Customer Reviews

The Spirit of the Internet: Speculations on the Evolution of Global Consciousness

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Is the spiritual wisdom of the ages materializing itself via the internet? Maybe so.

The world is changing rapidly today, and the internet is a driving force. The author attempts to explain the changes humanity is going though by expanding on a 1938 theory by a Jesuit priest, Teilhard de Chardin, of a of a "sphere of consciousness" enveloping the earth. In Chardin's opinion, the density of the information underlying a mass of complexity is what creates self-awareness. In Haggerty's follow-up to that thesis, he postulates that as information continues to become more dense and more widely available, a further expansion of human consciousness will follow. In the process he discusses chaos theory, the implications of ever-increasing computer power, conscious evolution, the importance of freedom (especially cognitive freedom) and the power and responsibility of every individual. Ultimately he suggests that the internet may be a stepping stone to a higher state of consciousness for all of humanity.

It's really an easy read, and I found the book to be quite fascinating and thought provoking.