Ebbf25 the science and spirituality of collaboration arthur dahl

1.
the science and spirituality
of collaboration
ebbf keynote
Arthur Dahl

2. The Science and Spirituality
of Unity and Collaboration
Arthur Lyon Dahl Ph.D.
ebbf - Ethical Business Building the Future
http://ebbf.org
International Environment Forum (IEF)
http://iefworld.org
ebbf Barcelona, October 2015

3. The science of unity
and collaboration
• Life depends on unity and collaboration
• Your body is a model of unity
• Ecology is about unity and collaboration
• Darwinian “survival of the fittest” is only a
small part of the story
• Dictyostelium
• group evolution

4. Coral reef ecosystem (Palau)

5. Coral reef like a city

6. Evolution of complexity with unity and collaboration

7. Hundreds of species live together

8. Cleaner fish (collaboration)

9. Clownfish and anemone (mutual assistance)

10. Cooperation and Reciprocity
Cooperation and reciprocity are
essential to all natural and human
systems, increasing in more highly
evolved and complex systems
Co-operation and reciprocity are essential
properties which are inherent in the unified
system of the world of existence, and without
which the entire creation would be reduced to
nothingness. ('Abdu'l-Baha)

11. The science of collaboration
A social order characterized by competition,
violence, conflict and insecurity needs to
give way to one founded on unity in diversity.
(Karlberg 2004. Beyond the Culture of Contest: From Adversarialism to Mutualism in an Age of Interdependence.)
Cooperation rather than competition is the
best foundation for social and economic
progress.
(Nowak 2011. SuperCooperators: Altruism, Evolution, and Why We Need Each Other to Succeed)

12. Complexity Economics
Eric Beinhocker (2006) The Origin of Wealth
• No equilibrium or perfect actors, but constantly evolving
networks of agents and business plans
• Consultation, not competition, to avoid crises and bubbles
• True wealth is information and knowledge, using entropy to
increase carrying capacity, efficiency and complexity
• Businesses must balance present efficiency and innovation to
prepare for the future, with a culture of learning
• We are both self-regarding and altruist, but seek strong
reciprocity
• Cooperation has benefits, generosity and fairness have value,
and free-riding and cheating are sanctioned
• We must reduce inequality and favour social cohesion

13. Systems Thinking
for unity and collaboration
Cycles for sustainability
• From linear to circular thinking, closing loops, feed-
back, response times, balance
Participation
• Identify all relevant actors, listen to them, understand
their worldview and their needs, establish confidence
Long-term vision
ؓ Know where you want to go, keep your direction in
spite of distractions; remember your principles and
goals, but be flexible in finding local solutions
These all require and contribute to collaboration

14. What else is needed for
unity and collaboration?
• To evolve more efficient and balanced
systems, we need to increase integration in
diversity at multiple levels of organization
• How do we do this?
• Transforming people in the system: ethics,
spiritual education, development of human
potential, accompaniment, humble learning
• This requires values/spirituality as well as
science

15. Unity through social justice
Social justice will be attained only when every
member of society enjoys a relative degree of
material prosperity and gives due regard to
the acquisition of spiritual qualities. The
solution, then, to prevailing economic
difficulties is to be sought as much in the
application of spiritual principles as in the
implementation of scientific methods and
approaches.
UHJ, 2 April 2010

16. Oneness of Humanity
• Since humanity is one, each person is
born into the world as a trust of the
whole, and each bears a responsibility for
the welfare of all humanity
• This collective trusteeship constitutes the
moral foundation of human rights and
governance
• The welfare of each country and
community can only be derived from the
well-being of the whole planet

17. Unity in Diversity
• The wealth of cultural, environmental and
biological diversity is vital to the social
and economic development, prosperity
and well-being of all people
• Our national and cultural diversity is a
source of collective capacity, creativity,
productivity, resilience and adaptation
• It is a heritage that should be permitted
to bear its fruit in this age of
interdependence

18. Justice and unity
A sustainable social order is distinguished, among
other things, by an ethic of reciprocity and balance
at all levels of human organization.... Within such
an order, the concept of justice is embodied in the
recognition that the interests of the individual and of
the wider community are inextricably linked. The
pursuit of justice within the frame of unity (in
diversity) provides a guide for collective deliberation
and decision-making and offers a means by which
unified thought and action can be achieved.
(Bahá'í International Community, Rethinking Prosperity: Forging Alternatives to a Culture of Consumerism, 2010)

19. Unity with nature
...the crucial need facing humanity is to
find a unifying vision of the nature and
purpose of human life. An understanding
of humanity's relationship to the natural
environment is an integral part of this
vision.
(Bahá'í International Community's Seven Year Plan of Action on Climate Change, 2009)

20. The true purpose of economics
Economic systems should give the peoples
and institutions of the world the means to
achieve the real purpose of development:
the cultivation of the limitless potentialities in
human consciousness.
(adapted from Bahá'í International Community, Valuing Spirituality in Development,
1998)

21. Values for the economic system
• The aim should be a dynamic, just
and thriving social order:
• Strongly altruistic and cooperative in
nature
• Providing meaningful employment
• Helping to eradicate poverty in the
world
(adapted from Bahá'í International Community, Valuing Spirituality in Development, 1998)

22. Wealth as a tool for unity
Wealth is praiseworthy in the highest degree,
if it is acquired... in commerce, agriculture,
crafts and industry, if the measures adopted...
in generating wealth serve to enrich the
generality of the people, and if the wealth thus
obtained is expended for philanthropic
purposes and the promotion of knowledge, for
the establishment of schools and industry and
the advancement of education, and in general
for the welfare of society.
based on UHJ, 2 April 2010

23. Unity in the enterprise
...the acquisition of wealth should be governed
by the requirements of justice.... An employer
and employee, for example, are bound by the
laws and conventions that regulate their work,
and each is expected to carry out his or her
responsibilities with honesty and integrity.
UHJ, 2 April 2010

24. Unity in the world economy
...if the deeper implications of justice are to be realized,
other preconditions to the legitimate acquisition of
wealth must be taken into account, and prevailing
norms reassessed in their light:
- the relationship between minimum wage and the cost
of living, especially in light of the contribution workers
make to a company's success and their entitlement to
a fair share of the profits
- the wide margin, often unjustifiable, between the
production costs of certain goods and the price at
which they are sold
- the question of the generation of wealth through
measures that enrich the generality of the people.
based on UHJ, 2 April 2010

25. Unity requires an alternative
to the consumer society
• sufficiently attractive to overcome
resistance and habit
• worth sacrificing the superficial for
what is deeper and more
fundamentally rewarding
• combines individual transformation
with social action
• this is what the Bahá'í community is
trying to build

26. An organic change in society
Ultimately, the transformation required...
will entail no less than an organic change
in the structure of society itself so as to
reflect fully the interdependence of the
entire social body—as well as the
interconnectedness with the natural world
that sustains it.
(Bahá'í International Community, Rethinking Prosperity: Forging Alternatives to a Culture of Consumerism, 2010)

27. Religion
unity
and
collaboration

28. The Pope's Encyclical 2015
• integrated systems perspective on the
material and spiritual challenges, and the
need for spiritual solutions
• priority should be given to both environment
and poverty
• diagnosis of the fundamental spiritual illness
behind both problems

29. Islamic Declaration on Climate Change
Calls for:
• a fresh model of wellbeing, based on an alternative to
the current financial model which depletes resources,
degrades the environment, and deepens inequality
• change from the current business model which is based
on an unsustainable escalating economy, and adopt a
circular economy that is wholly sustainable and more
socially and ecologically responsible

30. Synthesis Report of the
Secretary-General
The Road to Dignity by 2030:
Ending Poverty, Transforming All Lives
and Protecting the Planet
Synthesis Report of the Secretary-General On the
Post-2015 Agenda, released 4 December 2014
uniting the world around common
principles and goals
calling for collaboration

31. Synthesis Report of the
Secretary-General
Six essential elements
• Dignity: to end poverty and fight inequalities
• People: to ensure healthy lives, knowledge, and the
inclusion of women and children
• Prosperity: to grow a strong, inclusive, and
transformative economy
• Planet: to protect our ecosystems for all societies and our
children
• Justice: to promote safe and peaceful societies, and
strong institutions
• Partnership: to catalyse global solidarity for sustainable
development

32. Sustainable Development Goals
17 action oriented, global in nature and universally applicable
SDGs
- goals that place humans at the centre, where environmental
challenges represent threats to human health and well-being,
and where environmental solutions can reinforce human
progress
- goals for environmental resources, processes and boundaries
defining planetary health on which human well-being and
development depend
- goals about transitioning to a green economy that builds rather
than undermines planetary sustainability
- final two goals on institutional and governance issues and the
means of implementation
169 quantified targets
hundreds of indicators to measure progress towards the targets
now being developed

33. Appropriating the SDGs
• The United Nations process is essentially top-down,
building a global consensus among governments
• The SDGs need to be appropriated by individuals,
communities and civil society to start a bottom-up
process, translating the goals into local realities
• Businesses should see them as opportunities
• We should not wait for governments to act, as they
always do too little, too late
• Let us unite around these goals and collaborate in
their fulfillment

34. ...the pathway to sustainability will be one of
empowerment, collaboration and continual
processes of questioning, learning and action
in all regions of the world.... As the sweeping
tides of consumerism, unfettered
consumption, extreme poverty and
marginalization recede, they will reveal the
human capacities for justice, reciprocity and
happiness.
(Bahá'í International Community, 2010)