The role of variety in the evolution of information society

Information is power. There are several theoretical considerations which guide the basic research on information society and its evolution. Some of them, worked out in this paper, deal with the role of social variety in the process of post‐industrial evolution. Exploring similarities in bio‐genetic information, the process of social transformation is approached by using social system theory.

With certain analogies to biological transformations—mutations—important elements for the transformation of information‐guided behaviour systems (cultures) may be observed. They create a variety of elements (sub‐systems), which respond for changes in the social layout of all kinds of organisations like states, partys, groups, insofar as these changes aim the optimation of functional effectivity in dependence of the variety and its use by a social system's elements (events, acts).

By information processing, collectivities are able to explote even subtile fluctuations in socio‐cultural information variety to “cause” changes. Collectivities are able to instruct and functionalise emerging information through feedback in such a way, that they get better chances to reach certain local values of selection. They are fitter in the sense of better instructed. This process is self‐organised, based on the principle of selection, so that the system chooses out of a complex landscape of values trough communication of measuring parameters like “good” and “bad”. The value‐system is learned through socialisation and changed by social experience.

If social change and variety are optimised, the replication of the system works close to a “treshold of error”, that means that transformation processes are driven to a dynamic equilibrium between stabiliy and creativity. A variety of new transformation operators emerges. Operators of the former dominant information code are still reproducted, but a lot of other alternatives, stabilised by mutual separation are also represented in a survivable concentration and quantity. The competition between these new operators can be transformed in cooperation by their cyclic boundage in networks.

Concluding the paper argues that social systems which intend an optimation of their power management functions by integration of information variety, take advantage in their development in comparison to those who neglect this aspect. They are prepared to develop in a changing environment. Their optimation is a result of feedback within a variety of leadership‐systems, which may also be seen as competitive lifestyles. At a certain critic point there occurs a break in the symmetry of the dominant organisation: a multipole political leadership system emerges, behaviours are derepressed and activated. Uniformity in social time is broken and with it the linear thinking.     

CREATIONISM IN THE NETHERLANDS

Recent events indicate that creationists are becoming increasingly active in the Netherlands. This article offers an overview of these events. First, I discuss the introduction of intelligent‐design (ID) creationism into the Dutch public sphere by a renowned physicist, Cees Dekker. Later, Dekker himself shifted toward a more evolution‐friendly position, theistic evolution. Second, we see how Dekker was followed in this shift by Andries Knevel, an important figure within the Dutch evangelical broadcasting group, the Evangelische Omroep (EO). His conversion to ID, and subsequently to theistic evolution, brought him into conflict with young‐Earth creationists who still strongly identify themselves with the EO. Third, provoked by the dissidence of prominent orthodox believers and the celebrations surrounding the Darwin year, young‐Earth creationists became very visible. After three decades of relative silence, they started a project to make sure that the Dutch people would hear of the “alternatives” to evolutionary theory. This article (1) adds to the growing number of reports on creationists' increased activity in Europe and (2) suggests that ID, in a context different from the United States, did not unite but rather divided the Dutch orthodox Protestant community.     

PALEY'S iPOD: THE COGNITIVE BASIS OF THE DESIGN ARGUMENT WITHIN NATURAL THEOLOGY

The argument from design stands as one of the most intuitively compelling arguments for the existence of a divine Creator. Yet, for many scientists and philosophers, Hume's critique and Darwin's theory of natural selection have definitely undermined the idea that we can draw any analogy from design in artifacts to design in nature. Here, we examine empirical studies from developmental and experimental psychology to investigate the cognitive basis of the design argument. From this it becomes clear that humans spontaneously discern purpose in nature. When constructed theologically and philosophically correctly, the design argument is not presented as conclusive evidence for God's existence but rather as an abductive, probabilistic argument. We examine the cognitive basis of probabilistic judgments in relationship to natural theology. Placing emphasis on how people assess improbable events, we clarify the intuitive appeal of Paley's watch analogy. We conclude that the reason why some scientists find the design argument compelling and others do not lies not in any intrinsic differences in assessing design in nature but rather in the prior probability they place on complexity being produced by chance events or by a Creator. This difference provides atheists and theists with a rational basis for disagreement.     

基于组织政治技能的研究

组织中的政治技能是国外最近研究的热点课题。本文重点介绍了政治技能的概念、结构维度、影响因素及其政治技能的作用,并指出了其未来研究的趋势。     

The two time vectors of Nachträglichkeit in the development of ego organization: Significance of the concept for the symbolization of nameless traumas and anxieties1

The author describes Freud ’s conception of Nachträglichkeit as an active process that bridges the gap between past affective vicissitudes and the cognitive present by way of meaning. Symbolization is thereby subsequently [nachträglich] conferred on early traumatic events, which thus become susceptible to omnipotent control. The two time vectors of Nachträglichkeit are discussed: the first is a causal process operating in the forward direction of time against the background of a factual reality, while the second is a backward movement that permits an understanding of unconscious scenes and phantasies taking place at primary-process level. This twofold temporal motion was observed and described by Freud early on. However, its significance often remained hidden prior to his study of Moses. It was mostly overlooked in English and French translations, thus giving rise to a one-sided understanding of the concept in the various psychoanalytic cultures, as either deferred action or après-coup. Freud ’s Moses study addresses both temporal aspects of Nachträglichkeit, seeking not only to reconstruct a past event on a causal, deterministic basis, but also to understand the subjective truth of that event in the transference along the retrograde time line. The decisive criterion for the conceptual and clinical separation of the two time vectors is the development of ego organization and the capacity for symbolization. The two vectors should not be separated on the factual level, as both aspects of Nachträglichkeit are essential to the understanding of unconscious processes, combining as they do in a relationship of circular complementarity.     

Travail d’articulation et organisation de travail : Etude dans un collectif de l’enseignement public

Articulation work is an activity that makes other’s work easier or allows a whole work collective to reach its objectives. It is necessary for a coordinated functioning in organizations, but is often unrecognized and seldom considered as a full activity. In this study, we tried to find if work organization could affect the occurrence of articulation work. We analyzed articulation work made between pairs of persons and its relations with the proximity of their offices, the amount of working time in common, the proximity of their posts, the degree of interdependance linked to their duties. Among these organizational factors, we noticed that only the interdependance level could explain the differences in articulation work depending on the pairs of individuals considered.     

Creativity in Digital Reality / Creatividad en la realidad digital

Abstract

Digital environments — simulations, games and realities — have been gaining more attention in behaviour research as the relevant technology has become more advanced and affordable. This increased attention has been paralleled by the growing research literature, a corner of which belongs to studies of creativity in digital environments. This mini review highlights the main threads of this corner, focusing on the utilization of digital environments in education and industry.