Cultural Evolutionary Mechanisms of Sustainability

CEMS

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John E. ThomasJanuary 2014

A Developmental Perspective

• Integral Theory

– Ken Wilber, Sean Esbjörn-Hargens

• Developmental Psychology

– Susanne Cook-Greuter, Keagan, Torbert

• Sustainability

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“What if there is something that we don’t know, the knowing of whichcould change everything.” ~Neal Donald Walsh

Wilber, K. (1995), Esbjörn-Hargens, S. (2012). 3

• Increasing depth (i) and complexity (e)• Development / evolution in each quadrant• Correlates co-arise and tetra-mesh

• Four irreducible perspectives• Dimensions of reality• Multiple simultaneous views

“What I experience”

“What we experience”

“What I do”

“What we do”

Mental models, emotions, will Visible biological features

Shared values, customsculture, & relationships

Social systems, economic systems,Political orders, environment

Integral Theory

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• Simultaneous perspectives, co-arising, tetra-mesh• Co-nascent and mutually implicated in one another• Death of fish are the ‘object’ of investigation.• Empowers one to notice, acknowledge & interact more effectively

Wilber, K. (1995), Esbjörn-Hargens, S. (2012).

Four ways to see the world Four ways the world can be seen

• Action logic => how we make meaning or form a mental model of the world• Meaning-making structures/dimensions: Doing, Being & Thinking• Human development as progressive unfolding levels of action logics

• Spiral Dynamics uses layered value systems.

5Cook-Greuter, S. R. (2002).

Structural-developmental Psychology

• Levels of development comprised of action logics• Each level transcends & includes the previous• Also representative of worldviews and cultural value structures• The more reality included, the more sustainable our solutions

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Horizontal Growth & Vertical Development

E

A

I

Action Logic

Cook-Greuter, S. R. (2004), Cook-Greuter, S. R. (2002).

Lines of development

Psychograph

Socio-graph

7Esbjörn-Hargens, S. (2012).

Lines demonstrate sequentialdevelopment with increasing levels of complexity or depth

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• Organize sustainability knowledge with a holistic perspective• Diagnose / map wicked forces influencing sustainability• Develop / manage sustainability initiatives targeted to altitude(s)

9Witt, A. H. , Witt, N. H. (2013)

Example: Framing communications about renewable energy initiatives to worldviews

CEMS Research Ideas

• Identify structural components of sustainability

– Sustainability Signature / Fingerprint

• Use psychometric tools to measure

• Propose ways to cultivate and strategically engage

• Investigate Sustainability as a line of development

• Include (developmental) levels, lines & types

• Case study: renewable energy, natural resource management, sustainability leadership?

• Other?

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1. Wilber, K. (2000). A Theory of Everything, Boston, MA: Shambala Publications Inc.2. Wilber, K. (1995). Sex, Ecology, Spirituality: The Spirit of Evolution3. Cook-Greuter, S. R. (2002). A Detailed Description of the Development of Nine Action Logics in

the Leadership Development Framework: Adapted from Ego Development Theory 4. Cook-Greuter, S. R. (2004). Making the Case for a Developmental Perspective, Industrial and

Commercial Training, Vol. 36 No. 75. Esbjörn-Hargens, S. (2012). An Overview of Integral Theory, Meta Integral Foundation 6. Witt, A. H. , Witt, N. H. (2013). Towards a Integral Ecology of Worldviews: Reflexive

Communicative, Action for Climate Solutions7. Lipman, B. (2010). http://sustainability.org/matrix.html

References

Back-up Slides

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Types

• Kolbe, MBTI, Enneagram• Translational, generally the same at each level• Example, shadow of a cylinder

13Wilber, K. (2000), Esbjörn-Hargens, S. (2012).

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An integral perspective enables a capacity to hold multiple simultaneous perspectiveswithout marginalizing or diminishing one over the other.

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18Cook-Greuter, S. R. (2002).

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1. Culture, Art and Myth2. Earth Stewardship3. Health and Wellness4. Family and Community5. Agriculture and Food6. Economics7. Technology and Design8. Communication and Planning9. Government and Politics10. Social Justice11. Education12. Values, ethics and spirit

Sustainability Sectors

Potential Sustainability Lines of Development?

Managed-ResiliencyAdaptive-ManagementSustainable CollaborationExpertiseShared AwarenessComplex ConnectionsSituation AwarenessDecision-Making Process

Lipman, B. (2010)

Example Lines of Development

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Sean Esbjörn-Hargens Ph.D. http://integrallife.com/node/37539

• Fundamental perspectives. First, second and third person.• Flatland: Reducing interiors to exterior correlates• Beware of collapsing subjective & intersubjective realities into

their objective aspects, ignoring texture of felt-sense of 1st & 2nd

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Misc.

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• Barrett Brown looked at meaning-making stages for sustainability leaders.• SusA & SusE are interior and exterior perspectives, respectively, and may

contribute to sustainability lines of development. • AQAL map reveals the true complexity of wicked problems, while also providing

a holistic framework for engaging them.• The Sustainability Sextant: An AQAL Perspective yields vertical integration with

different outlooks for each level.