As-In synthesis

Which is it?

Both, of course, if the desire is to understand how a complete idea works rather than picking the one best convertible into belief, that matches preconceived notions and provides a measure of reassurance.

Media vita in morte sumus ~ Media morte in vita sumus

from wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequence_(poetry)

One well-known sequence, falsely attributed to Notker during the Middle Ages, is the prose text Media vita in morte sumus ("In the midst of life we are in death"), which was translated by Cranmer and became a part of the burial service in the funeral rites of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer.

from: http://anaginoskon.blogspot.com/2007/06/media-vita-in-morte-kers-umb-media.html

Media vita in morte kers umb media morte in vita sumus

Ja, Leben ist lehrbar. Lehren heisst dann allerdings nichts anderes, als dem Evangelium Raum geben, das sogar mitten im Tode 'eitel Leben' verheisst. 'Media vita in morte kers umb media morte in vita sumus. So glaubt, so spricht der Christ.' So hat es Gerhard Ebeling bei Luther gelernt. (Eberhard Jüngel's obituary for Gerhard Ebeling in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung; http://www.kirchen.ch/pressespiegel/nzz/2001100265.pdf)

Yes, it is possible to teach 'life'. However, teaching, then, means nothing but offering space to the gospel, which promises full life in the midst of death. "In the midst of life, we belong to death; turn it around: in the midst of death, we belong to life. Thus believes, thus speaks the Christian." That is what Gerhard Ebeling learnt from Luther.

Associative Inquiry

Aesthetics in an Era of Anesthetics

The word "methodology" suggests ways of approach based on a particular set of assumptions - a lens that is appropriate to a particular world-view or mythology. If something falls outside the realm of that approach, the attached methodology cannot be expected to apply except, perhaps, to give a new and possibly fresh angle, or to highlight the methodology's limitations.

If understanding something by pulling it apart into discrete pieces is what is called for, say learning to draft images of the parts of clockwork mechanisms, then analysis (study of constituent parts) may be required. If consideration of a system as a whole will result in greater understanding then synthesis may be the way to approach the subject. You probably get the idea. One kind of focus, by definition, leaves out things or ways of looking. By design my eyes are not capable of seeing directly behind me. Thanks goodness my body is made for turning around.

Physical Science does not do well with intangibles that do not lend themselves to measurement. Phenomenology was not meant to produce quantitative measurements and redundancy-verified statistics. Especially in the beginning of practice, Narrative Inquiry was not meant to make more efficient the assembly of mechanical widgets and Appreciative Inquiry is justly criticized for not being able to work with conflict as such, since there are so many things not appropriately framed in terms of appreciation. Science is regularly portrayed as being in conflict with Religion as though one should be able to validate or disprove the other.

Why is the contemporary scene so full of methodological crossovers? Since this is a summary I will generalize widely. To read more in-depth work (short of my entire dissertation) please visit my cultural theory blog.
Because human beings love to connect things and to pull them apart. The important criteria is to do the right thing at the right time and to be able to 1) maintain attention for how things are not working well within the current frame so movement becomes possible and 2) switch modes while in movement when necessary. Humans not only pull apart and put together but do so because the capacity to change may be the most basic human reality. Hear that I am not saying that humans want all things to change all the time, only that human life requires the concrete to be subject to flexibility and the unknown to be, at least in part, subject to knowing. We yearn for different things and experiences while we crave comfort and reassurance in the face of uncertainty and its ultimate expression - Death. Humans and human groups are constellations of huddled yearnings massing to be free. This brings "huddled masses yearning to be free" into conflict with each other that can be most useful, threatening, illuminating, mysterious, and motivating. To work with this, actively and passively, we propose ideas to ourselves and others, mostly familiar but also strange, about how our world and cultures should work and then we consciously and unconsciously proceed to create concrete systems as if these ideas were the literal case.

Associative Inquiry gets at how ideas and their consequences are related in order to look for ways our conflicting ideas can work well in service to life rather than poorly in service to domination and needless suffering. If it is important to keep ideas separate then AsIn(tm) is not the best route to take. If you find yourself before a Grand Jury under indictment for perjury it might not be the best move to initiate an inquiry into the elements about which you are being questioned unless, of course, you have nothing to fear. If what is desired is

• the creation of an environment prepared to tolerate ambiguity in which
  
• all voices/influences will be welcomed by
  
• seasoned facilitators whose job is to include everything that is impacting a given sphere of influence, such that
• local participants become able to remember the web of associations built and can
• continue the discoveries together in order to make concrete changes in behavior that will benefit the entire group
  

then AsIn(tm) may be for you.

If you'd like to know more about this approach and its antecedents contact me, Brandon WilliamsCraig, using either (866) 236-0346 or public at bdwc dot net

To read more about the cultural theory underlying these ideas please go to bdwc.net, if you are not there already.

Timor dei initium sapiente

from: http://www.answers.com/analysis+?cat=biz-fin

a·nal·y·sis (ə-năl'ĭ-sĭs)
n., pl. -ses (-sēz').

1. 1. The separation of an intellectual or material whole into its constituent parts for individual study.
   2. The study of such constituent parts and their interrelationships in making up a whole.
   3. A spoken or written presentation of such study: published an analysis of poetic meter.
2. Chemistry.
   1. The separation of a substance into its constituent elements to determine either their nature (qualitative analysis) or their proportions (quantitative analysis).
   2. The stated findings of such a separation or determination.
3. Mathematics.
   1. A branch of mathematics principally involving differential and integral calculus, sequences, and series and concerned with limits and convergence.
   2. The method of proof in which a known truth is sought as a consequence of a series of deductions from that which is the thing to be proved.
4. Linguistics. The use of function words such as prepositions, pronouns, or auxiliary verbs instead of inflectional endings to express a grammatical relationship; for example, the cover of the dictionary instead of the dictionary's cover.
5. Psychoanalysis.
6. Systems analysis.

[Medieval Latin, from Greek analusis, a dissolving, from analūein, to undo : ana-, throughout; see ana– + lūein, to loosen.]

from http://www.answers.com/methodology&r=67

meth·od·ol·o·gy (mĕth'ə-dŏl'ə-jē)
n., pl. -gies.

1. 1. A body of practices, procedures, and rules used by those who work in a discipline or engage in an inquiry; a set of working methods: the methodology of genetic studies; a poll marred by faulty methodology.
   2. The study or theoretical analysis of such working methods.
2. The branch of logic that deals with the general principles of the formation of knowledge.
3. Usage Problem. Means, technique, or procedure; method.

from: http://www.answers.com/synthesis?cat=health

syn·the·sis (sĭn'thĭ-sĭs)
n., pl. -ses (-sēz').

1. 1. The combining of separate elements or substances to form a coherent whole.
   2. The complex whole so formed.
2. Chemistry. Formation of a compound from simpler compounds or elements.
3. Philosophy.
   1. Reasoning from the general to the particular; logical deduction.
   2. The combination of thesis and antithesis in the Hegelian dialectical process whereby a new and higher level of truth is produced.

[Latin, collection, from Greek sunthesis, from suntithenai, to put together : sun-, syn- + tithenai, to put.]

with Gratitude.

Education and its edge

Edge-ucation

Education, fundamentally, involves

• learning how to learn
  
• with others who have learned how to learn
• well enough that they can peacefully (differing creatively) help others learning to
• learn
• entertain ideas, before adopting or rejecting them, long enough to discover many of their consequences
• practice the ideas with salutary consequences such that undesirable consequences, inevitably a part of any constellation of thinking, may be framed as learning, thereby continuing the process, and not literalizing or creating dogma
  

Teaching, per se, is particularly problematic {a}, even before being thrust by those who have not learned how to learn into the realm of impossibility. "Guiding", as in the Montessori Guide, is less objectionable but still inflected with condescension. "Facilitating" learning carries with it a psuedo-corporate association that almost escapes condescension until a person becomes enshrined as the rather than a facilitator.

If education, as a drawing out of wisdom that is all-ready in the learner, has an edge, it is in the learning community where roles are both fluid and inflected with experience, such that wisdom may occasionally makes an appearance and be recognized for what it is. This requires building a conscious culture of community such that co-creation and conflict are both done well in the service of learning how to learn. Then a people's lore (the root of "learning") may enrich the lives of everyone involved.

The play-on-words I use for this series of expectations is Edgeucation.

If you'd like to know more about this contact me, Brandon WilliamsCraig, using either (866) 236-0346 or public at bdwc dot net

For an introduction to one initiative that is ready to progress see ABC's Association Cultural Movement and Education.

To read more about the cultural theory underlying this attempt at intervention in education please go to bdwc.net.

Culturesmith

A servant to the idea that culture is, at least in part, consciously created.

Frederick Buechner wrote,
"Your vocation is the place where your heart's deep gladness
and the world's deep hunger meet."

The joy and purpose of being a culturesmith is to support and be supported by others to give the title away. It is my desire and vocation to participate in the making of environments the purpose of which is learning and the practice of building community. In the same way that a given group of people are the only experts available in the field of creating their own way into the future, culturesmiths facilitate learning and the critique of facilitation such that the paradoxical culture of learning and practice that results is what living people need now and also what will endure. This is the heart of education, of civilization, and of martial nonviolence - the redefinition of peace as conflict done well.

Culturesmith, Bluevolution,

Laying claim is problematic. What about the possibility of preventing others from doing good with ideas, which may even have occurred to them independently and simultaneously, and which belong inextricably, at least in part, to the common good?

If you would like to be excepted from any part of this license I am more than open to hearing how you intend to benefit others by working with these ideas independently. Even better, if you'd like to work together to promote the general welfare I am cheerfully looking forward to making your acquaintance.

In the meantime, I ask that you accept my attempts to carve out a small space for this work to grow as I have dreamed it. What follows are the ideas to which I lay claim in the making of cultures which support the human community and journey.

"Associative Inquiry" and its capitalized and lowercase, singular and plural, immediate and metaphorical derivatives, including but not limited to "associnc and associnq", "The Associative Inquiry", "Associational Inquiry", "As-In", as-in, AsIn, asin, and related logos, etc. are reserved for the use of those with permission.

"Culturesmith" and its capitalized and lowercase, singular and plural, immediate and metaphorical derivatives, including but not limited to "culturesmithy", "The Culturesmith", "cultural smithing", etc. are reserved for the use of those with permission.

"Bluevolution" and its capitalized and lowercase, singular and plural, immediate and metaphorical derivatives, including but not limited to "blue evolution", "blue-evolution", "blu-evolution", "blue volution", "evolutionary blue", "The Bluevolution", "the blue volution", etc. are reserved for the use of those with permission.

"Peoplegreen" and its capitalized and lowercase, singular and plural, immediate and metaphorical derivatives, including but not limited to "People Green", "people-green", "peepsgreen", "greenpeeps", "Greenpeople", "Greening People", "the greening of people", "people greening", "the peoplegreening people", etc. are reserved for the use of those with permission.

The words and phrases "process arts", "Process Arts", "The Process Arts", were originated by Brandon WilliamsCraig who requests attribution and developed with Beamish Process Arts dba Association Building Community, are reserved in perpetuity to the public domain, and may not be restricted for the use of any party without expressed written consent from Brandon williamsCraig and the ABC board of Directors, and thereafter public notification, and the space of one year for response and objections to be raised before ABC hosts a stakeholders consensus process for a final decision.

The words and phrases "culturopoiesis", "Culturopoiesis", "culturopoesis", "Culturopoesis" were originated by Brandon WilliamsCraig who requests attribution, are reserved in perpetuity to the public domain, and may not be restricted for the use of any party without expressed written consent and thereafter public notification and the space of one year for response and objections to be raised and published through a stakeholders consensus process for a final decision.




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