The Daily Evolver

Today we look at the case, heard last week in the U.S. Supreme Court, of the Colorado baker who refuses to bake a cake for a gay couple’s wedding. The case pits competing American values of freedom of speech (and freedom from compelled speech) and the principle of tolerance and equal access in the public spheres of life. It’s a very significant case, the first to deal with on-the-ground ramifications of the 2015 ruling that legalized gay marriage nationwide, and it will lay out a powerful precedence going forward. Jeff and Corey have a split decision. What do you think?

The emergence of the internet and social media has been spectacularly fruitful for the evolution of humanity. They connect the world, put all information at our fingertips and provide endless opportunities for self-expression, community and creativity. In recent times, however, we have seen the dark side of technology arise: customized newsfeeds that seal us off from opposing world views, stoking our tribal identities. Data collection systems that compromise our privacy in ways we not may not understand. Sophisticated feedback loops that keep us hooked and threaten our peace of mind. In this episode Jeff talks with David Riordan, Vice President of Media for Integral Life, about some of the ways we can inhabit the virtual world more safely and intelligently.

The rise of capitalism, starting a couple hundred years ago, has been a spectacularly positive development for humanity, creating enormous material wealth that raised billions of people out of poverty. In the last 40 years, however, it has been gamed so that the vast majority of economic growth flows to the elites who own and manage the systems of wealth creation. The Republican tax plan doubles down on that trend, reducing taxes for corporations and the rich at the expense of social programs that help the poor. Jeff and Corey discuss the ramifications.

Jeff talks with Dr. Keith Witt about the great consciousness raising our culture is going through regarding sexual harassment. Dr Keith’s prescription for a healthier, safer future: more sex! He advocates for a pro-sex culture where sexuality is normalized from childhood, where power dynamics are above board, and where sexual polarity is given its full, juicy expression in a container of mutual adult consent.

The hopes and fears surrounding the advent of artificial intelligence are fantastical, from Ray Kurzweil’s promise of spiritual machines to Elon Musk’s warnings of killer robots. And yes, some version of that future is barreling toward us at an ever-increasing speed, says philosopher of technology professor Michael Zimmerman, who is Jeff’s guest today. In this episode Michael and Jeff make important distinctions between artificial intelligence and consciousness itself. Machines have become proficient at handling information (e.g. the phone in your pocket), they are learning how to self-observe and learn, and they may soon be able to “present” as human. But will they ever hope and dream – or plot and scheme? Jeff argues that a system of material components, however complex, will never create a shred of interiority. Michael is not so sure, and offers a couple scenarios that give Jeff a scare!

Steve McIntosh joins Jeff and Corey for an in-depth exploration into the energetic qualities of the three primary virtues of Goodness, Beauty, and Truth. Steve describes how these virtues can both enrich our cognitive understanding of the universe around us, while also deepening and reinvigorating our own ongoing spiritual practice. If you’d like to go deeper into Steve’s work, you should pick up his wonderful book, THE PRESENCE OF THE INFINITE: The Spiritual Experience of Beauty, Truth, and Goodness. For a brief synopsis of the Good, the Beautiful, and the True, be sure to check out this video by Ken Wilber, as well as the written text by Corey deVos.

Today Jeff considers comments from “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski which imply that women have an extra responsibility to resist Donald Trump. He also quotes former first lady Michelle Obama saying that if a woman voted for Trump it is because “[you] don’t like your [own] voice. You like the thing you’re told to like.” This is a projection of progressive (green altitude) values on all women, and is rightly seen as disrespectful by women who don’t share those values. But as a feature of culture it is nothing new. It turns out that women have long been held to higher ideals of moral development, a history that Jeff sketches starting with the famous frontier story of Cynthia Ann Parker, who was kidnapped by the Comanche Indians for 24 years — and refused to be rescued.

Ann Coulter’s provocative personality often obscures two aspects of her that are far more important: she is a devoted Christian and committed nationalist. She thinks multiculturalism is dangerous and that Western culture rooted in a Judeo-Christian tradition creates superior societies. She advocated for Trump enthusiastically, and wrote a popular book In Trump We Trust, E Pluribus Awesome! to support his election. So how is she feeling a year in to Trump’s presidency? Not altogether happy, considering her recent column, Headlines From an Administration That is Not Putting American First. In this episode Jeff contemplates the views of Coulter and her nationalist comrades on the right.

Thanksgiving is such a wonderful holiday: few obligations, a nice dinner and a reminder to be grateful for life’s blessings – and the blessing of life itself! Gratitude is itself a practice in many spiritual traditions and it is a worthy part of an integral practice. In this episode I take a look at the power of gratitude through an integral lens. Happy Thanksgiving!

In this episode I reflect on a conversation Corey DeVos and I had with African American scholar Greg Thomas, where we explored what a more integral approach to race relations might look like. Greg is influenced by his mentor, Albert Murray, who, writing in the 60’s challenged the postmodern narrative that reduced race (and much of human relations in general) to hard constructs of victim and oppressor.   A more adequate view includes human interiority, the making of meaning, and the lived experience of people who are fully inhabiting their lives and culture. It includes a connection to the land and all the flavors of heritage that make up what Murray called the Omni-Americans, who have been given the best of culture from all times and places.   I further consider these insights in light of a column, “This American Land”, written by David Brooks and published in the New York Times a few months ago. In it Brooks seeks to soothe our cultural polarization by finding a common identity in the American land. He offers three character types drawn from the ways Americans have related to our nation’s natural bounty: the Steward, the Pioneer and the Elevated Spirit. Each offers us a piece of what is needed to “create a revival of values, fraternity and a binding American story.” The postmodern critique of Brooks’ thesis is that while these archetypes may provide a national ethos for white people, they do not capture the experience of America’s oppressed minorities.  I propose that an emerging integral view can include the truth of both perspectives, and thus offer a larger ethos for us all.