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SUMMARY:Education: The Evolutionary Engine of Civilisation - Partow Izadi
DTSTART:20230326T140000Z
DTEND:20230326T153000Z
UID:TALK197365@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Cambridge University Bahá'í Society
DESCRIPTION:Ongoing\, accelerating and escalating global crises may lead s
 ome to despair. From an evolutionary perspective\, however\, this may not 
 be just another random resurgence of trouble and conflict in the world: we
  may be experiencing birth pangs of the next phase in the unfolding of civ
 ilisation.\n\nThis period of intense transformation is ripe with occasions
  for genuine breakthrough as well as spectres of catastrophic breakdown. H
 umankind is becoming painfully aware of its essential interdependence and 
 unity – learning\, in profound and tangible ways\, that "the earth is bu
 t one country\, and mankind its citizens" (Bahá'u'lláh\, circa 1880).\n\
 nFrom simple bands of hunter-gatherers\, our species has emerged\, through
  increasing complexity and deepening cooperation\, into tribal societies\,
  city-states and nation-states. Now we stand at the threshold of an emergi
 ng world society and the possibility of global civilisation.\n\nThere is a
  fundamentally ethical dimension to this evolution: from primordial animal
 istic egoism and self-love\, advancing towards various degrees of limited 
 social altruism and loyalties\, and now approaching the possibility of gen
 uine universal coherence and belonging.\n\nAlongside this ethical dimensio
 n\, workings of an educational momentum can be seen: human potential would
  have remained dormant\, unrealised\, were it not for some form of active 
 educational influence – left to mere ‘cumulative self-learning’\, ne
 ither individual humans nor our collective species could have attained to 
 their inherent potentialities.\n\nThe effects of this educational impulse 
 run like a story line in the annals of history. Responding\, though reluct
 antly\, to the promptings of this momentum\, peoples have progressively at
 tained to the intellectual\, moral and spiritual capacities that serve to 
 civilise human character. Today\, the opportunities offered by a profoundl
 y global perspective give this age-long process entirely new dimensions an
 d new meaning\, opening civilisational prospects undreamt of in earlier ag
 es.\n\nExploring this narrative of recurring social\, ethical and spiritua
 l education can help us to understand the dynamics of constructive and des
 tructive forces in history.\n\nDr Partow Izadi explores these insights in 
 a conversational session organised by the Cambridge University Bahá'í So
 ciety. Dr Izadi is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Lapland. His are
 as of expertise include systems theory\, global education\, evolution of c
 ivilisation and universal ethos.\n\nRegistration page: https://www.festiva
 l.cam.ac.uk/events/education-evolutionary-engine-civilisation
LOCATION:Sidney Sussex College\, William Mong Hall\, Sidney Street\, CB2 3
 HU
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