Gerald Gutenschwager has written a profound piece in a short compass, which is additionally sweeping in its reach. I would suggest that “Determinism and Reification: The Twin Pillars of the Amoral Society” should be read by as many Fellows of the World Academy as possible. Gutenschwager has looked at two concepts that have constrained human thought. These are the concepts of Determinism and Reification. When these forms of restraint on thinking are dominant as they have been throughout the course of human history, they have a profound effect on the role of human thought in the business of human-choice-making in terms of fundamental interests and rights. The most insidious effect of these limits on thought is that they in effect expropriate the capacity for the full development of human-centered ethics and morals. Gutenschwager sagaciously points out that a segment of society benefits from these restraints while the rest is largely victimized by it. He draws attention to the notion of the role of the bully in human social processes historically and contemporaneously. The bully can’t function without regard to the restraints of morality and ethics. In short, the bully thrives on an atmosphere of amorality. There is an obvious analogy here regarding Lasswell’s development of the power-oriented personality, which he described in terms of private motives displaced on public objects and rationalizing the public interest. The role of the bully in whatever guise ultimately undermines the development of democracy. Gutenschwager explores the anthropological dimensions of these developments as well as the role of positivism in shaping and giving effect to both reification and determinism. Gutenschwager quotes Nietzsche that those who benefit from reification or determinism “prefer a handful of certainty to a whole cartload of beautiful possibilities”. Gutenschwager provides a powerful critique of the role of economics in the generation and sustaining of an amoral society. In this regard, his giving attention to predatory capitalism, whose contemporary outcomes represent oligarchy and plutocracy, is extremely timely. His critique of Adam Smith is especially insightful. The profoundly important point in Gutenschwager’s contribution is the salience of human thinking and the importance of the freedom of thought for the human future. This is a highly intelligent and compelling contribution.

“Breaking Free: Bringing the Overview Effect to Work and Life” is an important compliment and amplification of Gutenschwager’s article summarized above. In this article, Charles Smith starts with an insight called “the overview effect” appropriated from Frank White, author of The Overview Effect: Space Exploration and Human Evolution. In viewing the earth from the vantage point of space, those observers undergo fleeting moments of transcendence in that they see themselves and the complex communities inhabiting the Earth in a pattern of complete interdependence from top to bottom and bottom to top. This reminds one of the foundations of configurative thinking explored by former WAAS president Harold Lasswell. Configurative thinking requires the vantage point of an observer with a capacity to observe the whole and the multitude of its parts and particulars connected to the whole. The challenge of configurative thinking is that such an approach commits the exploration of any phenomenon at mercurial levels of particularity, and yet extrapolated in the context of the larger whole. This is similar to Smith’s idea that such a vantage point observes “the whole of a system as greater than the sum of its parts”. Additionally, Smith grapples with the idea that those who experience the overview effect are involved in the rest of the community. In Smith’s words, “they experience themselves as fully connected to the world around them, not separate form it… they and the system are made of one whole cloth, even though this experience is far too complex to explain, the experience infuses the participator with energy, vitality and creativity, which is infectious.” There is a profound sense of responsibility in this. In short, the process of thinking generated in this experience requires not linear thinking, but configurative thinking. Smith goes on to explore the elements that facilitate the breaking-free process of the overview effect. These are matters of cognitive dissonance, energetic awareness, escape velocity and collective intelligence. The central feature of Smith’s exploration is that it involves deliberation of the mind and the expansion of the boundaries of consciousness. The expansion of these boundaries represents an important step in the potential and possibilities of human capital for the improvement of the human prospect. This is a profoundly important and brilliant article.

Federico Mayor’s “Higher Education, Cornerstone of the New Era” is a brilliant and far reaching challenge to the future of higher education and the formidable challenges of social responsibility that its future must inevitably embrace. Mayor has provided us with a powerful insight into the interdependence of higher education values and human rights. It is surprising that over 50 years after the adoption of the UN charter and the sterling work of UNESCO, the commitment to human rights and higher education is not yet universally embraced. This is a brief but compelling and brilliant statement of the challenge and its importance to the improvement of world order.

John Avery’s article, “The Future of International Law,” is an important contribution to an interesting topic that seeks to engage non-technical intellectuals who are not jurisprudes or lawyers. What he has done is to provide us with a historical gloss on some of the most important events that have inspired the modern international law concept. Unfortunately, the editor is an international lawyer, and realizes that there is a necessity for a broader and non-technical appreciation of the role of law in the evolution of society. This therefore is not for the technical legal expert but for the fellows who are not trained in this way. In this sense, it is an excellent introduction to the field.