essay
Metaviews 082. 2000.09.17. Approximately 4042 words. The essay below by William Hurlbut was presented at the FutureVisions consultation at the State of the World Forum in a panel onReimagining Human Nature: Neuroscience, Cognitive Psychology, andSpiritual Anthropology. William B. Hurlbut is a physician andlecturer in the Program in Human Biology at Stanford University,where he teaches courses…
Metaviews 081. 2000.09.15. Approximately 3266 words. Below and after the fact is another contribution to the FutureVisions consultation. Writing on Incomplete Science: The Body and Indwelling Spirit, isMartha R Herbert, M.D., Ph.D., a pediatric neurologist at theMassachusetts General Hospital in Boston and at McLean Hospital inBelmont MA. Herbert specializes in patients with learning anddevelopmental disorders….
The task I have set for myself is to combine in a coherent way three interlacing strands of future oriented thinking: futurology, eschatology, and ethics. The ethical task of the present generation, as I see it, is to project future visions of a just and sustainable global community and then enlist present resources to…
As in a Dream As in a dream, this simple magic Of space and time, of here and there. What is this here, what is this there, What is this magic of location? This ocean of presence, these waves of arising, The wonder of anything happening at all? Time…
The course of human history is instigated by many factors, perceived and unperceived, gradual and sudden, tangible and intangible too. Thus, the rise of the Buddha, the Christ, or the Prophet Mohammed were among the perceived factors, while the impact of certain viruses and microbes on the course of human history were never perceived as…
Mind the Light Plenary remarks to the State of the World Forum, New York, NY September 2000 <http://www.worldforum.org>. We are created by divine light We are sustained by divine light We are surrounded by divine light We are ever growing into divine light In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, and…
Metaviews 074. 2000.08.28. Approximately 2667 words. The next installment in the Future Visions thread is from KittyFerguson, a popular science writer, who also takes a distinctlypopulist approach in her essay below. Kitty Ferguson holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from theJuilliard School and for many years was a professional musician,conducting and performing oratorio, early music and…
Recent developments in complexity theory with particular emphasis on “emergence” may provide a bridge between science and other approaches. Emergence in systems of agents interacting by non linear rules allows one both to take a reductionist position and believe in novelty. Selection rules or pruning algorithms allow the generation of upper hierarchical levels from the…
It has surprised me that so many people who are convinced of the universal and objective nature of scientific knowledge work so diligently to find in the latest discoveries of the sciences an exclusive vindication of statements in the Vedas or in the Qur’an or of dogmas accepted by the Church Councils at some stage…
Entering a new millennium, we face a historical choice. Left alone on the pinnacle of economic and political leadership, the United States can continue to increase its material wealth while ignoring the human needs of its people and that of the rest of the planet. Such a course is likely to lead to increasing…