Humans possess an attribute that is unique in the animal kingdom. It is the ability to invent, memorise and communicate with a symbolic spoken language. This aptitude led to the accumulation of shared worldviews, knowledge, beliefs, attitudes and technological knowhow in human groups. That is, it led to human culture.
Human culture has recently become a powerful force in nature. Shared worldviews, assumptions, and priorities, through their influence on human behaviour, have major impacts not only on humans but also on other living organisms and on ecosystems. There is constant interplay between human culture and other aspects of biological systems.
Culture has led to activities that have been of great benefit to humans. Apart from its practical advantages, culture adds richness to human experience. It did so in the lives of hunter-gatherers – as in storytelling, musical traditions, dancing and other forms of artistic expression. It does so today in so many ways. Culture makes a huge contribution to the sheer enjoyment of life.
But there is another side to the picture. The consequences of our capacity for culture are not all good. In fact, as cultures evolve, they quite often come to embrace not only information of practical value, but also worldviews and priorities that are nonsensical, and that sometimes cause extreme distress for tens of thousands of people. Consider the current situation in Israel and Gaza. The two opposing human groups, the Israelis and the Palestinians, originated in the same region, and they are biologically very similar. The differences between them and that underlie the present horrendous situation are cultural.
The prevailing cultures across the world today are driving us towards ecological collapse. Climate change is at present the most critical issue, but there are other unsustainable human activities.
If present conditions continue unabated, the collapse of civilisation is inevitable. The survival of civilisation and the future wellbeing of humankind will require a radical shift in the worldviews and priorities of the prevailing cultures worldwide.
There will be no effective transition to ecological sustainability unless a great wave of new understanding sweeps across the cultures of the world – understanding of the story of life on Earth and the human place in nature. I refer to this story as the Bionarrative.
This new understanding would generate a worldview that holds profound respect for nature, and that perceives the achievement of harmony with nature as supremely important, to be given the highest priority in human affairs. The new worldview would lead, in turn, to a new society that is truly sensitive to, and respectful of, the processes of life that underpin our existence. I call this a Biosensitive Society.
What are the chances of this wave of new understanding coming about?
Not great, I fear, but not impossible. I suggest it could be achieved by the creation of public institutions of a new kind that spread understanding of the human place in nature across the community, and that promote a vision of a truly biosensitive society of the future. I call them ‘Biocentres’.
Ridiculously naïve? Perhaps. But if so, then I believe the prospects for the future of humanity are bleak.
BIORENAISSANCE 