Workshop on Holistic Thinking

Place, Time and Date

3 May 2014 , 10 am to 3 pm Nellie McClung Library Victoria BC See map here Go here for contact We expect 20 to 40 participants.

Facing the Crisis Together

Holism is the idea that natural systems (physical, biological, chemical, social, economic, mental, linguistic, etc.) and their properties should be viewed as wholes, not as collections of parts. (Wikipedia) Holism is not new, but it has been making a major comeback as a correction to our world-view - a correction that is necessary if we want to survive on this earth. German high schools hold national competitions in managing complex systems; many American schools now offer courses in holistic thinking. Holism requires a change in perspective, but the fundamentals are not difficult to learn. This workshop will introduce holistic thinking (or systems thinking) step by step. Issues we will explore: • Common patterns of systems like families, forests, flocks of birds. • What are the components of these systems? • How do they interact and how predictable are they? • How can we use this perspective? • What does this tell us about our lives, the economy or about nature? • What does this have to do with democracy?

Format

The workshop will use experiential learning. Major concepts will be described, presented visually, explored through examples and through individual and group exercises: • experiencing • sharing • processing • generalizing • applying

Applications

Holistic thinking has a surprisingly wide field of application. If there is enough interest, we will offer 2 hour workshops on holistic thinking in areas like • democracy in every day life, in politics, in NGOs and in sports • personal development • group work and meeting management We also think the workshop may lead to autonomous working groups on other important issues like Steady State Economics or Fair Money.

Facilitator

The workshop will be facilitated by Ben Dolf. More .