Nearly a decade ago I went to university as a mature student. I had been an avid reader since early childhood and spent years as a media professional. Complex subjects didn’t scare me. I had confidence in my knowledge base and ability to distill understanding from large amounts of information.
Calling Up Stars, detail, enlarged; 576 spi petitpoint with 3D surface embroidery and DigitalSilk© border ~ jturner (Computorganics series)
It was a shock to learn I lacked a key skill for mining those rich resources for truth and discovery. I didn’t know how to ask the big questions essential to every quest. Thankfully, my studies began at the University of King’s College, an institution that excels in developing that very skill.
In the King’s Foundation Year Programme or FYP (rhymes with zip), learning is intense. Relationships among students and teachers range from small groups to one-on-one. Students explore and debate the rich complexity of ideas that is our Western heritage.
Too often, education systems are designed to be product-focused. The object is not to develop adults who ask big questions, but to produce workers who focus on the task at hand. This means asking little questions: How can I fix/design/improve on this or that part/widget/product? What is the best way to advance in this company/group/institution?
These are helpful inquiries in terms of a career, but not for living. The knowledge they produce is useful, but falls well short of wisdom. A fruitful quest is one marked by love of wisdom, or philosophy. It asks the big questions:
- Why is there something rather than nothing?
- How does the one become many, and how do the many become one?
- Where do ideas come from?
- What is reality?
- How do you define complexity?
The idea of complexity has enthralled me since the early ‘90s, when I first read M. Mitchell Waldrop’s book of that name. Subtitled The Emerging Science at the Edge of Order and Chaos, the story was about the work being done at The Santa Fe Institute in New Mexico. It gave me new insights into God’s creation:
- The cosmos acquired depth and detail.
- Earth was more than just a pretty face bedecked with flora and fauna.
- The beauty and wonder of our planet and the cosmos extended far beyond the surfaces of common sense and daily experience.
Complexity quilt, photography and DigitalSilk© squares ~ æssmith photographs
Complexity tied into my fascination with fractals and nature’s geometry, from the complex patterns of waves and erosion to micro-gardens of moss or the delicate lace of lichen. But it was the artist and producer in me who found complexity thrilling and nature’s patterns a source of inspiration. The philosopher lay dormant until I went to King’s.
I was blessed to have that opportunity, but one of the most important things I learned was that university is not the only road to wisdom. This is especially true today, when so many university programs provide a qualification — that “piece of paper” needed to get a job — rather than an education.
Asking big questions, learning to love wisdom, and understanding complexity begins with taking a hard look at what we believe and why. It means pushing through the cultural thickets of entertainment, consumerism and politics into the light of truth and freedom. It is one of the struggles that enriches and powers the quest.
Related resources:
The best introductory book I know of for readers new to Western philosophy is the one I read the summer before I went to King’s. Unfortunately, I was so focused on memorizing dates and names, and making notes about which philosopher said what, that I gave very little thought to the ideas themselves. Now I appreciate this book for its clear style and lack of technical jargon.
Raeper, William; and Edwards, Linda. A Brief Guide to Ideas. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1997.
M. Mitchell Waldrop’s book on the then emerging science of complexity is a more challenging read, but worth the effort. It’s a fascinating story, well told.
Waldrop, M. Mitchell. Complexity: The Emerging Science at the Edge of Order and Chaos. New York: Simon & Schuster Touchstone, 1992.
For a more recent book on complexity, here is one I wouldn’t have dared tackle even ten years ago. It definitely asks big questions, and brings together experts in science, philosophy, and theology to explore the idea “that the universe in general, and life in particular, is ‘getting more complex with time.’”
Lineweaver, Charles H.; Davies, Paul C. W.; and Ruse, Michael. Complexity and the Arrow of Time. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013.