Joanna Macy 
Mutual Causality in Buddhism and General Systems Theory [PDF ebook] 
The Dharma of Natural Systems

Supporto

This book brings important new dimensions to the interface between contemporary Western science and ancient Eastern wisdom. Here for the first time the concepts and insights of general systems theory are presented in tandem with those of the Buddha. Remarkable convergences appear between core Buddhist teachings and the systems view of reality, arising in our century from biology and extending into the social and cognitive sciences. Giving a cogent introduction to both bodies of thought, and a fresh interpretation of the Buddha’s core teaching of dependent co-arising, this book shows how their common perspective on causality can inform our lives. The interdependence of all beings provides the context for clarifying both the role of meditative practice and guidelines for effective action on behalf of the common good.

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Tabella dei contenuti

Preface

Introduction

Part One: Background

1. Considering Causality

Like the Air We Breathe

The Linear Unidirectional Causal Paradigm

One-Way Causality in the West

One-Way Causality in Indian Thought

The Mutual Causal Paradigm in the West

The Buddhist Vision of Mutual Causality

The Reciprocal Hermeneutic of Buddhism and General Systems Theory


Part Two: Perceptions of Mutual Causality
2. The Buddhist Teaching of Dependent Co-Arising


The Central Role of the Causal Doctrine in the Dharma

Linear Causality in Pre-Buddhist India

Comparison with Western Linear Views

Scriptural Presentations of Paticca Samuppada


3. Dependent Co-Arising as Mutual Causality


From Substance to Relation

No First Cause

Syntax of Interdependence

Reciprocity of Causal Factors

Abhidharmist Interpretations

Paticca Samuppada as Interdependence


4. General Systems Theory


Science’s Problems with the One-Way Causal Paradigm

The Perception of Systems in the Life Sciences

Cybernetics and the Concept of Feedback

Systemic Invariances and Hierarchies

Systems Theory in the Social Sciences

The Cognitive System

Systems and Value


5. Mutual Causality in General Systems Theory


The Transformation of Causes within the System

Feedback as Causal Loop

Negative Feedback Processes

Positive Feedback Processes

Seeing Causes


Part Three: Dimensions of Mutual Causality
6. Self as Process


Everything Changes

The Illusion of Separate Selfhood

No Clear Lines of Demarcation

The Lethal Mirage


7. The Co-Arising of Knower and Known


Perception as Convergence of Factors

Consciousness: Conditioned and Transitive

Information Circuits

Shaping the World through Projection

Learning as Self Reorganization

The Limits of Cognition

Objectless Knowing

Who is Knowing?


8. The Co-Arising of Body and Mind


Linear Views

‘Like Two Sheaves of Reeds’

Two Sides of a Coin

The Internality of All Systems

The Ubiquity and Particularity of Mind

Beyond the Fear of Matter

‘Minding’


9. The Co-Arising of Doer and Deed


Identity and Accountability

The Question of Rebirth

Kaya and Karma

Structure and Function

Past and Present

The Dharma and Determinism

The Determinacy of Choice

The Cognitive System as Decision Center


10. The Co-Arising of Self and Society


Participation and Particularity

The Interdependence of Person and Community

The Dharma of Social Systems


11. Mutual Morality


Concern for Other Beings

Tolerance and Iconoclasm

Political Engagement

Right Livelihood and Economic Sharing

Ends and Means


12. The Dialectics of Personal and Social Transformation


Free to Reconnect

The Tree and the Flame

Bibliography

Index

Circa l’autore

Joanna R. Macy is Adjunct Professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco and Starr King School for the Ministry in Berkeley. She is the author of Despair and Personal Power in the Nuclear Age; Dharma and Development; Thinking Like a Mountain: Toward a Council of All Beings (with John Seed, Pat Fleming, and Arne Naess); and World as Lover, World as Self.

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Lingua Inglese ● Formato PDF ● Pagine 254 ● ISBN 9781438411637 ● Dimensione 5.8 MB ● Casa editrice State University of New York Press ● Città Albany ● Paese US ● Pubblicato 2010 ● Scaricabile 24 mesi ● Moneta EUR ● ID 7665656 ● Protezione dalla copia Adobe DRM
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