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APOLOGIES FOR ANY CROSS POSTING

               First Announcement

           Online Summer School

Sustaining Human Existence in Changing Conditions and Human
Conceptual and Mental Development

    Beyond Religion, Philosophy and Science

                May - August 1999

The Institute for Human Conceptual and Mental Development (IHCMD) is
holding an Online Summer School (May to August 1999) on Sustaining
Human Existence in Changing Conditions and Human Conceptual and
Mental Development.

The focus of the Program are the conditions of human existence and
persisting and growing human, social and environmental problems we
face individually, as societies and as a species globally at the end
of the 20th century. The objectives include understanding their
nature, the historical and contemporary causes, how to address them
and how to  sustain human existence in changing conditions.

The questions underlying and directing the Program are: What about
human beings is it that leads them to view and manage their
existence in such destructive and counterproductive ways? What kind
of understanding do we act on and how is this understanding gained?
What are the understanding and the mental abilities, skills and
practices required to comprehend and sustain human existence in
changing conditions within the parameters and limits set by nature?

The assumptions of the Program are: At the end of the 20th century,
the conditions and problems of human existence can no longer be
understood and addressed within traditional and conventional
understanding and practices. Social change, social reorganization,
restructuring and adjustment within prevailing views of the nature
and conditions and ways of comprehending and managing human
existence cannot address the problems we face, or sustain human
existence within narrowing natural parameters.

The conditions and problems we face need to be understood and
addressed within a broad, detailed, in-depth and comprehensive
conceptual framework. They need to be understood within the context
of traditional human
assumptions, perceptions and practices of comprehending and managing
existence, their historical development and contemporary
expressions.

The Online Summer Program is an introduction to a view of the nature
and conditions and a way of comprehending and managing human
existence that contradict and conflict less with the natural
conditions and fall less short in responding and adjusting to
changing natural demands and challenges of human existence. An
understanding and a way of managing human existence that are
socially less divisive and
conflicting and that demand and provide greater individual mental
and conceptual independence, control and
responsibility than do conventional understanding and practices.

The Program present a common conceptual framework beyond
socio-cultural differences and competing and conflicting
perceptions, practices and interests necessary to cooperate in
addressing persisting and growing problems, sustaining individual
and shared human existence within the natural parameters and prevent
in the long term the premature demise of the human species at its
own hands. The Program will locate and discuss the conditions,
problems and challenges we face today, and current understanding and
efforts in a broader, more detailed, in-depth and comprehensive,
less fragmented, abstracted and dissociated conceptual framework of
the nature and conditions of human existence and the historical
context of human development.

The Program will discuss the fundamental and common nature,
conditions, demands and challenges of human existence, especially of
human mental existence. It will examine the historical path of human
conceptual and mental development that has brought humanity to where
we find ourselves today, the way we understanding, organize and
managing human existence and the conditions, problems and challenges
we
face.

The program will discuss, distinguish and differentiate between, and
related and connect natural conditions and changes, which lie beyond
human controls but to which human beings must respond and adjust, on
the one hand, and socio-cultural conditions and developments, which
are the results of human choices, decisions and actions and which
must be corrected and changed where they contradict and conflict
with the natural conditions and fall short in responding, meeting
and adjusting to constantly changing natural demands, needs and
challenges of human existence, on the one hand. It will examine,
distinguish between and related individual human problems and
difficulties in managing mental existence -- establishing and
maintaining mental order and stability, making sense of changing
experience, establishing and maintaining clarity and coherence of
mind and detailed and in-depth understanding, on the one side, and
limits, shortcomings and contradictions of socio-cultural
assumptions, perceptions and practices in explaining and accounting
for, and in responding, meeting and adjusting to changing natural
conditions, demands, needs
and challenges of human existence, on the other.

 The Program will consist of the presentation and discussion of a
series of nine (9) discussion papers. The papers will discuss,
respectively:


1. The fundamental and common nature, conditions, demands and
challenges, especially of human mental existence.

2. The conceptual and mental conditions and challenges, and human
responses at the dawn of human consciousness.

3. The historical path of development of human assumptions,
perceptions and practices of comprehending, organizing and managing
human existence through the ages, from animist to polytheist
culture, Greek metaphysics and philosophy, reasoned monotheism and
secular-scientific culture.

4. The assumptions, perceptions and practices of secular-scientific
culture.

5. The limits and shortcomings, and consequences of the assumptions,
perceptions and practices of secular-scientific culture, where they
contradict and conflict with the natural conditions and fall short
in responding and adjusting to changing natural demands and
challenges.

6. Socio-cultural developments and changing natural conditions of
human existence at the end of the 20th
century.

7. Traditional and conventional analyses and responses, their limits
and shortcomings, to changing conditions and growing problems.

8. Changing the focus and practice in human conceptual and mental
development to address persisting problems and sustain human
existence in changing condition.

9. Changes in conditions of human existence, in human, social,
economic, scientific and technological development and development
in education, health care, public administration and in relations
and interactions with the natural environment that will result from
changes in focus and practice in human conceptual and mental
development.

Subscription to the Program will be limited. For more information or
to register for the Online Summer School, please contact the address
below.
______________________________________________________

Dr. Axel Dorscht         Institute for Human Conceptual
Tel: 1-613-233-8354      and Mental Development (IHCMD)
Fax: 1-613-233-8354 (call first)
2-9 Second Avenue, Suite 2
Ottawa, ON  K1S 2H2  Canada
E-mail: [log in to unmask]