I confess to feeling overwhelmed with the challenges associated with this proposed mutual educational exploration. Perhaps you also feel overwhelmed at times. Life today is epitomized by increasing complexity, both good and bad—in size, scope, scale, and speed. It’s an awful lot to digest, especially for aging persons like me. I sincerely hope this mutual journey of exploration proves stimulating and worthwhile for the time and effort invested by all participants.As I’ve intimated, the overall goal of this blog is to make sense of life in a fast-moving modern age that seems headed towards a potentially catastrophic global future. Gaining a general understanding about our current socioecological human predicament requires starting at the beginning of life and the evolution of our species. So, for our purposes the most logical way of exploring our human story seems to be chronological, beginning with our past (from deep time to 20th Century), our unsustainable present, and, lastly, consideration of potential futures. Throughout this journey, we’ll try to view everything in relation to the totality of existence, including humankind, everything other than humans—extending to deep time and space. This approach will be a work in progress, with relevant current information included when appropriate.
Although what I know and understand is drastically limited, I remain a diligent learner. In an age dominated by specialists, I think of myself as a generalist focused on gaining a big-picture, systemic understanding of life, particularly regarding humanity’s symbiotic relationship within the entire realm of Nature. In addition to referencing a variety of relevant disciplines, a major source of information will be provided by experts associated with the developing discipline of socioecology.
As determined by evolutionary processes, the rise of human consciousness makes us supremely unique among all earthly species, perhaps even within the universe. This phenomenal mutual-life consciousness helps us realize that, as part of a universal system, we are connected and influenced by all that exists (both good and bad), as determined by one’s beliefs and experiences.
I’ve found that living well (effectively) requires gaining sufficient knowledge and skills for managing the prolific manifestation of opposites experienced in all areas of life. The ancient Chinese philosophical concept of yin yang is interpreted as opposing forces that exist in interconnected, self-perpetuation cycles. Innumerable examples exist in every aspect of existence: birth/death; day/night (light/dark); thick/thin; soft/hard; less/more; to/from; down/up; bottom/top; past/future; virtue/vice; inspiration/expiration; passive/active; introvert/extrovert; mind/body; masculine/feminine; positive/negative; complex/simple; mechanical/organic; domination/collaboration; war/peace; and so on.
Among the types of opposites, the most significant example could be the existence of two cerebrum hemispheres in our human brain. While the two hemispheres control some separate functions, in the process of managing most information, issues, and actions they maintain reciprocal and integrative communication. In simple terms, left-brain functions address linguistic-linear reasoning (language and logic), while right-brain functions address holistic reasoning (intuition and creativity). It appears these contrasting hemispherical functions indicate that our brains have evolved to help manage the many types of opposites we encounter in life.
As it happens, between the extreme polarities of any concept or issue a range of possible balancing points exists. Common terms used in describing integral points between opposites include “moderate”, “centrist”, “balanced”, “integrated”, and “compromised”. Using statistical analyses, for instance, a distributional balancing point can be determined by measures based on mean and median. A desirable balance in some life-situational opposites is often described as a “sweet spot”, a Goldilocks (just-right) principle. But life experience teaches us that finding a “close-enough” balanced position usually suffices.
While I like to think my beliefs are open to change, I remain relatively confident that my hard-earned core beliefs will remain intact. As revealed throughout my writings, I try to abide by the philosophical values represented in the three transcendental domains of Truth (reality, facts, evidence), Goodness (morality, ethics, behavior), and Beauty (quality, creativity, expression). I think you’ll agree that navigating life effectively requires a foundational belief system based on core values that exist in all dimensions of life.
For our purposes, we need to consider how these three domains affect our species relationship with the rest of Nature. According to what may be needed in creating a sustainable future, should our role be that of dominators, collaborators, or a combination of both opposites? Perhaps an appropriate guideline in addressing some issues might be to strive for both-and outcomes rather than either-or outcomes.
The major issue facing humanity at this critical juncture in our history is long-term sustainability, which simply means living within the planet’s carrying capacity. For certain, humanity’s modern socioeconomic paradigm, as represented in the concept of constant material growth and driven by a capitalistic, market-based, techno-industrial, profit-motive system, is unsustainable. Scientists explain that Earth’s material sources (referred to as resources) are being consumed faster than natural processes can replace them. Globally, the equivalent of 1.75 earth resources is consumed annually. Even worse, if all nations consumed at the U.S. level, the equivalent of 5 earths would be consumed annually. Experts refer to this extravagant process as overshoot, the devastating result of our overly-heavy human footprint on the planet.
My wife and I, along with all Silent Generation elders, will most likely avoid the unavoidable crises-driven consequences younger generations will face, possibly within with the next decade or so. According to the 2024 World Happiness Report, young people are growing unhappier worldwide. But American youth are noticeably unhappier than past generations, as evidenced by suicide rates among young people that rose over 60% between 2007 and 2021. According to experts, the unhappiness of young Americans today may be attributed to myriad factors, including pandemic interruptions during childhood, the dramatic increase in school shootings, the rising costs of living, and uncertain work and career opportunities. Many young people are also deeply concerned about the future negative impacts of developing socioecological crises, including climate change.
In a recent article by Laura Johnson titled “Reflection on Collective Grief in These Times”, the author succinctly encapsulated the grief issue:
The weight of awareness in these times of polycrisis is immense. Though I have been thinking about, working with, and feeling through collective or ecological grief – the pain of a suffering world stemming from our interconnection – for years now, I have never before known these depths. And so many of us are together in these deep waters. Take heart: We are not alone.
In coming posts we’ll address the underlying drivers of accelerating socioecological harms experts attribute to a long history of anthropocentricism. This single hubristic concept has served as a primary driver of population growth, which, in turn, continues producing overconsumption, along with the problematic disposal of unrecyclable materials and hazardous wastes.
The composite result is a series of socioecological crises experts refer to as a metacrisis, which includes nine planetary boundaries: climate change; biosphere integrity; land system change; freshwater use; vital phosphate and nitrogen flows; ocean acidification; and ozone depletion. Additionally, there are newly added measures of the levels of aerosols and chemical compounds, such as plastics and nuclear waste. Scientists report that at least six boundaries have been crossed, altogether presenting tipping-point conditions that could potentially lead to the global collapse of social and ecological systems.
One developing human crisis is that of tumultuous social polarization, as evidenced with upcoming worldwide elections that could well determine the path humanity adopts going forward into an unknown alternative future. Ever since the rise of city states and empires, humanity’s predominant paradigm (worldview) has been founded largely on sociopolitical systems described as authoritarian, anthropocentric, patriarchal, and hierarchal, with emphases placed on individualism, competition, and material growth. As we’re learning the hard way, this outmoded paradigm is unsustainable. We desperately need a sustainable paradigm, one that’s founded on such socioecological values as democracy, ecocentrism, and egalitarianism, the types of sociocultural values that engender cooperation, collaboration, and empathy. Thus, a sustainable paradigm would engender a collective commitment based on serving the Common Good—all beings and things. In a finite world, this means understanding and accepting the dictum to live with “enough”, a sufficiency rather than relying on excessive consumption for happiness.
I think I’ve outlined sufficient material for our consideration in future posts, which will continue next week with exploring our backstory, beginning with our evolutionary roots. If I’ve introduced more topics than you are able to digest, I apologize. I suspect the background of readers varies, with some having had minimal exposure to such complex topics and some whose knowledge and experience eclipses mine. I’m finding that I always learn something new from time given to daily podcasts, writings, and media reporting, and I imagine you do as well.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Clifton Ware, D.M., emeritus professor (voice), professional singer and author of four published books and two unpublished works, retired in 2007 from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities School of Music, where he taught for 37 years. Since retiring, as a self-described socio-ecological philosopher he has spent 15 years focusing on sustainability issues, in the process of acquiring an evidence-based, big-picture understanding of all principal societal and ecological systems, including the symbiotic interconnections and role of humans as an integral part of Nature. In 2013 he founded Citizens for Sustainability in St. Anthony Village, MN, produced Sustainability News + Views (2014-2019), a weekly newsletter featuring a variety of articles and a commentary, co-composed 13 Eco Songs with his wife, Bettye, organized Sustainability Forums, and performed eco-oriented programs and presentations for several organizations.
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