Aurelio Peccei Lectures & Dialogues

Aurelio Peccei Lectures & Dialogues

In collaboration with the European Support Center of the Club of Rome

Thursday 23 February 2012

Heraclites and the Four Fold Flowof Civilization Serenity

by Dr. Jean-Philippe Cornélis

Heraclites the genius (EPHESE,550 TO 480 B.C.)

Heraclites must be considered as the forerunner of intersystemics

with his first concept :PANTA REI

Everything is changing and in close interaction

And his second principle:THE BALANCE OF THE OPPOSITES

IMAGE RAPHAEL: Héraclites

Hurricane

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Complexity diagram by Raoul Weiler

EPISTEMOLOGY IS THE SCIENCE OF KNOWLEDGE

-In my view, the science of knowledge describes and tries to understand four fields and rules of behaviour of: -THE SCIENCE OF BEHAVIOUR OF THE OBJECTS:science of nature, in what I call a new term for objectivity-THE SCIENCE OF BEHAVIOUR OF THE SUBJECTS:

in the psychology of the person and the deep self, in what I call subjectivity

-THE RULES OF INTERSUBJECTIVITY: The science of behaviour of the subjects between each other

(f.i. languages,culture,sociological and political rules)-TRANSCENDANCE: Religious beliefs claim f.i. a special

understanding of the laws of their gods

THE FOUR FEEL GOOD PRINCIPLES OF CIVILIZATIONS

-So, to « feel good » in a civilization, human beings have to respect THEIR OWN balance of power between those four epistemological principles and problem solving techniques, that they consider as being GOOD:

-TO FEEL GOOD WITH NATURE-TO FEEL GOOD WITH THEMSELF-TO FEEL GOOD WITH THE OTHERS-TO FEEL GOOD WITH THEIR GODS OR

THEIR FOUNDATION MYTHS EVERY CIVILIZATION MAKES HER OWN

BALANCE OF PRINCIPLES AND PROBLEM SOLVING TECHNIQUES

HOW DID OUR ANCESTORSSOLVED THOSE PROBLEMS?

THE FIGURES OF « THE GOOD GOVERNMENT »

IN THE TOWN HALL OF SIENNA,ITALY,(LORENZETTI,1315-1340)

PROVES THAT THEY OBEYDED TO THOSE FOUR

FUNDAMENTAL RULES

A GENERAL VIEW ON THE FRESCOES

THE FIGURE OF PEACE AND SERENITY

THE FIGURE OF THE WHEATFIELDS

THE FIGURE OF THE BALANCE OF JUSTICE

THE FIGURE OF JOY

THE FIGURE OF AUTHORITY

THUS SOLVING PROBLEMS MEANS FINDING SOLUTIONS IN THE FOUR APPROPRIATE EPISTEMOLOGICAL

CATEGORIES WE DESCRIBED

-EVERY EPISTEMOLOGICAL CATEGORY MUST FIND HIS APPROPRIATE SOLUTION

-BUT WE KNOW THAT THOSE SOLUTIONS WILL INTERFERE

WITH THE OTHER FIELDS AND

INDUCE SWITCHES AND CHANGES

THE NATURAL INTERACTIONS

OF THE OBJECTS• In this first category, we try to understand the

rules of behaviour of the objects in natural sciences, managing sometimes terrific forces like atoms.

• Francis Bacon: The only way to submit nature is to obey her.

• That’s what we are doing in technologies and power labyrinths with the answer: It  works!

Eureka: The rules of nature are under power! But sometimes, those forces of nature are

overwhelming us, like f.i. nuclear disasters.

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The snub of the forces of nature to mankind:

Is that a piece of natural art?

PSYCHOLOGICAL INTERACTIONS

IN THE SUBJECTIVITY

• In this is second epistemological category, we try to understand and humanize the rules of behaviour of the subjects

THE FIGURE OF THE SPA CLOWN

Sigmund Freud : Where id is, there shall ego beTo stay human we, as persons, have to refrain and

sublimate brutal instinctive forces in cultural behaviour

BUT WE ARE BLIND LOVERS OF LIFE

AND WE ARE THE THREE APES DENYING REALITY

I can’t get no satisfaction

WE HAVE ENDLESS DESIRES,BUT CAN WE ESCAPE THIS

REALITY THROUGH MEDITATION?

THE BALANCE BETWEEN TWO CHARACTERS WE HAVE IN US:

-THE SELF CENTERED NARCISSUS (HOBBES:Homo homini lupus)

-THE OTHER CENTERED SOCIUS (LEVINAS: In front of the face of the other)-EVERYDAY, EVERY PERSON MAKES A BALANCE BETWEEN BOTH CHARACTERS

-SELFACCOMPLISMENT IS THE KEY OF THE FIRST, AND LOVE, COMPASSION AND

SOLIDARITY THE ONE OF THE SECOND-SOME RELIGIONS ADVISE TO LOVE YOUR

NEIGHBOUR AS MUCH AS YOURSELF

PRINCIPLES OF LIFE IN THE PSYCHOLOGY OF

THE SELF

Two basic principles of Freud (1856-1939):

Principle of reality

Principle of pleasure

Two more principles of Leopold Szondi

(1898-1986):

Principle of freedom, but socialy constructed

Principle of humanization

Is man the measure of everything?

WE ARE DENYING CLIMATE CHANGE

This is our living planet

A CULTURAL SWITCH: WE HAVE TO BECOME

A NEW TREE MAN

A PLANET INHABITED BY HUMANIZED TREE-MEN

TODAY WE ARE CONFRONTED

WITH FIVE MAJOR CIVILIZATION CRISISSES

In order of dramatic importance,we have:-The climatic and biodiversity crisis-The Demographic explosion crisis

-The World employment crisis -The Financial and economical crisis

FINANCIAL AND ECONOMICAL CRISIS

-Money is the most powerfull social regulator of rights and duties of citizens ever invented

-In a civilized society this regulation-tool must be in the hands of the political power and not in the hands of the market or ivory-tower gourous.

-Is money an overstock of power for capitalists, or a vital nurturing flow to give to everybody who is working the possibility of a good life?

-Do we have to invent new controlled moneys?-A sound balance of exchange of wealth (doux

commerce) between nations is the basic rule of prosperity

WORLD EMPLOYMENT CRISIS

If you take the point of view of an inhabitant of an other planet, called Sirius, you could say:

Those guys have invented, by understanding the laws of nature, lots of tools like robots and

computers to work less, and now they complain?

A stupid market and warlike hypercompetition has turned this victory of mankind in an

Pyrrhus defeatWe have to switch to the society of cultural emancipation, but forces refuse this evolution

DEMOGRAPHIC EXPLOSION CRISIS

-This is a kind of tabou question where we have to invent humanized solutions

-Education is a good answer, but very slow in results

-This remains an open democratic question!

THE MOST DRAMATIC ONEIS OUR CLIMATIC CRISIS

-Because of the « No Pavlov effect of direct punishment », like the three blind apes, we don’t want to see reality, creating real dangers to the survival of our planet and humanity

-Following the IPCC/GIEC,we have to diminish our CO2 emissions by 80%

-Therefore, we have to switch from stocks energy (oil, coal) to flow energy (solar)

-Powerfull lobbies, influencing politicians, want to stay in the « business as usual »

-We have the solutions at hand, but the battle will be long, dangerous and uncertain

WE HAVE PLENTY OF ENERGY

TO SAVE THE PLANET

SOLAR ENERGY IS THE FUTURE

-Solar energy provides us everyday with 8000 times more C02 free energy than all what we consume as realy energy gluttonous today

-We have to invent more new tools for a better capture and storage and use of this energy

-In front of this dramatic U turn of our consumer patterns SMALL IS BEAUTIFULL devices are important, but bigg devices like Solar Power Plant will be VITALY ESSENTIAL to succeed in the switch in such a short time

HOW CAN WE NOW TAKE THOSE FIVE U-TURNS

TO PRESERVE OUR CIVILIZATIONS?• A new volontarist World Governance must

urgently be at stake• We must be aware of sabotage of powerful

lobbies influencing politicians• We must allow every civilization to find her

own balance of choices, provided she answers those vital questions

• Ecology is not a bible in the hands of a few, but a steering work to find solutions together

The Role of the European Commission

-The European project is one of the most beautifull we ever invented

But in latin: Qui bene amat, bene castigat: The one who loves also reprimand-The role of the European Parliament must be

enhanced and prevail like in every democratic structure

-The only market economy as steering project for Europe is not enough anymore, and we have to invent a Cultural Emancipation Project as corner stone for our European civilization,to give new dynamic visionary impulses

-Hubert Reeves: To see far is to see soon!

CAN MARKET ECONOMY STEAR OUR CIVILISATIONS?

-MARKET ECONOMY LAYS GOLDEN EGGS, BUT IS A CHICKEN WITHOUT A HEAD (SUBPRIMES)AND WITHOUT A HEART( F.I. IN GREECE)-TODAY,THE POWER OF GREED OF A FIEW DESTROYS NATURE AND HUMAN BEINGS-IN MARKET ECONOMY, NOR MEN, NOR NATURE ARE IN THE CENTER OF THE PREOCCUPATIONS (SCHUMPETER)-A STRONG POLITICAL POWER MUST STEER THIS GREEDY CHICKEN-IT’S THE ECONOMY, STUPID!NO: IT’S A STUPID ECONOMY WE HAVE TO CHANGE!

ITÕS THE ECONOMY, STUPID !

BILL CLINTON, writing in the Financial Times, in the Press section under the title : Capitalism in crisis, of January, 21th, 2012 : WHEN FINANCIAL INTERESTS ARE ALIGNED WITH SOCIAL ONES, WE WILL BE CLOSER TO THE KIND OF WORLD WE WANT ALL OUR CHILDREN TO LIVE IN. FIRST, FROM CENTRAL PARK TO TAHIR SQUARE, PEOPLE ARE STANDING UP AND SAYING THAT FOR TOO MANY CITIZENS, THE CURRENT SYSTEMS ARE NOT WORKINGÉ SECOND, THE FINANCIAL CRISIS HAS MADE CLEAR THAT THE PATH WE ARE ON WAS UNSTABLE AND UNSUSTAINABLE : WHILE OUR GLOBAL ECONOMIC SYSTEM HAS BROUGHT BENEFITS TO MANY, IT HAS ALSO EXACERBAT ED INEQUALITIES, BOTH WITHIN AND AMONG COUNTRIES. TO MUCH INEQUALITIY NOT ONLY HURTS THE POOR AND STIFLES THE DREAMS OF THE MIDDLE CLASS, IT ALSO HINDERS PRODUCTIVITY AND GROWTH. WHAT WE NEED IS INNOVATION, IMAGINATION AND COMMITMENT. BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE US,

Let’s boost the Noospherein order to save the Biosphere!

I THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION

-Sorry, but those problems can’t of course be solved in 40 minutes and a debate

-I propose to organize some more democratic seminars about those questions in our Civic Forum Creatopia at the University of Louvain La Neuve

-Join us to give your democratic answers to those demanding problems 

-eMail : [email protected]