At a 16th-century church on a Tuscan hillside, a remarkable experiment in thinking is taking place – an effort to craft a new, cross-disciplinary narrative of planetary intelligence and life on Earth. It’s called The Island of Knowledge, an intellectual retreat center and think tank founded by theoretical physicist Marcelo Gleiser and psychotherapist Kari Gleiser. You’ll hear more about it in upcoming shows, because Steve and I just got back with hours of conversations recorded there. It’ll take us awhile to pull together, but for now, imagine us perched on a pew under the watchful gaze of painted saints and angels, as an astrobiologist, a plant scientist, an indigenous activist, a neuroscientist, a theoretical physicist and two philosophers wrestle with emerging definitions of intelligence.
If it seems like an esoteric subject, you’re in for a surprise. Exciting discoveries in a whole range of disciplines have called the old human-centered model of intelligence into question, and the implications are far-reaching. What can we learn from the distributive intelligence of slime molds, the decision-making abilities of plants, and the complex interconnections of ecosystems? If bacteria show signs of intelligence, what about the planet itself? Everyone there was acutely aware of the stakes right now, as the climate crisis worsens. But at the end of each day’s discussions, we emerged from the old chapel to the sound of birds rustling in olive branches, bees humming in the orchard, and a renewed sense of reverence for life on Earth. Proof, I think, that the stories we tell matter.
This was just the opening topic. There will be more Island of Knowledge gatherings in the future, more conversations with scientists, philosophers, artists and writers, as a fresh planet-centered theory of life takes shape. We’re excited to share it with you. In the meantime, if you haven’t met Marcelo Gleiser yet, we’re re-airing my conversation with him from Deep Time: The Cosmos and Us. I hope you enjoy it.
– Anne