We humans are notoriously challenged with multi-dimensional problems. We evolved

We humans are notoriously challenged with multi-dimensional problems. We evolved to run to intercept something running from us, and avoid something running at us – and we further evolved, to throw a rock, spear or arrow at something moving in relation to us. That is a very complex calculation to perform.

It’s pretty interesting to go through the analysis of why we can only visualize three to five things, and only really remember five to seven, without hard work and mastering certain tricks.

Our emotions for example seem very complex to us, but they ‘re constructed by as few as three different axis.

Our personalities probably consist of no more than five or six major determinants, although numbers of properties is often discussed in the thirties.

So if the number of axis that affect our philosophy is more than two or three it’s no wonder that we have trouble mentally reconciling them. Because it’s possible that we cannot usefully reduce these axis any further.

But we try anyway. We strive for the simplistic ideal type at all times. But we fail. We sometimes under pressure consider a spectrum. And at others under confusion consider two or three axis (say, like the Nolan chart). But beyond the three dimensional we tend to fail.

AXIS 1 (mind)

[reality]

sensation

memory

perception (awareness? awareness of change in state?)

searching

imagination

AXIS 3 (instrumentation)

identity (categorizing, naming – including numbering)

logic (language of justification, argument or maybe persuasion?).

relation (mathematics: logic of constant relations – ie: axiomatic)

causality (physics: logic of constant causal relations – ie:determinism)

organization (economics: logic of inconstant relations)

AXIS 3 (truth)

inconsistency

internal consistency

external consistency (correspondence)

truth (internal and external correspondence)

identity

AXIS 4 (action and population)

observation (accretion)

action (choice)

cooperation. (contract)

spontaneous cooperation (market)

unconscious cooperation (metaphysical value judgements)

AXIS 5 (incentive)

ignorance

preference

priority

obligation

necessity