Jeff Carreira: The American Philosophical Roots of Evolutionary Spirituality

Nineteenth-century American philosophers like Ralph Waldo Emerson and William James are often credited with planting the philosophical seeds of the postmodern revolution that exploded into culture during the 1960s. Indeed, their embrace of Eastern spirituality, reverence for nature, and emphasis on the individual made them philosophical revolutionaries in their own time. But less attention has been given to another of their radical ideas: that the newly discovered theory of evolution could change the way we think about nearly every dimension of life.

In this presentation, recorded from a public talk in New York City, EnlightenNext's director of education, Jeff Carreira explores the influence that these philosophers have had on the newly emerging evolutionary spirituality movement. Situating the distinctively American schools of pragmatism and transcendentalism within a broad historical context that reaches back to the Western enlightenment and forward to the birth of integral philosophy, Carreira focuses on four particularly influential men: Ralph Waldo Emerson, Charles Sanders Peirce, William James, and John Dewey. Born out of the philosophical epicenter of Concord, Massachusetts, in the late nineteenth century, these individuals were applying the insights of evolution to everything from education to ethics. And while each offered their own unique perspective, they all built their philosophies upon the belief that the entire universe is one unified and perpetually evolving event.

BIO

As Director of Education at EnlightenNext, Jeff Carreira oversees the education and membership programs which support a growing global network of individuals committed to guiding humanity through an evolutionary leap in consciousness. Over the past 16 years he has become one of the leading representatives of EnlightenNext founder Andrew Cohen and his teaching of Evolutionary Enlightenment. Carreira gives talks and seminars around the world and also trains and supervises other teachers and seminar leaders. In February 2007, he initiated a weekly conference call and webcast series, which has attracted an international audience of over 10,000 people— "evolutionaries." Carreira has also served as Andrew Cohen's personal assistant and works closely with him in developing programs for EnlightenNext.  Prior to his involvement with EnlightenNext, Carreira spent five years working as a research engineer before obtaining a Master's degree in Education and spent the following twelve years in teaching and educational management.