". . . created cultural detritus . . ."
A comment on the distinction between data, information, knowledge and wisdom. The comment could also refer to the media/publishing industry that creates consumer products at the expense of experiental learning.

". . . expose these societies . . ."
I was summarizing Gurdjieff's distinction between data and wisdom, and his critique that the Wilsonian Idealist and Theosophical-influenced perspectives were either non-pragmatic or unconnected to the actual traditions that they claimed to espouse. Two equivalent critiques would be Ludwig Feuerbach's critique of institutionalised religion and Jacques Ellul's concerns about the bureucratic social organization and the technological milieu. I interpret Gurdjieff's critique as part of this stream; it could also be part of the Third World narratives that Sohail Inayatullah has argued for.

". . . 'bon ton' literature . . ."

Gurdjieff frequently used the term 'bon ton' in conversation to apply to the Western writers and avant-garde he encountered. He espoused a Traditionalist viewpoint, and contended that most writers lived in their imagination, instead of writing about what they had personally experienced.

". . . evade . . ."
Gurdjieff did this in several ways: he closed his Institute at Fontainebleu to avoid the worst excesses of 'guru'-worship (compare with Adi Da Samraj and the Bhagwan Rajneesh); he used experiential learning and created situational contexts to shift from data to wisdom; and he created symbolic fiction, music and dances to transmit his knowledge. He anticipated techniques of organizational lifecycles, systems theory and strategic foresight.

" . . . a trans-valuation of all the reader's values."

In the sense of Friedrich Nietzsche's definition of the term: Gurdjieff wanted to deconstruct the Western worldview and wrote his text with an 'artificial' symbolic language. Perhaps this deconstruction may be culturally 'located' as a Third World critique of Modernity. Many Gurdjieff-oriented groups "actively" interpret the text in a similar way that there are reading groups for James Joyce's Finnegan's Wake (1939). Anthony Storr in Feet of Clay (New York: Free Press, 1997) argued that this "symbolic imagery" was closer to schizophrenia if Gurdjieff objectively believed it.

". . . 'Just So' story . . ."
I offered an example of Gurdjieff's use of symbolic language: to convey anthropological knowledge that simultaneously deconstructed a pseudo-culture and a false tradition (for a specific time-period). In Neuro-Linguistic Programming this cognitive technique is called a "pattern interrupt". Since our capacity to symbolise can be manipulated into the construction of social norms that serve others' ends, Gurdjieff reasoned that discontinuity and cognitive dissonance ('shocks') may be a self-defense.

". . . demiurgic/psychecentric intelligence . . ."
John Bennett, a pupil of Gurdjieff who also studied with David Bohm, used the term "demiurgic intelligence" in his writings, especially in the four-volume Dramatic Universe (Sherbourne: Coombe Springs Press, 1976-78). Volume II ("The Foundations of Moral Philosophy") defines (p. 294) and discusses (pp. 313-317) the term. The term "psychecentric intelligence", in the Platonic sense, is part of Left Hand Path (Vama Marg) interpretations of Gurdjieff's legacy, such as by the US-based Temple of Set and the science fiction author John Shirley. The terms were precursors to James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis's Gaia hypothesis and Terence McKenna's Singularity, influential in the cosmology of some peace activists.

"Mis-identification with local cultural norms . . ."
This paragraph refers to why our perceptions and language influence our belief systems, and that self-identification with one discourse may be at the expense of big-picture views. Much of Sufi literature, notably the Mulla Nasruddin folk-tales, focus on this self-identification as a form of social hypnosis. See, for example, Idries Shah's The Dermis Probe (London: Octagon Books, 1989) and Muzafer Sherif's The Psychology of Social Norms (New York: Octagon Books, 1965). Alfred Korzybski's Science and Sanity (International Non-Aristotelian Library Publishing Company, 1958) and the Milton Model of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (distortion, deletion, generalisation, nominalisation) likewise call attention to how linguistic errors fail to "map the territory.” The term "mental models" was popularised by Peter Senge's Fifth Discipline (New York: Doubleday, 1990), which popularised MIT's Jay Forrester's work on systems dynamics. Obviously, an awareness of linguistic errors and the ability to shift contexts and viewpoints will help the effectiveness of a peace activist campaign and techniques such as those taught by the Harvard Project on Negotiation.

". . . the Hasnamuss . . ."
This paragraph summarised Gurdjieff's analysis of charismatic leaders and how egotism drove the group dynamics at the core of ethno-political conflicts. Howard Bloom's Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Exploration Into the Forces of History (New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1995) cites how pecking orders (pp. 195-202) and neural network research (pp. 140-145) has shed light on these group dynamics ("the Superorganism"). This analysis applies to contemporary leaders, especially those who consciously tap into religiopolitical imagery for their support-base (relevant to discussions of "Just War" criteria). John Bennett warns that those who pursue a religious tradition or spiritual path may exploit states of being for short-sighted ends that become self-destructive. This perspective may be useful for peace activists who are formulating campaign strategies and also as a reminder that they are not immune from existential self-betrayals.

". . . the Kurdish philosopher Attanurkh . . ."
The anecdote about the Kurdish philosopher Attanurkh illustrates how the Law of Seven applies to organisational edicts and negotiation: Attanurkh first appeals to individual conscience to prevent ethno-political wars, and then, in the face of a complex threat (natural disasters and complex ecological systems), institutes the practice of religious sacrifices to animistic gods. Even our most cherished ideals and personal philosophies can come under attack during crises. Institutions may reverse their policies while still outwardly proclaiming their original values.