Core human potentialities or forces described in Chapter 1: consciousness and conscious will, a sense of self and personal identity and, vision and hope, have been in synergy – arising with - what will be described as our ‘cognitive (social) structures and potentialities’, those structures and potentialities which foster the creation of potentially rich individual and social realities; hence, the reference to ‘cognitive’ structures and potentialities – those bringing about our ‘human’ world -, but equally, to social structures and potentialities - those bringing about our ‘social’ world -.

1. Our core human potentialities – for individuals, institutions
and societies - grow via our cognitive (social)
structures and potentialities: those that make it
possible to bring about a ‘specifically’ human world.
November 2010 1© Abraham Chiasson

2. Some definitions -
 Cognition will be viewed as a ‘continual bringing forth of a
world’1 and, will lead us to a dynamic understanding of
ethics. (1- Cognition will be further described in the Chapter on Living Systems.)
 Ethics will be viewed as a process of cognition ever
searching for the most effective expression of all our human
and social2 potentialities in bringing forth a human world. (2-
Social potentialities will be described in Chapter 6.)
 Cognitive (social) structures and potentialities will be viewed
as our individual and collective instruments of cognition i.e.,
those that permit us to create our social realities and,
ultimately, our collective psyche.
November 2010 © Abraham Chiasson 2

3. Chapter 2 will examine ethics and -
Our ‘cognitive (social) structures and potentialities’ – those associated
with –
 Our overall human nature and, the ‘self’,
 Our domains of endeavour and, those related to ‘individuals /
institutions / societies’ and,
 Our ‘collective human psyche’ or, the reality of our collective and
historical human experience.
November 2010 © Abraham Chiasson 3

4. Cognitive (Social) Structures -
November 2010 © Abraham Chiasson 4
Human
Nature
Self
Domains
of endeavour
Indiviudal
/
Institutions
/
Society
Collective
Psyche

5. November 2010 © Abraham Chiasson 5
Cognitive
Potentialities
Cognitive & Social Structures live
in the world of our Cognitive
Potentialities
Cognitive
Structures
Social
Structures

6. 1. Core ‘Human Cognitive Potentialities’
 Those cognitive potentialities that nature has given us
as a species to start us on our human (social) journey.
 Those cognitive potentialities associated with our
human nature and being possessed by all who share in
our human nature.
 Those potentialities that underlie and give life to our
other cognitive (social) structures.
November 2010 © Abraham Chiasson 6

7. 1. Core Human Cognitive Potentialities…
 Our ‘core human cognitive potentialities’ have seven
dimensions.
 Each dimension has a specific capacity for bringing
forth a human world and is in a synergistic relationship
with all of the others.
November 2010 © Abraham Chiasson 7

8. November 2010 © Abraham Chiasson 8
1. Core Human Cognitive
Potentialities…
Core
‘Human’
Cognitive
Potentialities
Symbolism
Behaviors
Explanations
InventionFaith
Reason
Technique

9. 1. Core Human Cognitive Potentialities…
Implications e.g.,
 Symbolism gives a sharable ‘human’ (social) reality to our
mental images – it activates our emotions with their
associated perceptions and feelings and sparks our other
cognitive potentialities;
 Our ‘core human cognitive potentialities’ will drive, and be
enriched by, our capacity to transform e.g., the emotions –
perceptions – feelings, of our mental images; and,
 Ethics (individual, institutional and societal) must engage all
our human cognitive potentialities and help them grow to
their full potential.
November 2010 © Abraham Chiasson 9

10. 2. Cognitive potentialities and the ‘self’
‘Core human cognitive potentialities’ bring about the self’s
cognitive potentialities, those that drive our quest as
individuals, institutions and societies, for a richer
autobiographical sense of self in bringing forth our world -.
E.g., those cognitive potentialities that provide for a sense of
‘autobiographical self’ for the individual, institution and
society, and pave the way for effective social engagements…
November 2010 © Abraham Chiasson 10

11. November 2010 © Abraham Chiasson 11
2. Cognitive potentialities - “self”.
Cognitive
Potentialities
“Self”
Energies
Embodiment
Empathy
UniquenessBeliefs
Meaning
Information

12. 2. Cognitive potentialities and the self…
Implications e.g.,
 Symbolism as a ‘core human cognitive potentiality’ brings
about the ‘cognitive energies’ of the self – those energies
which engage 'body and mind’ and,
 Behaviors provide the self with the potential for embodying the
‘cognitive energies’ associated with ‘symbolism’.
 As a ‘self’ cognitive potentiality, beliefs must be associated with
the self's sense of empathy and the other ‘self’ cognitive
potentialities and,
 Beliefs not giving rise to useful meaning and information
(about the world), will quickly wither into irrelevance.
November 2010 © Abraham Chiasson 12

13. 3. Social Structures and Cognitive Potentialities
Social structures – cognitive structures - express our collective
instruments of cognition i.e., those essential to the creation,
development and maintenance of our social realities:
3.1 Domains of ‘endeavour’ express and give social relevance /
structure to our cognitive potentialities;
3.2 Institutions (individuals and societies) and their
organizations - our social 'relational’ structures - are the basis,
for our social relationships; and,
November 2010 © Abraham Chiasson 13

14. Specifically, social structures serve to:
 Give social relevance and meaning to our core human
potentialities (and, to our social potentialities) - and,
 Create the social dynamics needed for the development of our
overall cognitive potentialities.
November 2010 © Abraham Chiasson 14
Human
(& Social)
Potentialities
Cognitive
Potentialities
Social
Structures &
Dynamics

15. 3.1 Domains (of human endeavour)
Domains – our core social structures - express and give
social relevance and structure to our cognitive
potentialities’, specifically, they –
 Give life and meaning (an intentionality) to a social
context via their actualization by an individual, institution
or society as a whole and, are the -
 Conduit for the individual, the institution and ‘ultimately’
society’s contribution to their social environments.
November 2010 © Abraham Chiasson 15

16. 3.1 Domains (of human endeavour)…
 Domains are the result of a synergy driven at its core by our ‘human
potentialities’ (Chapter 1) and, social potentialities (Chapters 6, 7 & 8)
 With those ‘core human and social potentialities’ taking shape in domains
via our overall cognitive potentialities; and,
 Themselves finding ‘specific’ expression in the cognitive potentialities of
socially constructed domains.
November 2010 © Abraham Chiasson 16
Human
&
Social
Potentialities
Cognitive
Potentialities
Domain
Cognitive
Potentialities
Domains

17. 3.1 Domains (of human endeavour)
November 2010 © Abraham Chiasson 17
Cognitive
Potentialities
“Domains”
‘Social’
Qualities
Forms
Stories
BeautyValues
Truths
Theories

18. 3.1 Domains (of human endeavour)…
Domain cognitive potentialities engage us with the world – as
examples -
 Social qualities e.g., symbolizing rationality, wealth, and
justice…, engage ‘socially’ the energies of the self;
 Stories about how the world works grow our potential for
empathy;
 Values give social expression to the self’s beliefs; and,
 Theories - how individual… action via ‘domains’ can
transform the ‘world’.
November 2010 © Abraham Chiasson 18

19. 3.1 Domains (of human endeavour)…
What would be some of the resulting challenges for more open,
shared and responsible ethical dynamics?
 Domain contribution values must enhance our potential for faith;
 Domain cognitive potentialities must aim to be in synergy with
our human cognitive potentialities and those of the self;
 Values must provide for the development of the domain's other
dimensions; and,
 Institutional ethical dynamics that change the domain’s
qualities, forms, stories… will have an effect on domain values.
November 2010 © Abraham Chiasson 19

20. 3.2 Institutions and their organizations
(Individuals, ‘Institutions’ and Societies)
‘Institutions and their organizations - our social 'relational'
structures - are the basis for our social relationships’
Institutions and their organizations are:
 The social expression of our cognitive potentialities for ‘collective’
action and relevance;
 The social vehicles for the enactment of our domain contributions;
 The core architecture of socio-political landscapes; and,
 History’s medium for maintaining and transforming our collective
history – our ability to do things collectively -.
November 2010 © Abraham Chiasson 20

21. 3.2 Institutions and their organizations…
Institutions (and their organizations) provide our domain
contributions with -
 The wherewithal for socio-political relevance by giving life to,
and being connected to, a web of institutional relationships -
the world of the polity or organized society; and, thereby,
 A capacity for their transformation and growth – of their
domain cognitive characteristics - i.e., with the ability to
develop new and more appropriate stories, truths and
theories…
November 2010 © Abraham Chiasson 21

22. 3.2 Institutions and their organizations…
Institutions (and, the individual and societies) have been the
socio-political instruments for the ‘self’ in bringing together
via domain contributions and their cognitive characteristics:
 The self’s core human potentialities e.g., for consciousness
and a sense of vision and, the self’s core cognitive
potentialities e.g., for embodiment, and meaning. (and, as
we will see later, the self’s social potentialities)
November 2010 © Abraham Chiasson 22

23. November 2010 © Abraham Chiasson 23
Individuals
Institutions
Societies
“Self”
“Self”
Cognitive
Potentialities
Domain
Cognitive
Potentialities
Human &
Social
Potentialities

24. 3.2 Institutions and their
Cognitive Potentialities
November 2010 © Abraham Chiasson 24
Universe
Order
Ethos
AestheticsEthics
Ideology
Knowledge

25. 3.2 Institutions - the role of their cognitive potentialities
Universe - Each institution (as is the case for individuals and
societies) has its own universe i.e., those ‘vital realities and
issues’ that have brought about the institution and for which it
continues to exist.
Order - Institutions bring a specific order to their universe of
realities and issues by giving a specific form to their
institutional (domain) contributions e.g., laws in the case of
Parliament.
Ethos - The stories associated with institutional domain
contributions bring about the development of an institutional
ethos - how specific issues are dealt with and the realities
which they bring about.
November 2010 © Abraham Chiasson 25

26. 3.2 Institutions - the role of their cognitive potentialities...
Aesthetics - Institutions mediate domain contributions also on the basis
of their sense of beauty - institutional aesthetics e.g., principles
associated with its sense of beauty.
Ethics - Institutional mediation of domain contribution values is done on
the basis of and, brings about, its ethics e.g., the ethical aspirations
that will drive the resolution of its institutional issues.
Ideology - Institutional mediation of domain related truths lead to a
specific institutional ideology - its ‘body’ of truths about its realities.
Knowledge - Institutions use domain theories for the development of
institutional knowledge - ‘how the world works’ - making them
capable of addressing ‘successfully’ their institutional realities and
issues.
November 2010 © Abraham Chiasson 26

27. 3.2 Institutions - their cognitive potentialities... - resulting challenges for
more open, shared and responsible ethical dynamics.
Institutional (or ‘individual’ or ‘societal’) cognitive potentialities all ‘thrive
or die’ together –
Institutional ethics must (as examples):
 Contribute to internal and external synergies via core
institutional – human - potentialities e.g., those of
‘consciousness’ and ‘vision and hope’ and,
 Those related to its core social potentialities e.g., those
related to accountability and sense of destiny; and,
 Grow individual, institutional and societal domain
contributions and their cognitive potentialities.
November 2010 © Abraham Chiasson 27

28. 4. Collective human psyche - “We are all in this together!”
Our ‘mind’★ – the reality and sum of our thoughts and feelings –
exists inasmuch as it is connected to and nourished by -
 The realities and dynamics of the physical universe – those
that give rise to our ‘human nature’ - and, the realities and
dynamics of our social universe.
Physical Universe < -- Individual Mind -- > Social Universe
 ★ as individuals, institutions and societies…
November 2010 © Abraham Chiasson 28

29. 4. Collective human psyche - “We are all in this together!”
‘Collective human psyche’ - the reality of our collective human
experience –
Metaphorically -
 1) mind – psyche –,
 2) our specific – human – world,
 3) and, our symbiosis with our - collective - social and
historical reality.
November 2010 © Abraham Chiasson 29

30. © Abraham Chiasson 30
4. Collective human psyche –
Cognitive potentialities
January 2010
Symbos
Rituals
Myths
ArtReligion
Philosophy
Science

31. 4. Collective human psyche - “We are all in this together!”
An example: Domains – their creation and development via the
‘self’ – are at the intersect of our 'human and social' cognitive
potentialities and, the dimensions of our collective human
psyche.
November 2010 © Abraham Chiasson 31
Self
‘Human & Social
Cognitive
Potentialities
Domains
Dimensions
Collective Human
Psyche

32. 3. Collective human psyche - “We are all in this together!”…
Resulting challenges for more open… ethical dynamics?
 To grow our ‘collective human psyche’ via ethics and and their impact
on our social realities, as a condition for the growth of our core human
and social potentialities, and of our overall cognitive potentialities.
November 2010 © Abraham Chiasson 32
Ethics
Collective
Human Psyche
Human & Social
Cognitive
Potentialities
Human & Social
Realities
Core Human &
Social
Potentialities
(Ind.-Inst.-Soc.)

33. November 2010 © Abraham Chiasson 33September 2010 © Abraham Chiasson 33
Cognitive Structures Cognitive Potentialities – Ex.
Collective Human Psyche
Individual / Institution /
Society
Domains
Self
Human “Species”
Cognitive
Structures
Symbols
Universe
Qualities
Energies
Symbolism
Cognitive
Potentialities

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