Geology Reference
In-Depth Information
hard to predict the outcome of interactions in even simple non-linear systems, because
slight changes in initial conditions mean that after just a short time the system can eas-
ily find itself in a totally different state—a bat flapping its wings in England could in
theory lead to a tropical storm in the Amazon. If we cannot predict the exact nature of
emergent properties, and if small changes can have unforeseeable and potentially dra-
matic outcomes, we have to accept the possibly uncomfortable conclusion that nature
is inherently unpredictable and uncontrollable. Indeed, systems thinking suggests that
the metaphor of control is the wrong basis on which to build a fruitful relationship with
nature—participation is clearly more appropriate, and is in fact the only available op-
tion. In order to participate fully and properly we need to use quantitative methods ap-
propriately, but we also need to develop a deep, intuitive sensitivity to the qualities of
things. So what is intuition, and how can it be developed in the practice of holistic sci-
ence?
Both conventional and holistic sciences are utterly dependent on intuition, for
without it there would be no raw insights for the rational mind to work on and develop.
Aristotle provides a classic example of how intuition works in science through what he
called “direct induction”, when he talks about the realisation that the light of the moon
does not come from within the moon itself, but is in fact the reflected light of the sun.
The dawning of this insight in him typifies the way in which intuition suddenly presents
consciousness with a new way of seeing, often after the thinking mind has activated the
unconscious through a concentrated focusing of attention on a phenomenon or on a giv-
en problem. Despite its importance, conventional science makes no effort to cultivate
intuition as part of its methodology—it is seldom discussed, and its occurrence is mostly
left to chance.
In holistic science there is an attempt to cultivate intuition as much as thinking, sen-
sation and feeling. In cultivating intuition, many radical holistic scientists use a meth-
odology which has been largely attributed to the German poet and scientist Johann
Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), but which in fact can be traced back several centur-
ies before him to Ficino and Paracelsus, and before them to the Hermetic tradition. In
this method, careful attention is paid to the phenomenon being studied through a process
of active looking , without attempting to reduce the experience to quantities or explan-
ations. For Henri Bortoft, active looking involves the “redeployment of attention into
sense perception and away from the verbal-intellectual mind”. In this way of seeing, one
makes an effort to notice the specific details of the thing in all their particularities as
they appear to the senses. If this works as it should, one can experience the suspension
of one's preconceived notions and habitual responses about the thing being perceived,
so that its exact sensorial qualities enliven and deepen perception. This allows the phe-
nomenon, as Bortoft says, “to coin itself into thought”, and “to induce itself in the think-
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