Author: Nikolas Winter-Simat

From Rivalry and Separateness to Collaboration and Connectedness

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Whatever the cause, there seems to be an emerging human understanding of our ability and need to intentionally participate in the continued evolution of our consciousness. The expansion towards more integrated and eco-centric ways of being is not a return to premodernism, nor is it the extreme relativism (and nihilism) of post-modernism. Instead, it is an expansion beyond the anthropocentric self that transcends but includes previous ways of being.

Fundamentally, this is a transition from the rivalry and separateness of our current finite paradigms towards a way of being that embodies a depth of collaboration and connectedness characteristic of ecological ongoingness. This, I believe, is the demand history is placing on humans, and by corollary, education.

See Article Six for more.

Decentering the Human in Education

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Pedagogical theory and the design of curriculum need to be human-centred in that it is humans and their development at the center of education. However, these education practices must be situated in a decidedly human decentered framework. 

Only from a deep understanding of the interconnectedness of life, objects and systems on Earth can education begin to contribute to the evolution of consciousness that progresses beyond the anthropocentric.

If we hope to transition to more truly sustainable cultures, it is the cultivation of more integrated ways of being in the world that education must be charged.

This is a continuation of the decentering work of Copernicus and Galileo. It begins with an awakening to the myth of the separate self.

See Article Two for more on the purpose of education and Article Four on Systems Thinking.

Other-Orientedness

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Empathy is increasingly valued in fields such as design, management, education, social enterprise and global citizenship. This is a positive turn, as it opens individuals up to experience the ‘other’ as a fellow subject rather than an object or means to an end. However, as an isolated skill or capacity, empathy can be leveraged to achieve outcomes that do not contribute to cultures of ongoingness, but perpetuate unsustainable cultures of rivalry and consumption. This is exemplified in common contexts such as design focus groups, branding, product development and neuromarketing. With the current drive to equip students for emerging creative jobs, schools have begun to identify empathy as a valued capacity.

I believe empathy is part of a larger disposition we could call ‘other-orientedness’. This disposition integrates virtue capacities such as empathy, compassion, kindness and love as well as intellectual capacities such as systems thinking, ecological understanding and nondual awareness. It is only when developed within this larger disposition that empathy contributes to more integrated ways of being in the world together.

Other-orientedness is not concerned with the reinforcement of a separate ego-self, instead, it asks questions such as ‘who are you really’, ‘how are we connected’, and ‘who are we becoming in this interaction or relationship’. Ultimately, this disposition asks ‘how can we collaborate with the larger arc of life towards mutual thriving’. This other-orientation ascribes worth to others not only as distinct entities but as integral members of an interconnected whole with a unique capacity to contribute to the ongoingness of life. 

A conscious educator does not necessarily teach this disposition, but models it in their interactions, worldview and lifestyle. From this integrated way of being they design lessons, environments, processes and systems that cultivate other-orientedness in learners.

In this way, it could be said that the development of other-orientedness cannot be learned but developed through transformative encounters with its embodied presence.

See Article Two for more on this topic.

Conscious Participation in Our Continued Development

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Unique at this point in the history of life on Earth is that we are faced with the need to change our ways of being in the world rather than adapting to the environment in which we were born.

Reflective consciousness and the ability to imagine and create future realities are central to being human. Epigenetics, prenatal development and the extended human foetal/infant stage also contribute to our species’ ability to adapt to highly diverse physical, ecological, social and technological environments. These superpowers have resulted in humans adapting to and thriving in all climate/bioregions on Earth.

Faced with the ‘second shock of existence’ (the awareness of our capacity and movement towards self-extinction), we must now consciously choose to not adapt to the dominant paradigm (environments) in which we were born. 

Instead we must become conscious participants in our continued development towards more integrated and ecological ways of being. This is not a return to premodernism, although there are many concepts and principles to learn from those ways of being. Instead, what is needed is an expansion from the anthropocentric self, towards more eco-centric or integral ways of being in the world.

See Article Six for more on this topic.

Premise

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It is increasingly apparent that many of the current dominant human systems (economic, political, manufacturing, social etc.) are founded on unsustainable premises. Resource depletion, toxic pollution, deforestation, biodiversity loss and population growth are putting pressures on the Earth’s life support systems to the point of collapse. Rigid and outdated governance systems, economic disparity, and forced migration contribute to increasing social unrest.

Many agree that rapid changes are needed to transition to more sustainable expressions of human civilization. Approaches however, primarily remain in the objective realm of technological advances, political actions, economic drivers, or social awareness/actions. Often neglected is the role of human ways of thinking and being that inform the worldviews on which the current systems are founded. Without the continued development of human consciousness, changes will fall short of the systemic transitions needed.

The current moribund systems are founded on mechanistic or linear worldviews that remain in ego-centric, ethno-centric or anthropocentric stages of development. Education is strategically positioned to contribute to the development of human consciousness needed to address these urgent problems. I believe it can do this through prioritising the development of more integrated ways of being human in the world.

See Article One for more on this topic.