New Paradigm in Human Development  

In 2013 the Society joined in collaboration with World Academy of Art & Science on a project to examine the root causes of the multiple challenges facing humanity today in order to formulate an integrated perspective, a comprehensive strategy and detailed policy framework attuned to the realities, needs and emerging opportunities of the 21^st century. The project seeks to explore the linkages and interdependencies between issues related to economy, employment, ecology, education, global governance, rule of law, international security, social stability and human welfare. The project was launched at an international conference on “Impact of Science & Technology on Society & Economy” in Trieste, Italy in March 2013, followed by a major international conference on “Opportunities and Challenges for the 21^st Century: Search for New Paradigm” held at the United Nations in Geneva on June 3, 2013 and a seminar at the Library of Alexandria on June 5 & 6, 2013, a roundtable in Bucharest in July 2013, two workshops in Washington DC and Ottawa in September 2013, an international conference on “Transition to a New Society” held in Montenegro in March 2014, a preparatory meeting on a “New Paradigm for Human Development” with 30 leaders of 10 international organizations in Baku, Azerbaijan on April 30, 2014, and an international conference in Almaty, Kazakhstan on November 5-7, 2014. MSS staff conducted research and made presentations in all these conferences. A series of articles authored/co-authored by MSS staff were also published in Cadmus Journal entitled “In Search of a New Paradigm for Global Development” in May 2013; “A Revolution and a New Paradigm in Education” and “New Paradigm in Human Development: A Progress Report” in October 2013; and “New Paradigm: The Necessity and the Opportunity”, “The Coming Revolution in Education” and “Towards a New Paradigm in Education” in May 2014.

Future Education

In response to the rapid development of open on-line courses for higher education (MOOCs), MSS launched a major research project in 2013-14 on the future of global higher education and submitted its findings at an international conference on “Opportunities and Challenges for the 21^st Century: Search for New Paradigm” held at the United Nations in Geneva on June 3, 2013.  Following that conference, MSS prepared a proposal for establishing a new international NGO to promote new solutions in global higher education and presented the proposal to the World Academy of Art & Science.  The proposal was presented and discussed at a high level international conference organized by WAAS at the University of California at Berkeley on 2-3, October 2013 and endorsed by educators from leading US and foreign universities from five continents.

Following the Berkeley conference, WAAS and MSS prepared a detailed proposal for establishing the World University Consortium (WUC) and approached other leading international organizations to join as charter members. The first meeting of the Charter Members was conducted at the Library of Alexandria, Egypt on February 12-14, 2014. In addition to MSS, WAAS and the Library of Alexandria, other charter members include the International Association of University Presidents, the Inter-university Centre (Croatia), Foundation for a Culture of Peace (Spain), Green Cross International (Switzerland), Institute for Cultural Diplomacy (Germany), and Person-centered Approach Institute (Italy). In 2014 MSS staff made presentations on behalf of the Consortium at international conferences conducted in Alexandria, Baku, Moscow, Yokohama, Oxford, and Almaty, Kazakhstan. MSS staff also created a new website www.wunicon.org and began extensive research project covering more than 20 major aspects of higher education, including accessibility, affordability, quality, relevance, sustainability, employability, active learning, on-line learning, trans-disciplinarity, creativity, leadership, original thinking,  and values. A special issue of Cadmus Journal was published in October 2013 highlighting the need for this research initiative. An article on “Toward a New Paradigm in Education” appeared in the Spring 2014 issue of Cadmus.  In addition, MSS launched an online survey of higher education courses to determine the primary factors considered by students in evaluating the quality of on-line courses. 

Trans-disciplinary Science of Society

In September 2014 MSS collaborated with WAAS and WUC to conduct a post-graduate certificate course at Inter-University Centre, Dubrovnik exploring the prospects for development of a comprehensive trans-disciplinary science of society. The course involved nine faculty from MSS, WAAS and Club of Rome and was broadcast live on the web for international viewing. This course is intended as a creative endeavour to look beyond the boundaries fixed by present concepts, theories and disciplines in an effort to make more explicit the linkages and interdependencies between different fields of social activity, to develop common terminology, to identify common underlying social processes applicable to all fields and levels of society, and to examine the prospects and requirements for evolving a trans-disciplinary science of society.  The course examines the common principles applicable to an integrated science of society; similarities and differences between the natural and social sciences; including the character of scientific laws, the place of consciousness and choice; the role of the individual human being as creator, catalyst and pioneer of social change; the need for an expanded concept of causality that takes into account the role of future anticipation as an attractor; and the applicability and limitations of systems, networks and complexity theory when applied to human beings. MSS co-authored an article presenting insights from the course in “Unification in Social Sciences: Search for a Science of Society” (Cadmus, Oct 2014).

New Economic Theory

For the past three years, MSS has been collaborating with the World Academy of Art & Science to establish the foundations for human-centered economic theory focused on the goals of human welfare and well-being. MSS created a new website www.neweconomictheory.org. MSS staff have co-authored a series of research papers in Cadmus Journal and participated in a series of international conferences at Dubrovnik (Sep 2011), Bern (Oct 2011), New Delhi (Nov 2011), Trieste (Mar 2012), Rotterdam (May 2012), Bucharest (Sep 2012), the UN Office in Geneva (Jun 2013), Ottawa (Sep 2013), Podgorica (Mar 2014), Baku (Apr 2014) and Almaty (Nov 2014).

In 2013 MSS research focused on the origins of money and the historical evolution of monetary and financial systems; role of money as a social institution and networking mechanism for the development of society; the role of financial markets in economic development; and ways to more accurately reflect the true costs of labour, ecological resources and environmental pollution. In September 2013, MSS presented its findings at an international conference of the Club of Rome in Ottawa. MSS published two articles on money “The Power of Money” (Cadmus, Oct 2012) and “Multiplying Money” (Cadmus, May 2013). The same issue also included an article on the central role of the creative individual in economic theory titled “Steve Jobs: Nobel Laureate”. In 2014 discussions were conducted for preparation of a college level course on new economic theory in collaboration with members of WAAS, WUC and the Club of Rome.

Global Employment Challenge

MSS continues its research on the global employment challenge focusing on formulation of suitable strategies to reduce the rising levels of unemployment. The project includes a study of both domestic and international factors on national employment markets and job-creation. The project team identified more than 100 significant factors and trends impacting on global employment markets, including population growth, energy and ecology, immigration, globalization of trade and financial markets, rising levels of education, faster technology dissemination, law and human rights, social organization and changing social attitudes. In 2011, a joint team representing MSS, WAAS and the Club of Rome presented recommendations for addressing the global employment challenge to Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, in Brussels and to Dr. Jose M. Salazar-Xirinachs, Executive Director of ILO’s Employment sector, and his team at International Labour Organization, Geneva, Switzerland. MSS has presented papers on this subject at recent conferences organized by Club of Rome (Bern, Nov 2010), United Nations Office in Geneva and WAAS (June 2013), Club of Rome (Ottawa, Sep 2013), Government of Bosnia Herzegovina and WAAS (Sarajevo Jun 2014), and Al-Farabi Kazakh National University and WAAS (Almaty, Nov 2014). MSS staff have also co-authored recent research papers “Theory and Strategies for Full Employment” (Cadmus, Oct 2010) and “Global Prospects for Full Employment” (Cadmus, Apr 2011), which was also a Club of Rome special discussion paper.

Science, Knowledge, Genius & the Nature of Mind

MSS continues its research on Sri Aurobindo’s conception of the human mind and its relevance to science and knowledge. Great advances have been made by modern science through the analysis of different aspects of reality by division and subdivision into smaller and smaller parts, but the reductionist approach has also resulted in a fragmentation of knowledge and divorce of intellectual understanding from life realities. Historical evidence confirms that the greatest scientific discoveries were achieved by intuitive and synthetic rather than analytic separative mental processes. In September 2013, MSS participated in a workshop on the Discipline of Anticipation in science at Lausanne, Switzerland and explored different concepts of knowledge applicable to the natural and social sciences at an international colloquium at CERN in Geneva in March 2014 and can be viewed on the CERN website. MSS staff have published the following research articles: “Limits to Rationality and the Boundaries of Perception” (Eruditio Journal Spring 2013), “Recognizing Unrecognized Genius” (Cadmus Journal Oct 2012), “Creative Consciousness” (Cadmus Journal Oct 2013), and “Ways of Knowing” (Eruditio Journal Spring 2014).

Individuality, Accomplishment and Social Evolution

MSS is engaged in a multi-year research project on the nature and role of Individuality. In recent years, Individuality has emerged as a pre-eminent social value and driving force for change. Human rights, democratic participation, universal education, economic opportunity, social tolerance, freedom of thought and expression, individual innovation and inventiveness are the dominant levers for human progress. The leader, innovator, entrepreneur and the pioneer are social expressions of this phenomenon. The original thinker, inventor and creative artist are mental expressions. Current trends indicate that individuality will play an even greater role in the future. MSS organised an e-seminar on Individuality in collaboration with the World Academy in Feb 2012. A special session on Individuality was conducted in June 2012 at the major international conference on “Humanities and the contemporary world” in collaboration with WAAS at Podgorica. In August 2014, MSS collaborated with WAAS to conduct a post-graduate level certificate course on “Individuality and Accomplishment” at the Inter-University Centre, Dubrovnik which was also broadcast live over the web. A course on leadership is also under development. MSS staff have also published the following research articles on this subject: “The Emerging Individual” (Eruditio Sep 2012), “Evolution of Individuality” (Eruditio Sep 2012), “Study of Individuality and Social Evolution in Literature” (Eruditio Sep 2012), “Creative Consciousness” (Cadmus Oct 2013), “The Conscious Individual” (Cadmus Oct 2014), “Steve Jobs: Nobel Laureate” (Cadmus May 2013).

International Security & Abolition of Nuclear Weapons

MSS is collaborating with the World Academy of Art & Science to evolve new approaches for international security and nuclear disarmament. Staff participated in international conference on “Actions to Enhance Global Security” organized by WAAS, the European Leadership Network (ELN) and Dag Hammarskjold University College (DHUC) of International Relations and Diplomacy (Zagreb, May 3-4, 2013) and at the NATO Conference on “IX Annual NATO Conference on WMD Arms Control, Disarmament and Non-Proliferation” (Split, Croatia, May 6-7, 2013). Our presentations focused on the need to evolve a truly global system of cooperative security that would include Russia and Western countries within a common system. An article “Actions to Enhance Global Security” co-authored by ELN, MSS and DHUC was published in Fall 2013 issue of Cadmus. MSS also conducted research on cultural diplomacy and the history of the Arabs and the Jews in the Middle East and presented a paper “Cultural Diplomacy: Strategies for Psychological Evolution of the Levant” at the international conference on “Levant, Cradle of the Cultural Diplomacy: Rediscovering the Mediterranean” (Bucharest, May 23-25, 2013). Other published articles include “Sovereignty and Nuclear Weapons” and “Nuclear Threats and Security” (Cadmus, Oct 2012).

Governance & Global Rule of Law

MSS continues collaboration with Professor Winston Nagan, Chairman of the Board of WAAS and Director, Institute for Human Rights, Peace and Development at the University of Florida, on the evolution of law as an instrument for social development at the national and global level and the problems of governing an increasingly globalized world community in which legal and political power still reside largely with nation states that claim principles of national sovereignty. The project has generated the following published research papers: “New Paradigm for Global Rule of Law” and “Evolution from Violence to Law to Social Justice” (Cadmus, Apr 2012), and “The Evolution of Sovereignty” (Eruditio, Sep 2013).  Discussions on the relationship between social process, political process and constitutive process were conducted at several international conferences related to the New Paradigm Project.

Human Character, Life and Social Evolution in Pride & Prejudice

The process of social evolution effects changes in all aspects of human life, such as the relationship between the classes, attitudes toward wealth and work, marriage, the rights of women and minorities, the arts, literature, politics, etc. During the French Revolution, England’s ruling aristocracy was deeply concerned about the possible spread of revolutionary fever across the English Channel. As a result, England embarked on a period of rapid social evolution, in which different classes of society intermixed and intermarried, and the aristocracy opened the gates of privilege to the rising Middle Class. Jane Austen’s famous novel Pride & Prejudice, which was written during this period, reflects the evolutionary changes taking place in social attitudes and behavior. The Society continues research on the process of social development as expressed in the changes depicted in the novel. Thus far, more than 4000 pages of original commentary have been developed and more than 300 audio & video-conference seminar sessions have been conducted by the research team. See www.prideandprejudice.info.

E-learning Systems for Selling Skills

The growth of the world economy has generated millions of new jobs for people selling products and services, such as retail products, manufactured goods, financial and other services. Selling is an essential vocational skill for development of a modern economy, yet there are few formal training programs to equip sales people with the knowledge and skill needed for success in this vocation. In 2010, MSS completed the first phase development of a web-based e-learning system for sales people in different industries. A complete ten lesson course has been designed during the year. The beta site was launched in September 2010 and is presently undergoing testing and revisions. A website www.tenfoldsales.com was launched to the general public.