¶ Artifacts (1)
Index Entry
Artifacts:
"I feel that your letter is correct in its statement of the
problem, but it suggests more governmental or private patronage
focused on social, political, and economic reforms such as can
only be effected by complex agreements at the sovereign nations’ level.
"If you look into my work… you will find that I committed
myself in 1932 to solving problems by artifacts: what I call
reforming the environment rather than trying to reform human
behaviors. Nature is ceaselessly transforming. Every event
has six equieconomical alternatives. Eternal transformation is
inexorable. Discovery and employment of the principles employed
in nature may bring about the desirable environmental conditions
spontaneously inducing omnifavorable human behavior.
"When humans have vital need of reaching the other side of a
roaring river’s rapids, if I design and produce a bridge to the
other side, I am sure they will use it spontaneously instead of
risking their lives in trying to swim across.
"Inasmuch as nature’s omni-inexorable transformings consist of
a plurality of equieconomical, alternatively employable,"
¶ Citations
- RBF Ltr. to Mr. Westrots, Cleveland, OH, 30 Apr’74
