The belief held by some people that humanity, or at least some significant portion of it, is undergoing a paradigmatic shift in consciousness will serve as the launching point for this evening¹s discussion. We will examine the notions of evolution, progress, consciousness, collective consciousness,
complexity, and why they matter, and we will explore the hope that this hypothetical shift in our collective consciousness will save Civilization from its predicament, that is, the twinned crises of ecology and economy,which many of us interpret to be the consequences of civilization¹s dominant
worldview. We also want to explore the approaches that have been suggested for facilitating the raising of awareness, both individually and collectively, and the numerous obstacles that have presented themselves along the way. This discussion is the latest of an ongoing thread that has wound its way through PST¹s fourteen years and through the human dialogue, itself.

PRODUCER: Carleton Schade

For about a decade now I have been researching the many facets of the ecological crisis and the human predicament. In 2010, I co-authored a paper with Dr. Pimentel of Cornell University in the journal Environment, Development and Sustainability, entitled ³Population Crash: Prospects for
Famine in the Twenty-First Century.² This was pulled from the second chapter of a book project entitled Dieback: the Science and Soul of the Coming Collapse. This October talk at PST comes mostly from its sixth chapter, where the salvation potential of the evolution of consciousness is analyzed. I received the initial encouragement for this project by friends and from the audiences at Poetry Science Talks. Thank you.