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Rather than an attempt to define or clarify resilience in terms of its characteristics, or its correspondence to reality, this paper is a series of reflections that leads to the notion of resilience as a way of being in the world. What is presented is not intended to be conclusive in any way. The paper aims to trigger thoughtful reflections that will lead to further conversations about the entailments and ethical concerns implicit in the concept of resilience.

The paper comprises reflections based on a selection of published ideas, as well as on personal engagement in the domains of ecology and the biology of cognition. In postulating that resilience may have a central, ineffable quality, the phrase “soul of” has been used as an approach to considering what such a quality may be. This formulation leads to a consideration about the nature of our relationships with the other such that the notion of resilience has become meaningful.

Language parses or chunks named ideas in a way that reveals some regularities and obscures others. The word resilience is one such chunk that historically has changed its meaning. Furthermore in the present the word refers to variable aspects or elements depending on the context of its usage. In the ecological context, resilience entails an ambiguous balance between persistence and change, and indeed this ambiguity may be necessary to accommodate the complexities. In all cases the author has considered, we are only concerned with resilience where there is an ethical dimension and this, inherently, must be multidimensional given the complexities of the systems being regarded. The author claims that the soul of resilience arises through an ethically oriented reflexive awareness of our dynamic flow in a relational embeddedness.

The practical implications of this paper are elusive, yet meaningful, as the paper attempts to open space for operating in an ethical and useful manner with ambiguous concepts and for avoiding the hubris of certainty. The paper is an explication of one of the ways of thinking inspired by second order science.

As the reflections in this paper are largely those original to the author, the ideas are original. Whether they have value depends on what ideas, attitudes, orientations and further reflections are triggered and whether these in turn implicitly or explicitly alter actions toward more effective care of our world. If reflection on resilience increases resilience, then this paper will have value.

This study aims to explore, illuminate and hence evoke further reflections on the implications of creating and conserving distinctions that inherently act as simplifications and limit appropriate action.

The approach used was reflective regarding the chosen concept of designing and learning from the perspective of a constitutive epistemology. These were investigated as circularities and as distinctions in language. The variety of intended meanings and hence implicit entailments was examined from the perspective of implicit domains.

A tendency to focus on the results of designing and learning rather than the processes was attributed to several factors including cultural relevance, tangibility, durability and observability. Further, it was found that result and process are arbitrary distinctions in a circular system. It was noted that lack of awareness of multiple domains encourages reification, and that distinctions inherently obscure what happens in the non-articulated aspects of living. However, expertise embraces an ability to attend to such “betweens”. This applies to expertise in the assessment of learning and designing.

The most obvious value of the findings is for the field of education. The insights gained indicate that the path of individualized learning with an emphasis on attention to the processes, inclusive of those that are not distinguished and named but can, with reflective experience, be sensed and acted on, has deep epistemological roots. A further implication is that educators require expertise to effectively work with learners, and that effective assessment depends on recurrent conversational interactions between the educator and learner.

Attention is drawn to an announcement of two publications relating to the work of Humberto Maturana, and to a new online encyclopedia of systems and cybernetics. The latter uses Wikimedia technology for free interaction, and this is discussed. Advice on combating spyware and other forms of malware is reviewed, as well as surveys of how to make computers quieter in operation, and of the worrying question of when to switch off between periods of use.

The aim is to review developments on the internet, especially those of general cybernetic interest.

Some of the developments reported have research value, while others bear on practical aspects of computer use and internet access.

The comments on security may prompt urgent action by readers. Otherwise the implications are for access to information and for computer quietness and economy.

It is hoped this is a valuable periodic review.