Terence McKenna: Earth as Mother or Placenta?

[buckfushes]

Living things are 'technologies' that naturally evolved for survival and propagation.

[m321w]

what converstaion is this from

?

[joenaab]

to pete5247, - Terence was a HUGE fan of technology. He doesn't mean a complete renunciation of technology, he says a "massive renunciation", whereby he's referring to the waste and excess consumerism. Terence used to say that we'd once again return to living in nature except that we'd be surrounded by amazing technology, but that it would be so small as to be unseen.

[joenaab]

A quick comment to Arnold93: When Terence refers to nature as a "demonic force", he wasn't saying that he believed it to be. It was a reference to Gnosticism, which became Christianity, which was founded on the belief that we are higher beings trapped in matter and trying to escape nature.

[OgadaNosaFasu]

Eh wait, I've taken a number of different history and theology classes from which it was made apparent that the Gnostic movement was an off-branch of Christianity, and that the "Christian" notion that physical existence is in itself "evil" was just an espousal of Platonic thought with later church doctrine in the Middle Ages. Scholars are finding out now that the Greek translations in the New Testament of "flesh" and "spirit" may actually mean the same thing and are not necessarily juxtaposed.

[pete5247]

continuation

I dont see why technology and naturalism cant work together, humanity's way to go is a biotechnological evolution. Nature is the materialized manifestation of life force. Mckenna himself said that we must shift this predominant paragdime of looking at the universe as this "Neutonian Machine" mechanical system, and observe it in a much more accurate way as the living organism that it is. Evolution against nature will surely lead us to catastrophy, it isn't evolution, its suicide.

[pete5247]

I believe the Earth is related to us much more as our mother, but the act of integrating, celebrating and loving it as we're supposed to, does not imply the renunciation of technology by any means. In a sense, everything comes from a natural source or has a natural beggining, take the primary elements and energy needed for anything technological to be built or work.

Evolution, perfection, life itself is based in balance and harmony, leaving no room for extremisms.

continues...

[pete5247]

part 1

I believe the Earth is related to us much more as our mother

[Arnold93]

I usually agree with Terence on many things but I can't believe that nature is some how a "demonic force" that is holding us back from salvation. If you look at the future of a pure technocratic society, It could be like hell because everything will be electronic and soulless. I could also see it however acting as a catalyst to project the human imagination into visual existence as well. I guess I agree and disagree at the same time. This is a great thought provoking video!