System Basics Workshop: From System Basics to Anthropocene – the perspective of Traditional Chinese Medicine and that of the teaching of Buddha.

2014 November 01 0 By Tomas 黃炎

Papernumber: 2428

Tomas, E C Yan HUANG
Causeway Bay, HK, Hong Kong.
http://www.yinyangbalance.asia/

Sunday 2015.Aug.02 System Basics workshop full day at ISSS2015 conference at Berlin, Germany http://isss.org/world/Programme

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Anthropocene is becoming more and more important as the balance shifts more and more towards the human side of the nature-human spectrum. The whole environment(nature)-system(human) Yin-Yang relationship has reversed to become a system(nature)-environment(human) Yin-Yang relationship.

In this Anthropocene age, determination of the sustainable balancing point is one of the challenging tasks. The interaction between different systems forms the balancing point between any one of the systems and its corresponding environment. Each system holds onto its own perspectives (rights and freedom) and at the same time adapts (respect and obey) to the perspectives of other systems. Therefore, it is about the balance between the nature-human Yin spectrum and the adaptation-freedom Yang spectrum.

Human would naturally pursue for the freedom side of the Yang spectrum, however, this will push the Yin spectrum to the human side developing a very imbalanced system. Such system would get into a turbulent stage before the balancing point between new systems and environments is settled, which could be disastrous to human.
The balance between the two spectrums would mean certain sacrifice to the freedom of human. However, would there be another way out of this sacrifice? Human take nature for granted but without fully understanding the sub-systems in nature on which we have been relying. However,could human develop the knowledge and wisdom to re-create a nature that would support the survival of our physical body and at the same time satisfy the unlimited needs for freedom by human? This is the second challenge in this Anthropocene age, Governing the Anthropocene.

In this workshop we will start from the system basics of the Taichi Yin-Yang system theory in Traditional Chinese Medicine, and the Five systems theory in the teaching of Buddha, with a view to gradually building up the systemic views to understand and analyze the Governing of Anthropocene.

The systemic thinking of the unification of nature and man has been the fundamental concept in traditional Chinese culture since around 500BC. The concept is also embedded in the teaching of Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Traditional Chinese Medicine. The traditional Chinese system theories under investigation include the Taichi yin-yang system theory, the Five systems theory of the human mind, and the Traditional Chinese Medicine differential diagnosis-cure process. These theories are found to be related to different modern system theories compared including Viable system model.

Taichi yin-yang system theory describes the relationship between any two entities (element/process) at any level of interest. It concerns the quantitative and qualitative changes between the entities. This is related to causal loop diagram (CLD) in system dynamics which uses reinforcing loop and balancing loop. The observer is not specified in the theories, but the perspectives of the observer actually determine the entities, the unit of quantitative changes, and the ratio of qualitative changes.

The Five systems theory of the human mind is one of the important concepts developed in the teaching of Buddha. The Five systems are: awareness, perspective, sensation, action and physical object. These five systems are able to describe the properties of the observer and the decision maker.

The Traditional Chinese Medicine differential diagnosis-cure process is a practical systemic process that has been used daily for more than 2000 years. It is believed that the whole macroscopic-microscopic spectrum of systems is suitable. The system state identification involves three pairs of direction-forming spectrums. The Superficial and Internal spectrum gathers information between the boundary and the system. The Cold and Hot spectrum gathers information between the form and function, or matter and energy within the system. The Deficient and Excess spectrum gathers information between the environment and the system. Strategy can then be formulated to regulate and maintain the system.

Keywords: Anthropocene, Buddhism, Causal loop diagram CLD, Confucianism, Five systems of human mind, General System Theory, Health and system thinking, quantitative and qualitative changes, Spirituality and Systems, System dynamics, Taichi Yin-Yang System Theory, Taoism, Buddha’s teaching, Traditional Chinese Medicine differential diagnosis-cure process, Unification of nature and man, Viable system model VSM. |
Supporting Agencies: Ancient Balance Medicine Research and Education Fund Foundation Ltd.

發自 from 黃炎 E C