4/23 Bohm Dialogue — A Sustainable World and Human Nature

What would it take to live sustainably on planet Earth and are humans capable of it? Humans obviously have to reduce pollution and consumption of resources to sustainable levels and give Earth’s ecosystems, oceans and atmosphere space and time to recover. But that’s not enough – any improvements can be quickly overtaken by population growth.

The road forward should be  rational and obvious. The knowledge and technology exists. Why don’t we just do it? What’s stopping us? Lack of agreement on the problem and the solution is a big stopper.

Is there a flaw in human nature? Or is the flaw in a civilization structured to be dependent on continual expansion? In 1943 Abraham Maslow proposed a useful map of human instinct called The Hierarchy of Needs. Psychologists quibble over the details but there is general agreement that it is basically valid. The basic idea is that lower survival and security needs must be met before the higher needs like Love, Esteem and Self Actualization become active, the very needs we need in order to care about each other and this planet. Hmm … we know that our hunter-gather ancestors were egalitarian and sharing – is there something about civilized life that tends to keep us down and so from agreeing on the ‘obvious and rational course’?

Join us to listen to what others think and to share what you think.  The Religious Exploration Salon is a group that meets 3rd Sundays to discuss various topics in the format called Bohm Dialogue which emphasizes respectful listening and balanced, synergistic sharing. For more details about how Dialogue works, please see this intro.

Everyone is welcome. You are welcome to think about the topic beforehand but no preparation is required or expected — come as you are with whatever thoughts/intuitions you have, ready to listen, learn and contribute.  We next meet Sunday April 23rd at 7pm in the Brackett Room.

Contact Paul Reising, Tom Yelton or Jan Hardenbergh for more information.