The term "realize" is best understood here in two senses: To become aware
of or understand something, and to cause it to become real. (As per
Vervaeke.) Applied to the self, this "paradox of self-creation" is solved
by Agnes Callard <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.youtube.com_watch-3Fv-3DLj1ntsOxV4U&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=17Ab0LlhU5ZwAx6qsouEgSrtuhyRokOJv4WsjmZAbJo&s=ZIQp9OG-DiBZoJ9roZWUWiATcJZzPhDz7Jwvl_mCVhk&e= > when she
places normative authority in the values of one's future self, rather than
in the values of one's current self who must then make rational decisions
based on those values. She terms this aspirational version of rationality
"proleptic rationality."

Precisely because one cannot proceed temporally from future to present, one
must instead grope toward this future actualization somewhat blindly. The
values of the future, normative-standard holding self are not fully
realized, and so one cannot act from them, but must instead place effort
into growing into the person who can act from them. This is where
things like community, symbols, and serious play become part of one's
development. One becomes vulnerable, in a sense dependent on others to
complete one's journey. In the sense that there is a questing and
questioning dialogue between self and other, this is a Socratic process
(Callard references Socrates heavily in her book "Aspiration: The Agency of
Becoming.) With regard to something as relational as gender, I think that
this dialogue becomes even more important.

We witness the failure of this aspiration regularly with regard to gender.
People will say in such a case,  "He's just a boy in a man's body," or
"She's just a girl in a woman's body." Insofar as adulthood is gendered, to
become an adult in one's culture is to become an adult version of one's
gender. In my humble opinion, a lot of transgender people do not undertake
this work properly, and instead rely on projecting an unexamined
"authenticity" into the world.This may be especially true if one has spent
several decades being socialized as one's former gender - one must
dismantle as well as create, if one wants to fully realize their most
appropriate way of being in the world.

Importantly, this future self Callard describes must be a real possibility.
For someone whose "brain sex" and therefore gendered behavioral disposition
does not match their external anatomy and therefore the gender they have
been assigned by culture, this possibility becomes much narrower, and the
effort to become an adult can prove overwhelming. Speaking for myself,
finding the line of best fit and developing myself along this line opened
up new capacities in the way I felt and interacted with others. These
improvements were noted by others as well. Through this stumbling and
assisted progress, a sense emerged that it was possible to grow from
someone having a female brain into something that our culture would call
"woman," but that this growth was something necessarily co-created and
aspirational, requiring much reflection.

On Fri, Jan 14, 2022 at 12:39 AM Lene Rachel Andersen <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

> *CAUTION: *This email originated from outside of JMU. Do not click links
> or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is
> safe.
> ------------------------------
>
> How can you "realize womanhood"?
> On 13-01-2022 23:59, Rachel Hayden wrote:
>
> *CAUTION: *This email originated from outside of JMU. Do not click links
> or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is
> safe.
> ------------------------------
> I couldn’t really get a clear read of that myself, hence my silly quip
> about Mind 2. However, this may be partly due to what I’ve been trying to
> express - the complexity of gender itself. As our Self arises partly from
> social justification on the Person-Culture Plane, as per UTOK and The
> Elusive I (Henriques/Vervaeke/Mastropietro), the trappings of gender on a
> cultural level (language, clothes, etc.) symbolically help us reflect on
> our Self as a gendered entity. Often, trans people engage in forms of
> “serious play” like drag shows in order to discover themselves via external
> objects. Often, like in my case, we recognize something profound when
> looking at ourselves in the mirror while wearing makeup for the first time
> (for example). It’s like we finally see ourselves. Over time, as the
> article also seems to me to suggest, such things usually lose some of their
> importance and one’s sense of gender internalizes, reintegrates.
>
> This view is not of a prefabricated Self simply projecting itself into the
> world, but co-creating itself and its world, developing by functioning.
> Neurobiology gets the biggest vote for gender behavior (I like that
> Sapolsky quote from the link), but that doesn’t mean things stop there. I
> think gender is also a developmental, aspirational process, going from girl
> to woman, etc. This is somewhat based on my own process of understanding
> that claiming a female neural gender identity wasn’t enough, I had to
> realize womanhood.
>
> Hopefully that made some sense and spoke to your question better!
>
>
>
> On Thu, Jan 13, 2022 at 8:09 AM Lene Rachel Andersen <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
>
>> *CAUTION: *This email originated from outside of JMU. Do not click links
>> or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is
>> safe.
>> ------------------------------
>>
>> Rachel,
>>
>> It just seems that the person gets her sense of self from her clothes,
>> rather than it coming from herself.
>>
>> / Lene
>> On 13-01-2022 14:20, Rachel Hayden wrote:
>>
>> *CAUTION: *This email originated from outside of JMU. Do not click links
>> or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is
>> safe.
>> ------------------------------
>> (At the risk of being too long-winded.)
>>
>> Corinne ~
>>
>> Thank you for the Sapolsky link! This is definitely the kind of thing
>> filling in the gap of the ToK's Mental Plane with regard to gender,
>> specifically related to the primate brain. It also points out some
>> complications at the biological level, when looking from a nice neat binary
>> point of view.
>>
>> One of the questions from a viewer indicates how often we fall into a
>> propositional/justificatory framework when trying to understand gender -
>> while Sapolsky uses the word "feel" to talk about transgender people's
>> experience, the questioner uses "believe." Of course people do form beliefs
>> about their gender, on the Culture-Person Plane, but this is also riding on
>> top of the stream of the Experiential Self. There's this whole underlying
>> Participatory Knowing, to use Vervaekian terminology..
>>
>> Handedness might be a good analogy - does a left-handed or ambidextrous
>> person "believe" they're left-handed or ambidextrous? Well, yes, depending
>> on their culture, but this syntactic justification emerges from their
>> experiences at a motor control level. (Interestingly, culture might
>> influence handedness at a functional level through training someone out of
>> their basic tendency, and likewise I have had to unlearn certain gendered
>> behaviors.) Transgender people don't simply believe we are a different sex,
>> which would indeed be delusional at the propositional level; we are finding
>> a mismatch at a deep level of our optimal grip on our social environment. I
>> would describe this as a problem with Relational Recursive Relevance
>> Realization, in Vervaekian/Henriques-ian terms. (How do you spell
>> Henriques-ian? Ha.) This is something with tendrils running all the way
>> from genetics up to culture.
>>
>>  Lene ~
>>
>> Not having access to this person's Mind 2, I would like to say a few
>> things. One might ask why this person can't just "be a woman," within a
>> broader framework of womanhood. I think what we're seeing is a "Darwinian
>> cultural engine" that has gotten stuck. For a long time in Modernism, the
>> selective constraint of culture have held sway, and we had a rigid binary.
>> Now we also have a Post-Modern explosion of enabling constraint from
>> various individuals, pushing the engine in the opposite but still stuck
>> direction. My (limited) understanding is that this type of engine requires
>> opponent processing to function dynamically, and this has not been
>> happening, partly because we're locked into a purely propositional
>> understanding of things. A Metamodernist sensibility might allow a bit of
>> ironic detachment, while taking seriously the complexification process of
>> gender in culture. At some point, then, culture would be required to do
>> some data compression and revise our categorical understanding as needed,
>> while still recognizing this as contingent.
>>
>> The ToK also comes in handy regarding this person's situation. We have
>> gender expression at the Culture-Person Plane, and one's felt
>> sense/experience of gender being contributed to strongly by the Mental, but
>> also recursively contributed to by anatomical/physiological and cultural
>> factors. So gender identity cannot just be something one feels and then
>> expresses, although that is a big part of it. It doesn't exist in an
>> individualist Romantic vacuum. If our gender categories were different,
>> like in some societies, then this person's direct experience of gender
>> would be different to an extent, I believe. This is why the simplistic
>> arguments over whether clothing has gender are, well, simplistic.
>>
>> This is why I personally seek a "line of best fit" with regard to gender.
>> I am not really a reductionist, not even at the Mental Plane, and culture
>> still matters. I could have come into this conversation with, "As someone
>> who identifies as a bigender transfemme," and a list of pronouns and maybe
>> a flag decal for spice, which might be more accurate but needlessly
>> complicated, because my Participatory/Perspectival knowing only demands
>> that I find an optimal social grip to afford my agency and aspiration.
>> Socially speaking, womanhood works much much better for my brain and
>> me, and has enormously reduced the pain of gender dysphoria. For some, a
>> different fit may be needed. I do share Corinne's amusement around the
>> heavy moralizing of this identity topic!
>>
>> I believe we are pretty far from truly understanding gender (I certainly
>> don't know what gender is after many years of pondering). I think getting
>> some structural clarity, and respect for what seems like a complex issue,
>> will go a long way toward understanding.
>>
>> Thanks much! I really appreciate the conversation. My current
>> understanding has also been informed by direct conversations with John
>> Vervaeke and Gregg, which I also tremendously appreciate.
>>
>> Best,
>> R
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Jan 13, 2022 at 12:26 AM Diop, Corinne - diopcj <[log in to unmask]>
>> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> Hi Lene,
>>>
>>> My read is that the discomfort is because being called Camille or
>>> wearing a dress can be misunderstood as signs of a binary feminine identity
>>> that doesn't encompass who she/they really are, and that acknowledgement of
>>> her/their nonbinary nature, by themself and by others, is considered as
>>> important. (People nearing the end of their 20's think it matters that
>>> other people know who they are, like it would be *immoral* to allow a
>>> misread, lol.)
>>>
>>> I heard about Robert Sapolsky somewhere in one of these threads. I
>>> appreciate his no-nonsense approach to this kind of discussion about
>>> sex/gender, as in this video:
>>> Robert Sapolsky: Brain Gender
>>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.youtube.com_watch-3Fv-3D-2DnsQDX-5FOHNE&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=clpN0s8_Cj_VV9IiN7O6ZePg0b3eyn3KPNj961ANKWA&s=plZTE2HqAw2vOZxcbzG3tn5ubR_5XrhUUH2E9-eADOk&e=>
>>> Warm Regards,
>>> Corinne
>>>
>>> ------------------------------
>>> *From:* theory of knowledge society discussion <
>>> [log in to unmask]> on behalf of Lene Rachel Andersen <
>>> [log in to unmask]>
>>> *Sent:* Wednesday, January 12, 2022 11:06 PM
>>> *To:* [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
>>> *Subject:* Re: TOK Postmodernism Is Not Inherently Anti-science
>>>
>>> ------------------------------
>>> Here is a young woman who is struggling with her identity:
>>> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.huffpost.com_entry_nonbinary-2Dgender-2Drepresentation-5Fn-5F61b8d864e4b06621e42b4b15&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=17Ab0LlhU5ZwAx6qsouEgSrtuhyRokOJv4WsjmZAbJo&s=gE1R8ot5TWNX1OJRsrCzO2jvt6jUrSzum4y2MR4eCkM&e= 
>>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.huffpost.com_entry_nonbinary-2Dgender-2Drepresentation-5Fn-5F61b8d864e4b06621e42b4b15&d=DwMDaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=Bgj_mtbPPMvqes5KOegAPm6mSIwm4GWOvZs8fz9dj78&s=aywA9susu-y8YuvtMrkQrvDEaK6ZhpG9FsmDxZ2ZP94&e=>;
>>> can anybody tell what she is actually struggling with? It almost seems like
>>> she gets her identity from her clothes rather than her having an identity
>>> that she expresses through how she dresses; how do you read it?
>>>
>>> Warmly,
>>>
>>> Lene
>>>
>>>
>>> On 13-01-2022 01:23, Rachel Hayden wrote:
>>>
>>> *CAUTION: *This email originated from outside of JMU. Do not click
>>> links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the
>>> content is safe.
>>> ------------------------------
>>> Hello T.R. ~
>>>
>>> Oh, taking estrogen along with testosterone blockers (and possibly
>>> progesterone) for a significant length of time will absolutely diminish
>>> muscle mass, especially upper body muscle mass, and add fat, along with a
>>> host of other changes no typical man would want, related I believe to what
>>> you refer to as 'sexy.' However, I share your concerns about unfair
>>> advantages from lingering muscle mass, along with bone mass, height, etc.
>>> in trans women, and I don't think it's okay to just say someone born male
>>> is a woman now and can compete with women, without serious examination of
>>> the issue, which I don't think has rightly been done. I personally think
>>> that raising these concerns is justified, and I have done so in other
>>> forums. I also share your concerns about a black-and-white mentality with
>>> regard to this issue. Of course, this also relates to issues of whether
>>> natal women or intersex women who have abnormally high levels of
>>> testosterone should compete with men, or vice-versa.
>>>
>>> I certainly don't have the answers, especially as a non-scientist.
>>> Fortunately, I find serious competition in sports kind of silly, so I have
>>> no skin in that particular game. My own wrists and arms are tiny compared
>>> to what they used to be, despite increased weight training, but for me it's
>>> all about the enjoyment.
>>>
>>> Best,
>>> R
>>>
>>> On Wed, Jan 12, 2022 at 2:56 PM T.R. Pickerill <[log in to unmask]>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> *CAUTION: *This email originated from outside of JMU. Do not click
>>> links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the
>>> content is safe.
>>> ------------------------------
>>>
>>> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.washingtonpost.com_sports_2022_01_10_lia-2Dthomas-2Dpenn-2Dtransgender-2Dswimmer_&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=17Ab0LlhU5ZwAx6qsouEgSrtuhyRokOJv4WsjmZAbJo&s=TNmsrEJo3K1w81wMB4-7qJrWlYvpA1yLxQCxmA3UCb4&e= 
>>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.washingtonpost.com_sports_2022_01_10_lia-2Dthomas-2Dpenn-2Dtransgender-2Dswimmer_&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=svoMr-Eo1wttCRx9AehZmeE6DC4t7okRkuzKZr3Oy1M&s=v63p08n6a4Dhf-XayzWBwzJhyMyV1AasCh43GeZsXNo&e=>
>>>
>>> As a former athlete I would agree that this is very unfair to the women,
>>> changing your ‘sexy’ does not change your bone or muscle structure. I
>>> really don't see why trans rights, which I support, has to be something
>>> that hurts or infringes on women's rights. No reason why a man can't
>>> transition to a female and still compete in men's sports. The political and
>>> social climate however seems to insist on all or nothing, nuclear option,
>>> you are either with us or you are against us mentality with very little
>>> room for nuance, gray zones or attention to fairness and decency.
>>>
>>> On Wed, Jan 12, 2022 at 2:43 PM Nicholas Lattanzio <[log in to unmask]>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> *CAUTION: *This email originated from outside of JMU. Do not click
>>> links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the
>>> content is safe.
>>> ------------------------------
>>> I second all of what Gregg said there. Not everyone may be ready for
>>> metamodernism, but you seem to be embodying it. Anything that you do in
>>> your life from a metamodern place of wisdom will be a tremendous
>>> accomplishment, and I hope you give yourself credit for that.
>>>
>>>
>>> Regards,
>>>
>>> Nicholas G. Lattanzio, Psy.D.
>>>
>>> On Wed, Jan 12, 2022, 1:04 PM Henriques, Gregg - henriqgx <
>>> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>>
>>> This is brilliant stuff, Rachel. Really. I mean I so appreciate your
>>> capacity to take these really complex, arcane academic ideas and
>>> internalize them and apply them to real issues in the real world with real
>>> consequences. Warms my heart.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> And I love what you say here about your community and what kind of
>>> healthy leadership, vision and values is necessary to ensure, justice,
>>> dignity, and well-being with integrity.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Best,
>>>
>>> G
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *From:* theory of knowledge society discussion <
>>> [log in to unmask]> *On Behalf Of *Rachel Hayden
>>> *Sent:* Wednesday, January 12, 2022 1:52 PM
>>> *To:* [log in to unmask]
>>> *Subject:* Re: TOK Postmodernism Is Not Inherently Anti-science
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *CAUTION: *This email originated from outside of JMU. Do not click
>>> links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the
>>> content is safe.
>>> ------------------------------
>>>
>>> Nicholas and Gregg ~
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Thank you very much. I really appreciate that.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I actually think I'd be terrible at writing a book about transgender
>>> science. This is because 1) I'm not trained as a scientist or clinician,
>>> and 2) I learned just enough about this issue to recognize that, while the
>>> specifics of the research may turn out to be wrong, there was enough
>>> convergent evidence to make a naturalistic case for some kind of
>>> neurobiological factor, and that I should proceed with transition on that
>>> basis. Having learned that, I also realized that this type of empirical
>>> knowledge couldn't tell me much about how to transition, a much more of an
>>> aspirational, developmental process which must include the Culture-Person
>>> plane of the ToK - finding a sort of "line of best fit" between biology,
>>> mind, culture, and the transcendent, similar I think to Gregg's wisdom
>>> stack. So I turned to John Vervaeke, who also pointed me toward L.A. Paul
>>> and Agnes Callard's work on transformation, which helped immensely in
>>> actualizing the real potential of becoming someone with a different set of
>>> values and salience landscape. Finding Gregg's work later helped to put all
>>> of my thoughts around this complex issue into a more organized format (go
>>> figure), which has become useful in guiding others toward greater
>>> reflectiveness.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I would like to write some sort of book around this topic, however,
>>> perhaps in conjunction with someone with a science background. What I would
>>> want to do is create a better model for gender transition than the
>>> "decadent Romantic" projections of some kind of hypersubjective self,
>>> currently in vogue in the trans community, and related to general
>>> confusion, anger, and mental distress in the trans population, not to
>>> mention this "trans-trender" issue. I'm envisioning something like a
>>> Hitchhiker's Guide to Your Gender. I think that concepts like opponent
>>> processing machinery between the selective constraints of culture and the
>>> enabling constraints of individual neurobiology/mental idiosyncrasy could
>>> be very useful for some, as they have been for me, if they were explained
>>> in accessible ways. Hopefully this would help people avoid simplistic
>>> ideological dead-ends, for example, the tedious binary debate around
>>> whether clothing has gender or not. Of course, UToK has a lot to offer in
>>> terms of structuring one's understanding (Tree of Knowledge,
>>> Experiential/Private/Public Selves, etc.).
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Best,
>>>
>>> R
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Tue, Jan 11, 2022 at 7:24 PM Nicholas Lattanzio <[log in to unmask]>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> *CAUTION: *This email originated from outside of JMU. Do not click
>>> links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the
>>> content is safe.
>>> ------------------------------
>>>
>>> I got way more than I thought I would response-wise here.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Lee and Gregg,
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Lee, too your point, there are brute facts that are still not clearly
>>> understood and distinctions unmade with clashing social constructs (e.g.,
>>> Columbus statues being taken down being fought over because two sides are
>>> asserting competing narratives as if they are brute facts). So for me
>>> personally Gregg, I agree with JUST and the ToK metamodernism but I can
>>> only accept it as a theory of ontology until it actually happens, and to me
>>> it's pretty clear we aren't there yet culturally if we have this much
>>> apperceive baggage attached to all our narratives. To me its literally that
>>> we  have not yet lost our ego on the culture plane, and non have truly
>>> transcended it until we all do.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> How we actually get there is a different discussion, and I like what
>>> Lee's doing and what Brandon N is doing. We are seeing the relative value
>>> of various theoretical systems with values and competing forces through
>>> that work (and I didn't mean to call you out in my OP Lee! I was moreso
>>> referencing undertones I've seen).
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Rachel,
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I hope you're doing some writing cuz you got some serious knowledge and
>>> being fortunate enough to possess information literacy, I appreciate the
>>> degree of brute facts you just dropped on us. That's the kind of stuff I
>>> want to know that helps me clinically work with my transgender clients. I
>>> need to know what's biological and what isn't because if anything is going
>>> to define any of my beliefs it's that, I can't hold someone responsible for
>>> their genes, after all. So please publish a book or something the market is
>>> raw and ready for a book like that! Or just write and send me info I can
>>> use, either is fine.😅
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> TR,
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I'll have to read your response through a couple of times to better
>>> respond because you also pack a ton of knowledge into what you say. I'm
>>> just too disorganized of a thinker to really understand your writing style
>>> after just one pass.
>>>
>>> Regards,
>>>
>>> Nicholas G. Lattanzio, Psy.D.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Tue, Jan 11, 2022, 6:07 PM Henriques, Gregg - henriqgx <
>>> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>>
>>> Thanks so much for this, Rachel.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Brilliantly stated.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Best,
>>>
>>> Gregg
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPad
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Jan 11, 2022, at 6:31 PM, Rachel Hayden <[log in to unmask]>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>  *CAUTION: *This email originated from outside of JMU. Do not click
>>> links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the
>>> content is safe.
>>> ------------------------------
>>>
>>> I agree with Lee that the transgender issue often takes one side of the
>>> "brute facts" biology vs. social constructivist argument. This corresponds
>>> to the ToK's biological and culture/person planes of existence, and sort of
>>> a modernist vs. postmodernist cultural war. So you have binary biology
>>> (albeit with quirks), pitted against an understanding that various cultures
>>> across the world have exhibited what would be described as "transgender" by
>>> our culture, combined with a sort of critique of patriarchy, etc.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> What often gets left out in this is the animal/mental. I'm not a
>>> scientist, but in the interest of trying to understand how my own
>>> transgender nature came to be, I followed scientists like biopsychologist
>>> Dana Bevins, Alexandra Hall, Robert Sapolsky, and others. What I learned is
>>> that for transgender people, there are factors like genetic gender
>>> behavioral predispositions and non-interference of epigenetics which
>>> translate to changes in the brains of transgender people. Evidence for this
>>> includes genetic analyses, identical vs. fraternal twin studies, links
>>> between handedness and trans people, 2nd to 4th digit ratios, differences
>>> in sense of smell (prior to hormone treatment), and MRI studies. While
>>> there has been debate about MRI studies on the hypothalamic basal nucleus
>>> of the stria terminalis (BNST), due to possible interference from hormone
>>> therapy (not sure where this debate ended up), differences in transgender
>>> brains have been noted in other areas, such as the putamen, corpus
>>> callosum, the insula, and the corticospinal tract.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I would hope that the inclusion of the mental plane would correspond to
>>> revised, somewhat metamodernist-linked understanding which could create
>>> some space around this and many issues.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Best,
>>>
>>> R
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Tue, Jan 11, 2022 at 2:15 PM Henriques, Gregg - henriqgx <
>>> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>>
>>> Love this conversation and I will not add much, but let me just make a
>>> note that is very relevant to UTOK:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> JUST and the ToK System complete change this debate. That is, from a
>>> UTOK perspective, the modern versus postmodern debate about knowledge is
>>> woefully inadequate and poorly framed and unresolvable precisely because we
>>> were missing the necessary pieces.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> JUST gives an ontology, a metatheory of how knowledge is socially
>>> constructed. That is completely novel, and if you do not have that,
>>> everything is confused. So JUST is a game changer when it comes to the
>>> social construction of knowledge, because it is an ontological theory of
>>> that knowledge construction.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Then, you get the ToK System advance, and that is a game changer also.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> So, UTOK clearly gives a metamodern sensibility that includes and
>>> transcends via fundamentally new theoretical advances that allow us to
>>> clean up, clear up and grow up from the modern versus postmodern confusions
>>> regarding the nature of human knowledge. That is, if you aren’t looking at
>>> the modern versus postmodern issues via JUST and the ToK, you are not
>>> looking at them clearly.
>>>
>>>
>>> Best,
>>> Gregg
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *From:* theory of knowledge society discussion <
>>> [log in to unmask]> *On Behalf Of *lee simplyquality.org
>>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__simplyquality.org&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=LFM0nLSfbC-jXV8CctKjRFes9TMn1PHGgRkPUR0f2oE&s=fOU14EQBXub0HGDxbR0jYzZqWspViy1h5C81FEUcCew&e=>
>>> *Sent:* Tuesday, January 11, 2022 2:10 PM
>>> *To:* [log in to unmask]
>>> *Subject:* Re: TOK Postmodernism Is Not Inherently Anti-science
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *CAUTION: *This email originated from outside of JMU. Do not click
>>> links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the
>>> content is safe.
>>> ------------------------------
>>>
>>> Nik,
>>>
>>> Thanks for this.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Here is my simplistic explanation of how I see postmodernism. (And yes,
>>> I am aware I included column “A” in the spreadsheet, and shared my ontology
>>> on this list).
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> When I was in grade school we learned that: 1) Christopher Columbus
>>> discovered America, 2) He was a hero for doing so, and 3) The world is a
>>> much better place as a result of his discovery. This is a (coherent)
>>> narrative that is comfortable for European Americans to hear. A valuable
>>> postmodern contribution is to recognize that this is only one of many
>>> possible narratives emerging from the interpretation of events, and this
>>> particular narrative is advanced by those in power as a way of maintaining
>>> power. All of this is true. I am critical of postmodernism whenever it
>>> suggests that “all we have is stories, these are all made up, go make up
>>> your own story, they all have equal veracity and value.” This is not true.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> A key skill in navigating this territory is to keep in mind the
>>> distinction between “brut facts” and “Social Constructs”.
>>>
>>> See: Exploring Social Constructs
>>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__en.wikiversity.org_wiki_Exploring-5FSocial-5FConstructs&d=DwMGaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=IdYu726FU31tcbpPR-eYYDI1T0vDDXcZZFFi9fPRw-g&s=uvx2rmxjXluyPk37bfZmFxTWeVovqwVRe7xfPLdShw0&e=>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> With respect to Columbus, the brute facts are: 1) A person know as
>>> Christopher Columbus existed at the time. 2) He was on one of three ships
>>> that travelled from Europe to Hispaniola in the year 1492. 3) This was a
>>> big deal to his European sponsors. 4) Colonization began soon after, 5)
>>> Perhaps millions of indigenous people died, 6) Many people in North America
>>> claim to own land, 7) Various history books tell selected portions of this
>>> story using various narrative themes.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Both brute facts (as described above) and a variety of social constructs
>>> (celebrating Columbus Day, various celebrations (and protests), many
>>> stories, books, and text books, …) exist.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> This distinction between brute fact and social construct is in play now
>>> in transgender discussions.
>>>
>>> Gregg was very helpful in reminding us that (the brute facts of sex) sex
>>> (at birth) is bi-modal, not binary.
>>>
>>> Transgender advocates are correct in observing that many customs and
>>> traditions we associate with gender (e.g. pink is for girls, …) are social
>>> constructs, likely advanced by those in power to stay in power. The
>>> discussion gets heated when either the brute facts or the social constructs
>>> are denied or distorted.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> The birther theories
>>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__en.wikipedia.org_wiki_Barack-5FObama-5Fcitizenship-5Fconspiracy-5Ftheories&d=DwMGaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=IdYu726FU31tcbpPR-eYYDI1T0vDDXcZZFFi9fPRw-g&s=ggAEXDUHHyRoVzQMvM_szoumfkaKMQ5FfDruqSA_2bY&e=> (and
>>> now the “big lie”) are other examples of how narratives can be advanced by
>>> powerful people to gain power, test loyalty, or for some other personal
>>> gain. (And I hope it goes without saying that I don’t consider Trump to be
>>> a postmodern theorist.)
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I hope this is clear, accurate, useful, and respectful.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Lee Beaumont
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Jan 11, 2022, at 12:01 PM, Nicholas Lattanzio <[log in to unmask]>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> hat mode
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ############################
>>>
>>> To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: write to:
>>> mailto:[log in to unmask] or click the
>>> following link:
>>> http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1
>>>
>>> ############################
>>>
>>> To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: write to:
>>> mailto:[log in to unmask] or click the
>>> following link:
>>> http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1
>>>
>>> ############################
>>>
>>> To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: write to:
>>> mailto:[log in to unmask] or click the
>>> following link:
>>> http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1
>>>
>>> ############################
>>>
>>> To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: write to:
>>> mailto:[log in to unmask] or click the
>>> following link:
>>> http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1
>>>
>>> ############################
>>>
>>> To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: write to:
>>> mailto:[log in to unmask] or click the
>>> following link:
>>> http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1
>>>
>>> ############################
>>>
>>> To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: write to:
>>> mailto:[log in to unmask] or click the
>>> following link:
>>> http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1
>>> ############################
>>>
>>> To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: write to:
>>> mailto:[log in to unmask] or click the
>>> following link:
>>> http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1
>>>
>>> ############################
>>>
>>> To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: write to:
>>> mailto:[log in to unmask] or click the
>>> following link:
>>> http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1
>>>
>>> ############################
>>>
>>> To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: write to:
>>> mailto:[log in to unmask] or click the
>>> following link:
>>> http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1
>>>
>>> ############################
>>>
>>> To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: write to:
>>> mailto:[log in to unmask] or click the
>>> following link:
>>> http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1
>>>
>>> --
>>> *Lene Rachel Andersen*
>>> Futurist, economist, author & keynote speaker
>>> President of Nordic Bildung and co-founder of the European Bildung
>>> Network
>>> Full member of the Club of Rome
>>> *Nordic Bildung*
>>> Vermlandsgade 51
>>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.google.com_maps_search_Vermlandsgade-2B51-3Fentry-3Dgmail-26source-3Dg&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=fMskJaaoS5kY_6GOs26hgT119FV_8ESf9vSNqTMHFIQ&s=B9KdAbTRmMaPezYPi1cRZtFyYGyA1mDjrwtbmlbF--s&e=>,
>>> 2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark
>>> www.nordicbildung.org
>>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.nordicbildung.org&d=DwMDaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=Bgj_mtbPPMvqes5KOegAPm6mSIwm4GWOvZs8fz9dj78&s=7Y2wC9B0HZny66oih6LjohohEVqcMchSa4fD0NgGkY4&e=>
>>> +45 28 96 42 40
>>> ############################
>>>
>>> To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: write to:
>>> mailto:[log in to unmask] or click the
>>> following link:
>>> http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1
>>> ############################
>>>
>>> To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: write to:
>>> mailto:[log in to unmask] or click the
>>> following link:
>>> http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1
>>>
>> ############################
>>
>> To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: write to:
>> mailto:[log in to unmask] or click the
>> following link:
>> http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1
>>
>> --
>> *Lene Rachel Andersen*
>> Futurist, economist, author & keynote speaker
>> President of Nordic Bildung and co-founder of the European Bildung Network
>> Full member of the Club of Rome
>> *Nordic Bildung*
>> Vermlandsgade 51
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.google.com_maps_search_Vermlandsgade-2B51-3Fentry-3Dgmail-26source-3Dg&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=fMskJaaoS5kY_6GOs26hgT119FV_8ESf9vSNqTMHFIQ&s=B9KdAbTRmMaPezYPi1cRZtFyYGyA1mDjrwtbmlbF--s&e=>,
>> 2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark
>> www.nordicbildung.org
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.nordicbildung.org&d=DwMDaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=P268DJn4g6ezLcqpFbrIaPDXjKjRwGFtJ4_CqUkqLUI&s=naAw0OPOdgUNz5txYEARzPK0ueWyd89GqVonQCZrtMw&e=>
>> +45 28 96 42 40
>> ############################
>>
>> To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: write to:
>> mailto:[log in to unmask] or click the
>> following link:
>> http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1
>>
> ############################
>
> To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: write to:
> mailto:[log in to unmask] or click the
> following link:
> http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1
>
> --
> *Lene Rachel Andersen*
> Futurist, economist, author & keynote speaker
> President of Nordic Bildung and co-founder of the European Bildung Network
> Full member of the Club of Rome
> *Nordic Bildung*
> Vermlandsgade 51, 2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark
> www.nordicbildung.org
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.nordicbildung.org&d=DwMDaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=Q6HBJsbxveULlfppBt5tGOBilukFxSp6bnlhwdvtiSQ&s=EqEpWK3P_CMMwuslsoW8K2F1Mhtb--U48flrxnGWtXg&e=>
> +45 28 96 42 40
> ############################
>
> To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: write to:
> mailto:[log in to unmask] or click the
> following link:
> http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1
>

############################

To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list:
write to: mailto:[log in to unmask]
or click the following link:
http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1