Ehrenfeld oslo final v3 builds (optimized)

© John Ehrenfeld 2017 1
Flourishing Lives in Another World
RSD6 Oslo, October 2017
John Ehrenfeld
1
2-1
Warning
This presentation contains some
very radical ideas. You may have to
suspend your current beliefs about
how the world works. I promise you
the story you are about to hear has
the power to transform the world.
2-2
I will be calling on, for me, a stunning
model of the brain that explains much
about why we have lost our way, but,
also, offers a model for how to
recover. I will get to it shortly, but
offer a few clues about it on the way.
2-3
3-1
© John Ehrenfeld 2017
There’s No Time
to Lose
3
Modernity is showing signs of breakdown in the form
of normative failures and growing negative unintended
consequences:
Growing stresses on the earth (unsustainability)
Social unrest and disaffection
Polarization and stalemate
Failures of modernist dreams: progress,
equality, freedom, opportunity, rights…
Empty metrics and slogans, like sustainability
Policy failures
Add your own observations
3-2

4-1
Sustainability is an empty word,
devoid of meaning without a
reference to something [to sustain].
“Sustainability” Isn’t
Working (and Can’t)
4
4-2
The implicit reference of sustainability
i s g r o w t h , a r e m n a n t o f t h e
Brundtland report.
4
4-3
The implicit reference of sustainability
i s g r o w t h , a r e m n a n t o f t h e
Brundtland report.
But growth is, itself, a big part of the
problem.
4
4-4
Ergo, we need a different, new
vision to propel us into the future.
4
4-5
5-1

Flourishing is intrinsic to life.
5
Flourishing Is the
Proper Guiding Vision
for Human Existence.
5-2
Flourishing captures the
images and aspirations of those
seeking to preserve and heal
the Planet and its inhabitants.
5
Flourishing Is the
Proper Guiding Vision
for Human Existence.
5-3
6
6-1
Life is an emergent property of the cosmos. It
is also a miracle, defined as: “any event, the
occurrence of which is so radically impossible
as to be completely unbelievable.” (Loyal Rue)
6
Flourishing Arises from
the Purposefulness of Life.
6-2
6
Living is a process of constant conservation
or self-reproduction. Living organisms
express the emergent quality of “viability.”
Thus, living has a directionality or teleology.
Flourishing Arises from
the Purposefulness of Life.
6-3
7-1

The structure of an organism
continually changes through coherent
interactions with the external world, all
the while maintaining its organization.
Autopoiesis:  
The Conservative Process of Life
7
7-2
Action in the present is
determined by the structure that
has been created by the past.
Autopoiesis:  
7
7-3
Autopoiesis:  
7
In humans, the brain is the heart of
the autopoietic structure, changing
with experience, and determining
action in the next moment.
7-4
8-1
Non-human organisms’
potential is determined
solely by their genes.
F l o u r i s h i n g : T h e
Realization of an
Organism’s Potential.
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8-2
H u m a n s ’ p o t e n t i a l i s
determined by a combination
of genes and connections to
the actual world.
F l o u r i s h i n g : T h e
Realization of an
Organism’s Potential.
8
8-3

9-1
Existential relates to the
actual experience of living.
H u m a n s E x h i b i t
“Existential,” as well as
Biological, Potential.
9-2
H u m a n s E x h i b i t
“Existential,” as well as
Biological, Potential.
Following Rue, I divide existential
potential into two aspects:
p e r s o n a l w h o l e n e s s a n d
institutional coherence.
9-3
10-1
Personal wholeness is a
measure of the fullness of
the expression of one’s
unique, historical “self,” as
exhibited in action.
10
P e r s o n a l
W h o l e n e s s
(Authenticity)
10-2
Personal wholeness entails
authentic actions — actions
that are “owned” by the actor.
10
P e r s o n a l
W h o l e n e s s
(Authenticity)
10-3

P e r s o n a l w h o l e n e s s
a r i s e s f r o m a c t i o n s
originating the right-brain.
10
P e r s o n a l
W h o l e n e s s
(Authenticity)
10-4
11-1
Institutional coherence is a
measure of how an individual’s
actions conform to existing
institutional norms.
11
Institutional
Coherence 
(Undifferentiation)
11-2
Institutional coherence involves
actions that have been shaped by past
experience within institutional settings.
The action is undifferentiated; there is
no explicit ownership.
11
Institutional
Coherence 
(Undifferentiation)
11-3
Institutional coherence arises from
actions originating in the left-brain.
11
Institutional
Coherence 
(Undifferentiation)
11-4
12-1

Like life itself, flourishing
is an emergent property
of living organisms.
12
Flourishing is an Emergent Quality
12-2
Flourishing is a possibility that
can come forth when the proper
systemic conditions are present.
12
12-3
Flourishing is not the same as a
material output, like wealth, that is
produced by a “machine.” It
cannot be quantified or managed.
12
12-4
13-1
Biological potential: the full
expression of one’s genes.
All Three Elements
Must Be Satisfied for
Flourishing to Emerge .
13
13-2
E x i s t e n t i a l p o t e n t i a l : t h e f u l l
expression of both personal wholeness
and institutional coherence.
All Three Elements
Must Be Satisfied for
Flourishing to Emerge .
13
13-3

14-1
Aliveness, creativity, playfulness, joy
Love, compassion, empathy, heart
Sense of place, belonging/connected
Inner world at peace/at home
Strong, active, empathetic relationships
Authenticity, ownership of self
Flow
Balance
Justice, fairness, equity, freedom, choice
Indicators of Flourishing
14-2
15-1
Rasmussen’s 6 Points about Flourishing
1. Flourishing is an objective good. (ontological)
15-2
2. Flourishing is the ultimate end of of human conduct.
15-3
3. Flourishing is individualized and diverse.
15-4

4. Flourishing is agent-relative.
15-5
5. Flourishing is a self-directed activity. (authentic)
15-6
5. Flourishing is a self-directed activity. (authentic)
6. Humans are naturally social animals. (interconnected)
15-7
16-1
Today’s world is not
working the way
many would like it to.
16
Flourishing Has The Power
to Create the Right Future.
Current
Reality
16-2
Vision
Of the
Future
Current
Reality
Some strong vision of a desirable
future is essential to produce
breakdown, reflection, critical
thinking, and the replacement of
current beliefs and norms/values.
16-3

Vision
Of the
Future
Current
Reality
Flourishing is that vision. It
can drive the necessary
transformation of modernity.
16-4
17-1
The story of Modernity (our
current social paradigm) is
leading us astray. We are living
within institutions based on
flawed beliefs and norms. The
flaws can be traced to the way
we hold reality.
17-2
Getting a better hold on reality is the
first step towards construction a new
social paradigm that can work for both
humans and the rest of the Earth.
17-3
18-1
Is seeing believing (or is Descartes wrong)?
18
18-2

Is seeing believing (or is Descartes wrong)?
18
In the next few slides, I am going to
take you through a model of the brain,
based on the work of Iain McGilchrist,
that seems to explain Chaplin’s mask
and other important features of human
consciousness and behavior.
18-3
19-1
The Divided Brain Model
of Iain McGilchrist
W e b r i n g a b o u t a w o r l d i n
consciousness that is partly what is
given, and partly what we bring,
something that comes into being
through this particular conjunction and
no other. And the key to this is the kind
of attention we pay to the world.
Iain McGilchrist: The Master and his Emissary
19-2
The Divided Brain Model
of Iain McGilchrist
The crux of McGilchrist’s model is that each
hemisphere of the brain
1) pays attention to the outside differently,
2) displays a different world on the inside, and
3) thus, empowers a different actor.
We are schizoid, but not crazy.
Our individual character and that of the culture
depend on which hemisphere dominates.
19-3
20-1
Nature of Attention
Focused
Rigid
Contained
Grasping
Enables control and specificity
Limits creativity
20
The Left Brain-hemisphere World
20-2

Sense-making mechanisms
Knowing
Abstraction
Division/Categorization
Denotative language/symbols
Self-referencing
Re-presentation as ideas
20
20-3
Worldly Nature—Overall
Re-presentation of the past
Meaningless
Known
Lifeless
Closed
Static
Mechanistic
Predictable
Impersonal
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20-4
Worldly Nature—Parts
Fixed
Isolated
Decontextualized
Explicit properties
Disembodied in space and time
Generalized
Institutional facts
20
20-5
Nature of the actor
Rational
Homo Economicus
Undifferentiated/Inauthentic
Individualistic
Focused on itself
Self-interested
Instrumental/Manipulative/Controlling
Uncomfortable with uncertainty
Analytic/Reductionist
Emotionally neutral/negative
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20-6
21-1
Nature of Attention
Broad
Flexible
Persistent/sustained
Vigilant/alert
Exploring
Opens possibility
Enables creativity
21
The Right Brain-hemisphere World
21-2

Sense-making mechanisms
Understanding
Connotative language/symbols
Metaphor
Non-verbal
Music
Integrating
Presentation as the real thing
21
21-3
Worldly Character—Overall
Presentation of the now
Meaningful
New
Living
Richly contextual
Open
Changing/Evolving
Organic
Unpredictable
21
21-4
Worldly Character—Parts
Individual
Interconnected
Embedded in context
Implicit meaning
Incarnate/alive
Instantiated/particular
Brute facts
21-5
Nature of the actor
Caring
Homo caritativus
Authentic
Social
Focused on the “Other”
Empathetic
Creative
Comfortable with uncertainty
Pragmatic
Emotionally positive
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21-6
Flourishing is possible only when the right brain-
hemisphere is the master, but in balance with the
left. Both sides are always working. The character
of the historical flow of individual and cultural
experience reflects the dominant half.
21-7
22-1

Reality, how the world shows up in our
brain, determines our sense of what is
out there and the way we respond to it.
The “Wrong”
World Has Been
Showing Up Lately
22
22-2
Reality depends on which brain
hemisphere is in control of one’s
attention to the world (consciousness)
The “Wrong”
World Has Been
Showing Up Lately
22
22-3
Modernity reflects a massive shift from the right
(master) side to the left side, producing an
associated loss in our sense of connectedness
with the natural and human worlds.
The “Wrong”
World Has Been
Showing Up Lately
22
22-4
The result is a constellation of problems,
disappointments, and unintended
consequences that cast doubt on the
sustainability of the modern world.
The “Wrong”
World Has Been
Showing Up Lately
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22-5
23-1
The Left-brain World of GDP
Primary societal goal: Economic well-being.
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23-2

Objective universe, composed of decontextualized
abstractions. A big complicated machine.
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23-3
Science as providing certainty about the nature of
the world, including human nature.
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23-4
Technological hubris.
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23-5
Human nature: (Economic) rationality.
Homo economicus.
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23-6
Homo economicus.
Individual focus.
23
23-7
Homo economicus.
Individual focus.
Freedom as economic choice.
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23-8

24-1
The Right-brain World of Flourishing
Primary societal goal: Flourishing.
24
24-2
Subjective universe, composed of contextually
interconnected parts. A garden.
24
24-3
Pragmatism as providing understanding about
the nature of the world, including human nature.
24
24-4
Technological realism.
24
24-5
Human nature: Caring.
Homo caritativus.
24
24-6

Homo caritativus.
Relationships focus.
24
24-7
Homo caritativus.
Relationships focus.
Freedom as existential choice.
24
24-8
25-1
The Divided-brain as a Design Paradigm
25
Meta-“mental” model.
25-2
25
Uncanny correlation with many categorical
oppositions merits a very hard look.
Constructivism v. positivism
Maturana’s (objectivity) v. objectivity
Phenomenology v. Analytic philosophy
Poetry v. prose
Hegelian antithesis v. thesis
25-3
25
Poetry v. prose
Underpins/explains societal beliefs and norms.
Power is derivative of left-brain hegemony (Maturana)
25-4

25
Poetry v. prose
“In this [objectivity-without-
parentheses] explanatory path (left-
brain), a claim of knowledge is a
demand for obedience.” (Maturana)
25-5
25
Poetry v. prose
Grounds and unifies integral learning theories.
Schön’s reflective practitioner; TPS; Schaumer’s Theory U
25-6
25
Poetry v. prose
Grounds and unifies integral learning theories.
Schön’s reflective practitioner; TPS; Schaumer’s Theory U
Useful in designing artifacts and institutions.
25-7
Right
Left
26-1
Flourishing Depends on Restoring
the Mastery of the Right-hemisphere.
Right
Left
26-2
Right
Left
1. Rebuild the right-hemisphere’s muscle.
26-3

Right
Left
1. Rebuild the right-hemisphere’s muscle.
2. Design for presencing (context-
enrichment, authenticity, and empathy).
26-4
27-1
1. Rebuild the Right-
hemisphere’s Muscle
by Direct Action.
Pragmatic inquiry and problem-solving
27-2
by Direct Action.
Reflective practice (Schön)
27-3
by Direct Action.
Mindfulness practices
27-4
by Direct Action.
Artistic exercises
27-5

by Direct Action.
Artistic exercises
Empathy & conversation skills-building
27-6
by Direct Action.
Artistic exercises
Empathy & conversation skills-building
Academic programs focused on flourishing
…
27-7
28-1
Establish a Curriculum in Flourishing
• FLO 101 Fundamentals of flourishing: semantic; cultural; psychological;
philosophical (Ehrenfeld, Volf, Fredrickson, Rasmussen)
• FLO 102 Critical studies of modern cultures (K. Polyanyi, A. Touraine)
• FLO 103 Introduction to brain science (I. McGilchrist, A. Damasio, H. Maturana)
• FLO 104 Human ontology (M. Heidegger, H. Maturana, J-P. Sartre, J. Searle)
• FLO 105 Complex systems theory, pragmatism, adaptive management (Capra,
Dewey, L. von Bertalanffy)
• FLO 106 Non-neoclassical economics or the economics of empathy/care (E. F.
Schumacher, J. Stiglitz, A. Sen, M. Nussbaum.)
• FLO 107 Culture as a complex adaptive system (A. Giddens. R. Ackoff)
• FLO 108 Critical study of technology (L. Mumford, T. Kuhn, B. Latour, S. Turkle)
• FLO 201 Management of complex adaptive systems (C. S. Holling, L.
Gunderson)
• FLO 202 Systems thinking (P. Senge, R. Ackoff, C. Argyris/D. Schön, J.
Sterman)
• FLO 203 Participatory design theory (B. H. Banathy, P. Ehn, M. Kyng)
• FLO 204 “Democracy” theory (J. Dewey, E. O. Wright)
• FLO 205 History of the “self” (C. Grignon, B. Hood, C. Taylor)
28-2
29-1
Presencing is an interruption in the flow of action
(breakdown) during which:
1) Attention shifts to the right-brain.
2. Design for Presencing in
Artifacts and institutions.
29
29-2

2) The immediate world shows itself.
29
29-3
3) Focal objects and their context show up.
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29-4
4) The actor becomes connected to the scene and
enters into a meaningful relationship with it.
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29-5
5) The authentic actor takes over.
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29-6
5) The authentic actor takes over.
6) The active concern and/or identity of the actor
is revealed and determines the next action.
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29-7
30-1

Objects Can Be
Designed to Create
Presenting.
Wake up!
30-2
What’s this  
telling me?
Objects Can Be
Designed to Create
Presenting.
Wake up!
30-3
Slow down!
Danger ahead.
What’s this  
telling me?
Objects Can Be
Designed to Create
Presenting.
30-4
Slow down!
Danger ahead.
Objects Can Be
Designed to Create
Presenting.
Danger??
Busy Intersection.
30-5
Slow down!
Danger ahead.
Objects Can Be
Designed to Create
Presenting.
I care about
others’ safety.
30-6
Slow down!
Danger ahead.
Objects Can Be
Designed to Create
Presenting.
Better slow
down and look
around.
30-7

31-1
Presencing Enriches Context
Creating flourishing requires
an understanding of context.
31-2
Empathetic relationships,
so important for flourishing,
are context-rich.
31
Presencing Enriches Context
31-3
32-1
The context-rich, complex world
determines the outcomes of our actions.
If our design models do not accurately
portray that world, outcomes will deviate
from our intentions, producing failure
and unintended consequences.
32
Context is Important in
Any Design Process
32-2
Cartesian reductionist science always
omits context; the menu is not the
meal. Technological intermediation
also tends to reduce context.
32
Context is Important in
Any Design Process
32-3

33-1
Empathy requires
context to understand
the other’s situation.
33
Empathy is an essential element of
authentic action and ﬂourishing.
33-2
Mobile devices and social
media have trivialized the
meaning of relationships.
33
33-3
“Technology is
implicated in
this assault on
empathy.”
(Sherry Turkle)
33
33-4
34-1
Place can bring forth authenticity:  
The example of Christopher Alexander.
34
The Role of Place
in Flourishing
34-2

The lasting quality of place (and things)
comes forth through the way we are
connected to them, not how we use them.
34
The Role of Place
in Flourishing
34-3
Alexander called the “timeless” nature of
place, “Quality without a name.” Later he
called it wholeness, a right-brain feature,
also reflecting the contribution of place to
the flourishing of those dwelling therein.
34
The Role of Place
in Flourishing
34-4
Pattern language: Direct analogy to
the connected world of the right brain.
34
The Role of Place
in Flourishing
34-5
35-1
Watch how you use “sustainability,” and
make sure you link it to flourishing.
Sustainability-as-flourishing is the possibility
that human and other forms of life will
flourish on the Earth for generations to come.
35
Final Words: Watch
Your Use of Language
35-2
Remember that flourishing is always
a possibility; never a probability!
35
Final Words: Watch
Your Use of Language
35-3

F l o u r i s h i n g m u s t
become your Job #1.
Start Now!
35
35-4
36-1
T h a n k s
for your
attention
36-2

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