The Nexial Institute

www.nexial.org

...a charitable non-profit organization
for understanding self and nature

"Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding." Proverbs 4:7

The Nexial Institute exists to promote human understanding of the natural world through science and philosophy, and to communicate that understanding throughout society. This work is carried out through research and education. Increasingly we find that separate disciplines and perspectives are inadequate for dealing with the complexity of natural systems, particularly living systems and the participatory aspect of nature arising from its most fundamental level. In the words of John Archibald Wheeler: "Useful as it is under everyday circumstances to say that the world exists 'out there' independent of us, that view can no longer be upheld. There is a strange sense in which this is a 'participatory universe.'"

"Nexial" means joining together. It refers here to joining knowledge from multipe perspectives and practices to achieve a new understanding of ourselves and nature, and to fuel cultural advancement. This vision will require that we expand the boundaries of science and epistemology to fully embrace systems, the origins of meaning, and noetics. In the words of Henri Bergson: "The existence of which we are most assured and which we know best is unquestionably our own, for of every other object we have notions which may be considered external and superficial, whereas of ourselves, our perception is internal and profound." Nexial is thus dedicated to exploring the integration of knowledge across the fundamental body-mind dualism; that which we can measure or label, and that which we experience. By doing so, Nexial seeks to improve the health of the human mind and spirit, and the health and sustainability of our natural world.

Current Programs