CLEA director Francis Heylighen is involved in organizing and teaching a free online Master Class on the Science of the Noosphere. This year is the 100th anniversary of the term ‘noosphere’ which was described by the French paleontologist and Jesuit priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955) as the human sphere, the sphere of reflection, of conscious invention, of the conscious unity of souls. Teilhard envisioned the noosphere as having its roots in the biosphere but saw it growing and spreading around the earth as a separate thinking layer of life.
Today, the concept of the noosphere has never been more relevant to humankind and the planet, but the prophetic vision of Teilhard requires updating. That is the purpose of Science of the Noosphere, a series of 24 video conversations between evolutionary scientist David Sloan Wilson and some of the most amazing thinkers of the 21st century, including - next to Francis - CLEA researchers Shima Beigi, Marta Lenartowicz and Clément Vidal. The conversations cover the origin of life and our species, the major transitions of biological and cultural evolution leading up to the present, and the continuing development of a sentient global superorganism.
This summer, Human Energy is offering a unique opportunity to engage with Wilson and his conversation partners in the form of a Master Class, which will meet twice weekly from July through September 2023. The main course material will be the 24 video series, and a curated selection of readings. In addition to providing an intellectual feast, the Master Class will be oriented toward action- and participant-based scientific research on worldview transformation.
The class is free and open to anyone and everyone, but there is an application process and the participants must be willing to devote as much time and effort as they would for a semester-length college course.
Applications will be accepted through midnight on June 15th (class number is limited to 100!). Notifications of acceptance will be sent on June 22, the first session will be on Tuesday, July 11 and the last on Thursday, September 12, 2023.
To read the full course description and practical information, and to apply, please visit the Human Energy Project website.