| New film epitomises Ashridge’s approach to Action Research |
The Centre for Action Research at Ashridge Business School is helping to promote a UK wide tour of the film, ‘An Ecology of Mind’ which is a documentary about the life and work of Gregory Bateson. Bateson’s way of thinking is a major influence on Ashridge consultants and faculty who use action research principles in their practice. And this benefits many organisations both in the UK and other parts of the world.
The film, directed and presented by his daughter, Nora Bateson, explores Gregory’s ideas about relationships, connections and patterns - continues to influence and provoke new thinking about human and animal behaviour, about ecology, art, design and health.
The film is on a worldwide tour and includes several venues in the UK including London, Manchester, Glasgow and Bristol.
Kevin Power, a member of faculty at Ashridge, is among the group that has arranged the screenings and seminars in this country.
“Gregory Bateson’s thinking strikes a chord right at the heart of our practice as organisational consultants and action researchers – a field where Ashridge is a worldwide leader.”
“It is very much a daughter’s story and it introduces Bateson’s ideas to new audiences, using the metaphor of a relationship between father and daughter, and footage of Bateson’s talks.”
Each screening, too, hosts a discussion between Nora and a wide range of people working in depth with Gregory Bateson’s ideas: artists, architects, organisational practitioners, action researchers, ecological activists, mental health practitioners, scientists, urban designers, cyberneticians.
These screenings and discussions show a way of thinking that crosses fields of knowledge and experience, one that can lead out of the ecological crisis and towards a more sound way of living.
Gregory Bateson, British-American anthropologist, biologist, systems thinker (1904 – 1980), invited people to look at a thing – an earthworm, a number sequence, a tree, a definition of addiction, anything at all – by seeing the interdependencies that connect them and the processes beneath the structures. He believed, “The major problems in the world are the result of the difference between the way nature works and the way people think.”
UK schedule and event information: ecologyofmind.uk@phonecoop.
‘An Ecology of Mind’ website: www.anecologyofmind.com
Film's Facebook page: www.facebook.com/
London event: Monday 27 February 2012, 6:30 pm
The Old Cinema, 309 Regent Street, London W1
Other public events:
13 Feb – Milton Keynes
14 Feb - Hull
The film, directed and presented by his daughter, Nora Bateson, explores Gregory’s ideas about relationships, connections and patterns - continues to influence and provoke new thinking about human and animal behaviour, about ecology, art, design and health.
The film is on a worldwide tour and includes several venues in the UK including London, Manchester, Glasgow and Bristol.
Kevin Power, a member of faculty at Ashridge, is among the group that has arranged the screenings and seminars in this country.
“Gregory Bateson’s thinking strikes a chord right at the heart of our practice as organisational consultants and action researchers – a field where Ashridge is a worldwide leader.”
“It is very much a daughter’s story and it introduces Bateson’s ideas to new audiences, using the metaphor of a relationship between father and daughter, and footage of Bateson’s talks.”
Each screening, too, hosts a discussion between Nora and a wide range of people working in depth with Gregory Bateson’s ideas: artists, architects, organisational practitioners, action researchers, ecological activists, mental health practitioners, scientists, urban designers, cyberneticians.
These screenings and discussions show a way of thinking that crosses fields of knowledge and experience, one that can lead out of the ecological crisis and towards a more sound way of living.
Gregory Bateson, British-American anthropologist, biologist, systems thinker (1904 – 1980), invited people to look at a thing – an earthworm, a number sequence, a tree, a definition of addiction, anything at all – by seeing the interdependencies that connect them and the processes beneath the structures. He believed, “The major problems in the world are the result of the difference between the way nature works and the way people think.”
UK schedule and event information: ecologyofmind.uk@phonecoop.
‘An Ecology of Mind’ website: www.anecologyofmind.com
Film's Facebook page: www.facebook.com/
London event: Monday 27 February 2012, 6:30 pm
The Old Cinema, 309 Regent Street, London W1
Other public events:
13 Feb – Milton Keynes
14 Feb - Hull
15 & 16 Feb – Manchester
17 Feb – Glasgow
20 Feb – Bradford
21 Feb – Bristol
22 Feb – Dartington, Devon
23 & 24 Feb – Edinburgh
UK Press:17 Feb – Glasgow
20 Feb – Bradford
21 Feb – Bristol
22 Feb – Dartington, Devon
23 & 24 Feb – Edinburgh
“For me, watching Nora Bateson’s film was overwhelming. Her biggest achievement is in explaining abstract concepts in a clear way. Until now, Bateson’s’ work has been largely inaccessible outside the academic community. With this film, this is bound to change”
Jan van Boeckel, Resurgence, Jan-Feb 2012
Global Press:
“The double bind that we now face is this: on the one hand, we want to preserve our natural environment; on the other, everything we do to grow our economy and preserve our standard of living disrupts the natural environment and our relationships with it. Nora, like her father, suggests that we must raise our consciousness and learn to think in new ways to escape our pathology of wrong thinking…Nora Bateson presents viewers not only with an intellectually challenging and inspiring work of art, but also with a glimpse of evanescent hope.”
Marilyn Wedge, Huffington Post, 13 October 2011
“Gregory Bateson taught us how to stop having the most fundamental old ideas: the static, separating, reductionist fictions that dis-integrate an integrated world. Nora Bateson's beautiful portrait of her father's key insights is a stunningly effective antidote for a new generation that now needs his wisdom more than ever.”
Amory B. Lovins, Chairman and Chief Scientist, Rocky Mountain Institute
"An Ecology of Mind is a spell-binding, lyrical, and very important film..."
Rex Weyler - Co-Founder, Greenpeace International
Awards for the film:
Gold for Best Documentary, Spokane International Film Festival, 2011
Audience Award Winner, Best Documentary, Santa Cruz Film Festival, 2011
Winner, Media Ecology Association, John Culkin Award for Outstanding Praxis, 2011
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