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How To Think

The Need To Move Beyond Homo Faber

Maria daVenza Tillmanns argues that we need to be holistic in our approach to solving complex problems.

In this article I would like to highlight a distinction between two essentially different orientations of thinking. One looks from the inside out, the other from the outside in. To focus from the inside out is to start from the individual problem, person, state, country, nation and his/her/its specific needs. To focus from the outside in is to start from the whole and its needs: from the earth as a whole, the country as a whole, the community as a whole, the person as a whole, the problematic situation as a whole. To start from the whole is to start from the context in which a problem presents itself, rather than to focus strictly on the problem itself.

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