Tag: wisdom

Animal emotions and empathy with Frans de Waal

Do animals show empathy? Are there any signs of morality in animal societies? Can a monkey distinguish right from wrong? And what are the standards of what is right and what is not? Does morality evolve in time both for human societies and animal societies?

It is hard to imagine that empathy—a characteristic so basic to the human species that it emerges early in life, and is accompanied by strong physiological reactions—came into existence only when our lineage split off from that of the apes. It must be far older than that. Examples of empathy in other animals would suggest a long evolutionary history to this capacity in humans. Over the last several decades, we’ve seen increasing evidence of empathy in other species. Emotions suffuse much of the language employed by students of animal behavior — from “social bonding” to “alarm calls” — yet are often avoided as explicit topic in scientific discourse. Given the increasing interest of human psychology in the emotions, and the neuroscience on animal emotions such as fear and attachment, the taboo that has hampered animal research in this area is outdated. The main point is to separate emotions from feelings, which are subjective experiences that accompany the emotions. Whereas science has no access to animal feelings, animal emotions are as observable and measurable as human emotions. They are mental and bodily states that potentiate behavior appropriate to both social and nonsocial situations. The expression of emotions in face and body language is well known, the study of which began with Darwin. Frans de Waal will discuss early ideas about animal emotions and draw upon research on empathy and the perception of emotions in primates to make the point that the study of animal emotions is a necessary complement to the study of behavior. Emotions are best viewed as the organizers of adaptive responses to environmental stimuli. If you like this kind of stuff you should read: Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?

David Korten – Replacing the Suicide Economy

David Korten is an economist, author, activist, and prominent critic of corporate globalization. He is perhaps best known for his bestselling 1995 book, When Corporations Rule the World – an examination of market libertarians’ twisting of famed economist Adam Smith’s teachings and a vision of an alternative sustainable economy based on small-scale, localized cooperative enterprises. He was named an Utne Reader visionary in 2011. His publications are required reading in university courses around the world. Korten is also the cofounder and chair of YES! Magazine, a nonprofit publication focused on sustainability, alternative economics and peace.

Riane Eisler speaks at Collective Trauma Summit 2021

Dr. Riane Eisler was a part of the Collective Trauma Summit 2021, an online event to explore how to work with individual, ancestral, and collective trauma. Eisler was a featured speaker and delivered a talk about shifting from the “trauma factories” of Domination Systems to Partnership Systems.

Probing Process & Reality – “Why Whitehead?”

“Probing Process & Reality” is a six-week course, John B. Cobb, Jr. and Tripp Fuller provide an introduction to Alfred North Whitehead’s masterpiece. In this introduction to the course, Dr. Cobb responds to the question of why Whitehead’s work worth exploring today.

Roman Krznaric | The Good Ancestor: A Radical Prescription for Long-Term Thinking | Talks at Google

Philosopher Roman Krznaric discusses his most recent book “The Good Ancestor: A Radical Prescription for Long-Term Thinking”. Krznaric explores six ways we can expand our time horizons to confront the long-term challenges of our age— from the threats of climate change to the lack of planning for a global pandemic. Do we have what it takes to become the good ancestors that future generations deserve?

Roman Krznaric writes about the power of ideas to change society. Named by The Observer as one of Britain’s leading philosophers, his writings are widely popular amongst political and ecological campaigners, education reformers, social entrepreneurs and designers. His books, including Empathy, The Wonderbox and Carpe Diem Regained, have been published in more than 20 languages. His new book, “The Good Ancestor: A Radical Prescription for Long-Term Thinking”, was published in July 2020, and has been described by U2’s The Edge as ‘the book our children’s children will thank us for reading’.

 

Integrating Ancient Wisdom & Modern Science to Create a Meaningful Life – Jeremy Lent

As our civilization careens toward a precipice of climate breakdown, ecological destruction, and gaping inequality, people are losing their existential moorings. Our dominant worldview tells us we’re split between mind and body, separate from each other, and at odds with the natural world. This worldview has passed its expiration date: it’s based on a series of flawed assumptions that have been superseded by modern scientific findings.

In this talk, author Jeremy Lent will discuss themes from his new book, The Web of Meaning, revealing how another worldview is possible—based on our deep interconnectedness with all of life. Showing how modern scientific knowledge echoes the ancient wisdom of earlier cultures, the presentation weaves together findings from modern systems thinking, evolutionary biology, and cognitive neuroscience with insights from Buddhism, Taoism, and Indigenous wisdom.

Jeremy Lent, described by Guardian journalist George Monbiot as “one of the greatest thinkers of our age”, is an author and speaker whose work investigates the underlying causes of our civilization’s existential crisis and explores pathways toward a life-affirming future. His award-winning book, The Patterning Instinct: A Cultural History of Humanity’s Search for Meaning, examines the way humans have made meaning from the cosmos from hunter-gatherer times to the present day. His new book, The Web of Meaning: Integrating Science and Traditional Wisdom to Find Our Place in the Universe, offers a solid foundation for an integrative worldview that could lead humanity to a sustainable, and flourishing future. He is the founder of the nonprofit Liology Institute and writes topical articles exploring the deeper patterns of political and cultural developments at Patterns of Meaning. Author website: https://www.jeremylent.com

Our History Is NOT What We Are Told! Ancient Civilizations – Graham Hancock

Topics in the video include: Portals to the Universe intricately placed in astronomical alignment, may have once opened portals to the universe, permitting entry for entities from other worlds and dimensions. Tower of Babel – Legends tells us that language once unified all of humanity, but a detrimental blunder led to this once-unifying force becoming a means of mass confusion. Beyond the biblical account, researchers found most modern languages do indeed stem from a singular matrix language. The intricate tunnels and cave systems throughout the American Southwest have been used for sacred ceremonies and military programs alike. Piece together Hopi and Zuni folklore with eyewitness accounts to unlock the secrets of the four corners and its history of extraterrestrial influence. Is there an ancient code which points the way to inner earth civilizations like Agharta and Patala? Oral traditions from indigenous cultures, throughout the world, all point to ancient advanced civilizations thriving deep under the earth. Was Göbekli Tepe built as a sacred interstellar portal connecting the people of Earth with extraterrestrial civilizations? Denisovans: They Might Be Giants Is there a kernel of truth to be found within the ancient legends of giants? Lost Cities Beneath the Ocean. Arcane accounts from Egypt, Greece, Rome and Sumeria tell startling similar stories of the oceanic destruction of advanced civilizations which vanished into the world’s oceans and forgotten to the ravages of time.

Full Documentary. The Men of Fifth World – Planet Doc Full Documentaries

In the Kakadu National Park lies Ubirrok, where the Rainbow Serpent stopped after creating the world and was painted on a rock so that people could see her. Over time our forefathers left on the rocks a complete collection of images which depict their way of life and their beliefs. On these ancient rocks they also drew figures of the men of that time, warriors and hunters, who used the same spears and harpoons as we do now.