A path towards planetary responsibility

The most important and fundamental target for lifelong learning is to expand the sphere of human responsibility. This includes:

(a) Worldview
Human-centered > Bio-centered > Ecosystem-centered

(b) Way of thinking
Atomistic thinking > Systems thinking

(c) Well-being paradigm
Accumulation of material goods > Harmony, coherence, consciousness

(d) Life orientation
Individual > Collective > Planetary

(e) Moral circle
I > My family > Friends and relatives > My nation > People in Western world > All people > Human beings and animals > Human beings, animals and plants > Ecosystems > Planet Earth.

Source: Salonen, A. & Åhlberg, M. (2012). Personal and Contextual Barriers to the Promotion of Sustainable Development in Everyday Life (Accepted paper). To be presented on annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, April 13–17, 2012. Available at http://dl.dropbox.com/u/23256384/salonen_ahlberg_personal_and_contextual.pdf