[p2p-research] [OK] Philosophical Underpinnings of the Importance of Collaboration

Tue Jan 12 19:17:04 CET 2010

Lucy,

Thanks for the post. My knowledge of ST is rudimentary at best....

In service of the larger objectives of OK (to connect projects to solve
massive social problems), we are interested in exploring all processes that
might contribute to this.

I'm sure it comes as no surprise that the challenge is not what tools and
infrastructure to build, but how to get people to work together towards
common ends.

We have an evolving notion of an
ecosystem<http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0ASJ9wl9qbZEzZGM0Z2Jnc2pfMTQ4MG5zNjNmY2Rw&hl=en>,
which is obviously a form of a system. If you feel that your research can
contribute to our 'systems' thinking approach and/or can help contribute to
solving interaction problems and foster increased collaboration, then we
encourage you to share your research and to engage.

FYI, research and intelligence will be a part of the longer term strategy
for OK. As you might have seen, we are co-authoring a publication with the
P2P Foundation and the Forward Foundation. We are initially going to be
selective about participation in this project, but it might be opened up as
we move forward.

Regardless, there should be opportunity to make your work visible via OK and
related channels if that's of interest.

Suresh

On Tue, Jan 12, 2010 at 9:24 AM, lucy <lgarrick098 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Suresh,
>
> Interesting philosophical insights.  Are you familiar with the
> principles of systems thinking?  ST is an approach to understanidngg,
> that, I believe,  could be helpful in ascertaining what right action
> is.  The practices help one understand dynamics and complexity of an
> issue.
>
> This is not to say that morality is dynamic, but recognizes that as
> complexity increases the choice for right action is more difficult to
> ascertain.   There are many other principles that can be used to
> consider what is right action, which is different that considering
> what is moral - which is more likely based on beliefs and assumptions.
> Another principle is to recognize that a system's structure generates
> its behavior.  The first step is to define the system because system
> boundaries are arbitrary.  A community could be a system or a person
> can be a system or a community, its collaborativce platform and the
> other communities it interacts with could be a system.  "Structure" in
> this sense is more than physical or virtual or but also can be
> conceptual - things such as policies can be part of a structure.
>
> I've been working on a research project to understand the link between
> individual learning style and aptitude for understanding and
> practicing these principles, but I digress.  If you are interested in
> learning more about the other principles, let me know.
>
> On Jan 11, 9:13 pm, Suresh Fernando <sur... at radical-inclusion.com>
> wrote:
> > See below.
> >
> > On Mon, Jan 11, 2010 at 9:00 PM, Michel Bauwens <michelsub2... at gmail.com
> >wrote:
> >
> > > are you familiar with critical realism .. the only tenable form of
> realism
> > > I think .. worth investigating ...
> >
> > No - will check out.
> >
> >
> >
> > > my opinion is that a focus on the commonality of values around concrete
> > > objectives is a sufficient condition for joint approaches,
> independently of
> > > the full metaphysics of the persons involved ..
> >
> > Sure... I was just trying to provide some rationale for my motivation.
> >
> >
> >
> > > I would also like to choose to see moral realism and moral relativism
> as
> > > polarities ... it's not difficult to see widely contradictory moral
> values
> > > and opinions (gay marriage comes to mind as an example, or honour
> killings,
> > > in some countries it's morally acceptable to attack unfaithful women
> with
> > > acid, in thailand it's morally acceptable for females to cut male
> genitalia
> > > of unfaithful husbands), while it is also possible to come to certain
> moral
> > > agreements across cultures and civilisations; holding on to both the
> > > universal and particular, to the common and to the individual, seems to
> be
> > > the challenge.
> >
> > This is what I am challenging. I am saying that some actions are right
> and
> > others are wrong (period) and the basis for this distinction rests on
> > scientific methodology which, as far as I am concerned, is the only
> rational
> > paradigm of truth. Of course others, religious zealots of all flavoursm
> for
> > example, will have other paradigms of truth. The basis for what is
> > right/wrong will be related to survival (species, individual...).
> >
> > This is also why not dealing with climate change drives me crazy... I
> think
> > it's morally wrong.
> >
> > I am not claiming that science has advanced to the point where we know
> what
> > these right actions are, however. My claim is that it is possible.
> >
> > > On Tue, Jan 12, 2010 at 11:13 AM, Suresh Fernando <
> > > sur... at radical-inclusion.com> wrote:
> >
> > >> Hey Folks,
> >
> > >> In case you need some bed time reading ;-)
> >
> > >> When I say that I believe that we can make this world a better place,
> and
> > >> that we should be sufficiently motivated to do so, I say this because
> I am
> > >> what would be termed a moral realist.<
> http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/moral-realism/>This is to say that I am
> of the opinion that there are certain actions that
> > >> are *objectively *right and hence that we ought to do them. What those
> > >> are exactly is another story ;-). This view is to be contrasted with
> moral
> > >> relativism <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/moral-relativism/>.
> >
> > >> The sense in which we can come to know that certain actions are
> *right*is a position grounded in a transcendentally
> > >> idealistic <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcendental_idealism>
> view on
> > >> the structure of knowledge that contrasts with a scientifically
> realistic
> > >> <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/scientific-realism/>perspective,
> and
> > >> is outlined in a paper that I wrote entitled The Visibility of Moral
> > >> Facts <http://docs.google.com/View?id=dc4gbgsj_208cg9z5qc5>.
> >
> > >> I also believe that right action is intrinsically tied to the
> relationship
> > >> between our reflexive (self conscious) nature and our *survival within
> > >> communities*. I advance an argument to this effect in a paper entitled
> The
> > >> Structure of Identity.<
> http://docs.google.com/View?id=dc4gbgsj_900fjd2xmcz>
> >
> > >> Hence, for me, there are certain things as rational thinking beings
> that
> > >> we ought to do (even if we don't as a species know what they are) and
> there
> > >> is a connection between what they are and community.
> >
> > >> If you can make the connection between community and collaboration,
> you
> > >> can get a better idea for why developing collaborative frameworks and
> > >> processes is vitally important for me.
> >
> > >> Unfortunately, my musings tell me nothing about what those right
> actions
> > >> actually are...  ;-)
> >
> > >> --
> > >> Suresh Fernando
> > >> WEBSITE:http://radical-inclusion.com
> > >> WEBSITE:http://wiki.openkollab.com
> > >> BLOG:http://sureshfernando.wordpress.com
> > >> TWITTER:http://twitter.com/sureshf
> > >> FACEBOOK: facebook.com/suresh.fernando
> > >> 604-889-8167
> >
> > >> --
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> >
> > >> .
> > >> For more options, visit this group at
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> >
> > > --
> > > Work:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhurakij_Pundit_University- Think
> > > thank:http://www.asianforesightinstitute.org/index.php/eng/The-AFI
> >
> > > P2P Foundation:http://p2pfoundation.net -http://blog.p2pfoundation.net
> >
> > > Connect:http://p2pfoundation.ning.com;Discuss:
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> >
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> >
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> >
> > > .
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> >
> > --
> > Suresh Fernando
> > WEBSITE:http://radical-inclusion.com
> > WEBSITE:http://wiki.openkollab.com
> > BLOG:http://sureshfernando.wordpress.com
> > TWITTER:http://twitter.com/sureshf
> > FACEBOOK: facebook.com/suresh.fernando
> > 604-889-8167
>
> --
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>

-- 
Suresh Fernando
WEBSITE: http://radical-inclusion.com
WEBSITE: http://wiki.openkollab.com
BLOG: http://sureshfernando.wordpress.com
TWITTER: http://twitter.com/sureshf
FACEBOOK: facebook.com/suresh.fernando
604-889-8167
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