The Basic Moral Intuition in the Context of Social Change
A retreat with Genpo Roshi
Retreat, May 9-11th, 2014
This retreat will focus on exploring how we navigate moral quandries in an increasingly complex world, using Ken Wilber's Basic Moral Intuition as a guide and with Genpo Roshi present to facilitate a self-inquiry process using Big Mind.
By way of introducing this topic and setting the tone for the retreat, Michael Simpson, Executive Director of One Sky and Co-Director of IWB, has written this following article. Retreat participants will be sent a recording of a recent call with Ken Wilber on this topic, and will also participate in a teleconference call prior to the retreat itself.
“The intuition is given; the unpacking is our moral dilemma, always.” Ken Wilber
Are you inspired to change the world and to reach your own potential? To leave this planet a better place for future generations? Ever wondered where to focus your efforts? There is no shortage of good causes and worthy deeds. How do we determine our priorities? Is guiding the very first steps of a faltering toddler as worthy as solving a global crisis or tackling climate change? Maybe addressing your own needs is as important as those of others? Should we focus our efforts on individuals or the greater whole? You have limited time and resources. You cannot commit to everything so how do you choose?
It is 2014. The concept that we will save all species from extinction, alleviate poverty or achieve gender equality by next year through reaching the 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), or even succeed in achieving the most minimal of climate change targets has become yesterday’s dream. So, how does this situate us as global social change agents today? The definitions of sustainable development have always focused on “meeting our needs without compromising those of future generations,” yet the moment where that might have been achievable passed many years ago.
As an example, let’s review some recent species extinctions. As of 2013, the Formosan Clouded Leopard is now officially extinct and the last Black Rhino died in 2012. The last of the Japanese River Otters died in 2011 and the last remaining Pinta Island Tortoise, affectionately called Lonesome George, expired on June 12, 2012. These are just a few examples of the estimated thousands of species that scientists estimate we are losing every year. Some put the figure as high as 50,000. Historically this has been a huge loss of biodiversity on our planet and we face an increasingly serious future. Some argue our species is perilously close to instigating systemic collapse. Whether that’s true or not, we are definitely steadily losing ground when it comes to maintaining species and ecosystems for future generations.
While our species is struggling on this front, we have managed to achieve remarkable, unprecedented gains in others. We are interconnected like never before. We can share information at an exponential rate and technological achievements like the Internet have literally changed our world. And, recalling the Arab Spring, using these new forms of communications and other social networking possibilities enable people to participate in changing the world in ways they never had before. Our collective knowledge is doubling every five years, building up an immense resource of information and wisdom that is available to anyone anywhere, by a few clicks on a track pad. Our world seems to be able to handle increasing levels of complexity and the human mind has access to achieving higher and higher levels of potential like no other time in history. We have overarching frameworks such as the International Human Rights Charter to aspire to. Most nations do in fact agree with the MDGs; whether or not those have been achieved, it is an achievement in and of itself that most nations agree with such a worldcentric set of goals. Some collective systems, such as fiber optics and computer networks, can literally move ideas regarding, for example, spiritual and moral development around the planet at the speed of light. We are living in remarkably complex times!
The Basic Moral Intuition (BMI), a concept outlined by Ken Wilber in his groundbreaking work on integral theory, helps us orient ourselves in such a complex world. Wilber (and before him Koestler’s) notion of holarchy explains the concept of interconnected whole-parts, where each part is autonomously and yet simultaneously part of a larger whole. These holarchies are everywhere. Atom, molecule, cell, and organ. Seed, seedling, sapling, and oak tree. In a pyramidal way, the earlier holons, such as atoms and seeds, are always in greater number, or in greater span. Whereas the later holons, such as organs and oak trees, are usually in smaller number, and yet they have more depth, meaning that there are more levels of complexity present in their make-up. For an oak tree to exist, it has to have at least these three levels of the holarchy present: seed, seedling and sapling, thus it has greater depth than just a seed for example. The atom on the other hand has more foundation because of its span. Millions of atoms are needed to create a seed and if you take away this earlier more foundational level of the holarchy the seed does not exist and neither does the oak tree.
The BMI suggests that we intuit the need to protect and promote the greatest depth for the greatest span. We intuit it’s preferable to eat a carrot than to eat a primate. Or, another example as Wilber describes: “What’s worth more, one ape or a thousand frogs? Perhaps it is an ape…. On intrinsic value alone, we would choose the ape. But, if we discover that the frogs are part of a fragile ecosystem and their death would disrupt the entire system [since they have more fundamental value than the ape], then we would choose to save the frogs, since that would preserve the greatest depth for the greatest span, including probably the lives of other apes.” We are constantly and intuitively working out such moral decisions as we act in the world.
The BMI explores this relationship between depth of complexity and span of numbers—or simply, depth and span—and brings a whole new way of understanding the moral decisions that must be tackled regarding our planet’s future.
Wilber’s point is that while we need the earlier holons for their fundamental value, we cannot only protect those earlier holons at the expense of the later, more complex holons. So, the physiosphere is the foundation upon which the biosphere (the sphere of life) and the noosphere (the sphere of mind) function, we cannot only orient toward protecting the physiosphere and not also attend to the greater depth present in the biosphere and the noosphere.
Simply put, social change can’t only be about the numbers of trees standing. It has to also be about the poet or songwriter or an obscure-yet-transformational-philosophy-book-on-a-dusty-shelf-somewhere, matter. These matter, because they hold greater depth and, thus, may have potential to protect greater span. They have to be factored into our intuitive moves in the world today.
The key to understanding Wilber’s concept of the BMI is that without a physiosphere and without a biosphere, humans have no ability to exist or move toward complexity. Without chemicals you have no life, and without life you have no poetry. Poetry, he argues, has more complexity than a rock or a stone, and should have an important place in our moral decision-making.
Perhaps, for some, he is stating the obvious but his work introduces a major conceptual twist based on an exquisite articulation of holarchy that has not yet been brought into the current debate regarding the state of the planet.
Although we are undoubtedly worse off when it comes to the foundational value of biodiversity or ecosystem health, we are arguably a significantly more interconnected and complex global society than we were just twenty seven years ago when the term sustainable development was first coined by the Bruntland Commission. Depth and span are related, but not on the same axis. And this has important ramifications for today’s moral decisions.
The definition of sustainable development, for example, posits “a desirable future state for human societies in which living conditions and resource-use meet human needs without undermining the sustainability of natural systems and the environment, so that future generations may also have their needs met.” That speaks only of span and not of depth. What depth of consciousness needs to be protected and promoted and included in this conception of sustainable development to provide humanity with the interior scaffolding to carry out such a vision?
The BMI is something that is intuited. But, how to implement this basic moral intuition is not given with that pure intuition. How to grapple with these moral dilemmas and implement decisions become part of the intersubjective and cultural and social project that all of us must discuss and decide. Or, as Wilber puts it:
“The intuition is given; the unpacking is our moral dilemma, always.”
Unpacking the BMI is the challenge of this century. How do we focus our efforts? Do we spend our time tackling a globally pressing issue like the radioactive water leaking from Fukushima, which is affecting entire marine ecosystems and impacting our planet for tens of thousands of years or do we work with a single child who may grow up and, given the opportunity, evolve in complexity to solve these kinds of foundational problems. Where in the map of span versus depth do we reside? Are there tipping points or fulcrums of change, leadership opportunities, or historical vantage points we can see in this map or do we play this particular game of life by ear; working one moment on larger scale issues, the next moment on the intensely personal? How do you decide? Wilber argues that this decision is entirely personal and it depends on where your talents and passions lie. Do you know where your talents and passions lie?
This simple statement—‘protect and promote the greatest depth for the greatest span’—changes the entire sustainable development game. No longer is our collective challenge just about survival of numbers, or ensuring the broadest spectrum of species gets a chance to live. It is also about ensuring that each conscious being, from an ant to an artist, gets a chance to achieve her fullest potential. Suddenly we have a framework to understand the matrix of Millennium Development Goals and the world consensus on Agenda 21 while at the same time understanding why spiritual development, academic achievement or pushing our human understanding of music, poetry or art is equally valid and worthy. The human rights charter comes into perspective as a statement not just about our equal right to live but also our equal opportunity to achieve our greatest depth of consciousness possible. Definitions of poverty change from poverty of material goods to include poverty of depth, or that is, a poverty of complexity of mind and extension of care.
Exploring the BMI and its manifestation in our global world is also about reaching into our interiors and exploring our individual selves to understand exactly who we are in a developing context. We change, we evolve, and we often cannot see ourselves clearly. Where is our boundary of self and with whom do we identify? Are we egocentrically focused or do we identify with the group or broader horizons? There are few techniques more effective than the practice of Big Mind when it comes to exploring our interior landscapes. Each of us has a plethora of personalities, which we draw upon as our context changes. Yet some aspects of our selves seem constant, some seem to change, and some seem hidden or disowned. In the practice of Big Mind participants give voice to some of these interior identities through a process of group facilitation. Voices like the victim, the saviour, the perpetrator, or the voice of care are all fascinating explorations of our psyche and identity boundaries in a social change context. The magic of Big Mind arises when we collectively explore interior voices to discover boundaries, uncover motivations and understand who we really are right now.
On the weekend of May 9-11, 2014 a group of global practitioners will gather near Vancouver, Canada to work with Zen Master and Big Mind facilitator Genpo Roshi as well as hear from philosopher Ken Wilber on this very topic. This intimate retreat is being offered by the global development think-tank Integral Without Borders (IWB), closely associated with the Integral Institute, which has been leading global workshops, gatherings and peer learning events since 2006. The three-day session will commence on Friday afternoon May 9, 2014 with an introduction to the key concepts of the BMI to be followed by an intense evening journey into Big Mind exploring some of the primary aspects of self involved in social change. Saturday will include group activities, a follow up session on Big Mind and an evening social and guided exercise. Sunday morning will be a chance to integrate what has been learned, network and understand how to apply the BMI.
This event is being preceded by an introductory teleconference workshop which is optional and free to registered participants. The retreat itself is open to public participation and discounted for Integral Without Borders, Big Mind or Integral Institute members. For those new to Integral Without Borders, Integral Theory or Big Mind there are suggested readings and videos that can be accessed prior to the event.
Is this event for you? IWB events are non-denominational, pluralist, apolitical opportunities for peer learning that explore critical emerging issues relevant to our global challenges. People who attend tend to be open minded, willing to learn in a peer environment and keen to explore emerging ways of thinking using an integral framework as a foundation. Many people come to these events who have read Wilber’s work and are finding a like minded community of practitioners to further explore his philosophy. If you are familiar or interested in integral theory and the way in which it can be applied in the world of social change these are rare opportunities to be in a room full of energetic, intelligent and friendly people who will be happy to meet you. This event will also be an opportunity for those interested in Big Mind and its application to social change to explore this nexus.
We encourage you to attend, particularly if you feel like you have both something to learn and something to offer. We call these events retreats because we do less teaching and more reflection, peer learning and group explorations of new ideas and methods. The impact tends to be inspiring.
How much will it cost? We try to break even on IWB events or at least keep the costs as accessible as possible. Discounts are available for IWB members, Integral Institute Members and members of Big Mind. If you can afford the full tuition we encourage you to pay it (or more) and if you cannot, we encourage you to contact us so we can find a way for you to attend.
Preparatory Teleconference on the BMI – March 2014 $10 see the IWB website
Registration for Basic Moral Intuition weekend retreat with Genpo Roshi (Fri-Sun)
(includes lunches on Saturday and Sunday, and dinner on Friday and Saturday nights)
Retreat times:
Friday May 9th, 1pm-9pm
Saturday May 10th, 9am-9pm (with a dinner break)
Sunday May 11th, 9am-4pm
Retreat location: The retreat location is in Gibsons, B.C., at Chaster House, a venue located on the ocean waterfront with lovely beach and hiking in the area.
To get to Gibsons:
Public transit is easily accomplished from the Vancouver International Airport (YVR) via the Skytrain to downtown Vancouver (20 minutes) and then the 257 Express Bus to Horseshoe Bay (45 minutes). (Approximate fare is $10 as it varies according to time window, Vancouver Public Transit website for planning your transportation is here: http://tripplanning.translink.ca/). Depending on participants there may be some carpooling or ridesharing from YVR available. A short ferry ride from Horseshoe Bay in Vancouver to Gibsons takes 40min (return fare for an adult is $14.55). Pickup to and from the ferry terminal can be arranged in Gibsons. The ferry takes 40 minutes so the latest ferry you should plan to catch on Friday is currently listed as an 11:30 am ferry (schedules seasonally change so please check prior to travel).
Accommodation and travel: You are responsible for your own accommodation and travel expenses. Most of the local B&B’s will provide breakfast. Local Bed and Breakfast facilities can be found here:
Very comfortable accommodation is available directly across the street from the retreat location at the popular Bonniebrook Lodge. We will be reserving some shared spaces here so please contact us if you would like to stay there or share a room.
Book early if you want to stay at the Bonniebrook Lodge which is the most convenient place to stay.
Local billeting will be made available on a first come first serve basis and free camping is within two blocks of the retreat location in a pocket of local rainforest. Bring your own camping gear or communicate with us prior to the event.
Meals:
You are only responsibility for your breakfasts on Sat and Sun for the duration of the retreat. Please make your own arrangements for these two breakfast meals. We will provide lunches on Fri, Sat and Sunday, as well as dinner on Fri and Saturday, and refreshments during the day. All meals provided will be vegetarian in order to keep our lives simple. Please advise if you have specific health requirements and we will try to accommodate you.
Visas:
Canadian visa requirements vary by country. Please check the internet to see if you require one and if you require an entrance visa letter of invitation contact us with the details well in advance of the retreat. Visa applications for Canada can be very slow so do not delay in this regard.
Registration Information:
Please send registration information to mike@onesky.ca via e-mail as soon as you can. Download the registration form document here. Don’t hesitate to let us know a little bit about yourself or the organization you are affiliated with. Participation will be allocated on a first come first serve basis with priority given to the first 30 participants who can pay the full tuition and a limited number of six sponsorships given out after this threshold has been achieved. The maximum participation will be 60 participants. It really helps us to plan if you apply early!
Cutoff for the minimum number of paying participants will be 18 days prior to the event in which case we will individually inform you that we have cancelled the retreat. Registration is considered complete once you have sent us the information and paid in full. A full refund is available up to two weeks in advance if we are given written notice. A partial refund (50%) is available until seven days prior and after that we don’t give refunds.