Stillwater Critical Thinking Club Meetup

Presenter Joe Sherin, M.A., Specialist in Counseling. Retired Century College counselor
Topic: New World, New Mind: Moving Toward Conscious Evolution

Humans have created a new world which is far different from the old world which contributed to our evolutionary development. At this point in human history it is necessary to consciously evolve and deal with the realities of the world we have created since biological and cultural evolution will not occur fast enough. Much of our hard wiring is dysfunctional related to the problems we are facing. The rate of change in the world is expanding at unprecedented rates.

The presentation will deal with concepts in the book New World, New Mind by Robert Ornstein and Paul Ehrlich. Both authors have written extensively in related areas. Ornstein is a world renowned authority and author pertaining to the evolution of the human brain, central nervous system and sensory apparatus. His writing includes articles for the Encyclopedia Britannica. He thinks the human brain is dysfunctional in some areas related to issues we are facing today and makes suggestions designed to help us consciously deal with the problems.

Concepts of scale pertaining to the age of the earth and how they affect our perception will be covered. We will also deal with societal issues related to vested interests that favor the status quo.