We Are A Pluriverse
Photography has been a passion of mine since I learned how to develop film in the darkroom in high school.
I also love it as a metaphor for perspective. With or without a camera, we are constantly adjusting the settings of our lens as we go about our days.
We focus on certain things, we notice something far in the distance, we zoom in on something up close, we put light on an object to see it more clearly. We make choices. Those around us make choices too and we interpret them through our lens. We adjust these settings based on our lived experience, the culture(s) we exist in, and who we are at the core of our being.
This is one way to think about the perspectives from which we see the world and the paradigms we live in each day. But an important thing to recognize about paradigms is the way they can be positioned as universal, when in reality they’re just one of many. We often see this in the right/wrong binary, a narrative in which there’s one right way to believe, act, feel, and live. Paradigms are a powerful and important aspect of culture. So how do we broaden our lens?
In this essay I write about:
🤓 Paradigm - what it is and why it’s exciting
🌍 The One-World World - why it may seem like we have a universal paradigm
✨ The Pluriverse - a more accurate and expansive view
✔️ Summary - in far less words, these are my takeaways
PARADIGM
A paradigm is a point of view that encompasses an individual, a community, and/or a larger collective. Paradigms determine socially acceptable ways to behave. They tell us what knowledge to value and how to make sense of our experiences. We may move through several paradigms each day depending on the settings we're in and the people we're surrounded by. Paradigms are not static, they morph and evolve and respond to circumstances.
The exciting thing about paradigms is they are something we can choose. Some aspects of our identities we don’t choose and we can’t change. But we can learn about paradigms and shift into the ones that feel the best in our bodies. To me, this is where so much of our agency lies. This is where we can express what we relate to, believe in, and want to grow in the world.
Additionally, the fact that there are many paradigms implies there are many worlds.
THE ONE-WORLD WORLD
Planet Earth (and our universe) has been experiencing colonization for the last six centuries. One essential part of this process is for the colonizing power to position itself as the only possible paradigm. John Law coined the term ‘One-World World’ to describe this phenomenon.
Many scholars and activists have identified this. Arturo Escobar explains how Euro-modernity alleges itself as the world.
Aurora Levins Morales explains, “Those who dominate must justify themselves and find ways to see their own dominance as not only legitimate but the only acceptable option.”Vandana Shiva writes about the One-World World from an agricultural perspective. Shiva uses the term 'monocultures of the mind' to explain how, “The destruction of diversity and the creation of uniformity simultaneously involves the destruction of stability and the creation of vulnerability.”
Not only is one dominating paradigm oppressive, it is actually dangerous to the entire ecosystem. And in reality, the One-World World paradigm simply isn't a true reflection of the world. As Shiva explains,
“The western systems of knowledge have generally been viewed as universal. However, the dominant system is also a local system, with its social basis in a particular culture, class and gender. It is not universal in an epistemological sense. It is merely the globalised version of a very local and parochial tradition.”
THE PLURIVERSE
The One-World World ignores complexity. It ignores the multiplicity of life. And it ignores the many different realities that exist at any given moment.
The pluriverse is one way to name and talk about an alternative to the One-World World. The pluriverse recognizes that life is complex and there are many realities. Universal narratives often homogenize and erase lived experience. A pluriversal worldview respects the many ways of being that exist interdependently.
The pluriverse is relational. It helps us understand more deeply what it means to be in relationships. It highlights the fact that we can be individuals and we can be a part of something larger than ourselves. It emphasizes how our words, thoughts, and actions impact the world(s) around us.
The pluriverse does not demand that we all agree. For how could we on a planet with over 7.7 billion humans and even more non-humans species? Rather, it asks us to shift our thinking and consider how many experiences may be existing at once. It asks us to consider that having many perspectives in a situation can be valid and important. And it asks us to consider the agency of those who are not human.
The ability to recognize the pluriverse feels deeply important to me at this time. It’s less about trying to figure out how to get democrats and republicans to speak to each other, and more about increasing our ability to recognize the many lived experiences in our communities, countries, and world. Life is complex. Humans are complex. We don’t fit into boxes and we certainly don’t fit into one or two boxes. Increasing our capacity for complexity may sound daunting, but it actually may help us more easily connect to each other.
SUMMARY
Paradigms are something we can choose as a way to express what we relate to, believe in, and want to grow in the world
Having one dominating paradigm is dangerous to the ecosystem of our world
A pluriversal worldview respects the many ways of being that exist interdependently
Increasing our capacity for complexity may sound daunting, but it actually may help us more easily connect to each other
Escobar, A. (2015) Thinking-feeling with the earth: Territorial struggles and the ontological dimension of the epistemologies of the south. Revista de Antropología Iberoamericana, 11(1), 11-32.
Escobar (#1)
Morales, A.L. (1998). Medicine stories: History, culture and the politics of integrity. South End Press.
Shiva, V. (1993). Monocultures of the mind: Perspectives on biodiversity and biotechnology. Zed.
Shiva (#4)