Oneness vs Individuality

[Perceiver]

There is a demarcation between water molecules and yet there is the sea. Oneness does not preclude the experience of individuality.

 

Then both exist: Individuality and oneness. They are all holons.

[ilumairen]

I’ll be interested to learn what you make of these books.  Which one have you downloaded?

 

Some general background.......

 

Luhmann’s  non-anthropocentric, systems-environment paradigm is not for everyone and can take some perseverance to assimilate.  He is radically anti-humanist.  Like classical Daoism, social systems theory describes the world in terms of unceasing impersonal process where change occurs ‘self-so’.  According to Luhmann’s metabiological theories,  society is not something created and controlled by us humans, rather it continuously reproduces  itself.

 

And Luhmann’s theory comprehensively dissolves any notion of us humans as unified selves -  as individuals with unitary identities whose thoughts, decisions and actions make society what it is – rather,  we all consist of a dynamic interplay of countless functionally separate yet interdependent systems-environment interactions.  

 

Although as far as I know Luhmann was not influenced by Daoism he would smile in recognition of sentiments such as:

 

Heaven and Earth are not kind:

The ten thousand things are straw dogs to them.

 

Sages are not kind:

People are straw dogs to them.

 

 

(BTW Although Luhmann might not have been versed in Daoism, Hans-Georg Moeller certainly is. He has written extensively on the philosophy of classical Daoism.) 

 

I downloaded Luhmann Explained. 'Explained' seemed a good starting point.

 

I have a deep affinity with the straw dogs passage, and by your description I'll most likely find the same affinity for Luhmann. I'll let you know.

 

 

Thank you again.

[ilumairen]

There is a demarcation between water molecules and yet there is the sea. Oneness does not preclude the experience of individuality.

 

A bright sparkly gem! Thanks Steve.