Ronald Chavers Foundation

• 1958 – 1960: corresponded with C.G. Jung on cultural symbolism, archetypes, creative transformation and psychosynthesis.
  
  
• 1959: corresponded, through mediation of Dr. Homer E. Jack, with Albert Schweitzer on culture, cultural philosophy, natural philosophy, spiritual and physical patterns and their transformational possibilities in changing and solving the problems of mankind.

• 1960: conversations with Prof. Sodhi, Director of the Psychological Institute at the FU Berlin at the time. The discussion between me and Prof. Sodhi concerned the question of developing a methodological study and scientific theory on the development of the “Gestalt” as a further elaboration of the Gestalt-theory as developed by Kohler and Wertheimer. My ambition was to link the methodological and logical development of Gestalt to a mathematical and logical forming as process and transformation. 
  
  
• A process of thinking, imaging, symbolic representation, providing form and realization, with the possibility to test these processes on each individual and to monitor them as a methodological development. In contrast to Piaget and others, I – just as O. Selz with his thought psychology and K. Lewin with his topological psychology – wanted to establish a link between the genetic and cultural development and the Gestalt-formation in learning psychology as a pattern formation or pattern-constructs. The attention of both Prof. Sodhi and me focused on how to develop a systematic test and development method; a method which is empirical and investigates genetic, social, symbolic, semiotic, spiritual and cultural elements in a systematic manner. Discussions between Prof. Sodhi and me contained a thematization of the traditional concepts and the methodical studies in which the development of “Gestalt”, “Symbol”, “Sign”, “Bild” and “Lebensform” constitutes a methodical improvement, in order that the empirical and rational development of special children can result in a scientific method also suitable for testing purposes. This called for the ‘reforming’ (reconstruction – differentiation – construction) of methodology; a study which I took up as a methodologist. In this context, my studies focused on Kant’s synthetic philosophy, the synthetic-dialectic method by Hegel, Husserl’s concept of “Lebenswelt” and the developmental psychology by William James, John Dewey’s concept of logic and Cassirer’s concept of symbolic forms. Operating from cultural anthropology and totemistic logic, scholars such as Levi-Strauss and Cassirer influenced me in this development. This influence is reflected in the logic-structuralist side of the logic process of learning and thinking, the mathematical organization of these processes and their representation (symbolism, sign and semiotics). In the course of this study, I worked on a thesis “Dialektik als Wissenschaftsbegriff”, in which the methodological and logical theoretical basis was established for the further application of this method in the fields of mathematics, philosophy, logical rationality, psychology and natural sciences.
  
  

• 1960 – 1970: conversations with Dr. Reinhard Goll, anthropologist, Institut fur Ethnologie, Freie Universitat Berlin, on the problem of cultural symbolism, patterns and semiotics, and about the influence of these patterns on the social and natural sciences. These conversations also focused on the following question: Is science rooted in culture or is the rationality of the sciences unconnected to cultural patterns, cultural rationality and communication?

–Answering this question in the positive sense raises the question of how this can be recorded, analyzed and reconstructed, as well as how we can integrate this in our daily life, social occurrences and behaviorisms, language, linguistics (poetry, drama, dance, etc.).

• 1973: seminar with Prof. Basil Davidson in London on the Afro-Egyptian influence on the western and oriental civilizations.
  
  

• 1973 – 1974: conversation with Karl Popper on the possibility to investigate dualism and the conflict between formal theory and empirical practice, as well as the dilemma of the analytical method. I have noted that the analytical method cannot be transformed separately from the dialectic and synthetic methods, and that all three methods should be defined in such a manner that they do not contradict one another.
  -, and that they represent, formalize and systematize empirical reality without being in conflict with it. For Popper, the analytical method remained a critical method and as such was no more than a method of critical conventions. Operating from this point of view, he was unable to refute my method and various theories and methodology as such. Various exchanges in the area of the meaning of semiotics as a transformational method for pedagogies, physics, psychology, cultural anthropology and genetic engineering.

• 1982: correspondence with Prof. Fritjof Capra, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, California. In conjunction with Capra’s attempt to develop an alternative program for the systematization of the sciences, I entered into a discussion with Capra in order to find an alternative in the mathematics, logical and mathematical, structural and empirical organization, which concerns the systematization and system of physical matter, and which provides a theoretical, mathematical and logical answer to the real rational and historical problems of the various sciences.
  
  

• 1987: various exchanges with Prof. P.E. Josselin de Jong, Emeritus Professor of the Subfaculty Cultural Anthropology, State University of Leiden, on the subject of structuralism.
  
  

• 1987: discussion with Prof. Edward T. Hall on intercultural problems in management and intercultural communication within a multicultural society, and about the question: Is it possible to develop an intercultural method for the solving of pedagogic, symbolic, communicative and transformational questions?

–  Conversations and correspondence following my contribution to a systematization of -semiotic studies, and the connection between:

– semiotics and logic, mathematics and mathematical modeling

– semiotics and literature, art, martial arts, dance, drama and music

– semiotics and how to represent characters and my specialization in reflecting these themes and aspects from a cross-cultural and comparative point of view.

• 1980/1981: study and research trips to Japan: Discussions with Prof. M. Yamaguchi, Ph.D., Institute for Asian and African Languages and Cultures, Foreign Language University, Tokyo, Japan, in connection with financial provisions for me for giving methodology seminars in Japan.
  
  
• Discussions with Prof. Y. Suzuki, Emeritus Professor of English Literature, Waseda University, Tokyo about the relationship between poetry, literature, logical (structural) and mathematical organization and its influence on cultural and totemistic logical organization. (The Haiku Institute in Tokyo with Mr. Kusama, Prof. Suzuki, and Prof T. Hoshino)
  
  
• Seen in this context, rhetoric, metaphor and hieroglyphs, pictures of Japanese or Chinese characters or figures have the tendency of actualizing certain historical, social and cultural patterns. What is the role of Shamanism, Buddhism and Shintoism in Japanese literature, poetry, mythology, study of religions, dance, drama and creative expression? These talks were held in the Haiku Institute in Tokyo, Japan, with the director of the institute, Mr. Kusama, Prof. Suzuki and Prof. T. Hoshino, Professor of English Literature at Waseda University, Tokyo.
  
  

• Lecture “Poetry as Cultural Transformation”, held at the Doshysha University, Kyoto, Japan, 1981.
  
  

• 1981: conversations with Prof. A. Nakagawa, professor of English Literature at the Nagoya University, Japan on poetry and cultural symbolism, logical structuralism and mathematical organization. Prof. Nakagawa based his mathematical logic on a logical formalism based on the three-verse theory.
  
  
• 1981: conversations with Prof. Hitachi, Director of the Institute for Japanese Antiquity, Sapporo University, Hokkaido, Japan, specialized in the study of ancient cultures and megalithic aspects and their influence on Japanese culture.
  
  
•  Discussions on the possibility to conduct a comparative study into the various countries in Asia, Africa and Europe, in order to determine how various cultures have influenced one another and have developed in their respective logical and mathematical patterns.
  
  

• 1981 – 1992: conversations and correspondence with Prof. Kuroda, Social Anthropologist, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan on the connection between totemistic logic, cultural symbolism and logical patterns in conjunction with the intercultural exchange of these patterns: cultural and intercultural diffusion of e.g. patterns, composition theory, fashion, design, models, symbols, visual arts, architecture, etc.
  
  
• Since 1981 conversations with Prof. Hosoi, Professor of Artificial Intelligence, Tokyo, Japan, about the cultural-anthropological aspects of logical rationality and mathematical reason. How can pure mathematics and logical formalism be reformed and take on a more dynamic, rational, cultural, intellectual, empirical and social role? 
  
  
• Does mathematical and logical thinking have a cultural, rational, empirical, mythical (what Cassirer and Levi-Strauss call the totemistic aspect), contextual and historical side? And if so, how do we characterize, formalize, rationalize and systematize this science (if this can be done)? See also the conversation with Prof. Sodhi. Over the years, we, Prof. Hosoi and myself have exchanged papers and articles about the various aspects we have dealt with concerning these subjects.
  
  

• 1989: made a contribution to the 4th International Conference of the International Association for Semiotic Studies. Title of the contribution: “A New Science of Semiotics”, in Perpignan, France. 
  
  

• Paper accepted for publication in conference proceedings. Contact with Dr. Janice Deledalle-Rhodes, Doctor des Lettres, Institut de Recherche en  Semiotique, Cornrnunication et Education, Universite de Perpignan, English editor of proceedings and with Prof. Gerard Deledalle, General Editor of proceedings and General Secretary of the International Association for Semiotic Studies, c/o Universite de Perpignan, France. Published in: Signs of Humanity/L’homme-et ses signes. Vol. J. Ed. by Michel Balat and Janice Deledalle-Rhodes. General Editor: Gerard Deledalle. Berlin etc., Mouton de Gruyter, 1992, p. 35 – 41. (Approaches to Semiotics; 107)

• Since 1983: correspondence, conversations and scientific exchange programs with Prof. Dr. M. Hoppal, Cultural Anthropologist, Senior Research Fellow, Ethnographic Institute, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary on semiotic, cultural signs and mathematical, genetic, cultural patterns and pattern-constructs.
  
  

• 1987: scientific exchange on the question of a possible dialectic between shamanistic and scientific research, titled “Trance and Ecstasy in the Light of Modern Time”; with Prof. Felicitas D. Goodman, cultural anthropologist and director of the Cuyamungue Institute, Columbus, Ohio and Santa Fe, New Mexico, Dr. K. Husemann, psychoanalyst, Dr. U. Husemann-Kellear, psycho-analyst and psychotherapist, Dusseldorf, Germany, Dr. J. de Jong, psychiatrist, Prof. J.R. Hakemulder, pedagogue, director of the Intercultural Open University (IOU), Opeinde, the Netherlands, Prof. P.E. de Josselin de Jong, cultural anthropologist, University of Leiden, the Netherlands, Dr. W.E.A. van Beek, anthropologist, University of Utrecht, the Netherlands and J. Vroemen, cultural anthropologist, School for Journalism, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
  
  

• Contribution to the 12th International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences; Zagreb, Yugoslavia, July 1988 titled: “Trance, Social Transformation and Ecstatic Practices”. Published in “Shamanism: Past and Present”; ed. by Prof. Dr. M. Hoppal and Prof. Dr. O.J. Sadovsky. Budapest and Los Angeles/Fullerton, ISTOR Books, 1989.
  
  

• 1988 – 1989: conversations and correspondence with Prof. Xiao Jiacheng of the Institute of Nationality Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing, China, on cultural and symbolic studies as regards the development of the various cultural patterns; also exchange of literature on these subjects.
  
  

• Lecture “The Transformation of the Symbol. A Study of Ritual Dance” held at the International Conference on Shamanism titled ‘Regional Aspect of Shamanism’, organized by the International Society for Shamanic Research and the Institute of Folklore Studies, Kyung Hee University, July 1991, Seoul, South Korea.
  
  

• Interview with Mr. Tsumura, Kobe Japan, during the ISSR-conference in Seoul, published in the newsletter Miyaku Miyaku (No. 43, 10.8.1991) of the Kansai-Kiko Society, Kobe, Japan.
  
  

• Lecture “Dance as Life Drama” held at the 2nd Conference of the International Society for Shamanic Research titled ‘Shamanism and Performing Arts’, July 1993, Budapest, Hungary. Scientific discourse on Egyptian/ African science and methodology and the importance of placing mathematical-logical forms of ‘Erkenntnis’ in a broader historical, cultural and sociological context.
  
  

• 1985: scientific exchange with Prof. Jurgen Kluver, mathematician, Prof. of didactics of natural sciences, Gesamthochschule Essen, Germany, author of the book titled “Operationalismus”. Reference of Prof. Kluver to research project “The Principles of Mathematics and Logic in Transformation”.
  
  

• 1986: Contribution to the 4th World Congress of the World Association for Dynamic Psychiatry (W ADP), Hochschule der Kunste, West Berlin. Title of lecture: “Creativity, Mathematical Logic and Cultural Transformation”.
  
  

• 1985: correspondence with Prof. Cheikh Anta Diop, historian, physicist, philosopher, former Director of IFAN, Dakar, Senegal the Afro-Egyptian influence in conjunction with mathematics, scientific theory, architecture, art, technology and on the intercultural and interdisciplinary aspects of the diffusion of cultures. A study trip by me was planned in cooperation with Prof. Diop. The latter agreed to support and introduce a number of research projects conducted by me. This was shortly before the sudden death of Prof. Diop, which hindered also eventual contacts I intended to make with several West- African universities.
  
  

• 1987: Affiliated as Associated Professor of Symbolic Studies and Social Sciences at the Intercultural Open University (IOU) in The Netherlands. Dr. R. E. Chavers developed a program for Energetic Medicine. He also contributed an article on Semiotics as a New Science. The IOU was founded by Professor Jan R. Hakemulder, PhD, and his wife Fay A. C. De Jonge, PhD. It has programs in India, Japan and the United States of America. It offers programs in cultural studies, economics health care science (including Oriental medicine), philosophy, religious studies, social change and social studies. When Prof. Hakemulder died in 2008, the headquarters of the IOU moved to Arden, Delaware, USA. In 2011, IOU President Sandra Hurlong, PhD, continued and registered the Intercultural Open University Foundation for Social Sciences as a non-profit foundation in the United States. It maintains offices in Arden, Delaware and Granada, Spain. It also has an academic cooperation agreement with the Universidad Azteca (Uazteca) in Mexico.

• 1990: discussions in Utrecht with Mr. H. Utano, Rare Books Librarian and Prof. Y. Honda, Linguist, both at the National Institute of Japanese Literature, Tokyo, Japan, on the connection between cultural rationality, logical structuralism, semiotic sign systems and mathematical organization and their role in social action and in literary, dramatic and linguistic transformations. Does literature respond to and reflect this process? How do we reflect, reconstruct, formalize and systematize this process? Can we culturally and rationally learn from each other’s cultural rationalities and expertise’s? Now Prof. of Japanese Literature (Utano) at the University of Kyoto. 
  
  

• Lecture held at the 1990 Principles Congress of the William James Foundation titled: ‘Contemporary Approaches to Subjectivity’; Free University Amsterdam, the Netherlands, August, 13-17, 1990. Published by DIES-Coop. Publishers, Utrecht, 1990 as “William James and the Future of Science and Philosophy”. ISBN 90-70387-07-7. Contributions to a historical method of methodology, semiotics and symbolic studies.