[ExI] Art and myth as systems thinking of a sort/was Re: systems thinking

[Dan]

--- On Mon, 7/13/09, Stefano Vaj <stefano.vaj at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Sat, Jul 11, 2009 at 10:44 PM, ben<benboc at lineone.net> wrote:
>> Jef bemoaned:
>>
>>> Oh, for a world where systems-thinking were taught
>>> to children
>>> alongside fairy tales, fables, mythology and
>>> pop-culture.
>>
>> If one wanted to give oneself an education in
>> systems-thinking, what would you recommend?
> 
> Why, I have always believed that fairy tales and mythology
> do amount to "systems-thinking for children".

You might be right about that... And this goes for adults too. This sounds similar to the ideas of Bruno Bettelheim, especially as given in his _The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales_.

Regarding adults, too, might this function be served by art? I know Rand has been trashed (and defended) on this list, but look soberly at her ideas on art. She sees art as concretizing certain types of abstractions. This seems akin to a systems view of the world. E.g., one doesn't draw out chains of reasoning when thinking of, say, Othello or Ahad. Instead, one seems to have a sort of image one can draw on of just what it means to be obsessed. (This can also go awry -- as in stereotypes.)

Regards,

Dan