What do we want to be?
I wanted to take the opportunity today to briefly discuss the intent behind Future Conscience and the purpose of the site. To some who just come past the blog from a link to a particular article, it may seem like the site has too loose a focus – that there are too many topics being covered. But there is a reason for all of this, and that reason stems from the need to examine the changes in society that we feel are progressive and question the consequences of our path into the future.
During the beginnings of the industrial revolution, the developed world was entranced by the new utopia that was seemingly on the horizon. The promise of endless productivity, scientific discovery, and personal luxury filled our heads with dreams of paradise – of a world where everybody would benefit from these new found glories.
Move forwards to the present and we know this was not to be the case. Life has certainly changed, and in many ways seemingly for the better, but there are many things that have inherently remained the same – and then there are many aspects of our world that have changed so drastically that a lot of people are now seriously discussing our own extinction. All of this because of the glorious ‘progress’ seen during the industrial revolution…
But I didn’t just want to talk about the destruction of the planet’s environment, or weapons of mass destruction and other ‘wonderful’ examples of human progress, what Future Conscience wants to do is not tell you what is right or wrong – what we want to do is figure it out with you. One of the latest, and we believe greatest, examples of human technological progress has been the internet and many of the opportunities for social dialogue that have emerged as a result. In the past decade we have seen an explosion in human communication and information dissemination – as was mentioned in our Society 3.0 post, anybody who has an internet connection now has a global voice (if they choose to use it that is). It is important, therefore, that we are provided with forums that encourage us to use this voice in a positive manner. The potential for human greatness is unlimited, and we now have the tools to achieve it – so lets use them to create a social conscience that can allow us to move forwards whilst avoiding the many pitfalls along the way.
So what is the point of Future Conscience? The point is to bring to your attention aspects of our modern lives that deserve to be questioned, that require a bit more thought than just blindly accepting that they are good and progressive. They may actually be exactly that, but even things that can be used for greater good always have a darker side – a side that we must be aware of to ensure that supposed progress does not spiral out of our control. Our lives are developing now at such a rapid rate that if we do not begin to try and understand the drastic changes that are taking place in our society – and the way we relate to one another – we will very quickly be swept away into somebody else’s idea of ‘progress’.
Many of us seek to develop our conscience
This reason is also why the site will focus on matters of religion and spirituality. The other categories; science and environment; communication and technology; and lifestyle and society all fall under commonly understood ideas about progress. But isn’t religion all about tradition and the retention of the old? Not at all. What we are starting to see now is that many individuals are coming out of the euphoric individualism of the 20th century and emerging into a world of questions without answers. There is an increasing movement towards spiritual world-views and more holistic ideas of life and being.
The problem is that there are also many people and groups out there who wish to capitalise on this new-found growth of spiritual seekers. Which is why we must also question religious movements and spiritual traditions – because many people reading this will be trying to grow spiritually, so the same rules must apply as they do to our questioning of scientific and technological progress.
In the end, it comes down to this: if humanity is to progress, why should we only let a few decide in which direction? If a growing majority of the planet is gaining a voice, why should we refuse to use it for the greater good of us all? We don’t have to agree with one another – indeed the point is to disagree in a civil manner so that we can learn from other perspectives. We don’t have to come to any final conclusions – because unchangeable, dogmatic beliefs are dangerous no matter which ideologies they serve. But what we must do is promote discussion amongst upcoming communities, to walk towards the future with an inquisitive and questioning mindset, and to view the future of human progress through the eyes of a collective social conscience the likes of which has never been seen before.
Hopefully this post has given you a bit more insight into why we created this site, and the purpose that we hope it will live up to. In the end, a huge part of the site’s success depends on your involvement and dialogue. If you are interested in what we are trying to do here then please join in by commenting with your opinion on posts, or by following our various social media feeds. In the end, this site is for all who visit to contribute to so that collectively we can grow and move forwards into the future with our eyes wide open, our mind well-tuned, and our spirit reaching outwards.
