The LifeLens Background
“The care of the Earth is our most ancient and most worthy, and after all our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it and to foster its renewal is our only hope.”
- Wendell Berry
The Challenge
Have you wondered why we are now living in such chaos, complexity and confusion? Consider all the challenges we are now facing, both to ourselves and the Earth. Are they not a result mainly of the misguided choices we humans have been making?
Humans are the only species that lives primarily by making choices, rather than by more innate instinct. Yet we were born without a blueprint, a way to navigate our way through the world. To sustain our existence, we have had to learn by trial and error for what works and what doesn’t. Different religions and philosophies, for instance, may fill this gap in our understanding. However, with so many points of view, how can we find common ground?
The LifeLens: Focusing on What Matters
Enter the LifeLens. The LifeLens is a unique kind of blueprint that is based on two concise yet comprehensive lenses (frameworks), the Life Lens and Human Lens. These lenses provide us with a wider, deeper and longer perspective than most of us now have. With greater focus on what matters most to us and with greater awareness of urgency, the LifeLens offers a way to join together in making impactful choices that will help create a brighter future for us all.
How the LifeLens Works
• Two Lenses
The two lenses are the Human Lens and the Life Lens*, both inextricably intertwined. First we see through a Human Lens because we are humans. (If we were jellyfish, we would be looking through a jellyfish lens.) All humans have this lens in common. We also see through a Life Lens because all humans are part of the family of life on Earth. We, therefore, see through a lens that all life has in common.
* NOTE: The LifeLens (one word) refers to the general concept that includes both the Human Lens and the Life Lens (two words).
• Like Bifocals
These lenses offer two different but complementary perspectives that work together like bifocals. The Human Lens represents a shorter (in time on Earth) and narrower (one species) perspective; the Life Lens represents a longer (in time on Earth) and wider (all species) perspective. (See Evolution of the Earth.)
• Wholistic Elements of Each Lens
Each lens is made up of a number of interdependent elements that constitute the whole. The Human Lens has four elements based on what may be considered the simplest, most integral and recognized way of describing human nature. I think most people would agree that, at minimum, we have these overlapping and interrelated dimensions:
ELEMENTS OF THE HUMAN LENS
physical
intellectual
emotional
spiritual
Note: The Human Lens origianlly used a PEMS framework: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. While creating this website, I learned of the PIES model: physical, intellectual, emotional, spiritual. So the Human Lens is now based on this already existing model.
The Life Lens has three elements based on the three basic impacts that all life, not just humans, have on our Life Support System (environment). All life takes up space, consumes resources, and generates waste:
ELEMENTS OF THE LIFE LENS
space
resources
waste
• Asking Questions of the Lenses
With these two basic lenses, one can then ask any number of questions pertaining to each element. To find common ground, the most important question deals with our essential needs. In order to find the answer from the Human Lens, one would ask: to survive and thrive, what is the need of each aspect of our nature? For example, what is our basic emotional need?
For the Life Lens, in order to sustain life on Earth, what is the need related to each impact that all life has on the environment? For instance, what does all life need to do with its waste?
The next question is: What is the resulting condition if the particular need is not fulfilled? And ultimately, how can we best meet our Life and Human Needs?
• Finding Wholistic Answers
The response according to each element will provide only a partial answer to the question. The combined responses for each element in the lens will create a more wholistic answer. In other words, there are basically four Human Needs and three Life Needs, each creating a whole response. (This process will become clearer when reviewing The LifeLens.)
Building a More Humane and Sustainable World
In essence, the LifeLens seeks to simplify the overwhelming complexity of our lives, peeling back the layers to reveal what truly matters. To find common ground, it invites everyone to engage in dialogue, share their perspectives, and contribute to this evolving process. The LifeLens offers this novel approach with the hope that we can work together to help build a more just, humane and sustainable world for all.
Invitation to Dialogue
General responses to these questions have been provided, usually stated with one word or phrase. They essentially entail simple common sense and understanding. If readers disagree with the response provided, they are invited to provide their own. The LifeLens is built through community concurrence. It is an unfolding process, not set in stone. If you have suggestions or disagree with any of the responses provided, please contact the author.
In 1996, soon after my return from Africa (see Author Background), I had the good fortune of meeting the Swedish founder of The Natural Step (TNS), Karl-Henrik Robert, at a conference in my hometown. Finally, someone had delineated what were originally called “System Conditions” for sustainability: the scientifically grounded steps an individual, community or organization could take in order to become more environmentally sustainable. Paul Hawken, the noted author/activist/entrepreneur, became head of TNS-US in Cambridge, MA. I was invited to join the TNS team until the office moved to San Francisco.
The Life Lens Framework
It was my time with TNS and working with the four System Conditions that brought me to the concept of the LifeLens. My mind tends to work in big-picture, conceptual and systemic ways. Despite my initial embrace of the TNS principles, I eventually realized that I was seeking something more basic and integral, something that would work as a living framework for sustainability, easily understood and remembered, even by preschoolers. It was like an epiphany when I found three words that formed the basis of the Life Lens (the environmental aspect of the LifeLens). They answered my question: what are the three basic impacts that all life has on the environment? All life takes up space, consumes resources, and generates waste. And with those three words, a simple framework emerged, a framework with multiple uses.
ELEMENTS OF THE LIFE LENS
space
resources
waste
The Human Lens Framework
I was content to stop there, with the environmental conditions. However, the fourth System Condition kept nagging at me: to meet human needs worldwide. My challenge was to look at our human species in the same simple way that I looked at all life. I asked myself: what is the simplest and most memorable way I can delineate human needs in a comparable framework? Initially, I was doubtful it could be done. Humans are far too complex and, honestly, I did not want to go down that road. I felt much more comfortable in the world of Nature.
Yet, I knew this was an essential part of the whole lens. I started by categorizing the nine human needs outlined by Manfred Max-Neef (Chilean economist), the same needs initially used by The Natural Step. I didn’t think most people would be able to remember or deal with so many needs. I kept looking for greater simplicity. Then suddenly, it all fell into place. I came upon a framework based on the four fundamental aspects of human nature: our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual being. Having discovered the PIES model while creating this website, I have since changed my original PEMS framework to the PIES model, which already exists.
ELEMENTS OF THE HUMAN LENS
physical
intellectual
emotional
spiritual
The more I worked with this framework, the more it seemed to fit into a common pattern of thinking that many of us have been using, albeit unconsciously. The Human Lens simply brings it into focus, revealing a way to see the world more wholistically and meaningfully. See what you think.
Comparison of the LifeLens and TNS System Conditions
In summary, the Life Needs of the Life Lens are somewhat equivalent, but quite different from the first three “system conditions” of TNS. The Life Lens combines the first two “system conditions” which are related to pollution (waste), and divides the third of physical degradation into space and resources. Furthermore, instead of having four equivalent system conditions, the LifeLens separates the three environmental system conditions from the fourth human condition into two different perspectives: the Life Lens (needs of all life) and the Human Lens (the needs of all humans). I believe this helps resolve a number of controversial issues (see: What is Novel About the LifeLens?).
Utility of the Two Lenses
So, two different yet essential, interdependent “lenses” emerged: one focused on humans; the other on all life. These two frameworks then took on a life of their own. I never imagined the almost infinite ways they can be used. The more I worked with them, the more I realized that these frameworks were already underlying our common thinking: that we use them without being aware that we do.
Personal Shift
What I didn’t expect was how the Human Lens would totally change my own personal lens, my worldview at the time. I was invested in environmental understanding: you just explain the basics of sustainability in a clear and simple way and people will nod their heads vigorously and leap on board. I now believe that our primary focus is to better understand how to motivate ourselves, individually and as a species, to live together more sustainably on the Earth: socially, economically and environmentally. What really matters to us? How can we strive to meet our needs in ever-expanding circles of inclusion?
Note: I am indebted to The Natural Step for taking me on this different path (all leading to the same destination!) TNS has been very successful both internationally and in Sweden where it originated.
The LifeLens is for anyone interested in exploring who we are and our relationship to the Earth, especially for educators. The main purpose of the LifeLens is to provide a very simple, wholistic and practical teaching tool for bringing important issues to the forefront that I believe need deeper dialogue and urgent action. By using two basic frameworks, it may be easier to grasp complex topics and issues, and to enter into dialogue, especially about subjects that may be difficult to bring up with others. Because it is interactive, the LifeLens invites the reader to come up with your own conclusions.
Note: The LifeLens is a work in progress. I would greatly appreciate your feedback, whether flaws or suggestions. Email the author >
Why is it written in question and answer form?
It is written this way, hopefully, to bring greater clarity. It is essentially an outline for exploring what I believe are broad issues that matter. I want to make the LifeLens as brief and concise as possible, summarizing a rather immense and ambitious subject: life. I realize that most readers might prefer a more cursive narrative with stimulating stories. However, I have learned that my mind is most comfortable in this format. The density of form is perhaps more conducive to those who also think this way, so I leave it to others, who so desire, to flesh it out.
Because of its brevity, each small section of the LifeLens could be the focus of a seminar or discussion group. (Occasionally I will add questions for further dialogue, prefaced with a triangle.) So as not to be too overwhelming, it might be advisable to read the LifeLens in brief digestible segments.
Why have you added so many quotes?
Quotes are brief yet full of meaning. I have chosen quotes from well known, well-respected people who have the acknowledged wisdom from research and experience. The quotes underscore the LifeLens responses, which, for the most part, come from common sense and long-established wisdom.
Why do you capitalize what are usually considered common names?
I capitalize names of our solar system, like our Earth or Sun because I believe it is simply a way of, well, honoring them. I also capitalize important aspects of the LifeLens, such as Human Needs.
What sources did you use?
All of the dictionary meanings are directly off the internet (e.g., MW=Merriam-Webster). Because I want everyone to be able to easily look things up for themselves, I have relied (for better or worse) on Wiki for many of my queries and elaborations. I also include other sources, especially when I expand on more controversial issues.
Openness and adaptability
The LifeLens is essentially an attempt to delineate a generally acceptable worldview, a guiding philosophy that could be readily understood and hopefully integrated into people’s lives. Although it is based primarily on science, academic disciplines, and common sense, it is always open to dialogue. While the lenses (frameworks) remain basically the same, the responses to questions may vary over time, especially with new information, and according to individual responses.
The Challenge
Frankly, I am not quite sure what the LifeLens is. It evolved from trying to simplify The Natural Step “system conditions” and then took on a life of its own (see “What inspired the LifeLens?”). I thought that, because it was so simple in form, it must already be out there in the universe. However, I have yet to see anything quite like it. [Please contact me if you have come across something similar.] Because this approach is so different from what I have seen to date, I have struggled to describe what the LifeLens actually is. The following are some pretty heady definitions of what it might be. I will leave it up to you, the reader. In other words, it can be more of a people’s “philosophy” or “worldview,” rather than the author’s.
A philosophy?
The study of the nature, causes, or principles of reality, knowledge, or values, based on logical reasoning. https://www.thefreedictionary.com/Philosophy
A system of principles for guidance in practical affairs. https://www.dictionary.com/browse/Philosophy
Philosophy is a disciplined way of framing and seeking answers to questions of important human concern. It seeks to illuminate fundamental aspects of the world (metaphysics), of our relation to and knowledge of it (epistemology, philosophy of mind), and of our own nature as rational, purposive, and social beings (ethics, political philosophy). https://philosophy.sas.upenn.edu/undergraduate/what-philosophy
A worldview?
The Belgian philosopher, Leo Apostel, stated that a worldview is a descriptive model of the world which should comprise these six elements [with my addition of #2]:
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An explanation of the world [past]
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What is? [present]
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Where are we heading? [future]
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What should we do? [action; with goals and purpose to guide our actions]
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How should we attain our goals? [ethics: what are our guiding principles, our values]
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What is true and false [knowledge]
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An account of the worldview’s building blocks, its origins and construction.
Having learned about these elements only after writing the LifeLens, I believe, ironically, that I have answered most (if not all) of these questions in this LifeLens document.
What makes the LifeLens unique?
What is different about the LifeLens from other descriptions of worldviews or philosophy is that it asks the reader to answer the basic questions of life based on two simple and general frameworks. In other words, it becomes “the philosophy” or “worldview” of the common/average person, not the author.
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Common “Lenses”
The LifeLens uses two “lenses” (frameworks) for seeing the world more comprehensively and clearly. I believe this is a new approach for understanding ourselves and the world around us.
Why is this important? If we are to find common ground, we need a common lens to see through. These are so simple and basic that anyone can try them on.
Lens Frameworks
The lenses already tend to be fundamental to our own thinking, yet most of us seem not to be conscious of them.
Why is this important? By bringing these ways of thinking to our attention, the LifeLens helps to clarify our thinking, our beliefs.
Species Lens > Human Lens
The Human Lens is essentially a “Species Lens.” It is meant for each individual species, not just humans. However, because we are humans, we see through our specific Human Lens.
Why is this important? Humans generally see themselves as superior to all other species on the planet. The species lens is meant to address the fact that we are simply one of many species, sharing the planet with all life, each with their own needs and contributions.
Life Lens
This Lens invites us to see the world not only from our human species perspective, but from the perspective of all life: sustaining what sustains us. Seeing our connection to the environment as part of the family of all life is a common perspective of most indigenous people who live close to the Earth, but unfortunately rare for others. I believe this more expansive perspective, which addresses, for instance, the needs of all species instead of just humans, is a novel approach.
Why is this important? Because, as humans, we usually think only in terms of ourselves and our own needs. However, we are an integral part of the entire family of life which sustains us. We need to be more aware of how our whole Life Support System works and to work within its parameters.
Integration of Life and Human (Species) Needs
I believe this approach may be a novel way to naturally integrate these two types of needs.
Why is this important? This dual, yet integral vision helps resolve the conflict between eco/bio-centrists who put the environment first; and human-centrists who put humans first, especially in terms of needs. Through the LifeLens, they can both co-exist naturally, one embedded within the other, like bifocals. And, in fact, the LifeLens concludes that in order to meet our Life Needs, we first need to meet our basic Human Needs.
The Whole Human
The Human Lens sees us humans in totality, as whole persons.
Why is this important? Because so often we do not take all the fundamental aspects of ourselves into account; we see only a partial view of ourselves, such as being consumers or of a particular race or gender. It also creates a better understanding of how the different aspects of our nature work together.
The Human Family
The Human Lens focuses not only on ourselves as individuals, but as part of the whole human family living on this planet, and what that means for our survival.
Why is this important? Because, unless we see each other as sisters and brothers rather than “others,” there will be no chance of peace on or with the Earth.
Expanding our Perspectives
As mentioned earlier, the LifeLens is not trying to change people’s perspectives; it is simply trying to expand our perspectives. We are no longer living in isolated communities. We are living in an interconnected, interdependent global community.
Why is this important? Because each and every one of us has an impact on the Earth, on each other and all life, some to a greater degree than others. The Earth now is at a turning point. How will each of us respond to this crisis? To the dual crisis of human division and of human destruction of our planet? Our future is clearly in our hands.
A Common Sense Process
The LifeLens is a process, asking the reader to respond to questions asked of the two lenses. Because the responses are not set in stone, it is a more fluid process, not a doctrine or dogma.
Why is this important? If there is disagreement regarding responses, the LifeLens encourages dialogue about issues that matter. Readers become part of the process, having agency, coming up with their own choices. Please feel free to contact the author with any suggestions or comments about the LifeLens.Flexibility
Questions and responses to the LifeLens can change, according to the most recent understandings, findings and research, as well as the understandings of the viewer. The two lenses are simply neutral frameworks for seeing ourselves and our planet. The lenses remain the same. The questions and answers will vary.
Why is this important? Flexibility allows the LifeLens to adapt and change.
Fractal Process
As an example of the process, the Human Lens has four fundamental elements. These four elements form the basic structure of the Human Lens. Each time a question is asked of this lens, it requires four responses, related to each element, thus creating a wholistic answer.
Why is this important? Each new question asked of the same four basic elements forms a repeating pattern or fractal. It helps interconnect responses into a dynamic whole. I believe this is an original concept as well.
An Invitation to Dialogue
The LifeLens is a simple way to have conversations about what matters most to you. You can use the lens to ask difficult questions, for instance, about relationships: What are you needing now?
Why is this important? We humans seem to be lost in a world of smoke and mirrors, fake news and lies. We view this world with increasingly blurry lenses. Without clarity of focus, it is difficult to see our way forward. Creating the opportunity for deeper dialogue about what truly matters to most of us helps us work together toward finding common ground and, ideally, common action to create a better world for all.
Admittedly, we each come with our own personal perspectives. So, I would like to state at the outset what my basic perspectives are. I believe that:
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In order for humans and all life to survive on this planet, we need to respect basic principles of social, economic and environmental sustainability.
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In order for humans to survive and thrive, we need to meet our basic Human and Life Needs.
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In order to counteract confusion and chaos, we need to seek basic truth and reality rather than be conned by disinformation and lies. For instance, I believe that the Earth is undergoing existential climate change due primarily to human activities.
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In order to counteract division & divisiveness, we need to work for the common good of all, not just the few. We are all in this together.
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I received my BA from the University of California, Berkeley. In 1973 I had the privilege of joining a team of scientists studying Right Whales in Patagonia, Argentina, under the leadership of Dr. Roger and Katy Payne, noted for Songs of the Humpback Whale. It was an easy decision for me: studying animal behavior, living in a wildly remote area under rustic conditions, exploring, taking photographs for National Geographic. Peninsula Valdez, our study site, is now a UNESCO World Heritage Center— my vision of heaven on Earth.
In 1975 I left the dry and windy Patagonia desert and rugged coast for a Ugandan rainforest where I remained for nearly 20 years. Dr. Thomas Struhsaker had established a field research station in the Kibale Forest, primarily to study primate behavior and ecology. I became a partner in this endeavor, studying Red Colobus and Mangabey Monkeys and writing and co-writing over a dozen scientific and popular papers.
Unfortunately, it was the time of the brutal tyrant Idi Amin, a liberation war with Tanzania, a succession of rulers, numerous coups, torture and killings of over 500,000 civilians under Obote’s regime (even more than under Amin), a civil war (with the country divided in two) and finally the military coup of Yoweri Museveni, a dictator who has remained in power from 1986 until the present. The rebellious Lord’s Resistance Army also took root in Northern Uganda in 1987, abducting upwards of 10,000 boys and girls to serve as child soldiers. Living in Uganda during these two decades was precarious at best and had a dramatic impact on my perspective of our human species. At the same time, it was scientifically productive and Kibale Forest finally became a national park in 1993. The Makerere University Field Station that Tom started in 1970 is also going strong. Check out Chimp Empire (Netflix) for a dynamic look at the life of chimpanzees in the Kibale Forest.
These coveted years of studying wildlife and traveling to remote research sites all over the globe have given me a biological worldview: I see how rapidly wilderness is disappearing and at the same time how vital the natural world is to human survival. After leaving Uganda in the mid-nineties, I returned to the States wondering how I could make a difference in avoiding this planetary collision course.
Soon after my return, I was invited to a symposium on environmental sustainability in my hometown. (Continued above under: What Inspired the LifeLens?)
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