What is a Good Life?

What is a Good Life? #98 - Embracing Ambiguity with Nora Bateson

Nov 26, 2024

In this thought-provoking discussion, Nora Bateson, an award-winning filmmaker and the mind behind Warm Data theory, explores the inherent ambiguities of life. She delves into the perils of seeking certainty, urging a shift towards mutual learning and understanding. The conversation touches on the power of language and the necessity for nuanced communication in a polarized world. Bateson emphasizes interdependence, urging listeners to embrace complexity while fostering genuine connections and awareness within communities.

01:06:50

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Episode guests

Nora Bateson

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Quick takeaways

Embracing the duality of life's experiences—both joy and suffering—allows individuals to engage deeply with its complexities.

True systems change is rooted in understanding interdependence among individuals and communities, addressing the complexities that shape our relationships.

Deep dives

The Complexity of a Good Life

Living a good life involves embracing both the beauty and horror of existence, acknowledging the complexities that shape our experiences. It's essential to recognize the underlying violence and injustice that have contributed to our comfortable lives while also making room for joy and unexpected moments of delight. This duality reminds us that life is dynamic and constantly in motion, demanding a flexible and open-hearted approach. By accepting this intricate interplay between creation and destruction, individuals can truly engage with the richness of life.

Intro

5min

Navigating Uncertainty in Life's Big Questions

3min

Exploring the Interconnectedness of Identity and Systemic Change

5min

Embracing Complexity in Communication

27min

Exploring Introspection and Shared Silence

2min

Embracing Presence and Curiosity

7min

Embracing Uncertainty: Trust and Communication

18min

Nora Bateson, is an award-winning filmmaker, research designer, writer, educator, international lecturer, as well as President of the International Bateson Institute based in Sweden. She is the creator of the Warm Data theory and practices. Nora’s work brings the fields of biology, cognition, art, anthropology, psychology, and information technology together into a study of the patterns in ecology of living systems. She wrote, directed and produced the award-winning documentary, An Ecology of Mind, a portrait of her father Gregory Bateson.

Her first book, Small Arcs of Larger Circles, is a revolutionary personal approach to the study of systems and complexity. In her latest second book Combining, Nora invites us into an ecology of communication where nothing stands alone, and every action sets off a chain of incalculable consequences. She challenges conventional fixes for our problems, highlighting the need to tackle issues at multiple levels, understand interdependence, and embrace ambiguity.

She was the recipient of the Neil Postman Award for Career Achievement in Public Intellectual Activity in 2019.

In this engaging conversation, we delve into the dangers of certainty and the pursuit of fixed answers, exploring how moving beyond polarities can lead to mutual learning and understanding. We discuss the weaponisation of language, the impact of divisive discourse, and how more generative and sacred communication can guide us toward deeper connection and shared presence.

This conversation invites you to engage more fully with life as it is—its beauty and its horror, its creativity and its destruction. It’s a call to hold life’s complexity with openness, to embrace it, and to let it go as the flow of life continues to unfold.

For further content and information check out the following:
- Nora's Warm Data work: https://www.warmdata.life/
- Nora's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nora-bateson-b4a2456/
- The International Bateson Institute website: https://batesoninstitute.org/nora-bateson/

- For the What is a Good Life? podcast's YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@whatisagoodlife/videos
- My newsletter: https://www.whatisagood.life/
- My LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-mccartney-14b0161b4/

Contact me at mark@whatisagood.life if you'd like to explore your own lines of self-inquiry through 1-on-1 coaching, take part in my weekly free silent conversations, discuss experiences I create to stimulate greater trust, communication, and connection, amongst your leadership teams, or you simply want to get in touch.

00:00 Teaser
01:43 Introduction
04:50 How not to get caught looking for answers
09:43 A quest for systems change

13:30 Holding possibility open

17:50 Taking a stand and taking a stance

20:15 The significance of how we communicate

24:50 Belonging, certainty, and polarity

30:50 The problem of grabbing answers

37:23 Generative and sacred communication

42:35 Paying attention to moment and context

48:20 Practice of improvisation

55:30 The implications of concrete answers

01:02:58 What is a good life for Nora?

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