World Goodwill Seminar | Envisioning a New Global Culture: The Search for Unity between East and West
Partner Event
Event Type:
- Presentation
- (Online)
Featuring:
- Jay McDaniel and Jack Bagby
Organizers:
- Lucis Trust
While the current phase of globalization in human affairs often uses the language of unity, it largely reflects the prevailing culture of separation and materialism that inevitably exacerbates division. A new global culture requires a deeper era of thought, drawing on the ancient universal values of both East and West that can guide us towards a balanced relationship between spirit and matter.
How can Chinese wisdom and Whitehead’s philosophy of organism help build a culture of shared humanity and hope—bridging East and West? Center for Process Studies Board Chair, Dr. Jay McDaniel will explore this topic. Also presenting in this session of the seminar is Dr. Jack Bagby, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Consciousness, and Cosmology at the California Institute of Integral Studies.
Featuring
Jay McDaniel
Jay McDaniel is a philosopher and theologian known for his work in process theology and open and relational thought. Influenced by Alfred North Whitehead, his writing explores the relational nature of reality, the role of creativity in the universe, and the spiritual significance of everyday life. He has long been associated with the Center for Process Studies and with Open Horizons, where he helps develop resources that connect philosophy, spirituality, ecology, and the arts. McDaniel writes for both academic and general audiences, often drawing on literature, music, theater, and nature to illuminate philosophical ideas. His work emphasizes compassion, imaginative freedom, and the possibility of cooperative and sustainable communities. A teacher, essayist, and musician, he is especially interested in how process philosophy can enrich religious life, interfaith dialogue, and public culture. Through essays, courses, and collaborative projects, he seeks to make complex philosophical ideas accessible and practically meaningful for contemporary life.
Jack Bagby
John Robert Bagby is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. His research spans the history of philosophy and contemporary metaphysics, focusing on issues of consciousness, nature, and the philosophy of music. Bagby received training in ancient Greek philosophy and phenomenology at Boston College. Drawing insight from thinkers like Plato, Spinoza, Merleau-Ponty, and Henri Bergson, he engages with contemporary process thought, the interplay between science and philosophy, and how concepts of mind and cosmos have evolved from antiquity to present.
