Category Archives: Philosophy + Systems
Technology’s State of Crisis Demand Crisis Management
San Francisco Chronicle, September 16, 2018, p. E7. Make no mistake about it, technology is in a state of crisis of its own making. Technology has betrayed our deepest sense of trust and well-being. It has allowed itself — indeed, … Continue reading
Posted in Crisis Management, Philosophy + Systems
Tagged crisis management, technology
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The Banality of Evil Arguments
In April 17, 1775, Boswell recorded one of Samuel Johnson’s most famous lines, “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.” If he were alive today, I believe that Johnson might well say, “Evil arguments are the first and last refuge of scoundrels.” Continue reading
Posted in Blog, Media + Politics, Philosophy + Systems, Sociology
Tagged arguments, background checks, gun control
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Want to End Gun Violence? Write A Good Bumper Sticker!
One of the reasons why the NRA and rabid gun “enthusiasts” are so effective in getting their ideas across is that they’ve perfected the art of writing bumper stickers. Continue reading
Posted in Blog, Media + Politics, Philosophy + Systems
Tagged gun control, gun violence, NRA, violence
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Enough Is Enough: It’s Time to Get Tough on Organizations That Involve Children in Any Form or Manner
Whether we are experiencing an “actual, real epidemic” of child abuse or because of the overwhelming presence of the media we are just more aware of it is beside the point. What is not beside the point is that some of the most important and highly esteemed organizations have not only engaged in serious cases of child abuse, but engaged in concerted and repeated actions to protect and/or shelter those guilty of committing abuse. Continue reading
Posted in Blog, Media + Politics, Philosophy + Systems, Sociology
Tagged abuse, BBC, Boy Scouts of America, Catholic Chruch, child abuse, media, Penn State, public trust
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Economics: The Psychologically Naïve Science
I admire Paul Krugman. I really do. His many columns in The New York Times and books (for his latest, see, End This Depression Now, ISBN 978-0-393-08877-9) are a testimony to his ability to explain arcane topics in terms that the layperson can understand. Continue reading
The Origins of Republican Pathology: Rebuilding the Emotional Containers of Society
By now, it is of course a truism to say that the Republican Party has tilted so far to the Right that it is extreme, if not literally a cult. As harsh as this may be, it doesn’t even begin to describe what’s wrong with it. In a word, the Republican Party is deeply pathological. In saying this, I am not using the term “pathological” flippantly. Continue reading
How Groups Become Extreme
In two recent op-eds in the Huffington Post (“Is Truth in Politics Possible? Is Truth Possible in Anything Human?” and “Absence of Truth: Why the Republican Candidates Can’t Get Anywhere Near the Truth”), I argued that historically there are at least four different kinds and meanings of “truth.” There are of course more than four. But four is enough for my purposes. Continue reading
Posted in Blog, Media + Politics, Philosophy + Systems, Psychology
Tagged election, philosophy, politics, republican, truth
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Managing the Mess
An odd aspect about the financial mess is how little discussion has been given to managing it, and the economic crisis with it, as messes. In all the finger-pointing, one party has escaped with less attention than deserved – business schools. Continue reading
Posted in Blog, Business, Crisis Management, Philosophy + Systems
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Redesigning People: Deciding Who and What Will Be Human in the Age of Cyborgs
There is no question whatsoever that we are well on the way to the total redesign of human beings. There is no longer any doubt that sooner rather than later, we will become Cyborgs, ungodly mixtures of flesh and machines. Continue reading
Thinking Like an Intellectual Giant: A Tribute to West Churchman
Of all the philosophers I have studied, William James and West Churchman (who studied under James’s protégé, Edgar Arthur Singer Jr.) have exerted the greatest influence on me. James and West challenge us to make the world a more ethical place than we found it, and provide us with prime examples of large-scale systems thinking. Continue reading
Posted in Blog, Philosophy + Systems
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Ian Mitroff | Mitroff Crisis Management 