This thesis is motivated by my felt connection with the unnecessarily hungry peasants of the Majority World. The odyssey that results is portrayed as one of epistemic learning in which the meaning of participation is central. The first part (Chapters 1-4) introduces the philosophical understandings gained at the end of the research in order to assist the reader’s orientation at the beginning of the thesis. This explanation depends upon understanding the paradigmatic implications of Classical and Quantum Physics along with an autooethnographic approach. Using these concepts, I portray my experiences in agricultural development with peasants in the Solomon Islands and Mozambique as naïve systemic practice. This practice arises in response to the continual failure of contemporary development which I refer to as expat-centric development. I systemically reframe the categories of “expert” and “blueprint project” which become “expert and project with peasant.” The development that results I find to be easy and successful, yet it is ignored and undermined. This leads me to a watershed experience, which becomes Part 2 (Chapter 5) of the thesis.Within Part 3 I see the role of society’s institutions to replicate the mechanistic paradigm. Thus, in order to avoid the institutional entrapment that results from this, I see the need post-thesis, to participate in evolving new social structures that can replicate the paradigm of systemic participation. This will largely depend upon the willingness of society to engage with a cosmology of connectedness. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This thesis is motivated by my felt connection with the unnecessarily hungry peasants of the Majority World. The odyssey that results is portrayed as one of epistemic learning in which the meaning of participation is central. The first part (Chapters 1-4) introduces the philosophical understandings gained at the end of the research in order to assist the reader’s orientation at the beginning of the thesis. This explanation depends upon understanding the paradigmatic implications of Classical and Quantum Physics along with an autooethnographic approach. Using these concepts, I portray my experiences in agricultural development with peasants in the Solomon Islands and Mozambique as naïve systemic practice. This practice arises in response to the continual failure of contemporary development which I refer to as expat-centric development. I systemically reframe the categories of “expert” and “blueprint project” which become “expert and project with peasant.” The development that results I find to be easy and successful, yet it is ignored and undermined. This leads me to a watershed experience, which becomes Part 2 (Chapter 5) of the thesis.Within Part 3 I see the role of society’s institutions to replicate the mechanistic paradigm. Thus, in order to avoid the institutional entrapment that results from this, I see the need post-thesis, to participate in evolving new social structures that can replicate the paradigm of systemic participation. This will largely depend upon the willingness of society to engage with a cosmology of connectedness. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)