Garry Bowen
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How does a systemic view contribute to understanding the whole planetary picture?
When the 1st entire global view photo was taken by an astronaut all those years ago, then used as the 1st cover of the now legendary Whole Earth Catalog, no one had an awareness of our isolation as a singular home to all species we knew of, and some we didn’t know of, but subsequently discovered a new perspective towards understanding Earth’s dynamic,then subsequent to that, the dynamic of too much life taken advantage of, and exploited . . .
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Not knowing a systemic view contributes to unintended consequences (in compounding existing concerns & problems)?
The oft-mentioned focus on specialties does not allow an overarching vantage point from which to determine, let alone consider, any of the overall effects on a system; indeed, there have been cases where an introduction of a species designed to alleviate a particular village problem turns out to exacerbate (sometimes much later) damage worse than the original problem – those outcomes are considered ‘unintended’, but nevertheless very dangerous to entire ecosystems
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As alluded to in my first post, we are all actually “life-long learners”, from our 1st step, to our 1st intelligible word spoken – for the most part, we are not encouraged to pay that much attention to the world around us (hence our current inability to be in alignment with it on an adequate operational basis. . .
Life-long learning as practiced from this point forward will necessarily include the outdoors-in-play (as children), continual absorption of intellectual material (literary & academic), along with all subjects that appeal to life-affirming directions for a humane presence on Earth. . .Academically, a current emphasis on ‘specializing’ is fine for one’s chosen field, but ends up perpetuating things needing to be changed for an equitable society, due to the undue pressures of maintaining a ‘status quo’: as renowned organizational development guru Peter Senge (M.I.T.) has been quoted:
“The establishment will always support the status quo, long after the quo has lost its’ status. . .”
In the current political climate, this would appear to make a case for a declining empire, as a national psyche is more & more at stake, along with certain life processes that endanger most species that have no voice of their own with which to “speak out”. . .this, for me, makes a case for “life-long learning” to ensure extending ‘life-long lives’ for all sentient beings and processes. . .
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As we now live in a society more attuned to the economic values of getting adequate employment (via a strata of graduated degrees in particular fields), we have short-sightedly relegated all the life has to offer as inadequate in knowing how our planet actually operates, and in knowing what it needs to better serve ‘life-as-know-it’ (i.e., the 3 main ingredients: water, DNA, and energy). . .
As to ‘eclectic’, I’ve been feeding my “intuitive intellect” for decades, & am continually rejuvenated by what I learn. . .sustainability is still currently ‘outside-the-box’ for most. . .
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