The Age of Post-Truth

Abstract

The initially happy and rewarding quest of the human mind in understanding itself and the universe was thwarted by unexpectedly fierce opposition. The clouds on the horizon turned into an existentially threatening thunderstorm. All our human intuitions turned out to be untenable. The nature of reality and consciousnesses is as elusive as ever. Against this backdrop, our modern post-truth world is infused with ignorance and anti-intellectualism. “My ignorance is as good as your knowledge.” Conspiracy theories abound. Trench wars are fought along social, political, and religious delimitations. Most tragically, we have reached a level of technological prowess, lacking any signs of collective intelligence, which is resulting in the systematic and rampant destruction of the biosphere. This book is an invitation to reevaluate everything—mixing imagination with critical thinking. Could there be something we don’t yet know about ourselves and the universe, the knowledge of which could change everything? Before addressing this question, notions of collective intelligence, self-organization, scientific utilitarianism, and radical open-mindedness are explored. Level of mathematical formality: not applicable.