Nesting and Nested Systems: Putting Choice at the Heart of It All

What phenomenon determines the way that cities tend to emerge along rivers? Or why complex life only developed on Earth after the right environmental conditions were in place? These patterns reveal a powerful and universal principle: new forms of emergence happen when something novel (a nested system) arises from the conditions provided by something more fundamental (a nesting system).

This relationship isn’t just about civilisation—it’s present everywhere, from food chains to technology to human consciousness itself. Understanding it can help us see how knowledge, resources, and complexity arise in a self-reinforcing cycle.

What Are Nesting and Nested Systems?

A nesting system is a structure or resource that provides the conditions for something else to emerge. A nested system is what develops within it, drawing upon those conditions for life, growth, or function.

Think of a tree and a bird’s nest. The tree (nesting system) provides shelter and stability, allowing the nest (nested system) to exist. But this isn’t a one-way relationship. The birds help spread seeds, affecting the ecosystem that sustains the tree. This feedback loop is the key to emergence.

Examples of Nesting and Nested Systems in Action:

• Earth’s Environment (nesting) → Complex Life (nested) → The right conditions allowed for biological evolution.

• The Body (nesting) → The Mind (nested) → Thought and consciousness exist only because of biological function.

• Farming (nesting) → Cities & Technology (nested) → Stable food supplies freed people for innovation and urbanisation.

• Rivers (nesting) → Cities (nested) → Trade, infrastructure, and civilisation emerge.

• Language Learning (nesting) → Cultural Access & New Perspectives (nested) → Understanding new languages broadens intellectual and social horizons.

• Printing Press (nesting) → Literacy & Education (nested) → Books became widespread, expanding knowledge and societal development.

• Coal & Oil (nesting) → Industrial Revolution (nested) → Factories and economies flourish.

• Radio (nesting) → Global Communication (nested) → Instant wireless information sharing reshaped culture and knowledge.

• Hardware (nesting) → Software (nested) → Computers exist before programming and AI can develop.

  
  

Each nested system feeds back into its nesting system, altering it in ways that create new potential. This process of mutual reinforcement explains why complexity builds over time.

The Cycle of Resource Uptake and Knowledge Growth

Nested systems don’t just sit within nesting systems; they draw upon their resources. This is an uptake process:

1. The nested system extracts resources or energy from the nesting system (e.g. a civilisation extracts energy from fossil fuels).

2. This uptake enables the nested system to grow and function (e.g. fossil fuels drive industrialisation and technological expansion).

3. As the nested system evolves, it generates new knowledge that allows for better resource uptake (e.g. discovering how to refine oil into petrol).

4. This knowledge unlocks new resources or enhances existing ones (e.g. nuclear power or solar energy replacing fossil fuels).

   
   

This creates an accelerating positive feedback loop:

More resource uptake → More knowledge → More resource uptake → More knowledge…

Real-World Examples of the Cycle in Action

1. The Emergence of Complex Life on Earth

Life required very specific conditions to emerge—stable temperatures, a protective atmosphere, and chemical-rich oceans. The Earth’s environment (nesting system) provided these resources, enabling biological complexity (nested system) to develop. As life evolved, it transformed the environment, leading to the oxygenation of the atmosphere and the expansion of more advanced life forms.

2. The Food Chain as a Nested System

At its most fundamental level, nature operates on this principle. The sun (nesting system) provides energy that plants uptake, allowing them to grow. Herbivores consume plants, and carnivores eat herbivores. Each layer exists because of and sustains the one below it.

But notice something else: higher levels of the food chain introduce new knowledge—predators evolve better hunting strategies, ecosystems shift, and energy pathways change. Over time, new niches emerge, much like how human civilisations evolve by tapping into new energy sources.

3. The Human Mind as a Nested System

Our brains exist within and because of our bodies. The body supplies energy, oxygen, and nutrients, allowing thought to emerge. But once the mind evolved, it didn’t just sit passively—it fed back into the body, leading to medicine, self-care, and technology that extends lifespan and enhances brain function.

4. Cities and Rivers: Why Geography Shapes Civilisation

Ancient cities formed along rivers because water enabled transport, irrigation, and trade. But once cities emerged, they created new knowledge—better agriculture, governance, and eventually engineering that allowed cities to move beyond rivers. In modern times, infrastructure like highways and power grids have become the new ‘rivers’ of civilisation.

5. Civilisations Hitching a Ride on Fossil Fuels

Before coal and oil, human labour and animals provided energy for work. The discovery of fossil fuels (nesting system) led to industry (nested system), which then discovered new ways to extract and refine even more energy sources, like nuclear and renewables. Civilisation’s complexity is a direct consequence of this cycle of resource unlock → knowledge generation → more resource unlock.

So what does this mean for us? The power of choice

If we are embedded within these cyclical relationships, what does this mean for our happiness, our flourishing, our relationships, and the wider health of the ecology? At the heart of this question lies the power of choice—something I now want to bring into focus.

Every moment of our lives, we are making choices—some small, some life-altering. But how often do we truly recognise the power of our choices? How often do we pause to reflect before we respond, ensuring that our decisions align us with the environments, relationships, and pursuits where we thrive?

The Space Between Stimulus and Response

Austrian psychologist Viktor Frankl famously said, "Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom." This space—this moment of decision—is where our power lies.

We are not machines reacting blindly to the world around us, but we are information processors, constantly making choices about how we engage with our surroundings. Every stimulus we encounter sparks different possible responses, each carrying its own set of associations.

Choosing Between Different Images of Self Embedded in the World

When we recognise a choice, we are not simply deciding between actions—we are choosing between different images of ourselves embedded within the world. Each possible choice invokes a vision of who we become within our nested systems. Do we see ourselves as someone who prioritises our own needs, someone who nurtures others, someone who sacrifices for a larger cause? Each option projects a different possible future.

Choices Shape the Systems We Belong To—and the Systems We Create

We exist within family systems, work environments, communities, economies, and even the global ecosystem. Each of these systems supports us, shaping our identity and growth. But just as we are nested within systems, we are also nesting for others—particularly for our children, students, employees, or communities.

Every choice we make contributes to these systems, either reinforcing, reshaping, or neglecting them. Some choices enhance our own growth, while others contribute to the well-being of those who depend on us. And here lies the dilemma: Do we choose for our own personal uptake, or do we choose for the sake of others?

The Dilemma: Personal Fulfilment vs. Serving the Greater Good

While it is tempting to believe that the most ethical path is always the selfless one, this is not necessarily true. If we become too selfless—if we constantly prioritise others at the expense of ourselves—we risk disappearing. And disappearance is not a good thing. Our individuality, our psychological differentiation, is what makes us unique contributors to the systems we belong to. If we neglect our own growth, creativity, or well-being, we diminish what we can offer to the world.

Thus, the best choices are not those that erase us for the sake of others, nor those that serve only our own immediate desires, but those that align our flourishing with the flourishing of the wider systems we inhabit. A thriving individual contributes more meaningfully to their family, community, and even the health of the ecosystem as a whole.

How to Make Meaningful Choices

So, how do we make better choices? How do we ensure that the decisions we make today lead us toward a life in which we truly flourish while also contributing to the greater whole? Here’s a simple framework to follow:

1. Recognise That You Have a Choice

Before you can make an intentional choice, you must first realise that you have one. Often, we react to situations as if they are fixed realities, when in fact, we have the ability to choose how we respond.

Example: Your child comes to you wanting to talk about something that matters to them, but you’re deep in work.

Action: Pause. Recognise that this is a choice—continue working or step away for a few moments. Consider the long-term impact: which action nurtures the nested system of your relationship with your child?

2. Visualise the Different Futures Your Choice Creates

Each possible choice paints a different picture of your future. These images are crucial because they show you embedded in different nested systems—both the ones you belong to and the ones you are shaping for others.

Example: A friend invites you to an event, but you feel tired and would rather stay home.

Action: Imagine the future scenarios: declining might offer short-term comfort, but going could strengthen an important relationship or lead to an unexpected opportunity. On the other hand rest might leave you recharged and refreshed for tomorrow’s important work.  Which outcome feels more deeply aligned?

Example: You feel the urge to respond sharply in an argument, but you also value harmony in your relationship.

Action: Consider the future—will expressing anger impulsively serve the long-term health of your relationship, or is there a way to communicate that preserves both your integrity and connection?

3. Consider the Ripple Effect into Your Nested Systems

Your choices don’t just affect you—they shape the people, communities, and environments around you. Good choices sustain and uplift the ecosystems you belong to while strengthening the systems you create for others.

Example: You’re deciding whether to volunteer some of your time to support a community project.

Action: Think beyond yourself. Will this choice strengthen a system that supports many? Will it create a better nesting space for others to thrive? What is the opportunity cost of committing time here that could be committed elsewhere?

When we choose with awareness—considering not only what serves us now but also what sustains and enriches the future—we become active participants in the ongoing cycle of emergence, ensuring that what we create is as nourishing as what we receive.