We can seek to control the world by reducing it to component parts we feel safe with, relying on our propositional knowledge and outdated assumptions about the nature of rationality. Or, we can let go of control and draw on the liminal perception of the right hemisphere, embracing a participatory knowing the extends beyond ourselves and into the wo... See more

Given this understanding that "control" is at best an illusion and at worst a devastating violence to living systems, the question that Bateson was asking is: How does change happen? How does a family change? How does a marriage change? How does an ecosystem change? How does a culture change?

An understanding of living systems reveals that change c... See more

At best, a system combines efforts with other systems to help us reach desired targets. At worst, an errant component within a system creates problems that manifest themselves chaotically, chronically, and often subversively, contributing to the feeling that one is not in proper control of one’s life. That out-of-control feeling is not rare: Many p

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