In an ecology, the “whole” has to be seen and understand and the “parts” exist only in contemplation of the whole.
In the world of the mathematicians and philosophers, perception was “intuition” and either spurious or mystical, elusive, mysterious. Perception, the mechanical worldview asserts, is not “serious” but is relegated to the “finer things of life,” that is to things we can do without. In the biological universe, however, perception is at the center. And of course any “ecology” is perception rather than analysis. In an ecology, the “whole” has to be seen and understood and the “parts” exist only in contemplation of the whole. Three hundred years ago, Descartes said, “I think, therefore I am.” We will now have to say also, “I see therefore I am.”
Indeed, the new realities with which this book deals are configurations and, as such, call for perception as much as analysis: the dynamic disequilibrium of the new pluralisms, for instance; the multinational and transnational economy and the transnational ecology; the new archetype of the “educated person” that is so badly needed.
ACTION POINT: What are the roles of both perception and analysis in the following statement about an organization?: “For what matters in any system is the performance of the whole; this is the result of growth and of dynamic balance, adjustment, and integration rather than of mere technical efficiency.”
The New Realities
* Source: The Daily Drucker by Peter F. Drucker