Humanity’s role in nature. Are we more than just a problem?

Environmental degradation caused by technological progress is in
the news almost everyday. So can any sense be made of an ancient
intuition that human beings are not just part of nature but have
a distinctive and positive role to play in nature? In this
episode of the Sheldrake-Vernon Dialogues, Rupert Sheldrake and
Mark Vernon discuss issues from the significance of consciousness
to cosmic emergence in order to explore a vision of humanity in
nature that goes well beyond our life being the meaningless
byproduct of random processes. Humanity contributes to the
diversification and beautification of the natural world, even as
monocrops undermine that enrichment, too. Alternatively,
religious traditions add a layer of meaning to natural processes
that science alone can’t provide, from expressing divine
creativity to returning that blessing in the praising of God.
Panpsychism, strong emergence and Charles Darwin’s appreciation
of the excessiveness of nature are other themes in the
conversation, making a case for humanity’s place as participant
in the remarkable abundance that surrounds us.