mario m. yanez (yanez.earth)

Humanity finds itself in a pickle—an existential metacrises of cosmic proportions—one of its own making. Our mode of realization introduces an internal conflict into our Biosphere's operating system.

At its root, this conflict is one of self-image—a myopic view of itself and of its Universe. Our Western Intellectual tradition has perpetuated an epistemology incompatible with the complex nature of our Universe, an epistemology currently incapacitated by its own fractured nature.

This study broaches the nascent field of generalized complexity to discover its implicate qualities. Qualities that human social systems ought aspire to. It shapes an approach to epistemology and inquiry imbued with these. An approach with sufficiently complex theoretical capacity to render a Universe in its fullest dimensionality, dimensionality potentially translatable to the ecosocial realm, where the question arises: what would it mean to be fully Human?

The research aims to understand generalized complexity on its own terms, in an attempt to reconcile the internal conflict. It takes an open-ended approach inspired by the natural philosophical tradition, progressive approximation, to bring ever-greater clarity to the workings of our world and our place within it.

This study confirms the initial intuition that how we perceive our reality is how we repeatedly bring it into being. We are the Universe in Human form, yearning to understand itself in its fullest significance. This implies that we have a cosmic role to play in consciously manifesting our own reality. We've played this role before; will we dare play it again?

key-words. generalized complexity, self-realization, implicate dimensionality, regenerative development, fully human, missing middle

ISCTE study tackles the broadest topic ever, the underlying complexity of the whole Universe
What could we possibly learn about ourselves by investigating complexity, no less, in the Universe, a phenomenon that seems so far removed from everyday life? What would we have to gain? In a word, everything!
This study takes an open-ended approach inspired by the natural philosophical tradition, a tradition that dates back to the birthplace of thought itself, a time before anyone had established a single “right way” to see the world. Of all the modes of learning, only natural philosophy, the precursor to modern-day science and indeed every conceivable discipline, has the intellectual potency to grapple with the extraordinary workings of a universe of complexity.
As a civilization, we have yet to assimilate the phenomenal discoveries of the last century. We are left with only vague uncertainty about the vast, marvelous, unapproachable immensity of a self-organizing Universe. Until now. Through the newly rediscovered method of progressive approximation, which harnesses the power of our mind's eye to bring ever-greater clarity of perception, we begin to shed light on the workings of an intimate Universe by learning to see it with new eyes. We uncover a Universe in which we can belong, one in which we might find purpose and meaning.

It turns out the new-age prophets were right after all! All is one, yet that's not how we experience the world in everyday life. This research on complexity elegantly describes a Universe where all worlds find their place, especially the Human one. It confirms the intuition that how we perceive our reality is how we repeatedly bring it into being. This may be hard to swallow because it has huge implications. It's easy to assume that we are insignificant, that our presence on this relatively unassuming planet in some far-off corner of the Universe has no importance whatsoever in the larger scheme of things. Yet our conclusion implies otherwise. Humans have a cosmic role to play in consciously manifesting Reality. And what if this were really so? Where would we begin?
This research takes this notion all the way home. It embarks on its journey with a very different premise: Each and every one of us, all of us as a species, is the Universe in Human form, yearning to understand itself in its fullest significance. Think on that for a moment. We are the eyes, ears, body, and mind of the Universe, waking up to finally catch a glimpse of itself in the mirror. Up to now, and as far as we know, we are the only species in the Universe, certainly on Earth, that has developed the capacity to even make such a claim.

It seems crazy, this notion that we have a Cosmic role, when we can barely get our act together here on Earth. And… we're starting to learn that it hadn’t always been so. We are now discovering that throughout most of our past as a species, ordinary people, engaged in everyday life, in communities large and small all over the planet, actually consciously participated in bringing their social realities into being. They didn't wait for permission; they assumed this responsibility in exchange for a sense of belonging to something greater than themselves. We've played this role before. Will we dare play it again?
We can say without reservation that there has never been a more urgent moment in the history of Humankind to gain a comprehensive understanding of the workings of our world and our place within it. Indeed, Humanity finds itself in a pickle — an existential metacrises of cosmic proportions, one of its own making. Our powers of self-reflection have gifted us with the hindsight to see that our mode of realization introduces an internal conflict into our Biosphere's operating system.

At its root, this conflict is about self-image—a myopic view of ourselves, alienated from everything else. Our Western intellectual tradition has perpetuated an epistemology incompatible with the complex nature of our universe, one that is currently incapacitated by its own fractured nature. Indeed, we have divided our knowledge into hundreds of disconnected disciplines, making it almost impossible to gain a comprehensive understanding of who we really are and what we are truly capable of.
The research aims to understand the complexity of our Universe on its own terms, seeking to reconcile the growing internal conflict. This study approaches the nascent field of generalized complexity not from the limited perspective of a single discipline but from the complexity of the whole. We aim to discover its implicate qualities—what is “going on” behind the scenes. These are the very qualities we aspire to cultivate in our human social systems.
To engage with this field of study, we had to develop a wholly different approach to knowing and to inquiry, indeed a different language and way of describing phenomena that embodied the very qualities we were learning about. And yes, as complex thinkers, we've even developed the theoretical capacity to render an image of a Universe in its fullest dimensions. However, instead of geeking out interminably, this led us to the pivotal question: what would it mean to be fully Human?

The question is pivotal because it propels the study toward practical application, translating this awe-inspiring, intimate, and dimensionalized view of the Universe into shaping an ecosocial reality we actually want to live into. We won't spoil the ending; discover it for yourself.

ISCTE - University Institute of Lisbon &

University of Lisbon