The Unformed Revolution: Embracing the Power of Inchoate Ideas

In a world obsessed with certainty, we often overlook the raw potential of unformed thoughts. This article explores how embracing the inchoate can spark innovation, challenge the status quo, and lead to transformative social change.

The whisper of an idea, barely formed and hardly audible, can be the seed of revolution. We live in a society that demands clarity, precision, and immediate results. But what if our rush to define and categorise is stifling our most potent source of creativity and change? The concept of the inchoate — that which is just beginning and not fully formed — holds within it a power we too often ignore.

The Tyranny of the Fully Formed

Our education systems, workplaces, and social structures prize the finished product. We’re taught from an early age to present our thoughts in neat, orderly packages. “What’s your five-year plan?” they ask. “What’s your thesis statement?” But life isn’t a series of neatly packaged ideas. It’s messy, complex, and often contradictory.

This obsession with the fully formed idea is a symptom of a deeper societal ill. We’ve become addicted to certainty, to the illusion of control. It’s a mindset that serves the status quo, that keeps power in the hands of those who already hold it. After all, if you can’t articulate your grievance in a PowerPoint presentation, how valid can it really be?

But history tells us a different story. The most profound changes often start as a vague feeling of unease, a sense that something isn’t quite right. The American civil rights movement didn’t begin with a fully formed plan for racial equality. It started with countless small acts of resistance, with whispered conversations, with a growing sense of injustice that couldn’t yet be fully articulated.

The Power of the Unformed

There’s a unique power in the inchoate. When an idea is still forming, it’s malleable. It can adapt, grow, and evolve. It’s not constrained by the rigid structures we impose on fully formed thoughts. This flexibility allows for a kind of creative freedom that’s often lost once an idea becomes fixed.

Consider the process of writing. Many writers speak of the magic that happens when they allow themselves to write without a clear plan, when they let the story unfold as they go. It’s in this space of uncertainty that unexpected connections are made, that characters take on a life of their own, that themes emerge organically.

This same principle applies to social and political movements. The most effective revolutions aren’t those that start with a detailed manifesto. They’re the ones that begin with a shared feeling, a collective sense of possibility. They grow and evolve as more people join, each bringing their own experiences and perspectives.

The Fear of the Undefined

Of course, embracing the inchoate isn’t easy. There’s a deep-seated human fear of the unknown, of that which we can’t fully grasp or control. This fear is exploited by those in power. They offer us simple solutions, clear enemies, and well-defined goals. It’s comforting, in a way, to have everything neatly categorised and explained.

But this comfort comes at a cost. When we rush to define and categorise, we often miss the nuances, the complexities that make real change possible. We end up with superficial solutions that don’t address the root causes of our problems.

Take the issue of economic inequality. The fully formed, neatly packaged solution might be something like “raise the minimum wage”. It’s clear, it’s actionable, and it fits nicely on a campaign poster. But it doesn’t address the complex web of factors that contribute to economic inequality — factors like systemic racism, unequal access to education, and the concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a few.

Nurturing the Unformed

So how do we embrace the inchoate? How do we create space for unformed ideas to grow and evolve? It starts with a shift in mindset. We need to learn to be comfortable with uncertainty, to resist the urge to immediately categorise and define.

This isn’t about abandoning logic or rigour. It’s about recognising that true understanding often comes through a process of exploration and discovery. It’s about being willing to sit with discomfort, to allow ideas to percolate and evolve.

In practical terms, this might mean:

• Creating spaces for open-ended discussion, where people can share half-formed thoughts without fear of judgement.
• Encouraging experimentation and risk-taking, recognising that failure is often a crucial part of the creative process.
• Valuing questions as much as answers, recognising that the right question can be more powerful than a premature solution.
• Embracing diverse perspectives, recognising that what seems inchoate to one person might be crystal clear to another.

The Inchoate and Social Change

The power of the inchoate is particularly relevant when it comes to social and political change. The biggest challenges we face as a society — climate change, inequality, systemic racism — are complex, interconnected issues that defy simple solutions.

By embracing the inchoate, we open ourselves up to new possibilities. We create space for marginalised voices, for perspectives that don’t fit neatly into existing frameworks. We allow for the emergence of new paradigms, new ways of thinking about and addressing these challenges.

Consider the growing movement around climate justice. It’s a concept that’s still evolving, that means different things to different people. But at its core, it’s about recognising the interconnections between environmental degradation, economic inequality, and social injustice. It’s an inchoate idea that’s sparking new conversations, new alliances, and new approaches to addressing the climate crisis.

The Role of Art and Culture

Art has always been a powerful medium for expressing the inchoate. Poetry, in particular, has the ability to capture those fleeting, not-quite-formed thoughts and feelings. It’s no coincidence that poetry often plays a crucial role in social movements, giving voice to collective experiences that can’t yet be articulated in prose.

The poem that inspired this article, “The Unformed Whisper”, captures the essence of the inchoate. It speaks of “formless thoughts in twilight gleam”, of standing “on the cusp of revelation supreme”. It’s a reminder of the potential that lies in those shadowy, not-quite-formed ideas.

But it’s not just poetry. All forms of art — music, visual art, dance, theatre — have the power to express the inexpressible, to give form to the formless. They provide a language for experiences and ideas that don’t fit into existing categories.

The Dangers of Premature Definition

While embracing the inchoate is powerful, it’s also important to recognise the dangers of premature definition. When we rush to put labels on things, to fit new ideas into existing categories, we risk losing their transformative potential.

This is particularly dangerous in the realm of social and political movements. How often have we seen radical ideas co-opted and defanged by the mainstream? How often have we seen complex issues reduced to simplistic slogans?

The challenge, then, is to find a balance. We need to create space for inchoate ideas to grow and evolve, while also working towards concrete change. We need to be comfortable with ambiguity, while also striving for clarity when it’s needed.

Technology and the Inchoate

In our digital age, there’s an interesting tension between the inchoate and the algorithmic. On one hand, technology gives us unprecedented access to diverse perspectives and ideas, creating fertile ground for new thoughts to emerge. On the other hand, algorithms tend to push us towards more of what we already know and like, potentially stifling the inchoate.

Social media, in particular, presents both opportunities and challenges. It allows for the rapid spread of new ideas, but it also encourages quick reactions and snap judgements. The challenge is to use these platforms in ways that nurture rather than stifle the inchoate.

Embracing the Inchoate in Our Personal Lives

While much of this discussion has focused on social and political change, the power of the inchoate is equally relevant in our personal lives. How often do we rush to define ourselves, to fit our experiences and aspirations into neat categories?

Embracing the inchoate in our personal lives means being open to growth and change. It means recognising that our identities, our beliefs, our goals are not fixed but constantly evolving. It means being willing to sit with uncertainty, to explore new possibilities without immediately judging or categorising them.

Conclusion: The Revolutionary Power of the Unformed

In a world that demands certainty and immediate answers, embracing the inchoate is a revolutionary act. It’s a rejection of the status quo, a challenge to existing power structures. It’s a recognition that the most profound changes often start with a whisper, with a vague feeling, with an idea that’s not yet fully formed.

As we face the complex challenges of our time, we need this revolutionary power more than ever. We need the creativity, the flexibility, the transformative potential of inchoate ideas. We need to create space for the unformed, to nurture it, to allow it to grow and evolve.

So let’s embrace the whisper. Let’s sit with the discomfort of uncertainty. Let’s resist the urge to immediately define and categorise. For it’s in this space of possibility, this twilight realm of formless thoughts, that true revolution begins.

The inchoate is not a weakness to be overcome, but a strength to be embraced. It’s the seed of innovation, the spark of revolution, the whisper that grows into a roar. In a world that’s crying out for new solutions, new perspectives, new ways of being, the power of the inchoate may be our greatest hope.

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Bob Lynn / 09-Nov-2024