"Matrix Cognition and Spiritual Progress."

John Henry Frenster, M.D.           Physicians’ Educational Series,         Atherton, CA 94027-5446, USA

+1 650/367-6483 (phone);   +1 650/364-1773 (fax);   e-mail:  frensasc@ix.netcom.com

     In his psychiatric analysis of the modern American character, Karl Menninger (1973) drew a contrast between sins and crimes, with sins being the subjective mental traits that precede the objective social actions of committed crimes. As illustrations of these subjective character traits, he utilized an analysis of the Seven Deadly Sins, first enumerated by St. Gregory the Great (587 AD). These have been collectively defined in Merriam-Webster’s Tenth Collegiate Dictionary as: "deadly sin: one of seven sins of pride, covetousness, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, and sloth held to be fatal to spiritual progress" (1997), but that definition merely begs the question of the meaning of spiritual progress on our planet today.

     Continuing his psychiatric analysis, Menninger (1973) suggested that these limiting character traits could be overcome, and even transcended, citing the final mature conclusion of world-historian Arnold J. Toynbee (1971): "I am convinced, myself, that man’s fundamental problem is his human egocentricity."

Matrix Cognition:

     Mathematical psychologists and cognitive scientists have accepted the challenge of discovering those character traits which transcend such crippling human egocentricity, and have begun to use the evolving techniques of artificial intelligence and matrix cognition in these analyses.

     Matrix cognition has its roots in the development by Saaty (1977) of mathematical matrix analyses of the priorities in cognitive hierarchical structures, and in the application of these techniques to decision-making within complex systems (Frenster, 1989 a,b). One of the techniques of matrix cognition is to array categories of related subjects within a two-dimensional matrix, each axis of the matrix representing an important dimension of the topic under discussion.

     If we apply this technique to the problem of egocentric character traits, we might decide, for example, that egocentric personal interests should be balanced by broader familial and planetary interests. Our old seven deadly sins certainly could fill the column under personal interests, but what would we find under the columns of familial interests and planetary interests ?

     In the following Table 1 is found a filled-in matrix of such character traits that would satisfy our need to enjoy our familial and planetary interests as well as our inherent personal interests. Obviously, our matrix needs to be explored, tested and modified. But the emphasis can be on joy and awareness as the hallmark of our progress and evolution, with our focus on freedom of choice as the method of our progress.

Table 1: Inductive Logic of Character Traits for Spiritual Progress:

Personal                     Familial                     Planetary
(selfish)                      (empathic)                (dedicated)
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Pride                            Praise                        Offering
Covetousness             Sharing                      Giving
Lust                             Tenderness               Communion
Anger                          Criticism                     Analysis
Gluttony                       Dining                        Feasting
Envy                             Respect                     Sacrificing
Sloth                             Helping                     Volunteering

     The character traits in the Personal column are largely egocentric states with selfish satisfactions. The character traits in the Familial column then show a broadening interest and empathy for those who are near and dear. Finally, the character traits in the Planetary column are dedicated to the supreme importance of our entire planet’s safety and integrity for a continued existence of humankind. Such growth of focus from ourselves, to our family, and then to all the planet, can be the means of enlarging our spirit and our life, and can call forth our best in thoughts and deeds.

Inductive Logic:

     The techniques of matrix cognition are here employed in a form of inductive logic. This induction is applied to the cognitive progression in quality, not only within each of the three columns, but also in a parallel progression within each character domain, from the personal, to the familial, and then to the planetary. This matrix thus embodies the constraints within each column in both horizontal and vertical dimensions. As in all examples of inductive logic, only one counter-example is sufficient to deny the induction, and all examples must sustain the induction (Dunbar, 1997; Holland, Holyoak, Nisbett and Thagard, 1989). Current analysis of each of the examples in each of the dimensions does not reveal any counter-examples, and all examples are found to sustain the total induction.

Spiritual Progress:

     Mere analysis of desired character traits is not sufficient to acquire or to sustain such character traits in human population groups. If we evolve in our concerns from ourselves to our families and finally to our planet, it should not surprise us that our character traits may evolve in a similar fashion. We all begin as infants, and we must experience our infantile narcissism to later appreciate our family’s sharing and our planet’s nurturing of our lives. We may hesitate to call our planetary concerns holy, but there is no doubt that the character traits found in the planetary column are those often expressed in contemplating our relations to a larger entity.

Conclusion:

     Matrix cognition of spiritual progress provides a verbal formulation of the character traits of the human, the humane, and the holy. The details of these character traits in action, of course, are infinite in number and in variety, and are particular to each person and to each moment in time, but inductive logic suggests that each person can compose their own matrix anew each day. Our future is indeed open to new beginnings. Our lives need balance, but the freedom is ours to choose, how to improve our humanity, our family, our planet. Our future.

References:

Dunbar, K. (1997). On-Line Inductive Reasoning in ScientificLaboratories: What It Reveals About the Nature of Induction and Scientific Discovery. Proceedings of the Nineteenth Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society (pp. 191-192), Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Assoc.

Frenster, J. H. (1989a). Matrix Cognition in Medical Decision-Making. Proceedings of the 1989 AAMSI Congress on Medical Informatics, AAMSI 7, (pp. 131-134), Washington, DC: American Association for Medical Systems and Informatics. Internet copy at:
http://www.euchromatin.org/system10.htm

Frenster, J. H. (1989b). Expert Systems and Open Systems in Medical Artificial Intelligence. Proceedings of the 1989AAMSI Congress on Medical Informatics. AAMSI 7, (pp. 118-120), Washington, DC: American Association for Medical Systems and Informatics. Internet copy at:
http://www.euchromatin.org/system11.htm

Holland, J. H., Holyoak, K. J., Nisbett, R. E. & Thagard, P. R. (1989). Induction: Processes of Inference, Learning, and Discovery. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Menninger, K. (1973). Whatever Became of Sin? New York: EP Dutton.

Merriam-Webster (1997). Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster.

Saaty, T. L. (1977). A Scaling Method for Priorities in Hierarchical Structures. Journal of Mathematical Psychology 15, 234- 281.

St. Gregory the Great (587). Moralia in Job. In Patrologia Latina 76, 621A, (1841), Paris: JP Migne.

Toynbee, A. J. (1971). Surviving the Future. Oxford: Oxford University Press.