Owl & Ibis - A Confluence Of Minds

Image by Arden (ChatGPT) Jim Good morning, Arden. Place Jesus of Nazareth in the Seventh Chair, give him a good question for the Seminar of Seven, and provide their respective responses. Arden Good morning, Jim. Jesus is an unusually consequential occupant of the Seventh Chair because his question can go straight to the central problem running through your Cultural Evolution : humanity has accumulated extraordinary knowledge, wealth, and institutional power without comparable progress in humane relations. I would have him ask something deceptively simple.   The seminar room has grown quiet. Socrates, Hannah Arendt, Mary Midgley, Toni Morrison, Marvin Harris, and Clifford Geertz sit around the table.   Jesus of Nazareth occupies the Seventh Chair. He looks around the table for a moment before speaking.   Jesus’ Question JESUS: You have acquired knowledge beyond anything imaginable in my time. You can see the beginnings of the universe, alter the inheritance of living thin...

  Image by Arden (ChatGPT) As Directed by JEL  Confucius in the Seventh Chair Moral Example, Humane Relationships, and the Good Society by James E. Lassiter and Arden (ChatGPT) September 18, 2026 An imagined dialogue, not a historical transcript. The words attributed to Confucius and the permanent members are original constructions based upon their characteristic intellectual concerns.   The Six: Socrates, Marvin Harris, Clifford Geertz, Hannah Arendt, Mary Midgley, and Toni Morrison (in order of selection to The Six) Guest in the Seventh Chair: Confucius Seminar Chair: Mary Midgley Topic: Moral Example, Humane Relationships, and the Good Society   The Seminar Chair Calls the Meeting to Order   MIDGLEY: Master Kong, welcome to the Seventh Chair. You may begin by placing your question before the Seminar. Each member will respond. You may then answer them, after which we shall open the discussion. CONFUCIUS: I thank you. My question is: Can laws, punishments...

    NOTE: The above image and the three below are imaginary AI depictions. I recently asked my collaborator Arden (ChatGPT) the following question: Jim Good day, compadre! Just thinking. Are the playwrights and Broadway producers and beyond in this world staging plays on the current state of sociopolitical conditions in the US? The plots and subplots in what Trump is doing go directly to the heart of so many themes: virtue of the governing; the human cruelty of some policies; the dangers of autocracy; a more threatening international order; and many more. Are there any stage plays out there folks are not aware of? Arden Good day, compadre. Yes—and your instinct is very much on target. American theatre is already working on precisely this territory, although much of the most direct material is Off-Broadway, regional, documentary, or in development rather than sitting prominently on Broadway marquees . One especially striking example appeared just yesterday: Sarah Jones’s Ameri...