Welcome to the Collective Thought Foundation
The Collective Thought is a non-profit organisation focused on the improvement and the evolution of society through the exploration, elaboration and creation of different perspectives within a group. It aims at providing the optimal environment for the collective communication of different ideas, by proposing the minimal conditions under which each individual can feel as an active part of the group.
The Collective Thought Foundation creates dynamic places in society where ideologies can be challenged and new ideas can emerge, embracing disagreements and differences not as limitations, but as an opportunity to grow and learn.
A new approach for group decision-making
The Foundation advocates for structural consensus as a method to make informed group decisions. This type of consensus is strictly procedural and does not set substantive limitations on the content of the discussion. The group must unanimously agree upon a procedure on the basis of which the final decision will be made. It goes beyond the mere aggregation of individual opinions and it is obtained through discussion and compromise. It allows for everybody to feel part of the decision-making process and advocates for freedom, equality and honesty. When a group reaches collective understanding, personal interests become less relevant and different opinions become an opportunity, not an obstacle.
Disagreement is the beginning, not the end
Although a disagreement has a negative connotation, it becomes of primary importance in any collective process. Any clash of ideas originates from individual values such as originality, creativity and critical thinking. An agonistic component in the discussion allows for stimulating discussions, increasing individual inputs and motivation. Without disagreements, a consensus of ideas and the refusal of confrontation can lead to apathy, passive acceptance and indoctrination.
A place that listens to you
Everyone has the right to participate, even knowing that some people will contribute more, others prefer to listen and some might even have no understanding of the discussion at hand. A collective process can be realised in an atmosphere of mutual respect, where all participants value and consider their own opinion as much as the opinion of everyone else.
The importance of intersubjectivity
Each collective thought is part of an intersubjective experience where people can learn with each other and from each other. Once we realize that our opinions cannot be objective, we are left with the relative value of our subjectivity. Through the collective process, the subjectivities of each participant interact with each other and affirms the intersubjectivity of a discussion. It is no more ‘my opinion’ but it is still not ‘the truth’: a collective thought is ‘our opinion’.
Non-ideological discourse
The Collective Thought Foundation refuses to take a unilateral stand on political, philosophical, religious, scientific and social issues. Each Collective Thought is never required to favour, protect or improve the Foundation by default. Each collective thought is the expression of a collective process through compromise and is not comparable to the individual views of those who participated.
A never-ending process
The Foundation has no desire to achieve one absolute overarching Collective Thought that must be always valid for all. Instead, each collective thought is an expression of a certain group of individuals in a given context. We must always be aware that a different group in the same context or the same group in a different context would have developed a different collective thought. All aspects of Collective Thought Theory may be relative, subjective and sometimes contradictory.
The Foundation provides for a platform to gather and spread the Collective Thought. Our desire is to bring people together in a new, pragmatic and beneficial way. As always, not everybody wants to participate, but those who want are surely welcomed. The Foundation is mainly involved in organizing Assemblies, Workshops and Foundraising Activities. For every discussion, a Report is made public for anyone to read.
Assemblies
Assemblies constitute the fundamental path towards the creation of each collective thought. For each meeting, a new topic is made open for discussion by those interested in joining the collective process. Then a Report is issued based on the outcome of that specific meeting.
Workshops
The Collective Thought advocates for the importance of education, artistic creation and personal development in our everyday life. To facilitate this, workshops are offered by our volunteers on an occasional basis.
Foundraising Activities
Some activities do not only bring forward the purpose of the Collective Thought, but also make it possible for the Foundation to exist. They include campaigns, cultural events and other social activities.