by Redemption
"I was looking for something which would reflect and incorporate the positive and rewarding aspects of my life. The good, practical and sensible. Things that were in harmony with nature and meaningful to my aspirations, that could help me and the rest of mankind and the condition of the planet. I thought, perhaps naively, that the world would be a better place by following a practical and uplifting philosophy rather than if it were guided by, for instance, deconstructionists. Derrida in the outback was not for me a pretty sight.
"I dared to think that civilisation might climb to a higher level, and I was aggrieved because these theoretical philosophers were poncing around like they had all the answers, as if there was nothing left to do, nowhere else to go. How is it, with all the supposedly best brains, the foremost thinkers over the ages, they hadn't come up with anything better than this stultifying legacy?
"The experts roundly condemned her temerity to broach this line of thinking. 'Too brash', and 'impudent', and 'rising above her station'. 'Interesting as a lower form of intelligence, but sadly uninformed.' 'There is no likelihood of a new philosophy, even if there is scope or indeed a need for such,' they said. What they didn't say was that nobody was capable or 'game' enough to 'give it a go'. Only 'If you're so critical about the way we see things and so dissatisfied with traditional philosophies… why the hell don't you (dismissively) do something about it?'"
Yvonne: "She saw the blind termites, and felt the crocodile teeth, and went out and did it, to the amazement of everybody, including herself. She concocted a hybrid, with a little help from a friend or two, a composite. An eclectic mix drawn from a range of philosophies and disciplines, guided by her life experiences and supplemented by practical measures. The emphasis was on simplicity and workability, with large doses of common sense and down-to-earth guidelines for leading a balanced, productive and happy life.
"As such, it was roundly criticised by all sides as being either simplistic, unbalanced, reckless, unacademic (which she agreed with), ill-informed, unresearched, shallow, precocious, preposterous, or all the above. But where others would have quailed at the onslaught she smiled and stiffened in her resolve. She knew the criticism reflected more on the critics than on her."
Pip: "My critics derided it because 'it doesn't bear much relationship to what goes on in contemporary philosophy departments in any universities worth their name' - the ultimate put-down for them and like-minded sycophants and troglodytes. They complained it was neither philosophy nor psychology. A little bit of many things, nothing much of any. Exactly, I responded. How perceptive. The problem is life doesn't fit into neat compartments the way you want it to. You create difficulties by trying to pull life apart and then squeeze it into little boxes of your design. Tearing roses into petals you lose the picture.
"What I have drawn up is a plan for a way of life. Or, if you like, a blueprint, system, scheme, strategy or platform. It's a guide for direction, a way, a path to follow, with emphasis on action, doing, conduct, management, advancement. So I agree it's not a philosophy, or a doctrine, dogma, code, credo, culture, ideology, principle or a regimen. It's something of all of them, yet not wholly any one. I resist giving it a conventional label, as it would then be criticised for falling short of the accepted definition of that term. I'll think of a name in due course. The object of the exercise for me is to focus on the content and its application and, above all, the result. If, in the process it happens to change the nature or direction of philosophy - well, so be it."D: New 'Way'
V:
Yvonne: "She recognised herself as part of the process of change, challenging the status quo like Socrates. People had always resisted change, but unlike most she had come to terms with the process. As the only thing that wouldn't change in future would be the process of change itself, she learned how to manage it for her own advantage, to live with uncertainty and lack of resolution, to achieve a dynamic balance in the currents and waves of change. To be an ecstatic surfer ridiculed by static bystanders stuck on the shore."
Pip: "In the process I found I could grow, develop, be more active and satisfied, and happier. Whereas society seemed to be bogged down. Worse, people were prone to act against their own best interests - like smoking cigarettes and other forms of substance abuse. Hurting friends, fighting wars for little reason, doing negative things and to hell with the consequences. Like ten-year-olds in a lolly shop, irresponsible and unthinking juveniles, immature behaviour totally unacceptable to future generations (in my view). Senselessness more common than sense.
"An engineering student friend had baffled me with the concept of entropy - a measure of the state of disorder of energy in a system or, as some would say, a measure of proximity to equilibrium or a zero-energy state. 'Things are constantly running down,' he said.
"'Whereas in living things there is a homoeostasis effect,' Greg, the medical student, emphasised. 'Unlike non-living objects and processes there exists in nature something that rises above the law of disorder of inanimate things. A biosynthesis that enlivens, organises cohesion and growth, communication and co-operation. Complex feedback mechanisms that help keep systems in balance. That is why you and I and not the gatepost have something vital that rescues us from the inexorable running down of the universe, for the brief period of our lifespan before we too submit. But hopefully not before enough of us have arranged through our transmitted genes for the process to continue.'
"While we have the potential within us, indeed the complete inherent mechanism to rise above entropy," Pip continued, "society in general exhibits deadening characteristics (death wishes?), almost as if mesmerised - in a 'mind-warp'. And, like quick-sand, you can't start to extricate yourself until you realise your predicament. Obviously I was in that mind-warp until the croc. snapped me out of it. Jolted the prism through which I saw the world. And then the termites altogether carted it away, so I could see clearly where others couldn't.
"Yes, it's as if someone is 'pointing the bone' at society and they can't see it. I coined the term 'Social Entropy' to draw attention to the problem of society running down, to help others to 'see', because nobody can solve a problem unless and until they are aware of its nature.
"I was convinced the solutions lie within us and I was looking for a countervailing force to social entropy, a kind of 'syntropy'(3) - a drive towards greater order. I agree with the view that syntropy might be a fundamental principle of nature and that living matter has an inherent drive to perfect itself - a drive that is being restricted, as in a sclerotic pipeline. The blockage needs clearing away and that's what I wanted to work towards - taking control of my life rather than delegate it, by default, to incompetent others.
=
Yvonne: "Pip drew widely from different philosophers where she found elements that underpinned or reinforced her views and experiences."
V
D: Sources (1).Pip: "I agree with Sartre that we should take control of our own lives. Not be a pebble on the beach feeling unable to change ourselves or the world around us. We are free to choose and act accordingly but must accept responsibility for our choices. Life is a gigantic stage. People are actors condemned to a lifetime performance. We are free to write our own scripts and cannot blame anyone else for a bad performance; it is we who must create meaning in our own lives.
"William James has been a major influence - practicality, usefulness, translating thought into action. 'Man alone is the architect of his destiny. The greatest revolution in our generation is that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.'
"Also, I liked a couple of his quotes - 'Lives based on having are less free than lives based either on doing or on being' and 'To change one's life, start immediately, do it flamboyantly, no exceptions.' One of our general difficulties is that thinkers don't 'do' (things practical), and the 'doers' don't think (about wider or deeper matters). One of my hopes is to be able to get thinkers doing and doers thinking.
"I concur with John
Dewey's development of part of Darwin's theory of evolution, the mind being a problem-solving tool that continually adapts to the environment in the same way that creatures evolve different characteristics. Except that the mind has the capacity to adapt much, much faster, even though you can't pass on the adaptation in your genes."
=
At that point the jet touched down on the Sydney runway and began taxiing to the terminal. Kent switched off the video and emerged to meet Yvonne Ziebarth waiting with a limousine.
"I gave instructions for no more limousines," he said curtly.
"Sorry, Mr Buchanan, I thought that may have been a misprint," she said.
"Not at all, this is a different regime, and don't forget it. Importantly, I want to compress this visit as I have to get to my next stop quicker than originally planned."
"Yes sir." Hesitating, "I've tried hard to get Phillipa Quinn to be waiting for you, but it seems there's the little matter of 'giving hell to the blokes' in a yacht race." She switched on the limousine video to show an earlier action clip of Pip on trapeze, hair parallel to the horizon as she skippered her two crew ahead of a fleet of boats charging through choppy waves. Leading across the finish line she punched the air.
"Ties in with the action part of the philosophy," said Kent. "I saw boats dotted on the water as we flew over. So she's an active and capable all-rounder. Strikes a chord with me. Please continue with your summary after the Dewey reference."
V
D: Sources (2).
Yvonne verbalised the rest of the summary as the car cruised across the city. "Managing change, taking control of our lives and being constructively active are some of the early components of her plan. Because she doesn't know what to call it, for the time being instead of referring to it as something like 'Phillipa's Philosophy for Living', with her consent I've been calling it 'Living Phil.'
"Other components of Living Phil relate to gratification - in two senses. Increasingly the gratification people seek is external and immediate. Pip insists there will be two big advances when it changes to internal and deferred. She will outline her reasons later.
"Some of the other concepts she weaves in, rather unfashionably, include individual and social responsibility, helping people to help themselves, and concentrating on causes of problems rather than symptoms.
"Cumulatively she believes these factors will pave the way for, and contribute to, a better society more able to achieve its potential while being happier. She is impressed with dialectic and material changes resulting from ideas 'realising themselves'(4). Also the elevation of individual human will to force flux and chaos into shape creatively(5), the hidden inner self and its connection with nature(6), and 'practical reason'(7). She sees the possibility (and desirability) of a 'paradigm shift'(8) in the human condition.
"She hesitates, however, to refer directly to any of the past philosophers, as mere mention of a name immediately brings out criticisms from their committed supporters (and detractors) who are practised at tearing anything to pieces in great detail - part of the reason little of anything new appears. Mention enough names and you're 'crucified in the cross-fire'".
=
"Pip wants Living Phil to be widely available and appealing to the man on the street. It needs to be simple, easy to understand and to implement, self-reinforcing and, in young people's terms, 'better-than-fun'. This puts it totally beyond the pale for theoretical and academic philosophers."
"I can imagine that," said Kent wryly. "Makes it even more appealing to me."
They had just sat in the meeting room when the receptionist rang to announce Phillipa's arrival. She burst into the room, breathless, hair damp about her face.
"Beat the bastards," she said with a broad grin. "Again. Pleased to meet you," shaking his hand vigorously.
An interesting, no, dynamic mix of mental and physical energy and creativity, he thought. He was impressed by her enthusiasm and the surety of her approach, combined with an objective and worldly detachment - things he identified with from his prior business dealings and his near-death experience. A few more like this and we're well on the way, he thought.
"Can you summarise for me, in five minutes, your rationale?" he asked.
Without hesitation she replied. "We are rational and capable human beings who should be able to look after ourselves and others better than we do. There is much we can achieve if we put our minds to it. Our problems are man-made and can be man-solved, but we need a map, a guide, a light on the hill. First we must elevate individuals, then they will bring the community with them. I believe the Western world is in dire need of a form of guidance, a practical and sensible credo to follow, into which they can invest their efforts and co-operate with each other towards a better end."
"You are, shall I say, rather intense," Kent commented.
"Crocodile teeth and blind termites," she replied.
"Well it's good stuff, if it can be make it work," Kent enthused. "Yvonne has explained our aims. I like your philosophy and think what you are doing is ambitious and courageous. How well do you think Living Phil fits in with our goals and can be promoted?"
"Pretty central I'd say, although it won't be easy to implement. I've come up against all sorts of opposition and carping. The last person who described my ideas as ambitious and courageous meant they were fanciful and foolhardy. But I expect you know that 'nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come' (9). Living Phil is so long overdue it must be super-powerful and irresistible - but I admit right now I'm a few heifers short of a stampede on the next step."
"That's where we may be able to help,' he said. "Can you spend a few months with us in UK, starting soon?"
"I'd like to, very much. But there's a little matter of time off from work. I've used up my holidays in pursuit of this sailing championship."
"What's your head office phone number?" he asked.
He dialled as she gave it, and walked with his phone to the window. Pip and Yvonne heard snatches of conversation after which he returned to the table and suggested they get food from room service.
No sooner had it been ordered than the phone rang. The call was for Pip. Surprised, she listened intently, then jumped into the air with excitement.
"My boss has just given me three months leave of absence." Looking admiringly at Kent: "How did you do that?"
"No big thing. Your boss's boss just happened to owe me a sizeable favour - from the time we were rookie miners in the jungles of Africa. Sorry, I must go. Yvonne will attend to details and money. See you in UK."
He stopped himself from saying more. If Pals was to be the engine room of the project Living Phil would be the fuel and the guidance system. The part of his mind which handled commercial matters, still functioning largely on pre-accident lines, had alerted him to a factor of potentially immense financial value arising from her idea, far greater than anything in his previous experience. He resolved to keep it to himself until the appropriate time.
CHAPTER 12 Old truths
Kent was woken on the plane by a spasm in his leg so painful that his senses were temporarily disoriented. For a moment he thought he was in another, different near-death experience until the familiar drone of the plane oriented him. Why the hell can't 'marvellous modern medicine' alleviate the source of his pain? Hastily he slipped into Raj's procedures to consign the pain away.
He would have liked to stay longer discussing and exploring 'Living Phil' but Naples was obviously urgent and he had been desperately tired. Although his mind was racing at top speed his body had yet to reconstitute itself fully and become re-accustomed to international travel. He was pleased with the first two stops. Pals and Living Phil had huge promise - perhaps enough by themselves without any other ideas. Whereas Naples had inbuilt dangers of unknown magnitude. And Oxford - well to his hardened pragmatic ears it seemed to have a large component of theoretical waffle.
He thought again of Raj, his simple techniques and astonishing results. He looked through the windo
w at the parched expanses of Indian plain far below. 'Timeless land' was an apt expression for the vast dry stretches punctuated with sporadic villages.
Did most of those people below use Raj's techniques? Probably not. Certainly they didn't in the West. And yet the information was well within reach, had been known for centuries and would do them all a power of good. He suddenly realised, with a force and clarity that made him forget any lingering pain, that what he had been engaged in personally, the intimate interactions of the backbone of his physical and mental recuperation, were eternal truths, wide in their outreach and universal in their relevance and application.
He saw they could complement San Francisco and Sydney and be a fundamental component of their future endeavours. And Raj, at hand all that time, an obvious member of the future team.
But what would it take to get people to use what is accessible, available and attainable, within easy reach (actually within them), is good for them and in their own best interests? And make it work? These questions were to be asked frequently in the future, so central to their quest and so difficult to answer.
His thoughts were interrupted by Charles, the pilot, coming into the main cabin. "Message from Miss Peron, sir. While you were asleep. Requests we divert to Foggia airport, 120 kilometres east of Naples. Says it is imperative, sir."
