The Daily Evolver

Reflections on Death – An evolution-inspired contemplation on what dies and what … maybe doesn’t. Full episode here.

Do We Care More About People Who Look Like Us? – Some thoughts about moral development from my series of episodes on the war on Ukraine. Full episode is here.

This week political philosopher Steve McIntosh joins me to discuss global warming through the lens of cultural evolution. We focus on solving the “political will problem” that is currently stymying our collective response to the climate crisis. Steve argues that the progressive agenda on climate needs an upgrade:

“Preserving the health of our natural environment is crucial for our collective well-being, which is why we can no longer indulge in the idealistic fantasy that America’s economy and energy systems can be immediately and radically transformed. Some prominent progressive voices are calling for the overthrow of capitalism, but this kind of absolutistic rhetoric only serves to block the formation of a larger national consensus around the most timely and realistic near-term approaches.”

Steve’s ideas are fully fleshed out in the Institute for Cultural Evolution’s Policy Paper on Climate Change. It is one of a series of innovative “Win-Win-Win” policy analyses created by the think tank that address the issues of the day with the goal of providing key “wins” for each of the three major worldviews. I hope you enjoy the episode! – Jeff Salzman

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Steve McIntosh is president of the Institute for Cultural Evolution and author of Developmental Politics, How America Can Grow Into a Better Version of Itself. I am a senior fellow of the Institute and a member of its board of directors.

This week I share our collective outrage and heartbreak over the shooting of the Texas schoolchildren and teachers, and manage to offer some hope that this time it will be different, that this shooting will heighten a social pain-point – unstable young men equipped with weapons of war – sufficiently to transcend political polarities. In this episode I ponder:

This is my last regular weekly episode of the season – see you in September!

– Jeff Salzman

Frances Fukuyama is one of our most prominent political philosophers. He is famous for his argument that liberal democracy and free-market capitalism represent “the end of history,” a thesis widely criticized (somewhat unfairly, as I’ll explain) in light of the rise of 21st Century autocracies, especially China and Russia.

In his new book, Liberalism and its Discontents, Fukuyama updates his argument, which he sums up in his recent feature article in the Wall Street Journal: “The Long Arc of Political Progress: A democratic world order is not the inexorable outcome of historical forces, but even amid setbacks, societies are clearly evolving towards equality and individual freedom.”

I’m always happy to see any ideas of cultural evolution reach the mainstream, and Fukuyama does an excellent job of tracing the patterns of human history, including the herky-jerky nature of progress. He makes a strong case that human conditions are getting better in the aggregate. But … what is powering this development? In human terms, how is it that an eight-year-old becomes a twelve-year-old? Is it just because they “make better choices” or “social structures change”?

Alas, this is territory that Fukuyama and most mainstream political writers do not explore. In this episode, I add some insight that I think creates a more integral view. Enjoy! – Jeff Salzman

Sometimes in our psychological development the way forward requires us to go back, to re-explore earlier stages of life to see what is distorted or left unintegrated.

This is the theme of the work of my guest today, developmental psychotherapist Kim Barta. He discusses his approach to personal growth, which is based on the STAGES Model of Development created by well-known developmental theorist Terri O’Fallon (who is also Kim’s sister.). Using psychotherapeutic practices, shadow work and meditation, Kim has devised a comprehensive system of self-exploration with stopovers at every stage of development, designed to bring the gifts and powers of that stage online.

Shoring up our developmental scaffolding in this way makes us able – and worthy – to grow into the higher stages of integral consciousness, which Kim and the STAGES model also beautifully illuminate. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Kim Barta!

– Jeff Salzman

Kim is launching an intensive year-long program, “Shadow and Light” for a cohort of 16 people. (As always when I discuss a product with a guest, I get no compensation.) You can find out more about Kim and all his offerings at Kimbarta.org.

How the STAGES Model lines up with Integral Theory

This week I address a listener’s question about a fascinating subculture arising in the environmental movement: the “post-doomers”, people who, as she writes, “hold the idea that the collapse of civilization as we know it is already well underway, is unstoppable, and will be felt by us here in Comfortable Land through disruption of many kinds in the not-too-distant future.”

Post-doomers find meaning in surrendering to this inevitable doom, much as a hospice patient might find peace – even joy – in the acceptance of their death. Or that their loved ones might find in reconciliation and mourning.

I’m not a doomer. I’m an “I-think-we’ll-muddle-througher” and a chronic both-sidesist. I am allergic to alarmism as well as to those who dismiss their opposition.

But might I be a post-doomer? Can one get the transmission without swallowing the doctrine? Yes, there is no end to environmental suffering, and any path to sustainability will continue to be painful and frightening. Witnessing and grieving this along the way makes us worthy to create a new and better world.

Evolution proceeds through destruction and creation. Fortunately, since the Big Bang, at least, creation wins. I have not only hope but faith that will continue.

Enjoy the episode! – Jeff Salzman

My guest today, Steve Banks, is an accomplished, integrally-inspired composer who is about to drop a fantastic new piece of music that is both classical and cutting edge. It’s called  Blue Pearl: A One World Oratorio and it will be performed for the first time in London next month.

Blue Pearl is itself a fascinating example of integral consciousness arising in an established art form. In its structure it is a classical oratorio, defined as a “large-scale musical work for orchestra and voices, typically a narrative on a religious theme, performed without the use of costumes, scenery, or action. Well-known examples include Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, Handel’s Messiah, and Haydn’s The Creation.”

While Bue Pearl is rooted in the western sacred choral tradition, Steve’s spiritual inspiration is explicitly integral. Fusing several musical styles, his work celebrates the unity-in-diversity of the integral vision. The central image is of the earth as seen from space, the ‘blue pearl”, a fragile, living, conscious planet. The lyrics come from writings by Ken Wilber, Thich Nhat Hanh and Steve himself.

The world premiere is May 14th at the St. Giles Cripplegate Church in  London. It will be performed by the London Mozart Players and two choirs: the Excelsis Choir and Vox Farnham Chamber Choir. You can check out Steve’s website, Stevebanks.info for a prototype of the work, all the lyrics, and information on how to attend in person or online.

I hope you enjoy my conversation with Steve Banks as well as his wonderful new work, Blue Pearl: A One World Oratorio.   – Jeff Salzman

Today I’m talking with David Fuller, one of the emerging luminaries of the emerging emergence movement (whew!). David, along with his partner Alexander Beiner, founded Rebel Wisdom four years ago, and has built it into a significant, integrally-informed cultural player, managing to thread the needle between – and beyond – the warring ideologies of traditionalism and progressivism.

David shares his journey of development and how it led to the creation of Rebel Wisdom. He describes how the platform has itself evolved, morphing beyond its initial association with Jordan Peterson, who has gone hard anti-left. Rebel Wisdom has moved forward into new arenas, most notably sense- and meaning-making, and is currently exploring the territory beyond atheism. “Maybe even a world of spirit?”, I ask? David’s answer gives me faith in the continued evolution of Rebel Wisdom’s terrific contribution to global awakening. Enjoy the episode! – Jeff Salzman

PS – Rebel Wisdom has featured several integral thinkers, including Ken Wilber. You can check out a recent conversation David hosted with Diane Musho Hamilton, Steve McIntosh and me here.

PPS – One slight technical matter: My side of the conversation recorded in audio only, no video. So when I speak you’ll see a still photo of me – which is why I’m so stiff and my lips aren’t moving!

In this episode of the Shrink and the Pundit, Dr. Keith Witt and I discuss a powerful realization emerging at the leading edge of culture regarding the role of trauma in our lives. Dr. Keith is writing a book on the subject and has mined various psychotherapeutic modalities to create an integral approach to using trauma as a portal to health and higher consciousness.

In our wide-ranging conversation we address: Trauma and resilience as forms of memory * The differences – and similarities – between ongoing trauma and “major event” traumas such as accidents, violence and illness * Trauma through human history * Sensitive vs sensitized: the healthy and unhealthy poles of postmodern consciousness * What child-centered parenting misses * The biological drive to have a spiritually-awakened brain * Updating your autobiographical narratives * Trauma and the self-transforming mind.

I really loved this conversation and I hope you do, too! – Jeff Salzman

You can find out more about Dr. Keith Witt here.