Glossary

This is a living document — the definitions here are not meant to be definitive, but rather serve as a place where the ideas explicated through the pages of this blog can find refuge. This list is not exhaustive, but contains the foundational ideas and frameworks found throughout this blog.

Autopoesis: From the greek auto-, meaning ‘self’, poiesis, meaning ‘creation’ or ‘production’. Autopoesis is a term in systems theory which describes how dynamic and evolved systems work to create and maintain themselves. Autopoesis is connected to cybernetics when describing how agents shaping their environment to support their own internal balance.

Biology: The scientific study of life.

Book: A written document that uses narrative to convey a web of relationships, values, and identities.

Cerebral: An adjective used to describe the mental or intellectual aspects of a being, ie. cognitive.

Chai: The Hebrew word for “life.” Used as a noun and a verb.

Cognitive: An adjective used to describe the self-reflexivity and awareness of an entity, ie. cerebral.

Community: A group of individuals in a physical, emotional, and/or political relationship with one another, whose actions and social positionality reflect belonging to an identified group. Can be further specified into personal, exclusive or extensive.

Corporeal: An adjective that describes the embodied and physical aspects of a being.

Cosmos/Universe/G-d/Nature: A word signifying the Divine Whole, infinite and eternal. Despite many names, G-d is found in every being, emerging through our lives, relationships, and the unfolding of history.

Cosmology: A story about creation. Traditionally, cosmologies are constructed through two interconnected stories - the story of the creation of the Universe, and the story of the creation of humankind. Through cosmologies, values and identities are reinforced and naturalized.

Cybernetics: Derived from the Greek word kybernetes, meaning "steersman" (or metaphorically "guide, governor"). Cybernetics is the transdisciplinary study of how agents interact with tools and systems to shape themselves and their environment. Conceptually intertwined with the biological systems theory of autopoesis.

Diaspora: A word coined by (and for) Jews in Alexandria, describing the dispersal of a culture from its place of origin and the subsequent diversification and place-making that results.

Ecology: The study of the home, grounded in examining the relationship between organisms and their environment. One lens through which biology can be explored.

Environment/World: The place, bound by limits in space and time, within which Life unfolds. The world differs from the World through the detached nature of humankind from the former, compared to the conceptualized belonging and Wholeness of the latter.

Evolution: The process of qualitative change in a continuously iterated system. Evolution drives the formation of all life and culture, generally in a reciprocally causal way.

Halakhah: Literally, the Hebrew word for “way.” Generally refers to the whole of Jewish law – including the strictures and norms, rules and obligations customarily adhered to by “Halachic” Jews. The Torah and the Talmud are the primary sources of these laws.

Home: The place in which a being feels a sense of belonging, comfort, and attachment; and within which one’s needs are provided. The scale through which we feel “at home” depends upon our broader environment, but can as narrow as our body or as broad as the whole Universe.

Homeland: A word that exists in association with an identified group, which recognizes the groups home to be inherently existing as a bounded entity in perpetuity. Homelands operate through the logic of nationalism, as they naturalize an area as belonging to a particular culture.

Judaism: A tradition born out of the conquest of the kingdoms of Judea and Israel, which began in its modern form through the compilation of written Torah and through the evolving discourse of the many generations of scholars who have deliberated and interpreted these words without a radical break.

Kaddish: A prayer praising G-d, generally said during transitionary periods as a way of grounding our connection to our ancestors. Generally said during periods of mourning, or during transitions during prayer services.

Language: A system of written or spoken symbols that signify particular meanings.

Life: That which sustains itself through engagement with the World. Life and be understood as something an individual possesses, or as bound to the whole of biological evolution, within which all organisms are a part — this is the difference between life and Life.

Love: A word which expresses a sense of connection and commitment, alongside a positive feeling care for an Other. For humans, love may best be understood as our capacity for extensive attachment.

Nation: A group bound together through a shared language, a shared history, a shared connection to place; and most fundamentally, a shared sense of group belonging. A nation finds its fullest expression in the nation-state, a political body which claims to express the will of the nation.

Niche: A biological/ecological concept used to describe the whole environment (including all essential resources) for a species, organism, or culture. Many definitions have been proposed, yet none are all encompassing or inclusive of all Life.

Niche Construction: The process by which an organism or species shapes its environment to benefit its self and/or its offspring. Niche construction can occur through many means, including (but not limited to) habitat selection, environmental modification, cosmology, and relationship building.

Neighbor: A familiar individual whose home connects to one’s own. Who is or is not considered one’s neighbor is rooted in one’s social, cultural, and historical context.

Systems Theory: The transdisciplinary study of complex systems (understood to be cohesive collections of interrelated and interdependent parts). Importantly, systems are more than the sum of their parts, and display emergent properties.

Technology: The totality of tools used by a group to comprehend, engage with, and manipulate the World.

Torah: Literally, the Hebrew word for “teachings” or “instructions.” Generally refers to the five books traditionally believed to be delivered to Moses at Sinai.

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