Gordon Burt

Today is St Valentine’s Day. It is a day for loving some special other person – but perhaps also a day for loving others as well … perhaps all others? And perhaps not just today but always?

“Love all always” is a phrase I have started to use recently. It seems to me to provide an ultimate reference point for social value. Moreover it seems to follow logically from certain selected religious and philosophical injunctions. A sense of what it means is carried in a greeting sometimes made in churches: “all are welcome here”.

A lovely thought – but can it be put into practice? Does it actually happen? Are there any people who actually do this ? …

… The other day I bumped into my friends Mr and Mrs Sears at the newsstand in the Coop. We deplored the news headlines but then agreed that most people – the people we knew - were lovely.

A couple of friends have died recently. It was said that the world would be a much better place if there were more people like Alastair. And in a section below I provide a portrait of my good friend Dennis. Friends’ comments express how “loving others” was a central feature of Dennis’s life.

I have been trying to express the spirit of “Love all always” in a number of my recent writings.

.(1) Love all always

.(2) Loving the self, but not the other … USA election and religion

.(3) Love China, Love USA … “no suggestion of wrongdoing”

.(4) The incidence of Christmas on the distribution of love in society

.(5) “Value in society … a good life, life satisfaction, positive value and love

The distribution of value in society is pertinent to key topics such as a good life, life satisfaction, happiness, love and positive value:

Satisfaction with life

Love all always

Positive Value.”

Earlier last year I produced two reports, one for Burns night and one for midsummer’s day.

.(6) Love everybody; understand everybody … Robert Burns, 1759-1796

.(7) Midsummer: science, religion, culture … humanities and mathematics

Humanities and mathematics. (links to 265 pages)

I seem to be following a calendar in which at certain times of the year my thoughts turn to love! New Year, Burns Night, St Valentine’s Day, Midsummer, and Christmas.

But does “Love all always” have a role in situations where terrible things are happening? Surely things are so bad that it is not realistic to talk about love? An opposite point of view is that things are so bad, nothing short of love has any traction? In my writings on these terrible situations, I have tried to incorporate a few positive items - a few of my early reports on the Ukraine found fragments of love; and the title I gave my online draft book on Israel and Palestine was designed to lead in to positive value being placed on the other.

.(8) Ukraine ... and World Society 2023.

.(9) Israel and Palestine: self and other, positive and negative; 2023

Living with others

A broad general argument runs.

People are fighting because they don’t want to live with the other.

So they want a boundary change.

However a boundary change won’t necessarily solve the problem.

So they need to learn to live with the other.

But to be content living with others there is a need to love others.

These general thoughts are prompted by an analysis of pre-2014 Ukraine:

.(10) Ukraine: united or divided? West and East; living with others: pages 148-174

The first part of the chapter involves a systematic analysis of social variation in pre-2014 Ukraine and its geographical aspects. A key feature of the variation is a west-east gradient. The second part of the chapter develops an abstract model of a divided society consisting of two groups. If people’s preferences are to live with people in their own group then division satisfies these preferences best. To avoid this outcome there is a need for people’s preferences to change towards loving others.

Loving others: Dennis Bury (1943-2024)

Dennis Bury (1943-2024) and the Conflict Research Society (CRS)

Dennis was a much-loved and much-appreciated council member of the CRS.

“He always seemed such a kind, principled man, always open to ideas and prepared to add his energy to our initiatives.”

“He was a loyal and creative member who made innovative contributions at every level (from conferences to local meetings) often initiating them himself. We greatly appreciate what he brought to the CRS - as well as his own warm and winning personality.”

“I liked Dennis lots and was impressed by his ability to think psychologically about so much. He contributed a great deal in his gentle manner and will be missed.”

“I have very fond memories of Dennis from my early years at CRS. He was a constantly positive, encouraging and kind presence who was critical in creating the warm and welcoming spirit that we have all tried to sustain.”

[from Jim Bryant, Oliver Ramsbotham, Julie Lloyd, Judith Large and Govinda Clayton]

It was always a warm pleasure to be in Dennis’s company …

I first met Dennis in 2000? at Jim Bryant’s one-day annual conference at Aston attended by less than 20 people … and I last met Dennis in 2019? at the two-day annual conference at Sussex attended by almost 200 people. So Dennis and I shared the journey started by Jim that has seen the flourishing of CRS.

A possible history of CRS would be that it started at Cedric’s place (UCL) in 1963 and continued there until 2000? when it moved to Dennis’s place (Syracuse in London) whence it moved to Isobel’s place (CEDR) whence it moved to Kirstin’s place (returning to UCL) and finally to the location of the annual conference. Dennis was a member of the core group throughout the last couple of decades.

During the era of ‘Dennis’s place’ that was where the council meetings were held. The programme meetings were held in London through the year with perhaps a dozen people attending. I recall Dennis and I attending Jim Bryant’s series of seminars on his Drama Theory book.

Dennis very strongly engaged with the ideas in the field and sought to develop approaches in his own field as a psychologist. There was a significant attention paid to practice aspects of conflict resolution to which Dennis contributed. He was also one of our group of psychologists, along with Julie Lloyd and Herb Blumberg, who organised meetings on peace psychology and related issues. Eight years ago the group organised a day conference on Trump and Narcissism (or some such title!). And it was Dennis I called on to smooth the way when as chair I was indulging in one of my own narcissistic moments!

Over the past five years Dennis and I have been in regular email contact, Dennis offering me encouragement and making suggestions from such sources as Scientists for Global Responsibility. One of his last messages was:

“Dear Gordon, at 9:00 tomorrow a.m. Tuesday the Reith lecture on Radio 4 concerns itself with violence and its psychology stop why it exists and is it normal and so on stop I thought this might be helpful for your writings stop good wishes stop Dennis.”

I shall miss Dennis.

Gordon Burt, 30th January 2025.

The memorial service for Dennis

Catherine and I felt it very special to be able to share the memorial service for Dennis with you and all Dennis’s family and friends. We found the service very moving and I now have Dennis’s photo from the order of service on my desk smiling at me. I have written the following account for my Conflict Research Society colleagues.

“Just to say that Catherine and I were down in North London this morning for Dennis’s service. We were both quite taken aback although perhaps we needn’t have been. ‘Our Dennis’ was one amongst many people’s Dennis but all of us identifying and experiencing the same fine qualities. The church was packed, perhaps a couple of hundred. Karenina Bury gave a warm and rounded portrait … the phrase ‘a man for all seasons’ came to my mind. A friend of Dennis, back to his student days at Salisbury Cathedral close, reminisced and read his (the friend’s) poem ‘Hints of immortality’. Father Bruce talked about Dennis’ deep involvement in the local church and local community.

The music included Janacek and Purcell. The hymns were “Be thou my vision” and “The Lord’s my Shepherd” and finally, “Glory to Thee, My God, This Night”, Tallis’s canon in which the choir and the two halves of the congregation joined in! The service programme had splendid photos of Dennis at all ages and also a decorative motif of Dennis’s activities: the outdoors, trainers, sailing and a badminton racquet.

The church itself - the interior of the building took us by surprise. Ellipses!

https://www.instagram.com/sashawardglass/p/C84vHbyttFp/?img_index=1 ;

https://www.hornseyparishchurch.com/our-history;

Hornsey Parish Church: https://www.hornseyparishchurch.com/

Thank you, Dennis.”

A tale of two courses: The Nuclear Debate; and Peace Education

There is a difference between studying war and studying peace. Several decades ago I was involved in the Open University course The Nuclear Debate. So it was of some interest to me to learn that there is a new Open University course of quite a different nature on Peace Education. From my point of view the new course has a greater affinity with the topic of loving others than did the earlier course.

Principles and Practice of Peace Education

The Open University invited people to an online lecture by Professor Hilary Cremin (Cambridge) 'How do Educators Build a Culture of Peace?' 5 Feb 1-2pm UK time.

The talk marked the launch of the new OpenLearn short course 'Principles and Practice of Peace Education', a collaboration between The Open University and Quakers in Britain. This new, free, short course is available to all and we hope will become a valuable resource for educators and schools.

About the talk:

Professor Hilary Cremin, Head of the Faculty of Education at Cambridge University, researches peacebuilding, conflict transformation and violence in education settings, bringing together experiences and insights from the United Kingdom and around the world. Professor Cremin’s contribution complements the new free Open Learn course, Principles and Practice of Peace Education, which draws on her work. The talk will offer insights on how peace educators seek a relational approach at every level from the intrapersonal to the global and ecological.

Peace education at the Open University: a few personal memories 1970-2010

I joined the Open University in 1970, a year after it obtained its charter and a year before the first students started their studies. I shared a house with an architect and a planner who worked for Milton Keynes Development Corporation (1967-1992). The staff of these two new institutions made a strong contribution to the development of the new community of Milton Keynes.

https://heritage.humanists.uk/object/royal-charter-for-the-open-university/ ;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_Keynes_Development_Corporation

War and peace had a presence right at the beginning with Arthur Marwick, professor of history, a specialist in war and society; and John Fergusson, Dean of the Arts faculty; and Mike Pentz, Dean of the Science Faculty (see below).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Marwick ;

https://www.praise.org.uk/hymnauthor/ferguson-john/ ;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Pentz ;

At the summer school for the Social Science Foundation Course (D101, 1974-1981) students took part in a role-playing simulation of the Bosnia-Herzegovina crisis of 1908. The simulation exercise was designed by Michael Nicholson, Director of the Richardson Institute of Peace and Conflict Research.

https://www.open.ac.uk/library/digital-archive/module/xcri:D101/study

https://www.britannica.com/event/Bosnian-crisis-of-1908

Margaret Thatcher won the UK election of 1979 and Ronald Reagan the USA election in 1981. Cruise missiles were to be sited in the UK. Milton Keynes responded! Science Dean Mike Pentz instigated the foundation of Milton Keynes Peace Campaign. There was strong involvement from some OU staff. I recall meeting my head of department, David Hawkridge, lying in a ditch at Greenham Common.

The idea arose that the OU should put on a peace course. Initially Senate was against. But finally it was passed: U235 The Nuclear Debate: (1986-1991). The course chair was mathematician Oliver Penrose. It was a ‘U’ course involving participation from across the faculties. One of its members was John Naughton who is still a weekly columnist for The Observer.

https://www.open.ac.uk/library/digital-archive/module/xcri:U235/study ;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Naughton ;

There were a variety of other contributions by OU staff, for example my friends Kay Pole and Nigel Blake edited Objections to Nuclear Defence. Philosophers on Deterrence. And I edited Alternative Defence Policy, based on a Conflict Research Society day conference.

1984. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003082415-1/introduction-nigel-blake-kay-pole ;

1988: https://www.routledge.com/Alternative-Defence-Policy/Burt/p/book/9780367710460?srsltid=AfmBOooJLpaFZ4qjFetpMHc_f5rn_WlArF9VQ8I7GqXNjI-xrMbCvYyz ;

It is all a long time ago! I have continued my involvement with the Conflict Research Society and have become attached to the notion, Values, World Society and Modelling and rather like also the notions of Positive Value and Love All Always!

Postscript: wellbeing; happiness

Wellbeing Research Centre

World Happiness Report

World Wellbeing Movement

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