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What Does An Ecological Civilization Look Like?
ILLUSTRATIONS BY DELPHINE LEE/YES! MAGAZINE What Does An Ecological Civilization Look Like? A society based on natural ecology might seem like a far-off utopia—yet communities everywhere are already creating it. As a new, saner administration sets up shop in Washington, D.C., there are plenty of policy initiatives this country desperately needs. Beyond a national plan for […]
The world on the brink of the abyss. Looking at the real danger
The world on the brink of the abyss. Looking at the real danger The neoliberal ideology of unrestrained markets has led to a global crisis. Humanity now faces an existential threat as the result of global dominance by corporations, whose ultimate goal is at odds with human flourishing Back in 1947, as the world was […]
The Ideology of Human Supremacy
The Ideology of Human Supremacy The somber truth is that the vast bulk of nature’s staggering abundance has already disappeared. We live in a world characterized primarily by the relative silence and emptiness of its natural spaces. Underlying this devastation is the ideology of human supremacy—claiming innate superiority over nonhuman forms of life. But is […]
Solving the climate crisis requires the end of capitalism
Solving the climate crisis requires the end of capitalism Overcoming the climate crisis will require a shift away from our growth-based, corporate-dominated global system General view during the Global Climate Strike March on October 02, 2020 in Durban, South Africa. According to media reports, the group demanded that individuals and governments must take stronger action […]
Nature is a jazz band, not a machine
Nature is a jazz band, not a machine We treat it so at our peril From genetic engineering to geoengineering, we treat nature as though it’s a machine. This view of nature has deep roots in Western thought, all the way to Descartes and Hobbs, but it’s a fundamental misconception with potentially disastrous consequences, argues […]
Wisdom Traditions, Science and the Search for Meaning
Wisdom Traditions, Science and the Search for Meaning Jeremy Lent has taken on an audacious task for himself – synthesizing what he calls the “cognitive history of humanity.” His 2017 book The Patterning Instinct integrates a vast academic and scientific literature to describe humanity’s search for meaning. This “archaeological exploration of the mind,” ranging from hunter-gatherers to […]
Introduction to The Web of Meaning
Introduction to The Web of Meaning Ed. note: This excerpt from the Web of Meaning is published with the permission of the author. As our civilization careens toward a precipice of climate breakdown, ecological destruction, and gaping inequality, people are losing their existential moorings. Our dominant worldview has passed its expiration date: it’s based on […]
The Five Real Conspiracies You Need to Know About
The Five Real Conspiracies You Need to Know About While millions of people are spellbound by false conspiracy theories, the real conspiracies that are wrecking our world go about their business unheeded. Here are five genuine threats that everyone should know about—and take action on. The world is awash in a deluge of dangerous conspiracy theories. […]
Coronavirus Spells the End of the Neoliberal Era. What’s Next?
Coronavirus Spells the End of the Neoliberal Era. What’s Next? Coronavirus is a political crucible, melting down and reshaping current norms. Will the new era be a “Fortress Earth” or a harbinger of a transformed society based on a new set of values? Think Bigger Whatever you might be thinking about the long-term impacts of the […]
Embracing Interconnectedness
Embracing Interconnectedness Ed. note: This piece is a response to the Toward a Great Ethics Transition Forum on the Great Transition Initiative website. It is of the utmost importance to establish the right framework of values for the deep transformation of civilization that is needed. As I have laid out in The Patterning Instinct, different cultures […]
Excerpt from The Patterning Instinct: Can We Transform Our Society for a Flourishing Future?
Excerpt from The Patterning Instinct: Can We Transform Our Society for a Flourishing Future? Ed. note: Excerpted from the final two chapters of Jeremy Lent’s award-winning book, The Patterning Instinct: A Cultural History of Humanity’s Search for Meaning, (Prometheus, 2017) which explores the different ways cultures have patterned meaning into the cosmos, and reveals how various […]
What Will You Say to Your Grandchildren?
What Will You Say to Your Grandchildren? Photograph by Nathaniel St. Clair Facing oncoming climate disaster, some argue for “Deep Adaptation”—that we must prepare for inevitable collapse. However, this orientation is dangerously flawed. It threatens to become a self-fulfilling prophecy by diluting the efforts toward positive change. What we really need right now is Deep […]
We Need an Ecological Civilization Before It’s Too Late
We Need an Ecological Civilization Before It’s Too Late In the face of climate breakdown and ecological overshoot, alluring promises of “green growth” are no more than magical thinking. We need to restructure the fundamentals of our global cultural/economic system to cultivate an “ecological civilization”: one that prioritizes the health of living systems over short-term wealth […]
Supplemental energy puts humans in charge
Supplemental energy puts humans in charge Energy is a subject that is greatly misunderstood. Its role in our lives is truly amazing. We humans are able to live and move because of the energy that we get from food. We count this energy in calories. Green plants are also energy dependent. In photosynthesis, plants use energy […]
Steven Pinker’s Ideas About Progress Are Fatally Flawed. These Eight Graphs Show Why.
Steven Pinker’s Ideas About Progress Are Fatally Flawed. These Eight Graphs Show Why. It’s time to reclaim the mantle of “Progress” for progressives. By falsely tethering the concept of progress to free market economics and centrist values, Steven Pinker has tried to appropriate a great idea for which he has no rightful claim. In Enlightenment Now: […]
