knowledge

“Thinking differently“
As part of our strategic approach, we have developed the concept of “thinking differently“. In this context, we find it essential to break down the various institutions into their respective practices and their interconnections. There is, for example, no such thing as “the state” or “the government”. Rather, there is a collective of procedures, techniques and methods whose interaction is directed by human beings, ranging from administration to education to health care.

The concept of “thinking differently” serves to analyse the relationships, mechanisms and interests between the various agents in order both to define them according to their relative positions within a social sphere and to highlight the perceptions and images underlying their interactions. Our concept “thinking differently” aims to develop new ways of acquiring knowledge, innovative means of practical analysis and decision-making which allow for successful positioning and assertion of interests in a pluralistic and open system.  

Background – The Topology of the Political
Those who must acquire knowledge and make decisions need to be clear on how knowledge is formed and decisions are generated. Every time period and each social sphere has its own determining factors for knowledge and decisions. For us, the understanding that all agents live in an open and pluralistic system of common conventions and points of reference is fundamental. This system forms a social sphere offering various opportunities for action, which is constantly being updated and in which there is always more than one way to perceive the world. Knowledge is a social and time-dependent variable. The surrounding social sphere is not objective and pre-determined but a product of political and social practices. The “social” presents itself in the form of a world of institutions, law-making authorities and established structures. We form concrete networks in the social sphere in order to create a structure which facilitates perception, interpretation and decision-making.

This reification results in an inflexibility and inhibits the realisation of existing opportunities for action. Crucial connections, interests or power relationships are perceived too late or not at all. Those who want to assert themselves successfully need open concepts, which are capable of deconstructing those structures, entities and institutions which appear to be already well-established. This is the only way of pioneering new and updatable strategies.