Dear ToK Society, I applaud the effort of the ToK Executive Committee to try and devise a means of rectifying the immense confusion generated by the WWW, for lack of a better way to express the problem. Starting with the conflating of information and knowledge as if they are one and the same, and (perhaps) ending with the way that computer technology feeds into our already over the top narcissism, somehow there has to be a way to reassert relavent values into the processes of thought and action. I know that I am not a social scientist, but I am a member of society, so I have a deep concern for the direction that we as a species are (inadvertently) divesting ourselves of our past and tossing a Hail Mary pass. In my own small way I have joined forces with the Big History movement fostered by David Christian, a historian from Australia who teaches world history starting with the Big Bang. I have attached a paper to be publlshed in The Big History Journal (in press) merging of evolutionary biology and history as a way of  'appreciating' how we are connected through such big picture concepts as a continuum, not as silos of disconnected thoughts. As academicians we have a responsibility to do something about the chaotic way in which society has been disrupted by computerization. It's only a tool, not a life style dammit! 

Dear TOK Society Members,

 

  I am pleased to share with you a blog the TOK Executive Committee (i.e., Edward Kroger, Joe Michalski, Steve Quackenbush, Waldemar Schmidt and myself) published this morning, titled Toward an Age of Clarity: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/theory-knowledge/201903/toward-the-age-clarity

 

Please check it out and share as broadly as possible. We think this is an important message to disseminate and get people talking about. Here is the “preface”:

 

In an ideologically-fractured culture, it is all-too-easy to lose sight of our common humanity. While there are many reasons for our collective failure to achieve consensus in the spheres of ethics and politics, we believe that our current spiritual malaise reflects, at least in part, a breakdown in our very capacity to share wisdom. As such, we believe it is important to find ways to communicate that free us from unnecessary confusions and allow bridges to be built between refined knowledge systems and fundamental common-sense propositions. In short, if our society is to move from confusion to clarity, wisdom must be consolidated and shared in a way that fosters understanding and collective well-being.  

 

Would love to hear reactions or thoughts or hopes if people have them.

Best,

Gregg

 

___________________________________________

Gregg Henriques, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Graduate Psychology
216 Johnston Hall
MSC 7401
James Madison University
Harrisonburg, VA 22807
(540) 568-7857 (phone)
(540) 568-4747 (fax)

Be that which enhances dignity and well-being with integrity.

Check out my Theory of Knowledge blog at Psychology Today at:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/theory-knowledge

 

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