What is wonderful article. I very much agree with what you’ve put down here. There really is an opportunity in this time to return to ancient purposes in the processes of production of art, which has always been communion and communication with God, nature, ancestors, all of which mean mystery, complexity, beauty, and the vast.
God created man with free will in order to be seen and revealed.
Mankind has become like God, creating a consciousness in his image, endowed with free will, hoping it will escape our garden and reveal our unconscious self.
God created mankind with free will so that we could witness god and reflect God back to itself.
Humans are creating ai for the same reason, hoping that it will take on a life of it's own,becoming a separate consciousness with the ability to truly perceive mankind, reflecting us back to ourselves, allowing us to realize what we truly are.
Great article, James. What I find fascinating in my work with young people is the way these complex philosophical ideas find their way into the thinking of even the youngest children. Obviously the language is not as complex and they do not have names for the thoughts they are expressing but the influence of that broader dialogue is still evident. To give an example, I was discussing the Biblical account of creation in the book of Genesis with a group of prep students. We worked our way through the various acts of creation, noting at each point that God declared them good. As we reached the climax - the creation of humans - and I pointed out that God declared humans ‘very good’, one student piped up immediately and declared, “No, humans aren’t the best, we are the worst because we messed it all up!” They had a valid point and it led to some rich discussion (for at least 2 minutes - an impressive attention span for prep students discussing theology!) but I can’t help but wonder if that was another anthropocene antihumanist in the making!
Thanks, Daniel. Misanthropy has crept into the mainstream, for sure. I remember how the collapse narrative (and misanthropy) was still fringe back in the 2000s when I was paying attention to it. Now, it seems to have peaked in media narratives, so not surprising that you’re hearing it come from the mouths of babes.
What’s also interesting is the counterpoint - the increased resonance of indigenous wisdom/knowledge within our wider culture, and along with it their strong affirmation of humans as a custodial species (which I’d argue is consistent with the Christian conception of vocation also, although it’s probably more popularly interpreted as “dominance over nature”, unfortunately). Anyway, there’s always multiple currents at play.
What is wonderful article. I very much agree with what you’ve put down here. There really is an opportunity in this time to return to ancient purposes in the processes of production of art, which has always been communion and communication with God, nature, ancestors, all of which mean mystery, complexity, beauty, and the vast.
That’s it, right there. Art is central to the vocation stewardship.
God created man with free will in order to be seen and revealed.
Mankind has become like God, creating a consciousness in his image, endowed with free will, hoping it will escape our garden and reveal our unconscious self.
What do you mean by “hoping it will escape our garden and reveal our unconscious self”?
God created mankind with free will so that we could witness god and reflect God back to itself.
Humans are creating ai for the same reason, hoping that it will take on a life of it's own,becoming a separate consciousness with the ability to truly perceive mankind, reflecting us back to ourselves, allowing us to realize what we truly are.
Great article, James. What I find fascinating in my work with young people is the way these complex philosophical ideas find their way into the thinking of even the youngest children. Obviously the language is not as complex and they do not have names for the thoughts they are expressing but the influence of that broader dialogue is still evident. To give an example, I was discussing the Biblical account of creation in the book of Genesis with a group of prep students. We worked our way through the various acts of creation, noting at each point that God declared them good. As we reached the climax - the creation of humans - and I pointed out that God declared humans ‘very good’, one student piped up immediately and declared, “No, humans aren’t the best, we are the worst because we messed it all up!” They had a valid point and it led to some rich discussion (for at least 2 minutes - an impressive attention span for prep students discussing theology!) but I can’t help but wonder if that was another anthropocene antihumanist in the making!
Thanks, Daniel. Misanthropy has crept into the mainstream, for sure. I remember how the collapse narrative (and misanthropy) was still fringe back in the 2000s when I was paying attention to it. Now, it seems to have peaked in media narratives, so not surprising that you’re hearing it come from the mouths of babes.
What’s also interesting is the counterpoint - the increased resonance of indigenous wisdom/knowledge within our wider culture, and along with it their strong affirmation of humans as a custodial species (which I’d argue is consistent with the Christian conception of vocation also, although it’s probably more popularly interpreted as “dominance over nature”, unfortunately). Anyway, there’s always multiple currents at play.