FROLIO – Formalizable Relationship-Oriented Language-Insensitive Ontology

Welcome to FROLIO – a new attempt to merge philosophy and the "semantic web" . This website is under continuing development.

Roger's Hot Cross Buns - what sort of a person are you?

Introduction

In recognizing that different humans "come from" different viewpoints and psyches, I have developed a set of two-dimensional "attitude contrast" diagrams. Being a former computer person, I've based these on a diagram used by the UK computer company ICL (now part of Fujitsu). They also have similarities with the diagrams used by two Japanese thinkers, Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi - I'm including a version of one of their diagrams here as a comparison.

The ones in the bottom row are based on Stephen Law's 2006 book The War for Children's Minds.

Explanation

Tan-coloured bun:

Fundo = Fundamentalist: you like clear ground rules that don't change
PoMo = Post Modernist: you don't believe there can be any consensus on value; your judgment is just as valid as anyone else's
Left = Radical, Socialist: you believe the world urgently needs change, and the "have-nots" should get a lift at the expense of the "haves"
Right = Conservative, free for all: you believe existing institutions are worth keeping, and that power should go to those that can grab it

Notes on this bun: This describes where we sit politically, philosophically and maybe psychologically as well. It's probably not common to be both conservative and PoMo.

Rose-coloured bun:

Conscience = we ought to act as our better nature guides us
Urges = we ought to let our instincts guide us
Head = we should check that what we observe or are told makes logical sense and is consistent, and we should act accordingly
Heart = we should be guided by our emotions, without subjecting things to too much rationalization

Notes on this bun: This is largely about individual balance - it is probably best not to be at the extremes. The two dimensions possibly have some correlation.

Lilac-coloured bun:

Go for it = we should take the opportunities that come our way and "be the best we can"
Battle it out = life is tough for most of us; we should just try to get through and not embarrass others by becoming "tall poppies"
Dare to be different: = we should be true to ourselves, and make decisions on the basis of living with ourselves afterwards
Stick with the crowd = we should be guided by what those around us think

Notes on this bun: This is very much concerned with the individual's style in respect to those around him/her. The "persona" that we take in any group may be limited by the character we acquire from our birth and upbringing, or even by what roles are "available" in the group.

Turquoise-coloured bun:

Show = what matters is how whatever we are presented with looks
Substance = what matters is whether whatever we are presented with actually does what it is meant to do, in practice
Hard logic = what matters is whether what is presented is true and based on sound evidence
Good story = what matters is whether there is something to fire peoples' imagination and aspirations

Notes on this bun: This concerns presentation. There is probably a role for people who fall anywhere in these dimensions, e.g. advertising executives and politicians as well as scientists and lawyers.

Grass-coloured bun:

Keep trying = if things don't work out, try a different line of attack, but don't give up
Pin the blame = if things don't work out, it probably wasn't our fault, so have a go at someone, get the lawyers onto it, or just moan
Keep talking = if things don't work out, hang on to centre stage and change the subject
Keep listening = if things don't work out, we need to listen (or read) better, and so learn

Notes on this bun: This is clearly to do with how we face difficulties.

Lemon-coloured bun (Nonaka and Takeuchi):

Tacit = what we know that isn't necessarily something we can write down or even express, or that we do without deliberately thinking
Explicit = what we know that can be clearly stated or written, or formalized in some way
Internal = what we know privately - or in our immediate family or work group
External - what we know that can be communicated and discussed more widely

Notes on this bun: This bun is a bit different from the others. Although each of us may be stronger in one quadrant than the others, the idea is that good managers should not stick in one quadrant but keep going round in the direction of the arrows. That way, individuals and groups gradually build up useful knowledge. Starting at the upper left:
            * we socialize and exchange our experiences and feelings (share tacit knowledge)
            * we generalize, theorize and rationalize about the issues using measurement and formal models (communicate concepts)
            * we propose ideas and rules for solving the problems and addressing the issues (systematize from observations)
            * we acquire tacit knowledge by applying ideas and rules (learn by practice)

Nonaka and Takeuchi were aiming their thoughts at management in organizations, but their ideas are just as valid in general development of knowledge for individuals in a society. What seems important is that we do not throw away or lose the knowledge we have gained - which can happen when employees leave the organization, or when people move away or die.

In all the bottom row of buns (Stephen Law):

Authoritarian regarding thought = taking the view that we should teach children right and wrong according to some external authority (e.g. Bible, Koran, Pope, Sect leader, Dictator) before encouraging them to think or reason about such things.
Liberal regarding thought = taking the view that we should encourage children to think and reason at the same time as we introduce them to religion and external prescriptions about morality.

Notes on this bun: Stephen Law's book is primarily about teaching children, but he also castigates some neo-conservatives (e.g. Leo Strauss, Irving Kristol) who imply that "the masses" should not be encouraged to think or reason either. He believes that for the best progress for humanity in the future, we should favour the Liberal (regarding thought) side.

All 4 quadrants of Nonaka and Takeuchi certainly require liberality of thought, but authoritarianism in organizations ("do as I say") is still very rife - and sometimes necessary.

Cerise-coloured bun (bottom left):

Authoritarian regarding action = taking the view that we should have definite rules in society about what people can and can't do, and that we should enforce them.
Liberal regarding action = taking the view that what people do is their own choice, we should not have too many rules, and that we should let other people get on with it.

Notes on this bun: Stephen Law takes great pains to separate the two aspects of liberalism. He says that those who campaign against liberals often fail to acknowledge the difference.

Mid-green-coloured bun (bottom middle):

Religious = believing that morality is defined by a supreme God (or a great Prophet), possibly via sacred writings, established institutions and the word of those humans that profess to be the mouthpieces or interpreters of this externally given morality.
Atheist = not believing in any such God or Prophet.

Notes on this bun: There could be different views on what qualifies (or doesn't qualify) as "religious". East Asian religions may not have a God like the Abrahamic (i.e. Jewish, Christian and Islamic) religions do; other religions may even have a "pantheon". Some people recognize "God" as simply the spirit of Good and Value, but do not want to adopt a particular tradition or mythology. Others equate "religious" as meaning "devoutly following a particular package".

Blue-coloured bun (bottom right):

Relativist = taking the view that there is no reason why one person's view of what is right or wrong is as good as anyone else's, and that we should not judge others by our own position.
Non-relativist = taking the view that there is some structure of values and of right or wrong that we should agree on.

Notes on this bun: The structure in the non-relativist position could be given by one particular religion or political system. However as the world gradually becomes more and more of a global village, thoughtful people may look towards a consensus across multiple cultures and religions about what that structure should be.

There is probably a lot of overlap of the Relativist extreme with "Po-Mo" in the tan-coloured bun.

Summary

In the first 5 buns, there's a contrast between both 'top and bottom' and 'left and right'. You could place yourself (or people you know, or people in the news) somewhere on each hot cross bun. Probably, everyone would be located at a slightly different spot.

It's fairly arbitrary, though, which two "dimensions" are put on the same coloured bun - but I have tried to put similar things together. There may also be more dimensions that I haven't covered.

Although I have my own views, I don't intend to assert what is "good" or "bad" in this analysis. We just need to recognize where people who write things and tell you things are coming from.

Nonaka and Takeuchi's bun is a bit different from the others; it's not so much about contrasts, more about how individuals and groups gradually build up knowledge by going round the bun as indicated by the circular arrows. Starting at the upper left:

Share tacit knowledge = socialize and exchange our experiences and feelings
Communicate concepts = generalize, theorize and rationalize about the issues using measurement and formal models
Systematize from observations = propose ideas and rules for solving the problems and addressing the issues
Learn by practice = acquire tacit knowledge by applying ideas and rules

Each individual person may be stronger in some quarters of the bun than others. Nonaka and Takeuchi were aiming their thoughts at managing organizations, but their ideas are just as valid in general development of knowledge for individuals in a society. What seems important is that we do not throw away or lose the knowledge we have gained - which can happen when employees leave the organization, or when people move away or die.

Links

Index to more of these diatribes

FROLIO home page

Some of these links may be under construction – or re-construction.

This version updated on 1^st Febuary 2010

If you have constructive suggestions or comments, please contact the author rogertag@tpg.com.au .