Dear Joan W

Great to hear the responses you are receiving about the proposed Centre 
developments in Liverpool. I think it is very heartening that you have the 
support and very exciting. 

I am reading Alan Rayners ALARA key note draft from the actionresearch.net 
site and find a few things of great interest. Alan identifies very clearly a 
number of different ways of thinking and world views/experiences, primarily but 
not exclusively in the field of scientific inquiry and articulates very well the 
shortfalls and issues related to them. Alan identifies what has brought us to 
where we are very well indeed and the developments of 'Inclusionality' I think 
are very important. 

I think that beliefs and faiths provide a rich source of core values however I 
have not yet found a religious belief that I can wholeheartedly sign up to, 
even when a set seems to be just right there seems always to be a hidden 
agenda or hypocrisy. 

I have possibly created my own set of values taking the best from each 
faith/belief and merging them into an eclectic group suitable for my own 
receptive and responsive relationship to them and I realise that the ‘living 
contradiction’ can still creep up on me unawares, living educational theory may 
not be without hypocrisy but at least it becomes clearly and quickly visible and 
revealed in the process. I do have some sympathies with a lot of the religious 
beleif systems but "I do not know"?

I have not alluded to any religious belief systems or control mechanisms "I do 
not know?" is my bottom line and I live with this uncertainty. I am neither fully 
agnostic nor atheist nor am I perhaps completely humanist. As I live with the 
unknown and the uncertain. As I write, reflect on, adjust and review my 'core 
values and principles' by which I live my life. In the post, post modern sense I 
look at the unique, specific and individual relating these to the general, 
common and shared in a ‘dynamic relational flow’ (Rayner) but 'Inclusionality' is 
not my religion neither is 'Socially Engaged Arts'

In your PowerPoint you clearly set out a number of core values and principles 
by which the research and centre can develop and grow. 

You can then accommodate all different beliefs within the growing group and 
centre provided that people agree, confirm and affirm to the core values and 
principles you state and develop with others. One of these core values is that 
each individual also account for the living of their own core values and 
principles.

One of the key things about living educational theory for me is it is not 
founded on the change of others as a driving motivation, although many 
practitioners are engaged with enabling processes of change for others. It is 
founded on self change, awareness, learning, education and development. 
When this form of enquiry has grown to the capacity where ministers are also 
engaged in the same process, the step and sea change will have occurred. 

It may however be the case that when this form of inquiry grows to so many 
self empowered, highly aware, receptive and responsive people making up 
society we may not need the adversarial system on which ministries operate 
and mass decisions are taken. Society will have been transformed beyond 
recognition with each individual accounting for and being held to account and 
responsible for the life lived in so far as it is possible to do so. 

For now I am happy to be immensely challenged on issues of my own 
ministerial responsibilities in the ministry of Andrew Henon’s Socially Engaged 
Participation in the world and thinking about what is of real value to me and 
what is the real value I have to offer in the world.

Your words Joan: “I obviously filled out somewhat on what is included in the 
pp - but basically I was giving a strong rationale as to why we should prioritise 
research that 'improves the world, does not just explain and interpret it' - and 
gave a rationale as to why we should (which included points which resonate 
with aspects of what you write in your 'context', Andy).”

I think my work as an artist is definitely not about just explaining and 
interpreting the world but is about how we can improve it. I think at some 
point I will have to write a kind of biographical account that shows how my 
thinking has moved through different ideas and from where the inspirational 
sources derive. So much of what I have done over the years has developed to 
the intuitive levels, informed by action, doing, reflection, adjustment, action, 
doing, reflection……….and on. It may be when people see the history they 
could relate to the different influences and changes along the way.

Really good to read about and be included in your developments at Liverpool, 
looking forward to much more.

Love Andy