Knowledge is power. Rather, knowledge is happiness, because to have knowledge – broad, deep knowledge – is to know true ends from false, and lofty things from low. To know the thoughts and deeds that have marked man’s progress is to feel the great heart-throbs of humanity through the centuries; and if one does not … Continue reading Knowledge Is Happiness Helen Keller (1903)
Man is condemned to be free. Condemned, because he did not create himself, in other respect is free; because, once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does. The Existentialist does not believe in the power of passion. He will never agree that a sweeping passion is a ravaging torrent which fatally … Continue reading Man Is Condemned to Be Free Jean-Paul Sartre
AustraliaAustriaBrazilCanadaChinaCzech RepublicEgyptFranceGermanyGlobalIndiaItalyJapanMexicoNetherlandsPolandSaudia ArabiaSingaporeSpainTurkeyUAEUnited KingdomUnited States As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission when you purchase a book via this site. Posts where this book is embedded A Brief History of Knowledge 200,000 years of human history Artificial and Natural Intelligence Exploring the essential difference between natural and artificial forms of intelligence Changing Minds Through … Continue reading An Intimate History of Humanity by Theodore Zeldin (1995)
No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of they friends’s or of thine own were. … Continue reading No Man Is an Island John Donne
Gurteen Knowledge Blog June 19, 2021, 21:05I have long thought that to help cure many of the ills in the world that all we needed to do was “to care more.” To care more about each other and to care more about our planet. To say that “love is the answer” seemed a little too twee, … Continue reading Is Love the Answer? It may seem corny, but love is the answer
Gurteen Knowledge Blog July 2, 2021, 16:16I have written in my blook that knowledge alone is not power. But I rather like this definition of knowledge by Jeremy Rifkin in his book The Empathic Civilization. Knowledge Letter: Issue: 253 (Subscribe)Tags: humanity (21) | Jeremy Rifkin (3) | knowledge (64) | power (19) | responsibility (49)RSS: Blog … Continue reading Knowledge Is Not Power Knowledge is an expression of the shared responsibilities for the collective well-being of humanity
For the human species to evolve, the conversation must deepen. Credit: Margaret Mead Posts where this quotation is embedded A Brief History of Knowledge 200,000 years of human history Artificial and Natural Intelligence Exploring the essential difference between natural and artificial forms of intelligence Changing Minds Through Conversation The role of conversation in Derek Black’s transformation Conclusion: Two Worlds … Continue reading For the Human Species to Evolve, the Conversation Must Deepen Margaret Mead
It may seem corny, but love is the answer. Credit: Elon Musk Posts where this quotation is embedded A Brief History of Knowledge 200,000 years of human history Artificial and Natural Intelligence Exploring the essential difference between natural and artificial forms of intelligence Changing Minds Through Conversation The role of conversation in Derek Black’s transformation Conclusion: Two Worlds Living … Continue reading Love Is the Answer Elon Musk
Greed has poisoned men’s souls, has barricaded the world with hate, has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical; our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too … Continue reading Greed Has Poisoned Men’s Souls Charlie Chaplin
Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive. Credit: Dalai Lama Posts where this quotation is embedded A Brief History of Knowledge 200,000 years of human history Artificial and Natural Intelligence Exploring the essential difference between natural and artificial forms of intelligence Changing Minds Through Conversation The role of conversation in Derek Black’s transformation Conclusion: … Continue reading Love and Compassion Are Necessities, Not Luxuries Dalai Lama
We are oddly paradoxical creatures who long to be happy while creating our own suffering. We replay past anguish, anticipate future distress, and stew in self-righteous anger. In Hard to Be Human, Ted Cadsby focuses on five cognitive design flaws that foster underthinking and overreacting and reveals powerful strategies to overcome them. Greedy reductionism Addiction … Continue reading Hard to Be Human: Overcoming Our Five Cognitive Design Flaws by Ted Cadsby (2021)
As a society, we have come to a point where people too often treat one another as objects and opportunities, rather than as fellow human beings. Respecting one another as individuals, or not doing so, seriously impacts the future for all of us. Credit: Gail Pursell Elliott Posts where this quotation is embedded A Brief … Continue reading The Importance of Respect in Society Gail Pursell Elliott
If a chimpanzee ventures into the territory of a different group, it will almost certainly be killed. But a New Yorker can fly to Los Angeles–or Borneo–with very little fear. Psychologists have done little to explain this: for years, they have held that our biology puts a hard upper limit–about 150 people–on the size of … Continue reading The Human Swarm: How Our Societies Arise, Thrive, and Fall by Mark W. Moffett (2019)
AustraliaAustriaBrazilCanadaChinaCzech RepublicEgyptFranceGermanyGlobalIndiaItalyJapanMexicoNetherlandsPolandSaudia ArabiaSingaporeSpainTurkeyUAEUnited KingdomUnited States As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission when you purchase a book via this site. Posts where this book is embedded A Brief History of Knowledge 200,000 years of human history Artificial and Natural Intelligence Exploring the essential difference between natural and artificial forms of intelligence Changing Minds Through … Continue reading The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by David Graeber and David Wengrow (2022)
Spirituality means a deep appreciation, respect, and love for the universe, the world, all life, and humanity — a sense of connectedness, awe, wonder, and curiosity — a deep understanding of being human and alive. Credit: David Gurteen Posts where this quotation is embedded A Brief History of Knowledge 200,000 years of human history Artificial and Natural … Continue reading The Meaning of Spirituality David Gurteen
Gurteen Knowledge Blog February 10, 2023, 15:49In my blook, I have a post titled What is a Real Conversation? where I delve into the various components that define a genuine conversation. Although not all these factors are necessary for a conversation to be considered real, the more present, the closer we get to a true and … Continue reading Real Conversations Are Human Real conversations embody our humanity
The liberal democracy is an artificial environment, carefully crafted to both contain human nature and convert it into an engine of progress. When we grow up within an artificial habitat that values human inventions like reason and fairness and humanity, it can be easy to forget just how tenuous that environment is. It’s easy to … Continue reading The Liberal Democracy Is an Artificial Environment Tim Urban
Gurteen Knowledge Blog June 2, 2023, 14:32I hope you are familiar with the work of Daniel Schmachtenberger. Daniel is a futurist, philosopher, and thought leader in complex systems, existential risk, and global cooperation. In this recent conversation, Artificial Intelligence and The Superorganism with Nate Hagens, Daniel discusses the risk posed by artificial intelligence (AI) to our … Continue reading The Risks Posed by Artificial Intelligence A conversation between Nate Hagens and Daniel Schmachtenberger
Introduction: Our Evolutionary Journey Our Past Evolutionary Journey Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter We have an anthropocentric tendency to see ourselves separate from the rest of the universe – as if we are somehow above or distinct from the natural world. Yet, when we examine things closely, we find that we are an intimate … Continue reading We Are Stardust We are literally part of the universe, not separate from it
What Is the Purpose of Life? ** Longtermism Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter “What is the purpose of humanity?” contemplates the meaning of humanity as a whole. Not “What is my purpose?” but “What is our collective purpose?” The purpose of humanity, specifically in the context of society, like the previous two questions … Continue reading What Is the Purpose of Humanity ** What is our collective purpose?
What Is the Purpose of Humanity ** Introduction: Our Evolutionary Journey Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter Longtermism is a philosophy focused on doing the most cumulative good possible from a civilization-scale perspective. It argues we should prioritize reducing existential risks and positively shaping humanity’s long-term potential, as the future contains vast potential value. … Continue reading Longtermism Doing the most good possible from a civilization-scale perspective