Book reading & discussion of “The Fractal Self” with authors John Culliney and David Jones
Join the authors of the book, The Fractal Self: Science, Philosophy, and the Evolution of Human Cooperation on Wednesday, December 20 from 3 – 5pm at Volcano Art Center Ni‘aulani Campus in Volcano Village for a lively book reading and discussion.
In The Fractal Self, John Culliney and David Jones uncover surprising intersections between science and philosophy. Connecting evidence from evolutionary science with early insights of Daoist and Buddhist thinkers, they maintain that sagely behavior, envisioned in these ancient traditions, represents a pinnacle of human achievement emerging out of our evolutionary heritage.
“John Culliney and David Jones have managed something very unusual: a collaboration between experts, one in biology and one in philosophy. They initiate a dialogue between the natural sciences and the humanities—from chemistry to astrophysics, from ancient myth to East Asian thought—that reveals a prevalence of cooperation over competition. They tell compelling stories ranging over vast times and spaces, from ‘primal emergence’ to evolution in the present, narratives that show the fractal self operating on all levels: from the subatomic, through the animal and human realms, to distant galaxies. And the wonder of it all is—it works!” —Graham Parkes, Professorial Research Fellow, University of Vienna
Copies of the book will be available for purchase. This event is free, although donations are greatly appreciated.
John L. Culliney, a biologist educated at Yale and Duke Universities, is professor emeritus of biology at Hawai‘i Pacific University. David Jones is professor of philosophy at Kennesaw State University, Atlanta.