Technology, and Education in a One-World Society”
involves a shift in the locus of authority
from external to ‘inner knowing.’ It has
basically turned away from the older scientific
view that ultimate reality is “fundamental
particles,“ and trusts perceptions
of the wholeness and spiritual aspect
of organisms, ecosystems, Gaia and
Cosmos. This implies a spiritual reality,
and ultimate trust in the authority of the
whole. It amounts to a reconciliation of
scientific inquiry with the “perennial wisdom”
at the core of the world’s spiritual
traditions. It continues to involve a confidence
in scientific inquiry, but an inquiry
whose metaphysical base has shifted
from the reductionist, objectivist, positivist
base of 19th- and 20th-century science
to a more holistic and transcendental
metaphysical foundation.
Willis Harman[1]
“The Spiritualization of Science, Technology, and Education in a One-World Society” is the title of an article[2] just published in the European Journal of Nanomedicine (2009 Vol. 2:31-38) by Dr. Martin Erdmann in conjunction with a European Nanomedicine Conference. Dr. Erdmann has been a senior scientist at the University Hospital in Basel, Switzerland, researching the ethical implications of nanotechnology and transhumanism. He is a member of the Discernment Research Group.
You can access the full article HERE. Below we have reproduced the abstract to give you a foretaste of this excellent historical research. As you read, you will see how this ties into several recent posts that we have run recently on the history of the Emergent church movement.[3] It is an incredible fact that Willis Harman, a key subject of Dr. Erdmann’s article, was openly fraternizing with evangelical leaders in an era when they were apparently enamored with his futurism and psycho-technologies. Just how much did they know about Harman’s more sinister pursuits?
Today the Emergent postmodern church stands at the threshold of the convergence of these same techno-spiritual forces of mysticism, mind-altering experiences, pyscho-social mechanics, “worldview” changes, and global irrationality.
Abstract
Western Christianity has always provided a rational and moral basis for the development of science and technology, including clinical Nanomedicine. Yet this sensible basis has been strongly disputed for about half a century. This paper will outline some of the pivotal reasons why influential intellectuals in England and America, mostly in the later part of the 20th century, concluded that irrationality would be a better foundation for the scientific enterprise.
Aldous Huxley envisioned a future world society totally controlled by an elite group of scientists. His bestknown fictional work explicating this dire prospect bore the title Brave New World. Years later he would “revisit” his prognostications only to conclude that he had underestimated the rate of change realizing his darkest fears. Turning to mysticism, both in its meditative and drug-induced varieties, he prepared the way for the burgeoning Human Potential Movement which was initially formed at the Esalen Institute, Big Sur, CA in the early 1960s. The electrical engineering professor at Stanford University Willis W. Harman, who had gotten involved in researching the cognitive and societal effects of LSD consumption, conducted seminars at Esalen on “Human Potentialities”. Under his directorial supervision at the Stanford Research Institute a scientific study entitled “Changing Images of Man” was carried out from 1972-74 with the purpose of changing the “conceptual premises underlying Western society”, including a radical modification of the rational worldview of western scientists. As the president of the Institute of Noetic Sciences from 1977 to 1996, Harman advocated openly a mystical outlook on life claiming that a spiritual approach to scientific research and technological development would greatly enhance our understanding of the monistic unity of the universe.
The Truth:
“Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.” (Ephesians 5:6)
Endnote:
1. Willis Harman’s essay, “Bringing About the Transition to Sustainable Peace” (Part One: “A Changing Worldview”), cited in footnote bb, Erdmann, M Eur J Nanomed 2009; 2:31-38.
http://www.clinam.org/journal/index.php/NanoJournal/issue/view/0002/showToc.html
2.http://www.clinam.org/journal/index.php/NanoJournal/article/view/.7/33.
3. See recent posts titled “Early Experiential Emergents” and “The Emerging Church – Circa 1970” and especially follow the links back to earlier Herescope articles documenting the key role of Willis Harman with evangelical leaders in the late 1970s.
ED NOTE: The new url for this article as of 3/9/11 is:
http://www.clinam.org/images/stories/pdf/volume2.1.pdf