Anaxagoras - the mind causes all things

In the Phaedo, Socrates says ....

• “Then one day I heard a man reading from a book, as he said, by Anaxagoras, [97c] that it is the mind that arranges and causes all things. I was pleased with this theory of cause, and it seemed to me to be somehow right that the mind should be the cause of all things, and I thought, 'If this is so, the mind in arranging things arranges everything and establishes each thing as it is best for it to be'. 
• So if anyone wishes to find the cause of the generation or destruction or existence of a particular thing, he must find out what sort of existence, or passive state of any kind, or activity is best for it."
•  Plato, Phaedo, section 97c
• As I considered these things I was delighted to think that I had found in Anaxagoras a teacher of the cause of things
•   Plato, Phaedo, section 97d 
• [98b] So I thought when he assigned the cause of each thing and of all things in common he would go on and explain what is best for each and what is good for all in common.
•   Plato, Phaedo, section 98b

in: Plato in Twelve Volumes, Vol. 1 translated by Harold North Fowler; Introduction by W.R.M. Lamb. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1966. 1925

Plato - Unwritten Doctrines

Giovanni Reale wrote in his History of Ancient Philosophy (1992):

• ... the writings have not been for Plato the full expression or the most important communication of his thought, and therefore the reading and the interpretation of the dialogues are to be reassessed through a new vision. (p. 8)
• We are hence able ... to understand why so great a writer could be convinced of the limited character of the communicative function of writing; and therefore we are finally in a position to interpret his self-testimony contained in the Phaedrus in a correct manner .. (p. 9)
• ... Aristotle himself has told us that these teachings that Plato communicated only in oral discussions were called the Unwritten Doctrines (aàgrafa dógmata). (p. 14)

Reale, Giovanni (1990) A History of ancient philosophy. Vol.2 Plato and Aristotle. Translation of: Storia della filosofia antica, 5th edition. Edited and translated  by John R. Catan. Albany (NY): State University of New York Press.

Socrates on "absolute beauty" ...

In the Phaedo, Socrates is quoted as follows ....

• “Then,” said he, “see if you agree with me in the next step. I think that if anything is beautiful besides absolute beauty it is beautiful for no other reason than because it partakes of absolute beauty; and this applies to everything. Do you assent to this view of cause?”  
• Plato, Phaedo, section 100c
• in: Plato in Twelve Volumes, Vol. 1 translated by Harold North Fowler; Introduction by W.R.M. Lamb. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1966. 1925

Reflect about how this relates with "responsibilty for what we know" by taking into consideration new ways of interpreting Plato, for example that proposed by Bernard Suzanne here: http://plato-dialogues.org/plato.htm

Why responsible? EvG 2002

In 2002 Ernst von Glasersfeld wrote in his obituary for Heinz von Förster:

• Heinz put the new view into a nutshell: «Objectivity is the delusion that observations could be made without an observer.» Instead of worrying about an inaccessible external reality he focused attention on the world we build in the course of interactions with others in the domain of our experience. 
• Though this experiential world is a social construction, it is also individual because each constructs it according to his or her own experience. And because there is always more than one way of constructing, we are all responsible for the world in which we live.
• In Memoriam H.v.F., http://www.oikos.org/foerster.htm

How do we know? EvG 1996

In 1996 Ernst von Glasersfeld wrote:

• The concept of knowledge is thus actually changing. Traditional philosophy was forever searching for timeless truths that would be independent of the thinking subject. With the spreading of the Kantian insight that what we rationally grasp is always what human reason builds up according to its own rules, interest has been growing in how this building-up proceeds. And this is the area in which we celebrate Heinz von Foerster as a pioneer. 
• There can be no final answers in this area but only models that, for the time being, satisfy our demands. Hence he reminds us that the responsibility for the world we conceptually construct and enact rests with us.
• Farewell to objectivity (Revised and expanded English version of 136) . Systems Research 13(3): 279–286.

Knowledge: making sense of experience - EvG 1990

In 1990 Ernst von Glasersfeld wrote:

• If the view is adopted that “knowledge” is the conceptual means to make sense of experience, rather than a “representation” of something that is supposed to lie beyond it, this shift of perspective brings with it an important corollary: the concepts and relations in terms of which we perceive and conceive the experiential world we live in are necessarily generated by ourselves. In this sense it is we who are responsible for the world we are experiencing.
• As I have reiterated many times, radical constructivism does not suggest that we can construct anything we like, but it does claim that within the constraints that limit our construction there is room for an infinity of alternatives. 
• It therefore does not seem untimely to suggest a theory of knowing that draws attention to the knower’s responsibility for what the knower constructs.
• An exposition of constructivism: Why some like it radical . In: R. B. Davis, C. A. Maher & N. Noddings (ed.) Monographs of the J. for Research in Mathematics Education, #4. Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, pp. 19–29.

Man alone is responsible for his thinking - EvG 1984

In 1984 Ernst von Glasersfeld wrote:

• "Indeed, one need not enter very far into constructivist thought to realize that it inevitably leads to the contention that man – and man alone – is responsible for his thinking, his knowledge and, therefore, also for what he does."
• "Today, when behaviorists are still intent on pushing all responsibility into the environment, and sociobiologists are trying to place much of it into genes, a doctrine may well seem uncomfortable if it suggests that we have no one but ourselves to thank for the world in which we appear to be living. (p. 17)
  
• "An introduction to radical constructivism" , in P. Watzlawick (ed.) The invented reality. New York: Norton 1984: 17–40.

From Awareness to Free Will

E. Spittle (2005) writes about the principle of Consciousness according to Sidney Banks:

• "What was very helpful to me was seeing that Consciousness is awareness of  and how we create experience. That opened a new door of understanding for me. Being aware of experience on an external level is helpful, but being aware of how we create experience is the true gift. Here is where free will comes into play, giving us the opportunity to make choices." 
• "Then I had an insight about how it was my thinking that was creating my feelings. I became conscious of the principles in action. My ability to think created my reality; my ability to be conscious of that process allowed me to change my reality."
• from: Wisdom for Life: Three Principles for Well-being. p. 15-16.

Einstein 1954 - one great mistake in my life

According to R. Clark, in November 1954 - five months before his death - Einstein said:

• "I made one great mistake in my life... when I signed the letter to President Roosevelt recommending that atom bombs be made; but there was some justification - the danger that the Germans would make them." quoted in Ronald Clark, Einstein: The Life and Times, pg. 752 

Source: http://www.doug-long.com/einstein.htm

Letter: Letter from Albert Einstein to President Franklin D. Roosevelt: 08/02/1939.

Two old italian disputes

In the Middle Age disputations "offered a formalized method of debate designed to uncover and establish truths in theology and in sciences" (Wikipedia).

Bonvesin de la Riva, a Milanese writer and teacher of the 13th century, wrote some of them, for example (in old Western Lombard language):

• Disputatio rosae cum viola - rose and violet debate about who is more beautiful
• Disputatio musce cum formica.- fly and ant debate about who is more valuable

End of an experiential world

Ernst von Glasersfeld, an internationally influential cybernetician, originator and developer of Radical Constructivism, died last Friday (Nov. 12th at 7 am EST) at the age of 93 in Amherst (Massachusetts) or, in his own words "entered the eternal skislopes". An obituary will follow on the pages of OIKOS (http://www.oikos.org/psicen.htm) and ASC (http://www.asc-cybernetics.org).

Our acquaintance began in Spring 1985: Ernst called me from Athens (Georgia) on my private phone number in Zürich, Universitätstrasse 17. He had received my "Research Report Nr. 1". From here, during the following 25 years, a beautiful relationship developed, during which he became my best friend and my ideal master.

In a certain sense I also died now with him but at the same time also "entered a new lifeslope".

One year ago, right on the same day, von Glasersfeld had received in the City Hall of Vienna the medal of honour in gold of the city of Vienna and given in the Festsaal the opening talk of the 4th Intern. Heinz von Förster-Congress.

"Constructivism makes life so much nicer and easier because you lose the urge to be right" he said in 2005 at a congress in Vienna; would be nice if we could transfer this to economy, politics, education and everyday life: away from the usual eristic dialectics towards more and more dialogue.

Ende einer Erfahrungswelt

Ernst von Glasersfeld, Begründer des Radikalen Konstruktivismus, ist am vergangenen Freitag (12. November um 13 Uhr MEZ) im Alter von 93 Jahre in Amherst (Massachusetts) gestorben oder, wie er sagte, "in die ewigen Skipisten eingefahren". Nachrufe z.B. in der FAZ  oder der Standard, Wien.

Unsere Bekanntschaft begann im Frühjahr 1985: Ernst rief mich aus Athens (Georgia, USA) an, auf meiner privaten Telefonnummer in Zürich, Universitätsstrasse 17. Er hatte mein "Research Report Nr. 1" erhalten ... In den folgenden 25 Jahren entwickelte sich daraus eine sehr schöne Beziehung, für mich wurde er mein bester Freund und vorbildlicher Meister.

In gewisser Weise bin auch ich jetzt mit ihm gestorben und zugleich in einer neuen Lebenspiste "eingefahren".

Auf den Tag genau vor einem Jahr hatte von Glasersfeld im Rathaus von Wien die Ehrenmedaille der Stadt Wien in Gold erhalten und im grossen Festsaal mit einem Vortrag den 4. Heinz von Förster Kongress eröffnet.

"Der Konstruktivismus macht das Leben so viel schöner und einfacher weil man den Drang Recht zu haben verliert." sagte von Glasersfeld an einem Kongress in 2005 (am 26.9.2010 in diesem Blog erwähnt...); wäre schön, wenn wir das auf Wirtschft, Politik, Wissenschaft, Bildung und Alltag übertragen könnten: weg von der gewohnten Eristik und hin zu mehr Dialog.

Ziel der Wissenschaft

Bertolt Brecht, Leben des Galilei, Frankfurt a/M: Suhrkamp Verlag, edition suhrkamp 1, 1975, 18. Auflage, S.125:

• "GALILEI: Ich halte dafür, dass das einzige Ziel der Wissenschaft darin besteht, die Mühseligkeit der menschlichen Existenz zu erleichtern."

The choice is ours ...

In the Introduction to "Wisdom for Life: Three Principles for Well-being" Elsie Spittle writes about the Three Principles discovered by Sydney Banks:

• The principle of Mind is universal creative energy. Consciousness is the ability to be aware of this power and to understand how experience is created. Thought is the capacity to draw on this energy in order to create our experience of reality. We can use this power to create a vast spectrum of experiences, from joy to depression, from contentment to discontent, and from faith to fear. The choice is ours and does not depend on external circumstances." (2005, p.11)

See also: http://www.3phd.net/index.html

Begriff Verantwortung - Biblionetz

Beat Döbeli bietet auf seinem Biblionetz eine interessante Sammlung zum Begriff "Verantwortung"

• http://beat.doebe.li/bibliothek/w00005.html

Der Spruch von Heinz von Förster:

• "Wissen bedeutet Verantwortung"

steht im Buch Sicht und Einsicht im Text Die Verantwortung des Experten (1971) auf Seite 23.

Visual phenomena sites

... suggested by Pascal:

• Michael Bach, prof. Univ. of Freiburg (D)  
• http://www.michaelbach.de/ot/
• http://www.uniklinik-freiburg.de/augenklinik/live/homede/mit/bach_en.html
  
• Sandro Del Prete, a Swiss artist: 
• http://www.sandrodelprete.com/
• http://www.illusorialand.ch/index.php?lang=en