👥 Thinkers & Influences

“Standing on the shoulders of giants.” — Isaac Newton

⟡ Overview ⟡

This section documents the key thinkers and influences that inform the Becoming Constellations framework, their contributions, and how their ideas are integrated into the constellation.

⟡ Core Thinkers ⟡

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

Key Contributions:

• Dialectical method (thesis-antithesis-synthesis)
• Concept of Aufhebung (sublation)
• Phenomenology of Spirit
• Philosophy of history

Relevance:

• Foundation for dialectical thinking
• Understanding of historical development
• Integration of contradiction as generative force
• Application to contemporary problems

Walter Benjamin

Key Contributions:

• Historical materialism with theological dimensions
• Concept of messianic time
• Dialectical images
• The Angel of History

Relevance:

• Alternative to linear time
• Recognition of revolutionary potential
• Method of constellation construction
• Integration of past and present

Slavoj Žižek

Key Contributions:

• Contemporary Hegelian thought
• Lacanian psychoanalysis
• Political theory
• Cultural critique

Relevance:

• Application of dialectics to contemporary issues
• Understanding of ideology
• Critique of capitalism
• Revolutionary theory

⟡ Related Thinkers ⟡

Mystical Traditions

• Ibn Arabi - Unity of Being, Islamic mysticism
• Rumi - Poetic dialectics, spiritual transformation
• Adi Shankara - Advaita Vedanta, non-dual consciousness
• Abhinavagupta - Kashmir Shaivism, aesthetic theory

Systems Thinkers

• Maturana & Varela - Autopoiesis, living systems
• Elinor Ostrom - Commons governance
• Fritjof Capra - Systems thinking, ecology

Political Theorists

• Antonio Gramsci - Hegemony, dual power
• Paulo Freire - Popular education, critical consciousness
• Murray Bookchin - Social ecology, libertarian municipalism

⟡ Integration ⟡

The framework integrates ideas from:

• Philosophy - Dialectical thinking, historical consciousness
• Mysticism - Temporal awareness, spiritual practice
• Systems Theory - Autopoiesis, complexity, emergence
• Political Economy - Commons, cooperatives, regenerative economics
• Cultural Theory - Memory, tradition, redemption

⟡ Related Threads ⟡

These living dossiers connect thinkers to practice:

• Support to the Palestinian Cause — Kanafani, Said, Erakat (to develop)
• Regenerative Constellations — Ostrom, Kimmerer, Shiva (to develop)
• Temporal Weaving — Benjamin, Yunkaporta (to develop)

⟡ Related Sections ⟡

• Philosophical Framework - How thinkers inform the framework
• Concepts - Concepts derived from thinkers
• Notes - Research on specific thinkers
• References - Source materials

“The tradition of all dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brains of the living.” — Karl Marx