Gurteen Knowledge Letter: Issue 291 - September 2024

Gurteen Knowledge Letter
Issue 291 - September 2024

Imagine effortlessly engaging with people, connecting meaningfully, and collaborating toward shared goals. Consider the profound impact you could have if every conversation sparked positive change, enriching both your life and the lives of others. This is the transformative potential of our Conversational Leadership workshop.

This virtual workshop, designed for your personal and professional growth, is offered in a convenient two-day format. Join John Hovell, Saule Menane, Donita Volkwijn, and me as we guide you through this powerful experience.

For more information and to register, please visit Conversational Leadership Workshop. We look forward to seeing you there.

1. Upcoming Events with Dave Snowden
   See the world through the lens of complexity
2. Improve Your Conversations
   Use the Johari Window to improve communication and personal growth
3. It's Just a Theory
   Understanding scientific terms
4. Understanding Teleology
   The illusion of purpose
5. Can Morality Exist Without God?
   Exploring the universal principles of right and wrong
6. Please support my work
7. Unsubscribe
8. Gurteen Knowledge Letter

I've long followed Dave Snowden's work, which began with a focus on knowledge management and has since shifted towards complexity and anthro-complexity (the study of the complex systems and processes involved in human societies, including social, economic, political, and cultural phenomena). If one person has influenced my thinking more than anyone else, it is Dave.

Many of you will already be familiar with his work and, like me, have gained valuable insights from his blog, numerous webinars, and podcasts.

Dave's work has the potential to greatly improve not only the business world but, more critically, society as a whole. If you want to learn more, he has several upcoming events on the Cynefin website. I encourage you to check them out.

Effective conversation is essential for strong relationships and personal growth. The Johari Window provides a framework for understanding how self-awareness and feedback can improve communication. Learn how to apply this approach to enhance your conversations.

I smile when I read discussions on social media about evolution where someone dismisses it by saying, "It's just a theory", as in doing so, they reveal their misunderstanding of science.

In scientific terms, a theory is not simply a guess or a hunch but a well-substantiated explanation based on a large body of evidence.

I've written a bit about the scientific method in my blook and included a post that explains key scientific terms, such as “hypothesis”, “theory”, “law”, and “evidence”, as outside of scientific circles, these terms are often misunderstood.

If you have any doubts about their meaning, look at my definitions —I've tried to keep them straightforward.

We often think everything has a purpose or was designed for a goal, a concept known as teleology. However, this view can be misleading. Many things exist not because they were created for purpose but because they contributed to their survival and reproduction.

For example, natural selection favors traits that enhance survival, not because they serve a higher purpose but because they are advantageous. This challenges the idea that everything must have a specific reason for being.

I have explained this concept in more detail in my blook.

One frequently cited argument for belief in God is the assertion that, without a divine being to establish moral codes, morality could not exist. Christopher Hitchens often countered this viewpoint in his many debates on religion (such as this one Christopher Hitchens on Morality), arguing that morality does not require a god; instead, humans possess an innate sense of right and wrong. This moral intuition, he suggested, has been crucial for the survival and evolution of our species, naturally fostering ethical behaviors over time.

I've always found Hitchens' argument persuasive, so I was particularly interested in Harvey Whitehouse's new book, Inheritance: The Evolutionary Origins of the Modern World. Whitehouse's research aligns with this perspective, demonstrating through extensive studies of diverse societies that certain moral principles are universally regarded as good.

Whitehouse identifies seven moral principles that are considered universally good across cultures:

1. Help your kin: Supporting and caring for family members.
2. Be loyal to your group: Maintaining allegiance and commitment to one's community or group.
3. Reciprocate favors: Engaging in mutual aid and ensuring fairness in exchanges.
4. Be courageous: Demonstrating bravery, particularly in defense of one's community or values.
5. Defer to superiors: Showing respect and compliance towards authority figures or leaders.
6. Share things fairly: Ensuring equitable distribution of resources and opportunities.
7. Respect other people's property: Honoring the ownership rights of others.

I haven't finished the book yet, but it offers a fascinating exploration of how evolution more generally has shaped us.

Please help support my work.
I have been publishing the Gurteen Knowledge Letter every month for over 20 years, and most of you have received it for five years or more. My Knowledge Café also recently had its 20thth birthday in September 2022.

If you find my work valuable, please consider supporting me by donating $1 (or more) a month to become a Patron or making a small one-off contribution. Your assistance will help cover some of my website hosting expenses.

I have over 50 patrons so far. Thank you all.

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Gurteen Knowledge Letter
The Gurteen Knowledge Letter is a free monthly e-mail-based newsletter. Its purpose is to stimulate thought about Conversational Leadership and Knowledge Management. You can find back issues here.

If you don't already receive this newsletter, you can register to receive it by email each month.

It is sponsored by the Henley Forum of the Henley Business School, Oxfordshire, England.

You may copy, reprint or forward all or part of this newsletter to friends, colleagues, or customers, so long as any use is not for resale or profit and I am attributed. If you have any queries, please get in touch with me.

David GURTEEN
Gurteen Knowledge
Fleet, United Kingdom