My name is Jeff Carreira and I started this blog as a vehicle through which to share my ongoing investigation into the relationship between the idea of evolution, the expereince of enlightenment and the ideas of some of the great American philosophers.
For many years I have studied, practiced and worked with others to co-create the contemporary spiritual path of Evolutionary Enlightenment. Recently I was amazed to discover that this teaching could be understood as part of a stream of spiritual and philosophical thought that traced back through American history to Ralph Waldo Emerson, passing through William James and emerging currently in the work of Andrew Cohen, Ken Wilber and others. The ideas of these visionaries have similarities that are rooted in the foundational attitudes embedded in their shared cultural heritage.
America was birthed (at least in part) by courageous individuals who crossed an ocean and walked straight into an unknown wilderness to carve out a nation. The American character was battered into existence during a relentless struggle for individual and national survival.
That character is typified by utilitarian attitudes, utopian aspirations, action orientations and mystical inclinations.
This blog is dedicated to exploring how these four elements weave through the spiritual and philosophical tradition of America and create in large part the way we (at least we Americans) think and how we see reality.
Along the way I will share with you everything I find that will help you in your own quest for truth and meaning.
Jeanine McMahon
/ February 4, 2009Hello Jeff
This was wonderful to read (including your blogs so far). Thanks for taking us so deeply into the psyche of the American people and its great thinkers. I look forward to reading more of your investigation…
Jeanine
Jeff Carreira
/ February 4, 2009Hello Jeanine,
Thank you for your encouragment. Please feel free to comment or take these investigations further with your own throughts any time.
Jeff
Bo Wilson
/ April 4, 2009Under our present religious belief systems, coupled with a political system catering to liberal views, mankind will make no progress until it understand the demands of evolution.
Evolution requires struggle in all living things on down to amoeba. Otherwise, nothing changes.
Nothing evolves.
A welfare state is contrary to the needs of evolution.
Bob
Jeff Carreira
/ April 5, 2009Hello Bo, I believe that John Dewey was on to something in this regard when he recognized that evolution only rewards the opportunity for more evolution. So we need to create belief systems and social systems that maximize people’s potential to grow and in that spirit I would agree that hand-outs enable people to continue to survive without growing and in and of themselves are not enough to solve anyones problems.
Xavier Moutoux
/ October 23, 2009Jeff, the writing on your blog is quite exemplary, and your approach compliments the mission of our site. Kindly consider this an invitation to participate in the Truth Contest. http://www.truthcontest.com
I could not find an e-mail contact on this blog, but feel free to e-mail me at the address I provided. We would love to stay in touch.
Keep up the good work!
Brian Bradley
/ March 31, 2010Really enjoyed the program in Philly on Saturday. The break out sessions with Lynn have certainly stirred things up – has honestly been a bit difficult to concentrate at work since Sat.
Set up the RSS feed in Outlook – looking forward to keeping up with your work.
Thanks for Saturday.
Bob Wilson
/ March 31, 2010The oft repeated phrase about “survival of the fittest” has nothing to do with strength which some societies have used for political purposes.
It can refer to several microbes where the smallest can fit through a hole others can’t.
Humans need struggle, if only to get a promotion at the office, or discover something. Or, to climb a mountain or sky dive. Only then does evolution work to improve humanity. Our politics need to account for this need.
axlm01
/ August 23, 2010Thanks. Interesting and helpful blog. You could put up a page that links out to other interesting people you might know.
Nicole P
/ October 4, 2010Hello Jeff,
I just wanted to thank you for making this blog. It really makes philosophy incredibly accessible, even to us laypeople.
As a college Composition professor, I recently assigned my students a unit on world views. The unit requires them to read about other’s world views and to write about their own. Your posts– “Test Drive a World View” and “Why Do World Views Clash?”– made an excellent introduction. Thanks!
I am also encouraging my students to respond to your blog posts, so if you see an immediate influx of comments, I apologize.
Keep up the great work!
Thanks again!
Best,
NP
thethinkker
/ September 19, 2011May I ask anyone regarding the authenticity of Andrew Cohen? Is he a self-proclaimed philosopher or a businessman? Thanks.
David Vaughan
/ December 8, 2011Really inspired by Intro to Evol Philosophy from NYC but you need to recover volume of Jeff’s answer to questions at end. Could get any of it and I was really wanting to. Thanks.
John Slade
/ February 5, 2012Thanks for your close reading of Emerson for what he had to say about evolution. Emerson is a personal hero of mine and a lightning rod for another: Walt Whitman. Whitman too was a self-proclaimed “evolutionist” and his poems are rich with those allusions.