Rock Your Worldview

I recently had the opportunity to read a rock-your-world type of book in which paradox is a major theme. It is written by my friend, Steve Rosen, Emeritus Professor of Psychology, College of Staten Island/City University of New York, who has spent much of his life writing about paradox. His other books are listed below, with links. The newest one, however, invites (and might I say “convinces”) the reader to alter her worldview in a necessary and radical way. Generations before ours, for example, had to alter their worldview from an earth-centered one to a heliocentric one. The task for our generation, I believe, is to shift from a separatist worldview in which there are objects in space before perceiving subjects to one in which there is dynamic interpenetration of subject, object, and space. We need to see that we are not separate beings struggling against one another for scarce resources; instead we are profoundly interconnected both with other beings and with those very resources. This book helps us make that shift by providing a philosophical and physical grounding for this new perspective. So I asked Steve to give us a glimpse of what his latest book is about, and here’s what he said.

I’m writing to tell lovers of paradox about a new book of mine called The Self-Evolving Cosmos (to be put out in the spring by World Scientific Publishing Company). In this work, I offer a fruitfully paradoxical way of thinking about two significant problems confronting modern theoretical physics: the unification of the forces of nature and the evolution of the universe. In bringing out the inadequacies of the prevailing approach to these questions, I demonstrate the need for more than just a new theory. The meanings of space and time themselves need to be radically rethought, and this requires a whole new philosophical foundation. To that end, I turn to the phenomenological writings of Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Martin Heidegger. Their paradoxical insights into space and time bring the natural world to life in a manner well suited to the dynamic phenomena of contemporary physics.

In order to align continental thought with problems in physics and cosmology, I make use of topology. Conventionally speaking, this is the branch of mathematics that concerns itself with the properties of geometric figures that stay the same when the figures are stretched or deformed. But there are certain such figures that fly in the face of convention. One topological family in particular turns out to be especially helpful in addressing nature’s evolution and force unification: the Moebius strip, Klein bottle, and their relatives. I have discovered that if you give these enigmatic forms a phenomenological twist and apply them to physics, what comes to light is the interplay of several dialectically interwoven and co-evolving space-time dimensions—the very dimensions involved in unifying nature’s forces and fields in the evolving cosmos.

I am suggesting in general then, that the fusion of physics and philosophy through topological paradox provides novel solutions to some of physics’ deepest theoretical problems. Take as an example the important concept of symmetry. In formulating their cosmological theories, mathematical physicists put symmetry first, building it into their equations on a very deep level. They then try to account for the evolution of the universe by assuming that symmetry somehow is broken, though it is never made entirely clear how this happens. What I show in my book is that the privileging of symmetry is precisely what blocks full understanding of cosmic evolution. As an alternative, I propose the notion of “synsymmetry”: the paradoxical synthesis of symmetry and asymmetry. This idea can be illustrated by considering the relationship between the Moebius strip and the Klein bottle.

At a local cross-section of the Moebius, two distinct sides can be identified, the sides being asymmetric mirror-images of each other. But when the whole length of the surface is taken into account, opposing sides melt into one another to form a single-sided surface. Through this union of opposites, the initial asymmetry is superseded. And yet, while symmetry has been brought to the sides of the Moebius, we now discover that the Moebius strip itself, taken as a whole, is not symmetric. It comes in two mirror-opposed forms, one twisted clockwise, the other counterclockwise. The existence of asymmetric opposition at this new level provides the impetus for a new resolution: oppositely oriented Moebius strips merge to form the Klein bottle. Does the process now end with the establishment of Moebius symmetry? Not at all, since, like the Moebius, the Klein bottle is also asymmetric and possesses a mirror opposite. What we generally have here is an open-ended process that favors neither symmetry nor asymmetry, for every union of opposites that establishes symmetry at the very same time creates new asymmetry!

I propose that this is the way the cosmos evolves. Mainstream theoretical physics insists that the laws of nature must be understood mathematically as invariances or symmetries. The effect of this is to preclude intrinsic evolutionary process so that change must be assumed to come from some mysterious external source (e.g., “spontaneous” symmetry breaking). But in a self-evolving cosmos, the evolution of nature is grasped in terms of laws that are synsymmetric. Here change arises inherently from the paradoxical interplay of symmetry and asymmetry.

Perhaps the most challenging paradox of the self-evolving cosmos is that its description must include the self that describes—the theorist, the analyst, the one who writes these words. This is what the radically recursive phenomena of contemporary physics seem to call for. Physics and cosmogony involve primordial actions in which observer and observed or subject and object inseparably fuse. It therefore seems futile for the analyst of these processes to continue in the classical posture of a detached subject before whom objects are cast. Approaching the phenomena on their own terms, the analyst must enter into them with his or her subjectivity. No longer can s/he remain a disinterested bystander, for her active presence is required to complete the analysis in a concrete way. In ending my book, I explore the need for such a self-referential or reflexive physics. As the exploration proceeds, my writing itself becomes self-referential and, in a paradoxical fashion, I enter into my own text.

Other books by Steve Rosen:

Topologies of the Flesh: A Multidimensional Exploration of the Lifeworld

Dimensions of Apeiron: A Topological Phenomenology of Space, Time, and Individuation

Science, Paradox, and the Moebius Principle

The Moebius Seed

also see an article “Radical Recursion” on the internet

Gift and Market Economy

I was at a marketing seminar last week (www.freepublicity.com) and was struck by the realization that the most powerful part of the course for me was our participation in a gift economy. The leader had us introduce ourselves by telling who we were, what we did, what we needed, and what we had to offer. Participants who were ostensibly looking for ways to get products and services out and noticed by the market economy (ie, you pay me money for what I have to offer) actually connected more deeply with each other by offering their services as a gift to each other, out of the love of sharing. So, here we were at a marketing course learning about techniques and strategies for material success but finding out on the side that giving is actually more rewarding and longer lasting. If I just buy a book or a product from you, our exchange is very short. However, giving you something creates relatedness that lasts far beyond that exchange; it's like we're connected more deeply now, not just symbolically through the exchange of money. It comes from the heart rather than the head.

Soon we're going to start a gift economy with my book, because I describe and paint a picture of a gift economy in it. I'll give more details when the time is nearer.

From Paradox to Wholeness

I give a PowerPoint presentation entitled "From Paradox to Wholeness" (the next one is June 18 in Chicago. See the website.). The premise is that in order to truly get to wholeness, one must embrace paradox not just as an abstract concept but as the paradox that you are. How do you do that? Follow me into a fascinating world...

Notice what Rene Magritte thought such a world would look like.

It is day and night at the same time. Granted, such a world wouldn't really exist, but let's think of areas in life where opposites or contraries do occur in your life. For example, have you ever been happy and sad at the same time? Among sailors, they say that the day you sell your boat is the happiest and saddest day of your life. What other opposite pairs apply to humans?
Dead and alive
Spirit and matter
Here and there
Male and female

Let's look at the last one. When you look at yourself in the mirror, you certainly don't see two genders. In fact, most of the time, we identify with the one seen in the mirror. Consider, however, that you are both male and female even though only one is physically manifested. What does that imply? It means that there might be a large part of your self that you have been denying or repressing. It means that you have a lot more useful qualities and characteristics that you can tap into to help you deal with situations in your life. For example, if you are generally very logical and intellectual, you can consciously access your more emotional side. Since we all have an emotional side, what's the big deal? Well, if it is simply being reactivated or triggered as a response, it might not be serving your best interests. When you can consciously and intentionally draw upon your emotions, they can serve you well.

I have also noticed that frequently our unmanifested gender has some kind of issue with the manifested gender or vice versa. For example, one's unmanifested male might be a misogynist or one's unmanifested female might be terrified of men. Again, that doesn't leave you in a powerful place to approach relationships with others. When you can recognize and heal the dysfunction between your own sides, it leaves you in a better space from which to deal with others.

"Knowing that you are both male and female, you get to choose which to manifest. When you know all that you are, in your bothness, intending is nothing other than choice."
--The One That Is Both, p. 173

So, if you are feeling brave, try this exercise to get to know your unmanifested gender.

Close your eyes and picture what your unmanifested gender looks like. Is s/he tall or short; blonde or brunette, redhead or gray; sweet and docile or feisty; a warrior or a sage; cheery or dour; what ethnicity; what age?

What does your unmanifest self think of your manifest self?

What did you notice?

Why Paradox Playground?

For years I have been delighted with paradoxes--moreso the visual paradoxes of M.C. Escher and Rene Magritte than the verbal paradoxes, such as the liar's paradox. I take the Moebius strip and the Klein bottle as representative of the type of both/and-ness that I see in the world. Whereas most of science and philosophy seek to eliminate paradox or fix it so that what seems like a paradox can be shown to really be consistent, I seek to embrace it. Indeed, that is how we can get to wholeness, because the whole does include all the pieces, even if they be seemingly contradictory.

By cultivating a mindset that embraces paradox, I think we humans will be better able to cope with our modern "problems." We won't be tempted to see the world in terms of black and white, good guys and bad guys, left and right, Us and Them. By embracing paradox we will see the connectedness inherent in those types of oppositions.

So, in the coming weeks, I will use this space to ponder some interesting ideas I have come across recently. In the mean time, look for the irony in your life.

Welcome

Blogging is new to me, so bear with me as I get my feet wet. The intention for this blog is to share what I have been reading, thinking about, discovering, and writing as I continually research my next book. What is that? you may wonder... I am currently writing a workbook/guidebook/playbook to accompany The One That Is Both. This book will expand the ideas in the novel and provide activities to make the (sometimes) abstract concepts more real and applicable to your life.