Constructive Recollection

Finding Truth In Science, Justice And Journalism

Coordinated Reflection

Our first- and second nature, which are sensing what-is-sensed in material reality and knowing what-is-known in cultural-historical reality, called our "duality of origin" in Modern philosophy (Bergson 1932), stay with us all our lives. These two sources have their own form and they process their own content. By sensing what-is-sensed or recollection, content creates form, while by knowing what-is-known or construction, form creates content. The environment/other/reality is what-is-sensed (content), which expresses itself and impresses the sensing organism/self/belief, giving it form. The organism/self/belief is knowing (form), which expresses itself and impresses the known environment/other/reality, giving it content. The two sources are thus reflected on each other's side, each from precisely "now and here" to "then and there", which is either a spatio-temporal and material sphere for sensing what-is-sensed or a cultural-historical and immaterial sphere for knowing what-is-known.

figure 1

The knowing organism expresses what-is-known and impresses the known environment. The sensed environment expresses what-is-sensed and impresses the sensing organism. Both sources do so "now and here", coordinating with their self-reflections. The sensed environment coordinates directly in recollection, impressing what-is-sensed as content of sensing, while the knowing organism coordinates indirectly in construction, expressing what-is-known as form of knowing. Impression integrates all traces of "now and here" left behind in time and space, while expression differentiates. Expressive construction gets back on track, nurturing nature as much as it is allowed, in a less accidental or synthetic-, and in a more logical or analytic manner than impressive recollection, by the use of memorized categories of time and space, named facts and -ideas (Kant 1790).

figure 2

The knowing organism expresses itself, impressing the known environment positioned "here and now", in multi-perspectivism. The sensed environment expresses itself, impressing the sensing organism depositioned "here and now", in object-orientation. Impressions and expressions move from the outmost periphery to the depths of our being, recollecting and constructing forms, that we believe will fit the contents of our world intuitively yet precisely, in sensing what-we-know and knowing what-we-sense, until we realize our dream or we realize our mistake. Expressions follow the traces left behind by impressions by the two sources upon their reflections once these reflections have been verified by and did not falsify the other side (Turner 1968).

figure 3

Independent Confirmation

While the sensing organism coordinately reflects one source, which is the sensed environment, it seeks independent rational confirmation from the other, the knowing organism. And while the known environment coordinately reflects the other source, which is the knowing organism, it seeks independent emotional confirmation from the one, the sensed environment. By itself, the sensed environment is rational because it is understood as material reality recollected from the periphery of being, after the fact. And the knowing organism is emotional because it is understood as cultural reality constructed from the depths of being, pre-existing, yet before the fact (Kant 1790). Now the knowing organism must also be rational, to ward off falsification by the sensing organism, and rely on it vulnerably. And the sensed environment must also be emotional, to verify the known environment and validate it.

By mutual independent confirmation, the two sources function as one structure or internally normative system (Sanders & Van Rappard 1982). Although they independently confirm each other's coordinated reflections, they remain separate. The sensed environment evolves as recollection and the knowing organism evolves as construction. What-is-sensed is recollected by the sensing organism and constructed by the knowing organism as what-is-known or content, while sensing and knowing are form. Content is functionally structured or constructively recollected, by form. Form itself is the highest functional structure or constructive recollection in social reality, the product of material- and cultural reality. Recollection and construction mutually and continuously evolve with content that is processed by form, with or without élan vital (Bergson 1911).

In recollection, the sensed environment or what-is-sensed can verify and validate the known environment or what-is-known, which seeks independent emotional confirmation. If and when it happens, what-is-sensed expands, to knowing what-is-sensed, which is realization. Again, what-is-realized can verify and validate the other side. If and when it  happens again, what-is-realized expands, to  sensing what-is-known-what-is-sensed, which is valuation. And finally, what-is-valued can verify and validate the other side. If and when it happens again, what-is-valued expands, to knowing what-is-sensed-what-is-known-what-is-sensed, which is reaction. All the time, the source of sensing what-is-sensed, realizing what-is-realized, valuing what-is-valued and reacting what-is reacted, is the environment, the other or reality, in overt behavior or shared consciousness.

figure 4

In construction, the knowing organism or knowing can ward off falsification and rely on the sensing organism or sensing, which seeks independent rational confirmation. If and when it happens, what-is-known expands, to sensing what-is-known, which is intuition. Again, intuition can ward off falsification and rely on the other side. If and when it happens again, what-is-intuited expands, to knowing what-is-sensed-what-is-known, which is trying. And finally, what-is-tried can ward off falsification and rely on the other side. If and when it happens again, what-is-tried expands, to sensing what-is-known-what-is-sensed-what-is-known, which is action. All the time, the source of knowing what-is-known, intuiting what-is-intuited, trying what-is-tried and acting what-is-acted, is the organism, the self or belief, in covert behavior or secluded consciousness.

  figure 5

Sources' expressions and the impressions they make on their coordinated reflections, are content to be processed by form. The form used by the sensing organism in recollection, which is sensing, is to let what-is-sensed verify and validate what-is-known, or the known environment, which is seeking independent emotional confirmation and looking after it, once found. This is a continuous process for all new content and it never stops. The form used by the knowing organism is to rationally ward off falsification by and instead rely on the sensing organism, which is seeking independent rational confirmation and looking after it, once found. So, from sensing what-is-sensed and knowing-what-is-known, realizing what-is-realized and intuiting what-is-intuited evolve, then valuing what-is-valued and trying what-is-tried and finally reacting what-is-reacted and acting what-is-acted.

Content is processed by form in four phases, continuously expanding if and when independent rational confirmation by construction is found in recollection and independent rational confirmation by recollection is found in construction. In the last phase where sensing what-is-sensed and knowing what-is-known are maximally expanded to reacting what-is-reacted and acting what-is-acted, social reality may be shared externally with others. Interaction does not mean that independent emotional- and rational confirmation have been found yet, even though a lot of mimetic desire (Girard 1977), politeness or group-polarization (Moscovici & Zavalloni 1969) may be going on prematurely. The other must be followed not to lose communication or to make an equal balance, by looking for independent confirmation, however that does not imply only one, narrative, source (cf. Shotter 2005).

figure 6

Content, or what-is-sensed and what-is-known, is processed by form, or sensing and knowing. Independent confirmation by the one source, the organism / self / belief  of the content or reflection of the other, wards off falsification and relies on it, vulnerably. Independent confirmation by the other source, the environment / other / reality of the content or reflection of the one, verifies and validates it. This expands what-is-sensed to what-is-realized to what-is-valued to what-is-reacted, as it expands sensing to realizing to valuing and to reacting. Simultaneously it expands what-is-known to what-is-intuited to what-is-tried to what-is-acted, as it expands knowing to intuiting to trying and to acting. It happens virtually, in your mind and in my mind and  it may happen actually, especially when both sides are overtly interacting in social reality.

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 Intrinsic Motivation

We all recollect what-is-sensed and construct what-is-known, in ourselves and for ourselves. However, the sensed and known environment, other or reality, continuously expands or differentiates until it integrates or merges in social reality, where interaction externalizes and continues to look for independent confirmation, looking after it once it has been found. That is considered True, Good or both. This does not mean that independence is no longer necessary and sufficient for confirmation nor that confirmation is no longer necessary and sufficient for independence. Independence is necessary and sufficient for confirmation, or else it would be dependent confirmation or confirmation bias. And confirmation is necessary and sufficient for independence, or else it would be independent rejection or independence bias. Intrinsic motivation is based on the mutual necessity and sufficience of independence and confirmation as a perpetuum mobile, always recycling its own energy.

figure 8

When independent confirmation is still internal and especially once it has externalized to interactive social reality, it can happen between sources through their coordinated reflections, not within the same- but between different people. So, for example,  instead of knowing what-you-sense or sensing what-you-know, you may know what-the-other-senses or sense what-the-other-knows. Interaction aims for independent confirmation, where and when it can be trusted, expected, presumed, predicted, believed or intended to happen for the right reason. Independent confirmation indicates having found understanding, functional structure or a social role, most notoriously that of Significant Other.

figure 9

In an interaction or a relationship, social roles are the Significant Other and the Self. The other is also a self, the environment is also an organism and reality is also belief. The self is also an other, the organism is also an environment and belief is also reality - for the other. The other's Self is coordinately reflected and independently confirmed as one's Significant Other, while the own Self is coordinately reflected and independently confirmed as the other's Significant other, at least temporarily. Roles are divided between them, as recollector and constructor, while they reflect each other in reverse, as constructor and recollector. The recollector expands sensing to reacting and the constructor expands knowing to acting. Content is then continuously processed through these forms, from what-is-sensed at the periphery, to what-is-reacted at the depths of being, in recollection, mainly by the one, and from what-is-acted at the depths, to what-is-known at the periphery of being, in construction, mainly by the other.

 

  figure 10

   

When you and I interact, you act and I react - then I act and you react. What you say or do is coordinately reflected content for me (and for you), as what I say or do is coordinately reflected content for you (and for me). You exist virtually in my mind as well as in reality, as I exist virtually in your mind as well as in reality. Interaction between us, follows a pattern of alternating what-is-known and what-is-sensed (content) by both of us knowing and sensing (form). The pattern of action is sense what-known-what-is-sensed-what-is-known, or intuit what-is-realized-what-is-intuited, or value what-is-tried, which are overall the same. The pattern of reaction is know what-is-sensed-what-is-known-what-is-sensed, or realize what-is-intuited-what-is-realized, or try what-is-valued, which are overall the same as well. When the phase changes, the next four phases are merged in action or reaction, keeping the latest three as content and adding one new that is form.

                       

figure 11

Independent confirmation may regulate interaction and determine social reality. It marks the presence of Truth, God, Self or Reality. However, social reality may also be regulated by good and bad, or even very bad, criteria. The polar opposite of independent confirmation is dependent rejection. This makes people organize society by the use of force to power-distance from each other (Mulder 1974). Power can be used to counter itself, as in dominance and submission, politics or dialectics (Hegel 1821). It can be generated by group-polarization (Moscovici & Zavalloni 1969) or mimetic desire (Girard 1977), when group members compete for the most powerful position in the group (Meertens 1980) or claim to be and certify themselves as elite. It can also be spinned by reinforced conditioning. People lure themselves into believing that they can be creative as long as things are fresh, but this is just use of force or power and it runs out. Independent confirmation on the contrary, never runs out of steam.

figure 12

Extrinsic motivation, external normativity and externally induced self-fulfilling prophecy or -belief, shape social reality. As long as politics and not ethics drive the economy, then on the Left, the common enemy is independently rejected, which creates cronyism because criticism is taboo and cast out, while on the Right, cronyism is created more directly and personally, by dependent confirmation. Both dependent confirmation of the friend and independent rejection of the foe, result from functional structuring as adaptation (cf. Sanders & Van Rappard 1982). That is not the case with constructive recollection since that is built on independent confirmation, which is the mark of Truth. The trauma of dependent rejection may be soothed by using power to compensate power abuse. However, obligations to the political group simultaneously prevent personal independence and therefore the emotional liberty to pay and earn independent confirmation more than politeness would allow.

Sometimes it is hard to find Truth when dependent confirmation and independent rejection seem normal, for example when the economy is driven by politics instead of ethics. Economically reinforced conditioning is the norm or the "human condition" (Ahrendt 1958). If the best we can offer isn't good enough, we may believe ourselves that we have earned nothing, not even attention, and self-fulfill that prophecy by dissociating from ourselves or from reality (Dell 2009). However when all we see is masks, all we hear is half-truths and all we know is uncertainties, then what we are offered isn't good enough itself  and may be sociosis (Van den Berg 1956). If culture doesn't, at least nature still offers us coordinated reflection and independent confirmation. We can handle the Truth (cf. Reiner 1992). We can't handle the lies. Truth always gets us back on track.

A counter movement against Modern philosophy claims that there are not two sources ("duality of origin"), but there is only one source, which is language. Independent confirmation is therefore impossible between sources. At most, the process can interfere with itself and leave ripples that make up consciousness (Gendlin 1997). What cannot be explained by living expressions and spontaneous gestures, is denounced. Therefore concepts as God, Truth, Self and Reality are no longer valid and are "deconstructed". If we all share the lie, the pain of loss is distributed and therefore less. However, that spontaneity rather seems to describe mimetic desire and group-polarization in a politicized and still power-distancing world. True spontaneity follows interaction in social reality based on independent confirmation, externally as well as internally.

figure 13

Constructive recollection has its own supportive software. What-is-sensed as fact and what-is-known as idea, can be recollected and constructed. When independent confirmation is found, a note should be written about the fact or idea in order. It is automatically added to the collection, to be recollected by any query  that may follow at any time. Notes and their descriptive or explanatory, chronological or logical relations (to other notes) are mapped out and reused in any freely chosen subject-perspective or object-orientation. New views, explanations or understanding is found by expanding any note to see how it is related to which other notes, or following its antecedents and consequents. Notes that were ever related, show how they are linked. However these links can always be updated.

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