Shifting Baseline Syndrome

I have recently learned a name for a concept that you may already be aware of.

Shifting Baseline Syndrome

The phrase was coined by the marine biologist Daniel Pauly and describes:

“A gradual change in the accepted norms for the condition of the natural environment.”

Successive generations of children and adults are simply unaware of past conditions, and so they accept what they know as the norm.

For example, I remember needing to wash the dead insects off my car windscreen daily due to their proliferation during the summer months.

This is no longer necessary.

I also recall the annual emergence of crane flies in the autumn during my childhood, which would result in millions of them covering the outside of buildings for several days.

And there are numerous other examples.

Shifting baseline syndrome leads to a reduced perception of the degradation of our environment.

But I think that shifting baseline syndrome has other applications.

We have, through archaeology and the preservation of the written word, access to examples of more spiritual and biophilic lifestyles.

Cultures that pursued a guiding principle for behaviour and embraced a connection with nature.

But in the 21st century we lack a united purpose, and for many aspects of life AI has become our go-to.

There are whole generations who instinctively and preferentially look to technology for the answers.

For them, that is the norm.

Historically, we looked to each other and the planet for our needs.

Shifting baseline syndrome can also have a personal application, relevant to an individual being.

When we permit periods of stress or ill-health to endure, the impact is progressive.

Afflictions un-checked can lead to disabilities.

Prolonged doubt and anxiety influence our response to new experiences.

And we accept this state of being as the norm.

In this case, it is not that we are unaware of our past condition, we simply forget.

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

-George Santayana

I was given this to share.

“All things are cumulative, including acceptance. A failure to question prohibits growth and change.”