The complex connective collective context

"All things are bound together
All things connect
What happens to the Earth
Happens to the children of the Earth
Man has not woven the web of life
He is but one thread
Whatever he does to the web
He does to himself"

Chief Seattle

I believe that everything is connected in a complex network of relationships which, as suggested by Chief Seattle of the Suquamish native American Indians in the 1800’s, mankind and his activities are but a part.

The complex nature of these relationships will, I believe, necessitate a re-assessment of much of our thoughts around the impact of man both socially and ecologically. Traditionally we have based our structures and processes on a linear mechanical view of the world in which the definition of relatively simple cause and effect relationships gave us, we believed, the ability to predictably exert control. The advent of complexity theory and the understanding it has given, suggests that this is far from being true, this in turn has been born out by phenomena such as the current climate change issues, the growth in global terrorism and the impact and application of the internet. Not to mention the global financial crisis born out of the widely distributed and interconnect 'sub-prime' mortgage fiasco.

I have been particularly struck by the constantly changing position taken by leading scientists in almost every field. Historically science was based on a reductive thought process which sets apart object and observer and suggests that all can be understood if broken down into its smallest parts coupled with an understanding of the relationships between them. As a theory, this may be true but the number of possible parts and the potential different types of relationships between them make this all but impossible. Even if it were, I’m not sure what good it would do because anything we did with the knowledge would form new relationships which would then create an infinite number of new possible resultant outcomes. This is the nature of complexity in an interdependent system which is the environment in which we live. Mankind seems to strive for knowledge in a vain attempt to exert control, this is not only impossible but it is also highly undesirable. We are a part of a system which does not respect hierarchies, we are not the pinnacle of creation and it does not exist for our benefit. If man was removed from earth today there would be no ill effects to speak of, if anaerobic bacteria disappeared, life as we know it would all but cease to exist. Why do we believe we are so important? What gives us the right to act as if the world should revolve around us?

I believe that we all need to really understand the nature of the bigger system we live in, of which we are but a small, no matter how potentially devastating, part. We must realise that we need to co-exist in balance with all other things, both organic and inorganic since our system is deeply interconnected, interdependent and complex and therefore, not available to be controlled by any one of its constituent parts. The information required to guide a path towards balance is far more readily available than that required for any degree of control, the natural world readily offers up feedback of the kind required. Dwindling fish stocks tell us we are over fishing, eutrophing rivers indicate excessive agricultural run off, increased soil erosion highlights too much deforestation and increasingly adaptive and virulent diseases are a symptom of the over use of antibiotics. We must recognise that sustainability is not a good enough long term objective, we are out of balance in terms of both our number and our way of living, we must radically reconsider how we become a contributory member of our system, which inherently seeks a state of dynamic equilibrium. If we do not, be assured the system has negative feedback mechanisms which will operate to expel us.

Intuition tells me that we must significantly change our way of living in the world and that if we don’t, the next century or so will become mankind’s darkest and possible final hour.