Life as Process

About the Book

This book is about observation and process. It addresses what we observe, how we observe, and the value and consequences of how we observe. It also explores the terms of value and meaning, the attribution of value and meaning to observation, and the process of existence. Second, this essay examines time and change and how we observe both. It discusses the concept of “living in the now” or “living in the moment” and examines their relevance to a life well lived. Third, the essay proposes a framework for observing reality. The framework suggests that not only can we observe life from a global perspective but that we have the capacity to experience reality at multiple levels. This is where the empiricist confronts the level-of-analysis issue. Fourth, it explores our human and assisted levels of observation. This represents a broad spectrum of innate as well as chemical, physical, and electronic devices that allow us to explore our universe, our relationships, and our personal lives. Fifth, the essay investigates various methods that humans employed to rationalize their understandings of reality. Included in the discussion is the relevance of these practices to an individual’s personal life. In addition, the essay discusses observing the world as it is and the difficulties inherent in maintaining objectivity while observing precisely. One of the conditions of our current environment is the loss of pragmatism. Ideologies now dominate our political discourse, be it local, statewide, national, or international. In such an environment, compromise becomes unlikely. There is a black and a white with no room for gray. The essay discusses the eventual, and alternative, consequences of this.

About the Author

The author, Philip S. Salisbury, is a retired policy analyst for the State of Illinois. He received his education at Colgate University and then the Maxwell School at Syracuse University. His education was interrupted by a two-year stint in the Peace Corps in Liberia, West Africa. His research has been published in Social Indicators Research. He has published two books in the field of economics and one about his Peace Corps experiences. One of his articles in Social Indicators Research was significant as it expanded the number of items used in quality of life surveys by using a sample that featured both a poverty group and an adult student group. During his work life, Salisbury observed both how large human-service organizations worked and how clients were affected by agency policy. He modeled an agency in fiscal crisis, accurately described its past, and developed a method for controlling its future performance. The ability of clients to respond to changes in policy is not always as predictable as one might think. The dynamics of organizations, the people who work in them, and those they serve are a constant source of curiosity. During the past thirty-five years, his research has focused on the problems of economic growth and decline and its effects on subpopulations of people in the state of Illinois and the United States. In the early 1970s, he discovered an algorithm that characterized growth and decline in physical, human, and social systems. The algorithm contests current views of thinking about being in the now and that the current state of affairs is the most important aspect of reality for the individual. His experience and education have led him to generalize and think about common features concerning nature and the human condition. This has led to the development of a worldview that is strongly affected by the disciplines of physics, sociology, and demography. This book sets forth Salisbury’s worldview and its application to the current situation of nature and the lives of the individual, organizations, and the people they serve.