Cultural-historical research in Switzerland

Political environment

Research background

In itself, cultural-historical research appears unproblematic. With the academic tools at hand, the decision regarding the subject of study is made, and after reading the existing literature, the source material and findings dictate the direction. Regarding the tonal system, the fact that the physics of string vibration has remained unchanged over the centuries, with only the designations varying, is helpful. A consecutive numbering system is clearly recognizable as such, as is an alphabetical order. Against this background, deviations are particularly striking, e.g.:

C major as starting key without accidental
from C - not from A! - it goes "downwards" in the bass, "upwards" in the treble

Schaum key-finder (detail)

The name octave refers to an interval consisting of 5 whole tones and two semitones—or, in another interpretation, 12 semitones. Mathematically, both variations would result in 6! See also Video VII: "How the Octave Got Its Name."
the designation prime with the value zero.

There must be reasons for such deviations.

Ecclesiastical Influence

The same applies to analogies that point to a different context, e.g., the concept of high and low tones—which don't actually exist—and the term "scale." The cultural-historical context makes it clear that we are dealing with an analogy to Jacob's Ladder. These findings are supported by written sources, including those of the Enlightenment thinkers, who resisted any kind of ecclesiastical influence. Musical requirements and theological interpretation thus become distinguishable—including confessions of faith (e.g., J.S. Bach, see Blog C3) and indoctrination. The blog posts and video presentations on this page are mostly dedicated to the various facets and contextualization of these phenomena.

Now the results are available, reaching political decision-makers and bouncing off their backs. Articles regarding the acceptance of religious symbols in classrooms B13 and B14, as well as the menu button "News", report on this. The recognition of the results therefore becomes problematic, particularly from a legal perspective, since it is only the surviving evidence that constitutes cultural heritage.

Who has the right to censor historical facts and, at the same time, the basis of understanding a school subject—while simultaneously awarding grades?
What about curricula? Is one generation allowed to withhold knowledge from another?
What conflicts do migrant children, their parents, and their teachers face?

The church traditions of Switzerland

Switzerland's historical Christian roots are particularly evident in two respects: the bodyguard assigned to protect the Pope since 1506 - each guard takes an oath to risk his life for his safety if necessary,

Swearing-in of the Pontifical Swiss Guard

also the architecture of the Parliament building with the cruciform floor plan of the domed hall, which is based on sacred buildings, and the gilded cross on the roof lantern.

Roof lantern of the Parliament building in Bern

Switzerland Today

Switzerland's self-image includes its neutrality and its commitment to political conflict resolution. Since religious beliefs can be perceived as provocation, it seemed appropriate to reinterpret the historically existing symbols.

The following pictograms, in their explanation, make a "plus" out of the Christian cross - i.e., they strive for a positive connotation of the instrument of suffering - and replace the dove of the Holy Spirit with the dove of peace by Pablo Picasso.

Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA

Pablo Picasso, Dove of Peace 1961

The motivation for whitewashing the cultural heritage was Switzerland's candidacy for the UN Security Council. Other forms of government would deal with the existing heritage differently. Therefore, a significant portion of cultural-historical work must be invested in safeguarding the research object against the current zeitgeist, whose interests lie elsewhere. But at some point, the time is ripe for society to approach things with a renewed sense of objectivity. At least the inclusion of this page in the web archive of the Swiss National Library – which was done because of its special connection to Switzerland – is a first important step (see Blog B 26: A first official appreciation?).

Strategic thinking, in particular, strives to early on dismiss the love of harmony, considering it a distinct weakness, while the focus is on the goal-oriented pursuit of one's own interests. Therefore, it is regularly the painful experiences of wars, that restore the importance of harmony theory.

Contemporary relevance: The attack on Ukraine

In both the pursuit of political supremacy and its treatment of nature, this strategic approach is currently struggling to maintain its status as a model of success – and will shamefully lose it in both cases. We are already witnessing a humanitarian, economic, and ecological disaster. Its accompanying symptoms include historical distortion, fake news, and repression. Even the sweeping claim that a love of peace characterizes weak people proves to be pure polemic, because civil courage requires a courageous solo effort in the face of a threatening situation with unforeseeable consequences. Marina Ovsyannikova's action on Russian state television on March 14, 2022, may also serve as an example because, with a Ukrainian father and a Russian mother, she represents like Ἁρμονία (Harmonia's father Ares was the god of war, her mother Aphrodite the goddess of love) a unifying element in person and therefore possesses a special qualification for uniting nations.

Marina Ovsyannikova's campaign on Russian state television. Her poster, featuring the flags of Ukraine and Russia, is inscribed with the words: "No war / Stop this war / Don't believe the propaganda / You are being lied to / Russians against war."

The Different Faces of Neutrality

Since neutrality always exists in relation to something else—more precisely, between something else—its meaning depends on the context.

Political neutrality generally means refraining from taking sides in order to assume a mediating role at the negotiating table. The position of this form of neutrality is—as the term mediator suggests—figuratively speaking, in the middle.
This presupposes, however, that one is not under attack, because then refraining from taking sides would be tantamount to suicide, even if the attacker is the one carrying out the action. Ultimately, only armament protects against attacks.
If a form of government to which one is committed is attacked in another state, insisting on neutrality is tantamount to failing to provide assistance and means condoning the destruction of one's own values.
Confronted with injustice against a weak party, refraining from taking sides becomes indifference. Desmond Tutu went even further, stating: "If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor."
Neutrality also entails demonstrably deriving no benefit from conflicts. Switzerland has been criticized in this regard more than once.
Neutrality towards humanity is merely an abstract concept for anyone who is themselves human. Neutralizing a person means eliminating them, because then they are definitively incapable of taking action.
The concept of "cooperative neutrality," introduced by Federal President Ignazio Cassis in Davos in 2022, further complicates matters, unnecessarily increases the need for discussion that is already necessary in democracies, and distracts from the actual task. At its core, the issue is fairness in global play. Those who participate cannot—analogous to football—also be the impartial one. This task falls to the UN, in which 193 states have joined forces to ensure world peace. Particular interests balance each other out, thereby at least providing an approximation of impartiality. Every state can provide support by committing to the humanistic ideal of harmony, because those who see the bigger picture and are interested in their counterparts cannot see any benefit in strategic unilateral action.

For a country with a global reputation for precision instruments like Switzerland, it would be time to choose a precise term in such an important matter, one that fits the inner structure of a direct democracy. The term neutrality, a highly praised marketing mantra with the aura of flawlessness, means nothing in itself (from the Latin ne-utrum “neither of the two”), whereas synergy orientation is actually a plus for peace.

The quantum leap in civilization could only occur through the collective adoption of harmonic fundamentals. The process of successive trust-building was impressively demonstrated between the “hereditary enemies” France and Germany, as well as in many other places in the world, which in turn does not mean that military reassurance can be dispensed with.

Why do we look to the past? Because that's where the answers for the future lie.

Switzerland as a peace activist

The idea of an armed peacemaker and protector of the arts would certainly not be new.

Armed Minerva with the Owl of Wisdom. On the shield is the head of Medusa as a deterrent. Inscription: "Arma oleamque vides? Hominum o si pectora quantum urit amor belli, pacis et urat amor!" “Do you see the weapons and the olive tree? Oh, how the love of war burns in the hearts of men, and also the love of peace!” 1615/1620, Peter Candid (workshop), Bavarian State Painting Collections, Alte Pinakothek Munich.

Minerva defends the seven liberal arts against the war god Mars. In the background, a burning city. The messenger of the gods, Mercury, approaches from the clouds to bring Minerva the laurel of victory and the palm branch of peace. Harpsichord painting by Hieronymus Franken III (*1611–†after 1661), Düsseldorf, private collection. Here, Minerva does not remain neutral but takes up arms.

The undoubtedly Minerva-inspired Helvetia with shield and spear. The image on the two-franc coin, based on a design by Albert Walch (1816-1882), symbolized the number of cantons at the time.

Helvetia with bazooka

How far can an armed defense of peace go? It requires the freedom to make a decision appropriate to the situation. Armament distinguishes both Minerva and Helvetia from a helpless pacifist. The uncertainty created for the attacker regarding the expected resistance increases the deterrent effect. A Medusa's head on a shield alone is no longer sufficient.

The situation 2024

Federal Councillor Viola Amherd, Head of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport, in times of discussion about appropriate armament.

Fundamentals for the creation of a global white paper

The enormous potential for strategic thinking and action is matched by the potential for synergy. The exact relationship between these two in a global perspective remains to be determined, and the balance of power must be considered in the same context. Suffice it to say that they are anything but equal. If synergy competence is the goal, the starting point is extremely unfavorable.

While traditional white papers are based on the desire to point out ways out of the misery, an unbiased approach requires also taking into account the possibility of failure without preemptively conjuring up a sense of doom and gloom. The damage caused by wars must be quantified, as must the human-caused degradation of habitats. The details are disputed for well-known reasons, with some seeing a solution in making other planets usable for humankind. However, this would not address the root cause, since humans take their characteristics with them everywhere.

So what should the task be?

The task could be described as the self-domestication of the species homo sapiens. The comparison with the animal kingdom may be tantamount to a degradation—a degradation of hubris and self-aggrandizement—since humans believe no one is superior to them but deities, but if the latter do not help them achieve orderly coexistence, they must necessarily start with themselves.

In the animal kingdom, domestication occurs through a combination of coercion and reward, and it does not succeed in every species. Instinct immediately reacts evasively to danger, but it quickly adapts to beneficial innovations, such as food sources. If an enclosed habitat is provided, the learning process becomes a forced experience. As an alternative to adaptation, nature offers the extinction of the species.

Strategically oriented individuals need not care about this as long as they can keep themselves afloat while their conspecifics drown, starve, or become impoverished. It is based on an act of will, a planned intentional action, not a lack of knowledge. Therefore, education can only provide limited countermeasures. He takes the reward for his actions himself—often out of insatiability. The right he invokes is irrelevant. People often point to genetic makeup - that's just how people are.

Democracies are attempting to curb this activity with mixed success, because strategic thinking has its roots in the legal sphere. Strategists are trained, and assertiveness is fostered. In counter-reaction – to set limits on the unilateral intention to give instructions – control organizations, trade unions and opposition parties. are formed. Demonstrations and revolutions follow, at the very latest, when power is taken away from an entire people. In legal-theoretical thinking, the rights of the individual end where those of others are threatened. The current situation demonstrates the extent to which theory and practice diverge.

One starting point lies where influence can be exerted on adolescents. Domestication and civilizing take place in upbringing, with parents only passing on what they themselves consider appropriate and are capable of. The moment of truth arrives with the release into adulthood and the global context. It is not uncommon to observe that radicalization only occurs much later, so even exemplary upbringing is no guarantee of safety. Everywhere we look, we encounter factors that can undermine all our efforts.

A fundamental element of upbringing and education would be to confront adolescents with the problem using a vivid model in an age-appropriate manner. And this model, if successfully conveyed, would have to include a reward aspect.

In his novel Flegeljahre (published in 1804), Jean Paul put forward a proposal: a convoluted will stipulates that a farmer's son named Walt could only inherit his inheritance after proving himself as a piano tuner, gardener, notary, proofreader, bookseller, rural schoolteacher, and pastor. Piano tuning not only teaches him the theory of harmony; he must demonstrate in practice that he can combine consonances and dissonances into an orderly whole. Likewise, a gardener does not allow things to grow wild, but values biodiversity. A notary regulates property ownership, a proofreader brings order to documents. Booksellers, rural schoolteachers, and pastors bring education and morality to the people.

Given the multitude of tasks to be addressed, one could go even further and demand a role reversal that confronts the perpetrator with the consequences of their own actions. A related idea lies in the introduction of legislative periods, but the path is not consistently followed to its conclusion. That would mean having to take up position where the target had previously been. Empathy deficits would be reliably compensated in this way, in accordance with the golden rule found in many cultures: "Do unto others what you do not want done to yourself!" It would be sufficient to demand such a role reversal from political decision-makers. A musical equivalent can be found where melody and accompaniment alternate in one and the same voice.

While these statements may be far from feasible in the political sphere from the current perspective, a pragmatism is recommended, demonstrating the acceptance of a different form of government: harmony on a grand scale, so to speak. Multipolarity is the concept enshrined in the European White Paper. This does not preclude future agreement on something common, since multipolarity, too, is based on the insight that strategic-imperialist raids and covert infiltrations must end. Only when we succeed in replacing deterrence with action-guiding insight will the survival of the species be ensured and the designation "homo sapiens" appropriate.

It can be seen as confirmation of the above statements that institutions committed to the community, such as the United Nations, the International Court of Justice, and UNESCO, are not particularly popular with autocrats because they impose demands for which the latter are not qualified. The frequent criticism of these institutions and the attempt to override them tend to have nothing to do with the inadequate results that they are accused of and that they themselves are partly responsible for, but rather with the one-sidedness of their own strategic orientation. The alternative arena for conflicts is the battlefield.

Even a group like an orchestra that is entirely focused on synergy accepts a conductor as a coordinator who appreciates the different sound characters. All over the world, people under different forms of government demonstrate their ability to cooperate, and this ability, as such, bears no relation to nationality, religion, or ethnic group. However, these are among the numerous factors influencing the decision in one direction or another. Ultimately, everything a person does is their own responsibility.

It is of cultural-historical relevance that the symbolism of the Last Judgment is contained in the Western tonal system and with it the idea that man will one day be held accountable. The rejection of cultural heritage has been a political reality since 1793.