Marcelo Gleiser at Harvard Book Store

Harvard Book Store welcomes MARCELO GLEISER—Professor of Natural Philosophy, Physics, and Astronomy at Dartmouth College—to discuss his latest book The Dawn of a Mindful Universe: A Manifesto for Humanity's Future.

About Dawn of a Mindful Universe

Since Copernicus, humanity has increasingly seen itself as adrift, an insignificant speck within a large, cold universe. Brazilian physicist, astronomer, and winner of the 2019 Templeton Prize Marcelo Gleiser argues that it is because we have lost the spark of the Enlightenment that has guided human development over the past several centuries. While some scientific efforts have been made to overcome this increasingly bleak perspective—the ongoing search for life on other planets, the recent idea of the multiverse—they have not been enough to overcome the core problem: we’ve lost our moral mission and compassionate focus in our scientific endeavors.

Gleiser argues that we’re using the wrong paradigm to relate to the universe and our position in it. In this deeply researched and beautifully rendered book, he calls for us to embrace a new life-centric perspective, one which recognizes just how rare and precious life is and why it should be our mission to preserve and nurture it. The Dawn of a Mindful Universe addresses the current environmental and scientific impasses and how the scientific community can find solutions to them.

Gleiser’s paradigm rethinks the ideals of the Enlightenment, and proposes a new direction for humanity, one driven by human reason and curiosity whose purpose is to save civilization itself. Within this model, we can once again see ourselves as the center of the universe—the place where life becomes conscious—and regain a clear moral compass which can be used to guide both science and the politics around it.

Praise for Dawn of a Mindful Universe

"Marcelo Gleiser argues that the only hope we have of addressing the current environmental crisis lies in rethinking our relationship to history and to the entire cosmos. The Dawn of a Mindful Universe is a work of great honesty and daring. Its message couldn’t be more alarming, yet it is ultimately optimistic." —Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sixth Extinction

“An extraordinary book. Marcelo Gleiser has brought together cosmology, environmentalism, and spirituality in a personal and poetic call to arms that is nothing short of breathtaking. Most of the time I was smiling and nodding as I read it, and occasionally I was moved to tears.” —William Egginton, author of The Rigor of Angels

"Marcelo Gleiser is precisely the kind of public intellectual our culture urgently needs: a skilled communicator of complex scientific ideas whose work is animated by a humane and humanistic sensibility. The Dawn of a Mindful Universe, a fascinating and often moving book, is guided by a profound sense of civilizational urgency as it charts a path toward re-enchantment." —Mark O’Connell, author of To Be a Machine

Mask Policy

Masks are encouraged but not required for this event.