an integral approach to relationality an integral approach to relationality this presentation builds...
TRANSCRIPT
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An Integral Approach
to Relationality
Mark EdwardsGraduate School of Management
University of Western Australia
© Mark Edwards, 2006
For further information regarding this presentation contact Mark Edwards at [email protected]
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““““Not till we are lost, in other words, not till we have lost the Not till we are lost, in other words, not till we have lost the Not till we are lost, in other words, not till we have lost the Not till we are lost, in other words, not till we have lost the world, world, world, world,
do we begin to do we begin to do we begin to do we begin to find ourselvesfind ourselvesfind ourselvesfind ourselves, and realize , and realize , and realize , and realize where we arewhere we arewhere we arewhere we are
and the infinite extent of our relations" and the infinite extent of our relations" and the infinite extent of our relations" and the infinite extent of our relations"
Henry David ThoreauHenry David ThoreauHenry David ThoreauHenry David Thoreau
Agape, or Compassion, Agape, or Compassion, Agape, or Compassion, Agape, or Compassion, ………… tttthhhheeee pppprrrriiiinnnncccciiiipppplllleeee ooooffff eeeemmmmbbbbooooddddiiiimmmmeeeennnntttt,,,,
and bodily incarnation, and relationship, and relational and and bodily incarnation, and relationship, and relational and and bodily incarnation, and relationship, and relational and and bodily incarnation, and relationship, and relational and
manifest embrace, touching each and every being with perfect andmanifest embrace, touching each and every being with perfect andmanifest embrace, touching each and every being with perfect andmanifest embrace, touching each and every being with perfect and
equal grace, rejecting nothing, embracing all.equal grace, rejecting nothing, embracing all.equal grace, rejecting nothing, embracing all.equal grace, rejecting nothing, embracing all.
(K.W., The Simple Feeling of Being, p. 81)(K.W., The Simple Feeling of Being, p. 81)(K.W., The Simple Feeling of Being, p. 81)(K.W., The Simple Feeling of Being, p. 81)
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An Integral Approach to Relationality
This presentation builds on the principles of Ken Wilber’s
integral philosophy to graphically represent social relationships and, in particular, the relationship between
“I” and “You” (2nd person relationality).
Types of relationships considered here are:
1. Singular and plural relationships between 1st, 2nd, and 3rd persons (perspectival relationality).
2. Ecological relationships between human individuals and social groups (micro-meso-macro
relationality).
3. Mediated relationships between individuals and
groups (sociogenetic relationality).
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An Integral Approach to Relationality
“The connections continue. Notice that every ‘I’ is in relationship with other I’s, which means that every ‘I’ is a member of numerous we’s. These ‘we’s’represent not just individual but group (or collective) consciousness, not just subjective but intersubjective awareness” (KW, IOS Basic, 2005, p. 18)
1. How can we represent relationality between holons and perspectives?
Although with singular and plural forms the "three persons" gives us six perspectives, for most purposes, those condense down into 4 fundamental perspectives: I, we, it, and its. (Kosmos Vol. 2, Excerpt C, para. 59)
2. How can we show micro-meso-macro relationships?
The micro is in relational exchange with the macro at all levels of its depth. (“Twenty Tenets”, SES, p.73)
3. How can we graphically explore an integral approach to exchange relations?
Each level in the human being is a process of relational exchange with a corresponding environment. (SG, p. 56)
An Integral Approach to Relationality
“The connections continue. Notice that every ‘I’ is in relationship with other I’s, which means that every ‘I’ is a member of numerous we’s. These ‘we’s’represent not just individual but group (or collective) consciousness, not just subjective but intersubjective awareness” (KW, IOS Basic, 2005, p. 18)
1. How can we represent relationality between holons and perspectives?
Although with singular and plural forms the "three persons" gives us six perspectives, for most purposes, those condense down into 4 fundamental perspectives: I, we, it, and its. (Kosmos Vol. 2, Excerpt C, para. 59)
2. How can we show micro-meso-macro relationships?
The micro is in relational exchange with the macro at all levels of its depth. (“Twenty Tenets”, SES, p.73)
3. How can we graphically explore an integral approach to exchange relations?
Each level in the human being is a process of relational exchange with a corresponding environment. (SG, p. 56)
© Mark Edwards, 2006
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“The important point is that when I engage in hermeneutics and collaborative inquiry, I am lighting up the second-person (and first-person plural) modes of being-in-the-world. Those modes are real, they are there, and they constitute a crucial ingredient in any integral methodological pluralism.”
“All of those intersubjective approaches--there are literally dozens of others--are tapping into the fact that all holons have a Lower-Left quadrant, a holistic web of mutually interpenetrating prehensions across space and time that can be felt and described in a second-person (and first-person plural) perspective.”
(KW, Kosmos trilogy Vol. 2, Excerpt A)
Second-Person Modes of Being in the World
© Mark Edwards, 2006
Relationality is fundamentally about:
6Relationality involves “two or more …”
As the following definition says, relationality is:
i) The way in which one person or thing is connected with another.ii) A logical or natural association between two or more things. iii) The mutual dealings or connections of persons, groups, or nations in social,
business, or diplomatic matters. (American Heritage Dictionary)
An integral vision-logic of relationalityHow can we apply the AQAL framework to graphically represent all the quadrants, levels, lines, dynamics and perspectives involved in power relations, mediating processes, personal relationships, workplace relations, communication, etc.?
communication
governance
identity
power
love
war
media
conflict
mediation
relationship
intersubjectivityLL LRLL LR
UL URUL UR
© Mark Edwards, 2006
How can we show relationality using Quadrants and the “I-We-It-Its” Model of Perspectives ?
Plural perspectives
(Macro-level)
Singularperspectives
(Micro-level)
1st Person
© Mark Edwards, 2006
“We”
“I”
3rd Person
Where is the 2nd person
(singular & plural)
Where are the 1st person exteriors (“My/Our behaviour”)?
Where are the 3rd person interiors
(“His/Her intentions/feelings”)?
“They”
“He/She/It”
This is how!: The Six Basic Perspectives Where each holon has four quadrants
As Wilber puts it:“… with singular and plural forms the "three persons" gives us six perspectives …”
(Kosmos Vol. 2, Excerpt C, para. 59)
“There are not different holons in the four quadrants; the four quadrants are the four
dimensions of every holon.” (Kosmos Vol. 2, Excerpt C, para. 57)
Plural perspectives(Macro-level)
Singularperspectives(Micro-level)
1st Person 3rd Person
“We/Us”
2nd Person
“They”
“He/She/It”“You”
“You(s)”
“I/Me”
The between space
of relational exchange
© Mark Edwards, 2006
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Multilevel Scale of Focus
The Individual-Collective (Micro-Macro) Dimension
Interior Exterior
Individual Collective
Agency-Communion is a
qualitative dimension of
each and every holon.
monad dyad team org. unit organisation
singular – individual holon triad
plural - collective holons
industry economy
Micro-Level Holon Meso-Level Holons Macro-Level Holons
Micro-Macro Link
Communion(of one holon)
Agency(of one holon)Individual-Collective is a
“multilevel” dimension linking
micro, meso, and macro
holons, i.e. singular and plural.
© Mark Edwards, 2006
Both the interior-exterior
dimension and the agency-
communion dimension
describe the same holon
Using the Individual-Collective
dimension to describe ecological
relations between holons allows
us to represent holons separately
(see below)
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The Integral Holon(for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd person perspectives of
individual and collective holons)
ME
Both individual ANDcollective holons have UL and LL quadrants
Both individual ANDcollective holons have UR and LR quadrants
Agency
ExteriorInterior
Consciousnessis
Interior Agency
Cultureis
Interior Communion
Behaviouris
Exterior Agency
Social Structure is
Exterior Communion
Communion© Mark Edwards, 2006
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Why is this organisation so successful?
effective organisation’s structure
its communications and IT systems
its production systems
transparent financial systems
THE ORGANISATION’S COLLECTIVE SOCIAL SYSTEM
its business culture is in touch with community needs
has a culture of success and corporate responsibility
it provides meaningful work
its collective skill & knowledge base
innovative leadership
progressive management skills
planning and goal setting
THE ORGANISATION’S COLLECTIVE BEHAVIOUR (OB)
THE ORGANISATION’S COLLECTIVE CULTURE
its sense of identity
its collective ideals, vision and spirit
the organisation’smythos & archetypes
THE ORGANISATION’S COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUSNESS
© Mark Edwards, 2006
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Why is this employee so successful?
his extrinsic incentives
his specific skills
his behavioural efficiency
interpersonal behaviour
THIS EMPLOYEE’S EXTERIOR BEHAVIOURAL IDENTITY
his dedication to the job
his experience of work
his intrinsic motivation
his intention to work well
THIS EMPLOYEE’S INTERIOR CONSCIOUSNESS
(INTENTIONAL IDENTITY)
he’s a “good worker”
his system of working
his workplace role
he likes the male role of “earner”
THIS EMPLOYEE’S EXTERIOR SOCIAL IDENTITY
he finds work meaningful
his cultural background
his personal values
his industrious worldview
THIS EMPLOYEE’S INTERIORCULTURAL IDENTITY
© Mark Edwards, 2006
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1. The “Space Between” #1 The Individual-Collective Dimension and Multi-Level Research in Organisational Studies
2. The “Space Between” #2 The Six Perspectives and Basic Methodologies
3. The “Space Between” #3Relationality through mediation
Relationality in Organisations
(“The space between”)
Mediating Factors: power, language, tools,
cultural artefacts
The micro-levels of individual relationships
The meso-world of group relations
The macro-world of organisational relations
© Mark Edwards, 2006
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an integral view of an industry
The “Space Between” #1 The Individual-Collective Dimension and Multi-Level Research in
Organisational Studies (ecological holarchy – spatial relations)
The whole AQAL framework can be applied at any point on the micro-meso-macro scale (integral multilevel theory).
an integral view of an employee
an integral view of a team
an integral view of a department
an integral view of the organisation
What is needed is a way of coupling theories and research at different levels into a meaningful whole. We need mechanisms that help us conceptualise complex relations
between units at different levels of analysis … in organisational settings. (House, et al, 1995, p.86)
“The space between”
(e.g. conversation)The space between (e.g.
mediation)
The space between (e.g.
power, status, &
authority relations)
© Mark Edwards, 2006
The “Space Between” #2: Perspectives and Basic Methodologies
for studying the interiors & exteriors of the 1st, 2nd & 3rd persons
Plural (Mesolevel
and Macrolevel)
Singular (Microlevel)
1st Person 3rd Person 2nd Person
StructuralismCase Study &
BiographyBehavoural Research
Social Autopoiesis
Introspection &
Autobiography
Hermeneutics
Cultural Studies
Social Structuralism
Psychotherapeutic
MethodsAutopoiesis &
Cognitive Studies
Ethnomethodology
Collaborative &
Participatory Research
Systems Research
& Functionalism
What of the methodologies for studying the relationships between these holons?
The “Space Between” (Bradbury & Lichtenstein, 2000). If we can now model
holons in relationship, how can we apply the whole AQAL framework to the
study of those relationships and do this graphically? To do so we need an
‘integral holonics’ – an integral method for depicting (and studying) relationality
in general and perspectival relationships in particular.
© Mark Edwards, 2006
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The “Space Between” #3
How do we explore the relationality “Space Between” of social entities using integral theory, AQAL, holon theory, etc?
“The Space Between”inter-subjective inter-objective
interactive relational
mediationalinterpersonal
co-constitutional
for 1st, 2nd, 3rd person relationships - singular & plural
?
Taking a relational orientation suggests that the real work of the human organisation occurs
within the space of interaction between its members. Thus the theorist must account for the
relationships among, rather than the individual properties of, organisational members …
Such a scholar enters an organisation as if it were an extended set of relationships. S/he
thereby places more attention on the “space between” – the space between subject and
object … Bradbury & Lichtenstein, 2000, p. 551
© Mark Edwards, 2006
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The central fact about our psychology is
the fact of mediation. (Vygotsky1982, p. 166)
“Any higher mental function
was external and social before
it was internal” (Vygotsky, 1981b, p.
163)
Mediation, the Sociogenesis of Consciousness, and the Radical Depth of the Exteriors #1
Society, genetically considered, is not a composition of separate individuals; on
the contrary, the individuals are differentiations of a common social protoplasm.
The conclusion is drawn that the individual is a "social outcome not a social unit."
We are members one of another. (J. M. Baldwin, 1930)
Any higher function was first external
because it was social at some point
before becoming an internal, truly mental
function. (Vygotsky cited in Wertsch 1985, p.62)
Individual consciousness as a specifically human form
of the subjective reflection of objective reality may be
understood only as the product of those relations and
mediacies that arise in the course of the establishment
and development of society (Leontiev, 1977, p.8)
© Mark Edwards, 2006
To develop an integral model of relationality we need to understand mediation & the communication of exterior depth
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Self-consciousness, as Hegel loved to point out, is,
in fact, always a mutual affair. The idea 'I' is
inseparable from the idea 'you‘. I am I, on the whole,
and in every definite aspect of my self-
consciousness, in so far as I appeal to my fellow to
recognize me. (Josiah Royce, 1894)
Mediation, the Sociogenesis of Consciousness, and the Radical Depth of the Exteriors #2
The definite concept of the Ego has, in each one of
us, a social and imitative origin. (Josiah Royce, 1894)
My conscious idea of myself
is derived, is secondary, for
instance, to language, to
which all my thinking is so
deeply indebted, and is thus,
oddly enough, a product of
social intercourse. Who I am,
I have first learned from
others before I can observe it
for myself. (Royce, 1894)
The child will not succeed in forming an object of
himself — of putting the so-called subjective material
of consciousness within such a self — until he has
recognized about him social objects. (Mead, 1912)
For Cooley the mind is not first individual and then
social. The mind itself in the individual arises through
communication. (George Herbert Mead, 1930)
Inner consciousness is socially organized by
the importation of the social organization
of the outer world. (Mead, 1912)
© Mark Edwards, 2006
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Royce points out that the individual
reaches the self only by a process that
implies still another self for its
existence and thought. Mead, 1930
“In order to explain the highly complex forms of human consciousness one must go beyond the human organism. One must seek the origins of conscious activity … in the external processes of social life, in the social and historical forms of human existence”.
Luria (1981)
The social dimension of consciousness is primary in
time and in fact. (Vygotsky 1979, 30)
An adult's essence is found in
the essence of the environmental
conditions.(Vygotsky & Luria, 1930/1993)
Mediation, the Sociogenesis of Consciousness, and the Radical Depth of the Exteriors #3
“The child concept of ‘I’ develops out of the
concept of others.” (Vygotsky, 1983, p. 324)
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Mind … lies in a field of conduct between a
specific individual and the environment, in which
the individual is able, through the generalized
attitude he assumes, to make use of symbolic
gestures, i.e., terms, which are significant to all
including himself. (Mead , 1922 – “A Behavioristic Account of
the Significant Symbol”)
Mediation, the Sociogenesis of Consciousness, and the Radical Depth of the Exteriors #4
For Vygotsky and
cultural-historical
theorists more generally,
the social world does
have primacy over the
individual in a very
special sense. Society is
the bearer of the cultural
heritage without which
the development of mind
is impossible. (Cole & Wertsch, 1999)
“Any function in the child’s cultural development appears twice, or on two planes. First it appears on the social plane, and then on the psychological plane. First it appears between people as an interpsychological category, and then within the child as an intrapsychologicalcategory. This is equally true with regard to voluntary attention, logical memory, the formation of concepts and the development of volition …Social relations or relations among people genetically underlie all higher mental functions [in the individual].”(Vygotsky, 1981b, p. 163)
James Wertsch
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1st person 2nd person
Mediating Holon
The Integral Holon, the Basic Activity Triad and
disciplines that focus on the “space between”
Development is as
much about the mediation of exterior depth (e.g.
Vygotsky) as it is about the unfolding
of interior depth (e.g. Piaget)
Development is as
much about the mediation of exterior depth (e.g.
Vygotsky) as it is about the unfolding
of interior depth (e.g. Piaget)
The developmental (AQAL) profile of
mediating holons is crucial to
understanding individual and collective
development
The developmental (AQAL) profile of
mediating holons is crucial to
understanding individual and collective
development
Theories of Power
Communications Theory
Critical Media
Studies
Peer-to-Peer Theory
Artifact-in-Use
theories
Cultural-Historical
Activity Theory
Developmental work
research
Mediational Semiotics
Sociogenetics
© Mark Edwards, 2006
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#1
#2
#3
#4
#5 Mic
ro-m
acro
rela
tio
nsh
ips
(# o
f th
read
s -
“all t
hin
gs”)
indiv
idual holo
nC
olle
ctive h
olo
ns
Reclaiming Indra’s net as a integral model of Kosmic relations:
“Far away in the heavenly abode of the great god Indra,
there is a wonderful net …” (Avatamsaka Sutra)
p1 p3 p2 p5 p4 p7 p6 p9 p8 Perspectives (# of reflections – “interpenetrations”)
© Mark Edwards, 2006
The six basic perspectives
Perspectives (“interpenetrating” reflections) crossed with Relations (the threads of “all things”)
generates: “Indra’s Net” - the multiplicity of holonic perspectives in relationship. AQAL’s 4
quadrants and the six basic perspectives are a summary of the interpenetration of all things in
relationship – “Indra’s net”, the Kosmic Mass, Behinnot,
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The Buddha speaks the wondrous sound without obstacle The Buddha speaks the wondrous sound without obstacle The Buddha speaks the wondrous sound without obstacle The Buddha speaks the wondrous sound without obstacle It pervades all lands in the ten directions,It pervades all lands in the ten directions,It pervades all lands in the ten directions,It pervades all lands in the ten directions,
Benefiting the living with the flavour of truth:Benefiting the living with the flavour of truth:Benefiting the living with the flavour of truth:Benefiting the living with the flavour of truth:The Courageous know this technique. The Courageous know this technique. The Courageous know this technique. The Courageous know this technique.
Emanating inconceivable nets of light,Emanating inconceivable nets of light,Emanating inconceivable nets of light,Emanating inconceivable nets of light,Everywhere purifying all conscious beings,Everywhere purifying all conscious beings,Everywhere purifying all conscious beings,Everywhere purifying all conscious beings,He causes them to engender profound faith.He causes them to engender profound faith.He causes them to engender profound faith.He causes them to engender profound faith.
AvatamsakaAvatamsakaAvatamsakaAvatamsaka Sutra (The Flower Garland Sutra)Sutra (The Flower Garland Sutra)Sutra (The Flower Garland Sutra)Sutra (The Flower Garland Sutra)
© Mark Edwards, 2006