Sublime

Allen and Sandow’s view of social systems was influenced by the Chilean biologist Humberto Maturana, who is famous for his pioneering studies of cognition in living systems. Maturana says that intelligent action is created in social systems where all the members of a network accept the others as legitimate participants in the network.

As Carl Jung put it, “You are what you do, not what you say you will do.”

Ivar had always been a charming guest, and he put on an urbane show for the Marcossons. But anyone who knew him well would have seen a new person. One of Ivar’s most consistent traits since childhood had been that he rarely laughed. Yet now he was suddenly a comedian, relaying humorous anecdotes throughout the day and cackling after the punch lines

Being Martin is not a final identity but consists in striving to be Martin, striving to maintain or transform the relations of priority among my practical identities in the form of an existential identity.

Plato said those who tell the stories rule society and he was right.

According to the Santiago Theory of Cognition, developed by Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela,

you are what you do.

In each instance, what we are asked for is a combination—or more accurately, an integration—of emotion and action.