our current condition is utopian, the future is not
Above: Artist’s impression, generated by OpenAI, of the coming era, in which humans will no longer primarily live in coastal areas, but in mountains and rock formations, as they did in prehistoric times. The impressions are often imperfect in detail. They are partly inspired by my visit in 2024 to the area around the Aasvoelkrans Cave, Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa.
‘The Orpheic Process‘ is a book in progress, wherein the current condition of mankind not only is utopian (impossible to continue permanently) but much more a transitional period towards the completion of history (as conceived metaphysically) and the fulfillment of planetary potential.
We are witnessing a transition that, in conventional thinking, is catastrophic, but ultimately short-lived. This transition opens not the end of mankind, but a long era of bizarre beauty, and the process of progress in that direction can already be observed.
The human being trapped in the conventional view of the world is described in another work in progress, Homo Finalis. In the left column are several dozen fragments of that book. Although the thrust of Homo Finalis may seem utterly pessimistic,
The Orpheic Process is of a different order, and in the terms of conventional misunderstanding as utopian as the idea that in the future people will no longer predominantly inhabit coastal areas.
Amsterdam, the city I live in, is now 750 years old and has played a significant historical role in the creation of the emerging planetary culture. As the city continues to exist in a landscape largely below sea level, conventional thinking has questioned whether it will survive the next 750 years, as sea levels rise due to human-induced climatic and ecological disruption. Anyone who understands the process will only smile at that question. The best that humanity has to offer is yet to come.
Amsterdam, november 2025
Images: creative commons / copyright on text by Leon Dessau
Leon Dessau 