The Surprising Enemy of Sustainability? Too Much Analytic Thinking

Introducing Behavioral Sustainability as an Integrative Solution

“The world we have created is a product of our thinking. If we want to change the world, we have to change our thinking.” — Albert Einstein

o Sustainability is the ultimate human problem, which means we cannot solve it without understanding human behavior

o The West is still heavily influenced by ancient Greek culture, which emphasized individualism, an independent view of the self, and analytic thinking

o A view of the self as independent combined with extreme individualistic tendencies is not conducive to solving sustainability issues because it leads to myopic and moralistic thoughts and behaviors

o Incorporating behavioral sustainability — a more integrative framework — is the solution to a sustainable future

Table of Contents

• Recognizing Sustainability as a Human Problem
• The Intimate Relationship Between Culture and Psychology
• Ancient Greek Culture and its Lingering Effects on the West
• Analytic Thinking and its Implications for Sustainability
• Holistic Thinking: Lessons from Ancient China
• The Best of Both Worlds: The Importance of a Balanced and Integrative Perspective
• Introducing Behavioral Sustainability as an Integrative Solution

Like everyone else in the U.S. and across the world, I spent most of 2020 wondering what our collective future will look like. There has been a lot to contemplate, including the worsening climate crisis, intensifying racial tensions around the BLM movement, wildfires, hurricanes, and the COVID-19 global pandemic. Why has the U.S. — given its vast resources and infrastructure — been unable to contain the COVID-19 outbreak to the same degree as other countries have? Why is the U.S. still grappling with institutionalized racism decades after the official end of slavery? Why can’t we reduce and eliminate extreme inequality?