Is The Venus Project trying to save the world?

While some would have us think that we are lucky to be graced by those with messianic destinies, The Venus Project encourages a more humble and practical attitude. The Venus Project is an assemblage of individuals seeking the fulfillment of their higher needs, which includes needs for community, creative expression, intellectual challenge, meaning in life, and a higher purpose. In these activities, we cannot know for certain if we will leave the world better than we found it, whether we will make it better or worse. As the saying goes, "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" and we can expect this outcome more likely when the travelers are blindly self-righteous. In other words, we cannot know if our actions will 'save the world'. However, what we can know is where the evidence leads. The Venus Project has amassed a body of evidence that culminates into a hypothesis in the form of a system design. If there is a chance to 'save the world', it does not begin first with the assumption that we are saving the world, for it may blind us to when we are not. Instead, the best we can do is promote a hypothesis worth testing, subject to revision based on results. In the meantime, we act with love, enjoy the process, and fear adding more suffering to the world.

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From our recommended reading list: "A Theory of Sapience: Using Systems Science to Understand the Nature of Wisdom and the Human Mind" by George Mobus

In this exploratory work, systems scientist, George Mobus, searches for the origins of human wisdom and its rare but vital role in the world. Read if you want a science-based explanation of this mysterious phenomenon.

See more from our recommended book list: https://www.thevenusproject.com/learn/recommended-books-films-and-videos/

The Venus Project is looking to restyle its website. We're inviting you to submit examples of other sites that have impressed you in its design and functionality. Let us know!

https://thevenusproject.typeform.com/to/ghLHAG42

Is the vision of The Venus Project practical to implement?

This is a question about strategy and theory of change. While there is an unwavering sense that "the sky is the limit" there are nonetheless a set of considerations to make The Venus Project's vision more practical. On the one hand, thinkers like Jacque Fresco asserted that the preconditions for change will arise on their own accord in what he called "the march of events" which largely depends on the advancement of technology. If enough of the world's people undergo a change in values then we reach an inflection point at which the technology can be used to rebuild civilization to serve human and ecological ends. This then implies that scaling the value system should be the central task of practical concern, which is a process of education and media. Yet, in the event that this value system fails to scale, then localized applications of the value system starts to look more practical, such as in the form of ecovillages or regional designs for larger populations, which then becomes a process of engineering and entrepreneurship. The pathways by which The Venus Project can proceed are multiple, some more challenging than others. What is ironic in this question is owed to the business-as-usual of the status quo. What is considered short-term practical is in fact not practical in the long-term, what has become known as 'unsustainable'. Yet The Venus Project is judged as being 'impractical' for its long-term agenda to rectify unsustainable short-term practices.

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From our recommended reading list: "The Trouble With Testosterone: And Other Essays On The Biology Of The Human Predicament" by Robert Sapolsky

This book explores the complex relationship between biology, behavior, and the human condition, with a nuanced focus on how testosterone impacts various aspects of human behavior, including aggression, sexual drive, and even cognitive abilities. While the title suggests a focus on testosterone's negative aspects, the book delves into a broader range of topics, including the connection between science, religion, and morality.

See more from our recommended book list: https://www.thevenusproject.com/learn/recommended-books-films-and-videos/

Robert Sapolsky gives a nuanced explanation of how biochemicals influence behavior.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suBKiGtbhnY

Is The Venus Project top down or bottom up?

This is a question about a very complex phenomenon around which attitudes have polarized. Ultimately, it is never only 'top down' or only 'bottom up'. They both coexist in a complex interplay that fluctuates according to circumstances. Both top down and bottom up forces exist throughout nature. Likewise, it is likely natural for human systems to oscillate from top down dynamics to bottom up dynamics and back again, full circle, as part of the system's development, evolution, and renewal of its lifecycle. With attention to ratio and timing, wisdom would expect these dynamics and accommodate accordingly without prejudice. The cyclical nature of these dynamics are the means by which reality breathes from tension to release, contraction to expansion, control to emergence. It would be simplistic to resent one form or the other.

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From our recommended reading list: "Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst" by Robert Sapolsky

This book provides a multidisciplinary explanation of the biological underpinnings of human behavior, examining how various factors, from the smallest neurological events to evolutionary history, influence our actions. It argues that human behavior, both "at our best and worst," is a product of complex biological processes, including brain function, hormones, genes, and cultural influences.

See more from our recommended book list: https://www.thevenusproject.com/learn/recommended-books-films-and-videos/

Robert Sapolsky explains the causes of human behavior.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gp2GMujyC58

Is The Venus Project centralized or decentralized?

Decentralization has become a trendy buzzword in an era of growing complexity. Unfortunately, this bandwagon effect is mistaken as a solution before sufficient thought has been invested. The tendency for quick conclusions has pushed one extreme to the fore without giving sufficient consideration to 'balance'. Centralization and decentralization coexist in practical systems and often at varying degrees across multiple dimensions. The fetishism for one is naive, the favoritism of one is ideological, and the fixation on just one is potentially pathological. With such excessive extremes comes maladaptive consequences. The question cannot be answered in the abstract other than the fact that both centralization and decentralization exist in nature and this is sufficient reason to think they both will exist in human systems and every system that humans ever create. Instead, the accurate answer with regard to adaptive and effectual ratios of balance can only be particular as it pertains to a given system in a given place at a given point in time, in context.

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From our recommended reading list: "Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will" by Robert Sapolsky

This book dismisses the notion of free will by arguing that factors like genetics, environment, and experiences determined behavior. The book explores how these factors interact and shape our decisions and actions, and examines the implications of this understanding for morality, justice, and punishment. Sapolsky suggests that recognizing this determinism can lead to a more humane and compassionate world.

See more from our recommended book list: https://www.thevenusproject.com/learn/recommended-books-films-and-videos/

Robert Sapolsky challenges the claim that humans have free will.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI3JCq9-bbM

Why does The Venus Project use money despite criticizing money?

As with all ideals and as with any engineering project, the challenge is bridging the present state, consisting of problems, dysfunctions, and sub-optimality, to the future state that is designed to function more optimally. It is a fact of this world that the monetary system prevails over all nations, accompanied by a set of perennial tradeoffs, some of which are deleterious to health and life of people and nature. Coping in the present consists of tactics to mitigate these deleterious effects. The Venus Project advocates a value system that uses money as a tool to fund research and innovation to design alternative systems to overcome the need for a monetary system and the market system that it serves. To further mitigate the challenges posed by money and the profit motive, The Venus Project executes its work as a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, which currently represents the most likely type of institution to facilitate this work. To engineer a new world, we must use the tools of today to build the tools of tomorrow.

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