meta-pattern that connects, 2013).

However, whilst the fivefold may be especially valued in non-western cultures, western comprehension of "health" is not articulated or sustained by a fivefold dynamic -- despite the origin of "hygiene" and its symbolic echoes. It would seem that the elements of the fivefold got "lost" in some way -- buried in other articulations which are not necessarily conducive to an understanding of "healthy" integrity in its most general sense.

More complex insight is evident in a 30-fold articulation (6x5-fold), as in the integrative work of management cybernetician Stafford Beer (Beyond Dispute: the invention of team syntegrity, 1994) -- subsequently integrated into understanding of a Viable System Model. Beer's approach to syntegrity suggests a response to the typically chaotic modern presentation of insight, as highlighted in the case of the 30-odd contributions to the discussion of Greek deities (mentioned above). Such complexity is evident to a degree in a 12-fold representation -- as a dodecahedron with its 12 pentagonal faces.

It is curious that -- despite the crisis of the times -- the prevailing pattern in relation to integrative insight might be caricatured as serial exercises in one-upmanship and game-playing with little ability or desire to integrate that proclivity as a factor worthy of consideration. The preferred response is to frame all others as "wrong", "misguided" or "obsolete" -- and possibly dangerously so. With respect to any sense of "healthy" dynamics, this factor is compounded by undeclared dynamics between proponents of contrasting perspectives, as separately caricatured (Epistemological Challenge of Cognitive Body Odour: exploring the underside of dialogue, 2006).

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