Kerr, Donald wrote:
>
> Is living in the now the ultimate aim of "Holistic" thinking? The "cause
> and effect" of the about events may be seen differently in the short-term
> vs. the long-term. In the now, they are seen simply as "is."
>
I like the way you put this.
Augustine said only the present is. Past and future exist only as parts of
the present!
A more recent philosopher, C. I. Lewis, who had a strong influence on
Shewhart and Deming, built his knowledge theory based on a similar
position. The foundation of every knowledge is experience which, in
itself, cannot be described. To describe experience, think about it, and
communicate it to others, we apply concepts, and thus create the past. But
the purpose of our thought is to guide action, anticipating the
consequences of our acts, and thus we also create future. The quality of
all knowledge of past and future lies in its relation to the present
moment, to experience!
Thus, I liked very much the idea that "holistic" thinking is related to
being in the now, not a narrow/selfish/blind now, but a now connected to a
perception of our wholeness.
-- Durval Muniz de Castro durval@ia.cti.br Fundacao Centro Tecnologico para Informatica http://www.ia.cti.br/ Campinas - Brasil Phone: 55-19-2401011 Fax: 55-19-2402029Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>