Life Itself Research Update
As we move into 2024, we would like to summarize and reflect on our research in 2023. We hope to provide here a sense of some of the current motivations and inspirations for Life Itself Research, and provide an understanding of what we will be focusing on as we get things going in the new year.
Finding our research purpose
Our current research can be roughly summarized in the following diagram.
Like some, we believe that we are in the process of a major civilizational transition, one in which our fundamental views and values need to be reconsidered. During this time, we hope to open up the space to explore this transition in theory and practice. These two work streams ultimately aim towards trying to better understand and embrace this transition in meaningful ways. The paradigms which have driven (post)modernity require a deep and essential mourning, and new views and values need to come into being to guide this civilizational transition. And so, we view this period as a time to more carefully examine how we should understand the world we live in and ourselves.
Second Renaissance Ecosystem
For over three years, Life Itself has been mapping an emerging ecosystem of change agents, and recently, we have been working with partners on the cohere+ project to make use of and build on this ecosystem mapping. We are especially interested in change agents who are focused on ‘paradigmatic’ change, or systems transformation, and ‘integrated’ change, or change at multiple scales. In 2024 and beyond we want to help to build and develop this network of change agents. We prefer to use the term 'Second Renaissance Ecosystem' to describe this ecosystem of change agents.
Even though the cohere project is focused on ‘cohering’ this field, we would like, in 2024, to provide more materials and opportunities for people to learn more about systems transformation and get informed about this field, to support and spread its growth.
Deliberately Developmental (Transformational) Spaces
Paradigmatic change requires not only ‘societal’ change, but inner change, and communities of individuals who are able to meaningfully enable both. During this time and as part of these two work streams, we hope to begin and develop research, opportunities, and dialogue related to this major civilization transition on these two scales. In 2023 we created our website for Deliberately Developmental (or transformational) spaces, which outlines some of the research from our Deliberately Developmental Spaces project. The website outlines examples of some of the spaces we have data on, and one can also find the ‘five whys’ for this kind of research, which ultimately go back to ‘ontological development’ or the cultivation of being. There is also a manifesto to sign to show your support for the movement. Although we see our role as primarily helping to develop a Second Renaissance movement, Deliberately Developmental spaces are an essential part of this process.
Field building
Both of our two work streams are concerned with ‘field building’, and so it has been a topic we have discussed and focused on a lot in recent months. This blog post outlines what some of that process has looked like in the field of Deliberately Developmental Spaces. In doing so, we have been focused on trying to 'find the center' of these fields, and to grow from the intensity in that particular space. Crucially, though, field building requires not only this center but also support and development from others who can get involved and help build the field.
In 2024, we would like to see major steps made for the Life Itself research community to be self-motivated and drive social change. Now that we have our research questions and the shaping for our year ahead, we encourage others to join our conversation and get involved in the research community, and even to participate in the building both of these fields.
How can we prepare for systems transformation?
The ways of thinking about and being in the world which (post)modernity largely inspires, which we are so familiar with, require a fundamental transformation. Throughout this process, we need to begin asking ourselves how a new way of being in the world can emerge. But such a context is difficult for us to embody as individuals, and even as communities. How can we begin to consider this in a way which makes sense?
It is an important tension for us to hold: we believe ourselves to be at the start of a major transformation, and yet, it is difficult for this transformation to take place while we are so used to the machinery of modernity. We are at the time when we have to be asking the question: how can we have conversations, build networks, and develop a culture to prepare for a major civilizational transition?
