Twelfth Global Studies Conference

Abstract

Since Descartes, the Western notion of “Self” has been tied to a teleological view of time and history and the notion of a subject that is separate from the natural world. In the past few decades, notions of an approaching “singularity,” in which technology and humanity completely interface have captured the cultural imagination. Are we heaed for a Utopia or a Dystopia? At the same time, “Shamanic” and “Earth-based” cultures that have a divergent view of the human subject and its place in the natural world have come to the fore, challenging the anthropocentric notion of humans existing “above” the natural world. This paper examines three views of self: The Western Cartesian view, the “Shamanic, Earth Based” view, and the contemporary neuro-scientific view to see if, beyond obvious antagonisms there may be an emerging synthesis that can integrate human society and the natural world in paradigms that allow for both ongoing scientific innovation and a panoramic eco-awareness of nature, chronolgical time, and timeless time.