The Noospheric Frame of Mind

Presented by Marta Lenartowicz as part of Human Energy's N2 Conference 2023

Watch on YouTube

The psychologist Christopher Bollas claims that democracy is not merely a political arrangement: it is a theory of the mind. If my inner life is an authoritarian dominion that never relinquishes control and prohibits internal dissent, can I ever truly value the irreducible difference brought in by the existence of others? The way we conduct our minds spills over into our social relations. And if the ability to constructively partake in a group of people is already a sophisticated disposition which may remain underdeveloped, how does the challenge of relating well extend in the context of the entire noosphere?

Compared to a small assembly in which all voices are present and may be heard, the noosphere is filled with unknowns. It is unfathomable, ever more complex, internally inconsistent, ungoverned, always incomplete. The 'noospheric frame of mind,' able to relate to such complexity, demands a vast openness. The authoritarian need for closure doesn't do.

In my talk, I build a parallel between Bollas' democratic frame of mind and what I believe to be the necessary ingredients to the ability of adopting the noosphere as a meaningful context for living. Since the notion of the noosphere encompasses processes that exceed the biosphere, while all biological processes are already processes of cognition, I argue that it is possible for a human individual to fail at adopting the noospheric frame of mind entirely. Instead, one might operate psychologically and socially in an autopoietic manner, simply safeguarding an identity.

The noospheric mindset is not a given, it needs to be adopted, and the curriculum is not always comfortable. It includes relaxing psychological, conceptual, and operational closures, appreciating and advancing complexity, befriending the unknown, and learning to trust and let go!

Learn more at https://humanenergy.io