The 4R Framework

…tasks that lie ahead in the complex process of adaptation

Origins

In his 2018 paper, Professor Jem Bendell pointed out that the prevailing view among climate researchers and practitioners rests on the assumption that our current economic, social, and political systems are sufficiently resilient to adapt to immense challenges, and therefore continue largely unchanged.

He introduced the concept of Deep Adaptation to describe an alternative perspective:

one that accepts the collapse of natural and human systems as a real possibility, potentially within our own lifetimes.

Concept

Deep Adaptation uses four core concepts – the 4Rs – and the questions associated with them to outline the steps and challenges involved in the process of adaptation:

  • Resilience: What do we want to preserve, what do we truly value and wish to protect?
  • Relinquishment: What must we let go of in order to avoid causing further harm to ourselves or others?
  • Restoration: What needs to be brought back into our lives to help us face the difficulties ahead?
  • Reconciliation: Who or what do we need to make peace with once we fully recognise our own impermanence?

Supporting one another

Understanding and processing the possibility of collapse is an emotionally demanding process. One of the most important sources of support is finding the company of others who are facing similar questions. There is real relief in knowing we are not alone in being able to share our thoughts with people who can also exchange insight, experience, and understanding.

Thinking systemically

The four concepts above help us clarify what we are engaging with, while the Integral Matrix helps us see in which dimension the work of preparation takes place: within ourselves or in relation to the world, individually or collectively. Used together, these frameworks offer a kind of map. If we place the right tasks, knowledge, and experience in the right context, we may be better able to face the future with greater steadiness.

Deep Adaptation
The Integral Matrix
Emerging Questions

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most capable of adapting to change.”

Charles Darwin