Life

Description

LIFE — Consideration Circle

The primary condition of all systems

Why this circle exists

Most system design starts with structure, efficiency, or performance.
The Life Circle exists to ask a more fundamental question first:

Can life actually thrive in this system?

Life is not treated here as a value, goal, or outcome, but as a precondition.
If human and relational conditions collapse, no system — however efficient — remains viable.

Core tension

Life quality emerges from a dynamic balance:

• between autonomy and interdependence,
• between responsibility and awareness,
• between individuality and togetherness.

Too much focus on control erodes trust and vitality.
Too much freedom without structure leads to fragmentation.

How to use this circle

Use the Life Circle:

• at the start of a system inquiry as an ethical orientation,
• during moments of conflict or overload,
• or as a reflection point before major design decisions.

Focus on tensions, not solutions.
Notice where life is strained, reduced, or unsupported.

Relation to the STEEP canvas:                                                                         Insights from the Life Circle act as a reference layer.
They help evaluate whether proposed social, technical, economic, environmental, or political choices genuinely support the quality of life.