Yinyang and Daojia into Systems Thinking through Changes by David Ing.

Science, in the West, is much based on the eternal (Parmenides), and forms with substance (Plato). Classical Chinese Medicine is based on a science of rhythmic processes. Correlations were made with the dusking-dawning of celestial bodies, ebbing-flowing of tides, and harvesting-sowing of crops.

Daojia is a philosophy based on yinyang. Daojiao is a religion based on yinyang. Yinyang is typically misunderstood by Westerners as alternations of state. Yin qi and yang qi are more clearly expressed as verbs in complements. e.g. dissipating alongside concentrating, waning alongside waxing.

Systems thinking in English-speaking countries has largely been dominated by theories (technically hypotheses) of a world as mechanicist (unfreeze-refreeze), or a world as organicist (progressive development). A shift towards Systems Changes reifies learning on a distinctly different world theory of dyadicism-contexturalism (yinyang dancing through seasons).

This Dialogic Drinks session will open with an ice breaker:

• Which sciences have most shaped your background? Maybe physics? chemistry? biology? ecology? anthropology? psychology? sociology? economics? et. al.?

Three short presentations will spark discussions on:

• What are the challenges to (i) deprecating straight lining (point-to-point) while (ii) elevating dyadic rhythming (waning-waxing, dissipating-concentrating?
• What are the challenges to (i) deprecating building up parts-with-parts into wholes, while (ii) elevating knitting threads-alongside-threads into textures?
• What are the challenges of (i) deprecating directional steering, while (ii) elevating auspicious pacing?

This DD conversation is second in a series , following the March session on "From Unfreezing-Refreezing, to Systems Changes Learning". Highlights from March 2024 are at https://coevolving.com/blogs/index.php/archive/from-unfreezing-refreezing-eq-lab/

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David Ing is a Research Fellow with the Creative Systemic Research Platform Institute (Switzerland, Spain, Finland).  He served as president of the International Society for the Systems Sciences (2011-2012), and is currently Representative of the Trustees to the Board of Directors.  For 28 years at IBM, he had assignments in management consulting, executive education, market development and headquarters planning.  The father of four sons, all in successful careers, he lives in Toronto Canada with his supportive spouse.  He blogs at https://coevolving.com. 

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