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Global Consciousness Change:
Indicators of an Emerging Paradigm
Excerpted by permission from Global Consciousness Change: Indicators or an Emerging Paradigm, a report prepared for the Millennium Project, P O Box 2449, San Anselmo, CA 94960. To learn more about the Millennium Project visit their website http://www.awakeningearth.org. A printed version of the report, which includes a guide for study, dialogue and action, is available. Send e-mail to report@awakeningearth.org for more information.
In 1992, over 1600 senior scientists, including a majority of the living Nobel laureates in the sciences, signed and released a documented entitled Warning to Humanity. In it, they stated powerfully the need for fresh approaches to thinking and living. They declared that "human beings and the natural world are on a collision course . . . that may so alter the living world that it will be unable to sustain life in the manner that we know." They concluded by giving the following, simple warning to the human family:
We, the undersigned senior members of the world's scientific community, hereby warn all humanity of what lies ahead. A great change in our stewardship of the earth and the life on it is required, if vast human misery is to be avoided and our global home on this planet is not to be irretrievably mutilated. 1
Although human societies have confronted major problems throughout history, the challenges of our era are unique in one crucial respect -- they now embrace the entire Earth as a whole system. Never before has humanity been on the verge of devastating the Earth's biosphere and crippling its ecological foundations for countless generations to come. Never before has the entire human family been required to work together to build a sustainable and meaningful future. Never before have so many people been called to make such sweeping changes in so little time.
Albert Einstein observed that problems cannot be solved at the same level at which they are created. This insight seems profoundly relevant today as we humans need to step back and gain a whole-systems perspective if we are to respond effectively to massive ecological problems. The "ecological" challenges we face are not even purely physical. Many are social and spiritual as well. It is difficult to imagine a positive future that does not value, integrate, and balance three major ecologies:
- A physical ecology that is sustainable -- where we live in such a way that present generations can meet their needs without compromising the Earth's ability to support future generations. 2
- A social ecology that is satisfying -- where we value rich and meaningful relationships of all kinds -- in families, neighborhoods, and communities (including the Earth -- community, with all its lifeforms).
- A spiritual ecology that is soulful -- where we consciously appreciate and celebrate the deep mystery and miracle of everyday life.
To create a future that harmoniously integrates these three ecologies, the human family will need a new way of looking at the world -- in short, a new paradigm.
What is a paradigm? Willis Harman gives a definition that we find very useful: A paradigm is "the basic way of perceiving, thinking, valuing, and doing associated with a particular vision of reality." 3 A civilization's paradigm shapes ho w we see and understand the nature of reality, our sense of self, and our feelings of social connection and purpose. Paradigms shape not only our thoughts, but our very perceptions and experience of life. When a civilization shifts from one paradigm to an other that shift goes to the very core of our lives, and represents much more than a change of ideas. Retired Canadian Ambassador James George writes about the deep nature of paradigm shifts in his book Asking for the Earth:
I have been struggling to convey the idea of a paradigm shift intellectually. But . . . it is not just an idea, it is an experience; and experiences take place in the moment, in bodies with feelings. So do paradigm shifts. They first infiltrate your mind, then they grab you in the gut; only then do you "get it" and act. 4
Civilizational paradigms have persisted for at least centuries and usually millennia. At the level of human civilizations, a paradigm shift is a very rare occurrence. It has happened only a few times in human history -- specifically, during the transition s from the hunter-gatherer era to the agricultural era, from the agricultural era to the industrial era, and from the industrial era to the fast emerging communications era. Paradigms are stable and enduring ways of perceiving and relating to the world. T hey persist until they generate problems that cannot be solved; these problems then become the catalyst for triggering the shift to the next paradigm. 5 When we first enter a new civilizational paradigm (such as moving from the agricultural era to the industrial),we experience new freedom and creative opportunity. As we fulfill the potential of a given paradigm, however, that paradigm eventually becomes a constricting framework. Its partial or incomplete nature leads to a crisis, which in turn leads to a breakthrough into the next, more spacious paradigm. A new level of learning and creative expression ensues.
As the world's senior scientists have warned, the industrial era paradigm is now generating far more problems than it is solving. The only way the human family can understand and solve these problems is by shifting to a larger paradigm that includes the entire Earth as a living system. Such a transformation seems to be underway. Peter Drucker, the well-known management expert, is just one observer who believes that the western world is undergoing a paradigm change:
Every few hundred years in Western history there occurs a sharp transformation. Within a few short decades, society -- its world view, its basic values, its social and political structures, its arts, its key institutions -- rearranges itself. And the people born then cannot even imagine a world in which their grandparents lived and into which their own parents were born. We are currently living through such a transformation. 6
With the explosive growth of mass communications, a new global consciousness and culture are emerging. Already a majority of the world's people have access to television and are being profoundly influenced by the communications era. The rapidly emerging " global brain" is weaving the human family together into a new level and intensity of relationship. The communications revolution is pervasive. The combined power of the computer Internet, television networks, global satellite systems, cellular telephones, fiber optics, and many more devices has created a perceptual framework within which even those who are agrarians or industrialists in their daily work will increasingly orient themselves.
As pervasive as the communications revolution is, it seems to be taking place within a larger and deeper revolution in consciousness and culture. We are living in a time of paradigm shift. What should we call the emerging paradigm? In this report, we are calling it the "reflective/ living-systems" paradigm or perspective. This name incorporates the two primary features of this perspective.
The first is our growing capacity for self-reflection. Many times it has been observed that where animals "know," only humans have the capacity to "know that we know." We have the ability to observe ourselves and our world as if from a distance. Humans ca n stand back and see ourselves in the past as well as project ourselves into the future. We are not locked in, but can reflect on our situation and make fresh choices. When we can see our actions in the mirror of self-reflective knowing, we become self directing agents of our own evolution. It is this capacity for conscious, free choice that will be essential if humanity is to choose a path of communication and reconciliation to create a sustainable future.
A second hallmark of the new consciousness is its "whole-systems" or "living-systems" view. For the last several hundred years in Western industrial societies, a materialistic, scientific mindset has dominated. In this view, what is "real" is the material world as perceived by our senses and organized by our intellect. The universe is seen as filled with lifeless matter and empty space. It is only natural that what is important is social status and material success. By contrast, in the emerging perspective, seemingly empty space is not empty, but filled with immense amounts of energy. Our cosmos is seen as a living, unified system. This new paradigm moves from a view of separation and isolation to one of profound wholeness and interconnection. At a fundamental level, people are viewed not as separate beings, but as intimately involved with one another in the deep web of life.
If everything is intimately interconnected, then the quality and integrity of all kinds of relationships are of paramount concern. A natural expression of this paradigm is to bring into balance all the key relationships in our lives -- inner and outer, masculine and feminine, personal and global, intuitive and rational, and more. This perspective tends to bridge differences, connect people, celebrate diversity, harmonize efforts, and look for higher common ground. A reflective/living-systems orientation brings a unifying approach and offers hope in a world facing deep material, social, and spiritual fragmentation.
Table 1 presents a preliminary view of the contrasts that seem to be emerging between the industrial/ materialistic paradigm and what we are calling the reflective/living-systems paradigm.
Books and articles describing the possibility of a new paradigm coming into existence have been proliferating for the past 20 years. World leaders have spoken about the emergence of a new global perspective. Is a reflective/ living-systems paradigm developing in the world? That question is the focus of this study.
Go to a The Emerging Paradigm section of the report: Global Consciousness Change: Indicators of an Emerging Paradigm.
The cosmos is made up of mostly dead matter and empty space and is not "alive." Our cosmos is a unique kind of "living organism" and, as a whole system, is fundamentally alive. We are floating through vast reaches of empty space, and most of life seems to lack any larger sense of meaning and purpose. The entire cosmos is a unified system. Each action is woven into the deep ecology of the universe. Everything we do matters. Consciousness-- when viewed from a reductionist, mechanistic perspective -- is a byproduct of biochemistry and is located in the brain. Consciousness-when viewed from an integrative, living systems perspective-is an ordinary capacity that permeates the universe and provides a reflective capability appropriate to each entity within the universe. The goal in life is material success and social achievement. The goal in life is to develop a balanced relationship between our inner and outer lives-to live in a way that is sustainable and compassionate. The emphasis is on conspicuous consumption. The "good life" depends on having enough money to buy access to pleasures and avoid discomforts. The emphasis is on conscious consumption. The "good life" is an ever-changing balance of inner and outer, material and spiritual, personal and social, etc. Identity is largely defined by material possessions and social position. Our sense of self grows through our conscious, loving, and creative participation in life. Emphasis is on personal autonomy and mobility. Emphasis is on personal growth and community. The individual is defined by his or her body and is ultimately separate and alone. The individual is both unique and an inseparable part of the larger universe. Our being is not limited to our physical existence. It is natural that we who are living use lifeless material resources for our own progress. It is natural to respect all that exists as integral to the larger body of life. Cutthroat competition is the norm. You compete against others to make a killing. Fair competition is the norm. You cooperate with others to earn a living. The mass media are dominated by commercial interests and are used to promote a high-consumption culture. The mass media awaken to the challenge of sustainability and begin to explore more workable and meaningful approaches to living. Nations adopt a "lifeboat ethic" in global relations. Nations adopt a "spaceship Earth ethic" in global relations. The welfare of the whole is left to the workings of the free market or government bureaucracies. Each person takes responsibility for the well-being of the world, enabling high levels of decentralization and freedom at the local level, and a sustainable harmony at the global level.
NOTES
1.) Quoted in James George, Asking for the Earth (Massachusetts: Element Books, 1995), p. 181.
2.) This definition is adapted from the United Nations Commission on Environment and Development sponsored book, Our Common Future (New York: Oxford University Press, 1987).
3.) Willis Harman, An Incomplete Guide to the Future (San Francisco: San Francisco Book Co., 1976).
4.) George, op.cit., p.153.
5.) Oliver Markley and Willis Harman, eds., Changing Images of Man (New York: Pergamon Press, 1982).
6.) Peter Drucker, The Post-Capitalist Society (New York: Harper Business, 1993).
About the Author:
Duane Elgin is the project leader and primary author of this report. He is a researcher, author, and lecturer with more than 25 years experience in the subject of paradigm change. He is the author of Awakening Earth: Exploring the Evolution of Human Culture, and Voluntary Simplicity: Toward a Way of Life that is Outwardly Simple, Inwardly Rich. He is also co-author, with Joseph Campbell and others, of Changing Images of Man.
Coleen LeDrew is the project coordinator and contributing author of this report. She has wide ranging experience as a project manager, researcher, counselor, and educator.
A preliminary version of this report was presented by Duane Elgin to the State of the World Forum, a gathering of world leaders convened by the Gorbachev Foundation.
A printed version is available from:
The Millennium Project:
P O Box 2449
San Anselmo, CA 94960
415.460-1797 (fax)
e-mail: report@awakeningearth.org
Visit their website at: http://www.awakeningearth.org
Copyright © May 1997 Duane Elgin
Posted with the author's permission November 1997
by New Horizons for Learning
http://www.newhorizons.org
E-mail: info@newhorizons.org