Letter from Newfield Network Founder, Julio Olalla
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Notes on the Ontology of Design
Notes on the Ontology of Design Arturo Escobar University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Contents 1. Introduction ………………………………………………………. ……….. 2 2. Part I. Design for the Real World: But which world? what design? what real? ………………………….. …. 4 3. Part II. In the background of our culture: The rationalistic tradition and the problem of ontological dualism……… 16 4. Part III. Outline of ontological and autonomous design ……………….. 34 5. Part IV. The politics of relationality. Designs for the pluriverse ………. 57 6. Some provisional concluding remarks ………………………………….. 74 7. References ………………………………………………………………….. 78 Note to readers: This ‘paper’ ended up being actually the draft of a short book; the book is likely to have one more chapter, dealing with globalization, development, and environment issues; it is also likely to have examples, and to be written in a less academic manner, or so I hope. I’ve had several tentative titles over the past few years, the most recent one being The Ecological Crisis and the Question of Civilizational Transitions: Designs for the Pluriverse. I’ve been reading, and working with, most of this material for a long time, but some of it is new (to me); this is particularly true for Part I on design. I suspect the text is quite uneven as a result. Part IV is largely cut-and-paste from several texts in English and Spanish, particularly the long preface to the 2nd ed. of Encountering Development. This part will need additional re/writing besides editing and reorganizing. The references are somewhat incomplete; there are a few key design references of which I have been made aware very recently that are not, or not significantly, included (e.g., on participatory design, postcolonial computing, and human-computer interaction). -
Abstracts of Plenaries WOSC 2014
Our self-organising world: from disruption to reparation Systems and cybernetics applied to technology, design, governance and power Keynote Abstracts and Congress Schedule Dear All, WOSC 2014 will offer both strong foci on systemic thinking and on structures for effective policy processes. It is more than 40 years since Fernando Flores invited Stafford Beer to work with the Chilean Government in the implementation of a democratic socialist economy. Beer created Project Cybersyn in the context of Allende’s Chile. In addition to introducing his work to a young generation of local scientists and professionals he made of Norbert Weiner and Ross Ashby familiar names. In parallel to Beer’s work Humberto Maturana was working from the Universidad de Chile, in collaboration with Francisco Varela, the theory of autopoiesis. Heinz von Foerster, father of second order cybernetics, joined them during part of this period. These are all names shaping the contributions to WOSC 2014. Beer’s vision of the early 1970s, particularly his vision of an economy in real-time, has grown in maturity, not only through the extraordinary technological developments of the past four decades but also through the increasing relevance of cybernetics as an applied epistemology to governance. Together with the extraordinary potentials of digital technology in real-time, the epistemologies of systemic embodiment, ecological networks, organisational closure, self-organisation offer new insights and avenues to deal with the driving topic of this Congress: “Our Self- organising World: from disruption to reparation”. This narrative is offered by the following contributions of our keynote speakers. Abstracts for Plenaries 1. Fernando Flores An Encounter with Cybernetics in the Chile of the 1970's: A personal story In the Chile of the early 1970's I had the opportunity to work with Stafford Beer in the Cybersyn project. -
Fernando Flores Wants to Make You an Offer
Published: November 24, 2009 / Winter 2009 / Issue 57 Thought Leaders Fernando Flores Wants to Make You an Offer Having moved from political prisoner to cognitive scientist to Chilean senator, this uncompromising philosopher of communication is now educating business leaders for the world of social media. by Lawrence M. Fisher Spend any time with Fernando Flores and he will assess you. He may make an offer, which you are free to accept or decline. If you accept, he will make a commitment to fulfill his promise. These simple words, or “speech acts,” form the vocabulary of a set of practices that he has deployed across three continents. Their purpose is to help organizations realize improvements in productivity, coordination, and culture — by codifying and making effective the directives and agreements at the core of business conversation. Call it “commitment-based management,” “conversations for action,” or “ontological design”; Flores has used all three terms, never quite settling on a single name for his special blend of philosophy, neuroscience, and linguistics. His ideas may be rooted in dense texts most people don’t touch outside grad school, but companies as diverse as IBM, ABB, and the Mexican construction materials giant Cemex have found Flores’s insights quite useful in practice. But wait a minute; espérate. Who is Fernando Flores? Cue the biopic movie trailer and it’s 1970. An engineer, just 27 Fernando Flores in Viña del Mar, on the Chilean coast. Photographs by Tomás Munita years old, is tapped by Salvador Allende, Chile’s democratically elected socialist president, to be minister of finance. -
The Defeat of the Concertación Coalition and the Alternation of Power in Chile (ARI)
Area: Latin America ARI 23/2010 (Translated from Spanish) Date: 5/3/2010 The Defeat of the Concertación Coalition and the Alternation of Power in Chile (ARI) Carlos Huneeus * Theme: The second round of the Chilean elections on 17 January 2010 handed victory to the opposition, putting an end to a run of four governments led by the centre-left Concertación por la Democracia coalition, in power since the end of the military regime of General Augusto Pinochet (1973-90). This is hugely significant because it signals the return of the right wing to the La Moneda presidential palace after no less than 52 years. Summary: In the second round of the elections held on 17 January 2010, Senator Eduardo Frei of the Christian Democrats (Democracia Cristiana, PDC), former President (1994-2000) and Concertación coalition candidate, was defeated by Sebastián Piñera of the National Renewal Party (Renovación Nacional, RN), leader of the centre-right Coalition for Change (Coalición por el Cambio), also encompassing the Independent Democratic Union (Unión Demócrata Independiente, UDI). Piñera received 51.6% of the vote, vs Frei’s 48.39%. In the first round on 13 December 2009, coinciding with the parliamentary elections, Piñera obtained 44% of the vote and Frei a low 29.6%, followed by the independent candidate Marco Enríquez-Ominami, with 20.1% and Jorge Arrate, backed by the Communist Party (PC), with 6.2%. The latter two had to leave the Socialist Party (PS) to compete for the Presidency. In the parliamentary elections, the Concertación coalition obtained a poor showing of 40.3%, a slump vs the results of the previous poll in 2005 (51.7%). -
CR\798068EN.Doc PE 430.025 DELEGATION to the EUROPEAN
DELEGATION TO THE EUROPEAN UNION-CHILE JOINT PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE Report by Ms María Muñiz de Urquiza, Chair of the Delegation, on her trip to Chile, for the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Development Santiago de Chile and Valparaíso 25 - 28 October 2009 --------------------------- ---------------------------------------- Brussels, 30 November 2009 RH/nal CR\798068EN.doc PE 430.025 INTRODUCTION: Rule 5(1) of the Rules of Procedure governing the EU-Chile Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) provides that the committee shall meet at least once a year, alternately in one of the European Parliament’s workplaces and in Chile. The draft calendar of meetings for 2009 had two meetings scheduled, the first in Europe in March and the second in Chile in November. The preparatory meeting for the XIth meeting of the EU-Chile JPC was held in Brussels on 15 October 2009, attended by Minister-Counsellor Oscar Alcamán, Chargé d’Affaires a.i. at the Chilean Embassy, and Ms Nicola Murray, European Commission representative. The visit to Chile and the XIth meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Committee took place from 25 to 28 October 2009. INTERNAL SITUATION: The delegation’s visit occurred in the middle of an election period, just one month before the presidential and parliamentary elections. There are four candidates in the first round of the presidential elections: Sebastián Piñera, candidate for Coalición por el Cambio; Eduardo Frei, candidate for Concertación de Partidos por la Democracia; Marco Antonio Enríquez-Ominami, independent candidate; Jorge Arrate, candidate for Somos la Izquierda. The municipal elections in October 2008 gave Alianza por Chile, a centre-right opposition coalition, its first democratic election victory. -
Chile: Political and Economic Conditions and U.S
Chile: Political and Economic Conditions and U.S. Relations Peter J. Meyer Analyst in Latin American Affairs June 3, 2009 Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov R40126 CRS Report for Congress Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Chile: Political and Economic Conditions and U.S. Relations Summary Following a violent coup against democratically elected Marxist President Salvador Allende in 1973, Chile experienced 17 years of military rule under General Augusto Pinochet before reestablishing its elected civilian democracy in 1990. A center-left coalition of parties known as the Concertación has governed Chile for the nearly two decades since the end of the dictatorship. The coalition has enacted a number of constitutional changes to strengthen civilian control of the military and to undertake the prosecution of those alleged to be responsible for human rights violations during the Pinochet-era. Chile has made significant economic progress under the Concertación’s free market economic policies and moderate social programs, which have produced notable economic growth and considerable reductions in poverty. Current President Michele Bachelet has faced a number of challenges since her 2006 election. Widespread demonstrations over education, increased militancy by indigenous groups, and opposition control of the legislature have hindered President Bachelet’s ability to govern. The global financial crisis is President Bachelet’s latest challenge, though the government’s timely decision to save recent fiscal surpluses has allowed Chile to pursue counter-cyclical policies and minimize the effects of the economic downturn. The government will likely spend much of 2009 coping with the effects of the financial crisis while political parties prepare for the December presidential and legislative elections. -
Introduction.Pdf
Conversations For Action and Collected Essays play, we have been developing these contexts and enabling people to develop their abilities to work with others, despite their differences, with respect and with trust. I look forward to continuing to develop this work, and I invite you to join us in exploring, building, and playing in these spaces with us at Pluralistic Networks, Inc. Introduction Until now, although these papers are as relevant today as when they were written, I have been reluctant to publish them, as they were written in a differ- ent context and time with a particular audience in mind. However, my daugh- ters have convinced me that these papers are not only relevant, but that they By Maria Flores Letelier would be useful to people in their current form without any need to update them. The existence of this collection of papers results almost entirely from my daughter Maria’s discipline as a philosopher and from her love for her father. The selection of this set of papers and the editorial preparation for publication are entirely hers. Instilling a Culture of Commitment in Our Working Relationships Fernando Flores Berkeley, CA April 2012] While the essays in this book were written sixteen to twenty years ago, I see them as more relevant today than ever. That is why I was determined, in the midst of two pregnancies and caring for newly born babies, to find a way to dig up some of the most relevant essays that my father wrote then and make them publicly available for the first time. -
Chile: Political and Economic Conditions and U.S. Relations
Chile: Political and Economic Conditions and U.S. Relations Peter J. Meyer Analyst in Latin American Affairs July 21, 2009 Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov R40126 CRS Report for Congress Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Chile: Political and Economic Conditions and U.S. Relations Summary Following a violent coup against democratically elected Marxist President Salvador Allende in 1973, Chile experienced 17 years of military rule under General Augusto Pinochet before reestablishing its elected civilian democracy in 1990. A center-left coalition of parties known as the Concertación has governed Chile for the nearly two decades since the end of the dictatorship. The coalition has enacted a number of constitutional changes to strengthen civilian control of the military and to undertake the prosecution of those alleged to be responsible for human rights violations during the Pinochet-era. Chile has made significant economic progress under the Concertación’s free market economic policies and moderate social programs, which have produced notable economic growth and considerable reductions in poverty. Current President Michele Bachelet has faced a number of challenges since her 2006 election. Widespread demonstrations over education, increased militancy by indigenous groups, and opposition control of the legislature have hindered President Bachelet’s ability to govern. The global financial crisis is President Bachelet’s latest challenge, though the government’s timely decision to save recent fiscal surpluses has allowed Chile to pursue counter-cyclical policies and minimize the effects of the economic downturn. Bachelet has won considerable support as a result of her handling of the crisis, with her approval rating rising to 74% in July 2009. -
Cabinet Reshuffle by President Michelle Bachelet Political Analysis
SPECIAL REPORT Cabinet Reshuffle by President Michelle Bachelet Political Analysis Santiago de Chile, May 2015 BARCELONA BOGOTÁ BUENOS AIRES LIMA LISBOA MADRID MÉXICO PANAMÁ QUITO RIO J SÃO PAULO SANTIAGO STO DOMINGO CABINET RESHUFFLE BY PRESIDENT MICHELLE BACHELET POLITICAL ANALYSIS 1. INTRODUCTION Fourteen months after the start of her term of office and 1. INTRODUCTION following a series of scandals related to irregular political 2. CABINET CHANGES campaign funding (linked to the PENTA and CASCADAS case), 3. MINISTERS WHO REMAIN IN the Ministry of the Interior's questionable handling of the crisis THE SAME POSITION involving the President's son (the CAVAL case), and one of the AUTHORS lowest presidential ratings since Chile reinstated democracy (38% approval and 43% disapproval, according to the latest survey by the Center of Public Studies), President Michelle Bachelet announced her new cabinet on May the 11th. Its aim is to breathe new life into the second half of her term by building a team of individuals with proven experience in negotiating political-parliamentary matters and skills in establishing dialogs with public and private sectors. Political party involvement in the president's decision was practically inexistent, just as in the case of Bachelet's first cabinet (2014). According to comments made by the presidents of the political parties of the Nueva Mayoría (New Majority), government coalition, they were only made aware of some of the names included in the new cabinet on May 10th at 8:00 pm. A CABINET BASED ON DIALOG An aspect to highlight in this new cabinet is the parliamentary experience of most of the new ministers, showing a strong trend towards dialog and negotiation. -
The Speech Acts
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP The Speech Acts Language is Power “We will go the moon.” Language happens to be of the most powerful tools leaders – and all of us – have at our disposal. It is what we say that distinguishes us from all other creatures. Language is action. Fernando Flores is one of the thought leaders who distinguished language as not simply a tool we use to describe a world that already exists, but rather an action that produces a world and a future that would otherwise not have existed. Agency becomes possible. Speaking as creation is a profound shift in understanding our relationship to the world. It implies we are not describers of an objectively knowable world, fixed and the same for everyone. Rather, we are designers and authors of a world with which we interact. Our speaking actually makes things so! The implications are staggering, as you might imagine. The reality that language shapes our world has been backed up by all of the latest research in Quantum Psychics and Philosophy. (For more on the underpinnings of the current thinking in leadership and management today, A Bit about Flores: please contact us.) Flores was born in Talca, Chile. He became finance minister in the government of Chilean president Salvador Allende and The Speech Acts is the name Flores gave then spent three years as a political prisoner after the the five primary moves human beings military coup of General Augusto Pinochet. Forced into exile make in language every day. Below we after negotiations on his behalf by Amnesty International, he lay out a discussion, inquiries and moved with his family to Palo Alto, California, and worked as practices for each of them: a researcher in the Computer Science department at Stanford University. -
The Defeat of the Concertación Coalition and the Alternation of Power in Chile (ARI)
Area: Latin America ARI 23/2010 (Translated from Spanish) Date: 5/3/2010 The Defeat of the Concertación Coalition and the Alternation of Power in Chile (ARI) Carlos Huneeus * Theme: The second round of the Chilean elections on 17 January 2010 handed victory to the opposition, putting an end to a run of four governments led by the centre-left Concertación por la Democracia coalition, in power since the end of the military regime of General Augusto Pinochet (1973-90). This is hugely significant because it signals the return of the right wing to the La Moneda presidential palace after no less than 52 years. Summary: In the second round of the elections held on 17 January 2010, Senator Eduardo Frei of the Christian Democrats (Democracia Cristiana, PDC), former President (1994-2000) and Concertación coalition candidate, was defeated by Sebastián Piñera of the National Renewal Party (Renovación Nacional, RN), leader of the centre-right Coalition for Change (Coalición por el Cambio), also encompassing the Independent Democratic Union (Unión Demócrata Independiente, UDI). Piñera received 51.6% of the vote, vs Frei’s 48.39%. In the first round on 13 December 2009, coinciding with the parliamentary elections, Piñera obtained 44% of the vote and Frei a low 29.6%, followed by the independent candidate Marco Enríquez-Ominami, with 20.1% and Jorge Arrate, backed by the Communist Party (PC), with 6.2%. The latter two had to leave the Socialist Party (PS) to compete for the Presidency. In the parliamentary elections, the Concertación coalition obtained a poor showing of 40.3%, a slump vs the results of the previous poll in 2005 (51.7%).