Creativity in an Organized, Hierarchical Society

At the time when Black Lives Matter and Antifa activists, anarchists, and other terrorists in the great world caused chaos and smashed everything that came before them, I had the pleasure of spending my time in a hospital, where collaboration has developed to its peak. The hospital environment is very hierarchical, with each actor having their own, clear area of responsibility. As I admired the teamwork between doctors and nurses, I noticed how different my hospital experience was compared to 40 years ago.

My attitude was positive and I felt everyone was working to help me. A clear hierarchy helped me to see the big picture, which in turn helped me to collaborate with others. 40 years ago, the hospital, doctors and nurses were a threat to me and I was constantly on the defensive. I expected every day to get news about what was wrong with my body. This negative attitude turned positive when I chose how to react to bad news. However, my experience would have been more pleasant, if I had seen everything in a positive light from the beginning.

This clarification of consciousness changed my perception of creativity. In our society creativity is traditionally associated with individuality, and no limits are set to individuals. Hierarchy and categorizing things are not seen as an imaginative and innovative solution produced by a creative mind. A person, who wants to preserve his or her individuality and freedom walks their own path and has often difficult to engage in close relationships. They are unwilling to listen to the instructions of others as to how he or she should be and live.

I belonged to this group, especially after I became physically disabled, because my situation was in many respects completely different from other people, and I do not want to look for role models outside of myself. Nor have I wanted to belong to a family where I would have a certain role, where I would be instructed by others and where members adhere strictly to social conventions. I wanted to preserve my freedom to make my own conclusions and solutions when facing my challenges.

The Hierarchy of Knowledge

The hospital environment with its strict hierarchies and, on the other hand, the attacks of anarchists and terrorists against the organized information society made me see the importance of cooperation in a new light. Attacks to dismantle the structures of a hierarchical information society are, in my eyes, like Don Quixote’s fight against windmills, as the hierarchy is a feature of knowledge. This is most evident in the operation of a computer and computer networks, where files and records usually need to be in clear order relative to each other for programs and networks to function properly. Everyone knows how difficult it is for a layman to find a file they need on a computer if the file has been accidentally moved to a wrong folder or the folder hierarchy is not logical.

The hierarchy of knowledge is also visible in urban architecture. Architecture, habitat structures (infrastructure), and related (information) systems embody human thinking and brain function. No one questions the hierarchy of knowledge, for the hierarchy helps us to perceive entities and find our place in relation to others. Computer networks and the Internet are considered to be the most important factors in increasing and strengthening democracy worldwide.

However, people would not allow a hierarchy of social action, although it is clear that people must act according to the rules of hierarchical knowledge and logic. Sustainable operating models require common sense, which requires a degree of control of the inner being. Western democracies are built on the foundation of Christianity, which emphasizes the importance of the soul and the Holy Spirit (or the inner navigator, that is the inner being, or intuition) in human relationships. The internal navigator leads us to the truth, that is the source of life.

Creativity in an Organized, Hierarchical Environment

Creativity is associated with individuality and freedom, but theatres, operas, music houses, schools and other cultural institutions are units with a strict hierarchy, like hospitals. Everyone has a clear area of responsibility. The success of each unit depends on how well individual actors work together and fulfil their obligations. A strict hierarchy is not necessarily a constraint on freedom and creativity. On the contrary: Complete freedom can severely limit your creativity while constraints tend to amplify creativeness and opportunity for artistic expression. Creativity has the ability to collaborate across borders, and the co-produced production is incomparably greater than individuals’ own output.

A fun way to develop multifaceted, creative thinking is to become familiar with features of an image editing program (e.g. Gimp) which create certain effects on images using different brushes, layers and painting tools. Different layers themselves may look like a mixture of unrelated things, but individual parts give their own depth in the overall picture.

Organized Society

When people put their wise (creative) heads together, magical events occur. Or then not. Sometimes we have to witness the chaos caused by anarchists and terrorists because there are still a lot of people in the world who prefer anarchy to autocratic leadership.

In the West, we have seen pure anarchy only in TV news from war zones. Anarchy is arbitrariness, law of the jungle, which no one wants. At least no one, who is aware of his responsibility for his own well-being and that of his family and his community. Authoritarian leadership is at best a civilized dictatorship, in which people in leading positions make sure that everyone in the community can function in the best possible way, in other words, can bring out the best aspects of themselves.

When I was young I was taught that the smallest unit in society is the family. The basis of this idea is probably that at the heart of social research at all levels are social relationships, e.g. an individual’s relationship with other people. An individual is assumed to react to events and happenings that they are observing in the outside world.

This view does not take into account that individuals have two sides: the ego, which embodies the physical essence of humans, and the inner being (inner navigator, intuition), which represents the non-physical world. From an individual’s perspective regarding social life, it is very important what kind of relationship individuals have to themselves, that is, to their inner being. Crucial to everything is whether a person is under the influence of his or her inner being or something else.

We can have control only over our own feelings and emotions. It is said that evolution has “programmed” man to focus his attention on negative things. Evolution starts with the individual and each individual has the power to program how he or she personally reacts to negative news. It is not a “destiny” determined by evolution.