IT’S ALL A MATTER OF FEELING
[EDIT: Maastricht, March 15] This theme reflects the ongoing influence of developments in neurobiology on other disciplines. Recent expression of this has emerged in references to ‘romantic economics’ on the BBC and in ‘The Economist’. Saturday’s issue of ‘Dagblad de Limburger’ also carried an article by Professor Luc Soete, Maastricht’s resident intellectual of note, in which he refers to an excess of testosterone as being a cause of the behavior that has led the current crisis in the markets. The source of this intellectual revolution can be traced to the popularization of neurobiological research in the work of Antonio Damasio who has demonstrated the almost immediate response - a matter of milliseconds - in human communications. This has led to an understanding that communication is part of the domain of affect and requires no complex cognitive infrastructure for its mediation. Clearly this does not mean that human behavior cannot be controlled, but it requires training to discipline behavioral response – perhaps good manners or religion have the answer. Certainly the hard-wiring of language and culture provide some form of behavioral orchestration. Interestingly a laser light show was used to illuminate the thrust of the message. However, the real appeal to the imagination came with the idea of a monorail to Avantis, future home to one of Europe’s top medical facilities and only EUR 400 m away from reality. SW See the link for the program.
The TEFAF art fair set the intellectual tone for the week at its “Business Meeting”. A link between business ethics and esthetics -interpreted as ‘feeling’- was the topic of the Robert Nortman Lecture, given by Professor Danica Purg of the Bled School of Management in Slovenia. There was no irony in the choice of the topic, nor any connection with recent stories about the late Mr Nortman in the local press.
http://www.limburg.nl/nl/html/algemeen/Actueel/Persberichten/voorpaginanieuws.asp?nieuws_item=ABCWPAONM715KHKNWCAB