Where do we come from? Where are we going? What is our role in life? Traditionally, religious worldviews answer such big questions through myths and rituals. These mythic narratives - that we call collectively the "first story”- have been psychologically meaningful by claiming certain answers about our origins, sociologically effective by giving shared moral values, providing ethical guidance, and creating social bonds. All these aspects lead to an effective system for guiding individual and collective actions. The scientific revolution led to questioning, eroding or even dissolving these myths and rituals. Science did reconstruct a story of our origins, which is the epic of evolution describing how humans came through a 14 billion years journey, and that we call the “second story”. However, this story has not provided the same benefits as religions, as it provides neither a positive future vision nor ethical and practical guidance. The two stories thus have major strengths and shortcomings, and their existence and persistence today give rise to conflict, confusion and polarization. We need a third story able to provide direction, meaning and purpose while remaining firmly scientifically grounded. The Human Energy Project was founded to develop and share such a new scientific and cosmic story introducing the Noosphere as a source of meaning for the future. As we continue to interconnect globally, technologically and cross-culturally, we are experiencing a planetary major evolutionary transition. It can be conceptualized as the Noosphere, a shared sphere of culture, technology, and thought weaving human beings into a new form of life as a global superorganism. This new story holds the potential to give new global and evolutionary values that have psychological and societal benefits, as well as promote the growth of synergy and cooperation across multiple levels.
Suggested readings
The three stories of the universe
Vidal, C. 2021. "Pierre Teilhard De Chardin: A Visionary in Controversy." History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 43 (4): 1-10. doi:10.1007/s40656-021-00475-7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40656-021-00475-7
About the speaker
Dr. Clément Vidal is a philosopher with a background in logic and cognitive sciences. He is a long-time member of the Center Leo Apostel and currently a visiting scholar at the Berkeley SETI Research Center, as well as a member of Human Energy, doing research on global issues and the noosphere. In 2014, he authored The Beginning and the End: The Meaning of Life in a Cosmological Perspective. He is eager to tackle big questions, bringing together areas of knowledge such as cosmology, physics, astrobiology, complexity science or evolutionary theory. More info at www.clemvidal.com
Practical
The CLEA seminars are taking place simultaneously at the VUB campus in Etterbeek, Brussels, and online (via Zoom) and are open to everyone interested!
When. Friday, December 16, 2022, from 14:00 until 16:00h
Where. VUB campus Etterbeek, room D.2.09.
Online. You can follow the seminar online via Zoom. You may need a Meeting ID and passcode to enter.
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82757798426?pwd=em9sQlJDVjJYTEFRNk01dEJLWGxGUT09
Meeting ID: 827 5779 8426
Passcode: 122127
