The Book of Humanity

PARASKEVAS N. PARASKEVOPOULOS PROFESSOR, NATIONAL TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS

THE BOOK OF HUMANITY:

MAN’S “INTELLIGENT DESIGN”

FIRST EDITION – NEW YORK 2011 PUBLISHER: SEABURN PUBLISHING GROUP 1

THE BOOK OF HUMANITY:

MAN’S “INTELLIGENT DESIGN”

Paraskevas N. Paraskevopoulos Professor, National Technical University of Athens

Author: Παρασκευάς Ν. Παρασκευόπουλος Title of prototype: Το Βιβλίο της Ανθρωπότητας: Το «Ευφυές Σχέδιο» του Ανθρώπου. First Edition: 2011

Publishing Group, N.Y. ISBN: 159232293X

©Paraskevas N. Paraskevopoulos: The Book of Humanity: Man’s “Intelligent Design”

Editing for Publication: Sam Chekwas

ISBN: 1592322743

Publisher: Seaburn, Publishing Group, New York P.O. Box 2085 Long Island City, NY 11102 www.seaburn.com

Tel.: (718) 784-2224 E mail: [email protected] Web page: www.bookofhumanity.org

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Dedicated to Man, to Nature and to God

The author forfeits all profits from the Book of Humanity to the non-profit Philocosmy Association of Greece. The Association was established in 2010. Background information on the Association is available on page 6.

The reason that the author forfeits all profits to the Philocosmy Association of Greece is that, on the subject of the course of Mankind, he does not want profit to come between himself and his fellow men, but only the care and love for a better world.

Dear readers,

When you have read this book you will have realized that it is essentially an open letter to all the people on Earth. A letter of admiration and love for each and every inhabitant of the planet, man or woman, rich or poor, white or black, religious or not, right-wing or left-wing, famous or disenfranchised, happy or sad, sinless or sinful, virtuous or criminal. A letter through which the author attempts to speak to as many of his fellow humans as possible about a new approach to mankind’s great problems today. An approach which we will call The Book of Humanity. That is why I would be extremely grateful to you if you could take part in an ongoing dialogue, in an ongoing discussion, so that we can go deeper into the subject, to improve and perfect the Book of Humanity for a safe and happy future for all of us, through successive approaches. Thus, there could be a final edition, for which all of us will essentially be co-authors, and which will contain the final proposal that we will implement all together, as one person, for a better world. I would be extremely happy if you would accept this invitation. In the proposed dialogue, all the inhabitants of the planet will be able to take part, to express their opinions concerning how the planet as a whole should be governed, how we should establish the course for the whole of mankind. If we do that, then we will have created the conditions for a new worldwide universal collaboration, in which all together, with wisdom, kindness and courage, we will join in the struggle for a better life. If this happens, then we will see days of prosperity and happiness, which man has never before dreamed of. We note that the proposed dialogue can be carried out thanks to modern technology (post, telephone, fax, e-mail, webpage, blog, etc.). If there is a great response to the proposed dialogue, then we will have an avalanche of ideas and views which will contribute decisively to the formulation of a proposal, which on one hand will be thorough and, on the other, will have the broadest possible consensus and acceptance. The quest for the optimum solution for the course of mankind through a global dialogue is none other than the Book of Humanity in practice. This practice is not simply within the context of the Book of Humanity, but is the very essence of the Book of Humanity. Because it is as clear as day that the Book of Humanity could not be compiled otherwise, but first to listen to and take into account everyone’s opinions and views. Besides, on many points of the book, we emphasize repeatedly that mankind cannot go ahead in any other way but only when 6 all the people of Earth hold hands and form an unbreakable chain of cooperation, solidarity and togetherness. If we do that, then we can have serious hopes of creating a better life for all of us. I feel that the Book of Humanity falls short in some ways, such as, for example, in matters of thoroughness, severity and complete formulation of concepts and issues. Moreover, it is to be expected that they will contain some errors, imperfections, inconsistencies, pointless repetitions, as well as wording that may be contradictory, which may be misinterpreted etc., so I ask in advance for your understanding and tolerance. I confess that the road from the idea to the written word has been an uphill and rough one and I have the feeling that, in this area, the book you are holding in your hands falls very short of a good presentation. I hope that each succeeding edition will be better than the preceding one. In the context of the dialogue we propose, we can start out now as follows: If in this year’s edition which you are holding in your hands you find errors or inaccuracies or you observe awkward or inelegant wording of views or if you have objections to subjects that are discussed or which are not sufficiently elaborated in the book, or if you want to suggest the addition of new subjects, evidence, examples, photographs, pictures, sayings or anything else, or even if you want to contribute as an expert on any of the subjects, or generally, if you want to make any suggestion or to propose new ideas, I would be extremely grateful if you would take the trouble to contact me. These remarks will be taken seriously into consideration in the next edition which is expected to be published in a few years from now. The same will be repeated in ensuing editions until we arrive at the definitive (final) edition. If you want to take part in this dialogue, you can communicate with me at the address, telephone number, FAX number, or e-mail address below. I thank you warmly in advance.

Address: Paraskevas N. Paraskevopoulos President of the non-profit Philocosmy Association of Greece 122 Kykladon Street 15562 Holargos, ATHENS, GREECE

Tel. & Fax: 211-010-9432

E-mail address: [email protected] Web page : www.bookofhumanity.org

CONCISE TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART ONE WHO ARE WE REALLY?

CHAPTER 1 Our knowledge about the universe CHAPTER 2 Our knowledge about life CHAPTER 3 The threat of great disasters for mankind and our planet CHAPTER 4 The threat of collapse of universal values CHAPTER 5 The threat of increasing inhumanity

PART TWO WHAT SHOULD OUR GOALS BE?

CHAPTER 6 The new ideal person: the free thinker CHAPTER 7 The new social person: he who will live in the tri-level of knowledge-consciousness-happiness CHAPTER 8 The new political person: he who will put planetary interests above local interests CHAPTER 9 The new religious person: the person with free religious sentiment CHAPTER 10 The new economic person: he who will rein in his greed CHAPTER 11 The philocosmer: he who will be constantly fighting for a better world CHAPTER 12 Our overall goal: the State of Philocosmy

PART THREE HOW WILL WE ACHIEVE OUR GOALS?

CHAPTER 13 Scientific way of governing the planet: the Book of Humanity as a global controller CHAPTER 14 The Cosmotheory of Philocosmy and the Philocosmic Enlightenment CHAPTER 15 The philocosmic governance of our planet CHAPTER 16 Man’s “Intelligent Design”

TABLE OF CONTENTS Pages

PROLOGUE 21 Introduction 21 The Book of Humanity: Man’s “Intelligent Design” 25

PART ONE

WHO ARE WE REALLY? 41

CHAPTER 1 OUR KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE UNIVERSE 45 A first, simple look at the universe 45 Our solar system 47 Unit of measurement of distances in the universe: the light year 56 The origin and evolution of the universe 57 The future of the universe 62 The death of the stars 64 The stars are enormous nuclear plants 67 Matter and forces in the universe 69 The evolution of man’s knowledge about the universe 72 Are we alone in the universe? 81 The anthropic principle 87

CHAPTER 2 OUR KNOWLEDGE ABOUT LIFE 92 The origin and evolution of life 92 The theory of evolution and DNA 100 1. The theory of evolution based on natural selection 102 2. DNA 103 The mind and science 110 1. Introduction 110 2. The function of the brain 112 3. The body and the spirit 114

4. Consciousness and will 119 The unintentional and intentional evolution of life 125

CHAPTER 3 THE THREAT OF GREAT DISASTERS FOR MANKIND AND OUR PLANET 130 Introduction 130 The calamity of war 132 1. Nuclear warfare 132 2. Chemical warfare 138 3. Biological warfare 139 4. The history of man’s destructive power 144 5. The most important wars of mankind 148 The destruction of the environment 150 1. The pollution of the atmosphere 150 2. Global warming of the planet or the greenhouse effect 151 3. The holes in the ozone layer 152 4. The pollution of the environment by military as well as peaceful uses of atomic energy 152 5. The pollution of the soil 152 6. The destruction of the forests 154 7. The Earth’s climate 156 8. The thoughtless use of water 156 9. Acid rain 157 10. The pollution of the seas 158 11. The extinction of many life forms 158 12. The ecological balance in danger 159 13. General comments 162 Overpopulation 168 1. The development of the Earth’s population 168 2. The consequences of overpopulation 174 3. A solution to the problem of overpopulation 177 The economic crisis 179 The energy crisis 181 Contaminated foods and the world 11

food crisis 184 Drugs 186 International terrorism 187 Other threats 192 Mankind is bound to be destroyed if we do not take the necessary preventive and remedial measures 193 Our guide is “one people, one goal” 197

CHAPTER 4 THE THREAT OF COLLAPSE OF UNIVERSAL VALUES 205 Universal values in danger 205 Man has come of age but remains immature 215 1. Introduction 215 2. Science and technology 216 3. Philosophy and man 220 4. We have come of age mentally but we remain immature spiritually 231

CHAPTER 5 THE THREAT OF INCREASING INHUMANITY 240 The crisis of humanity 240 The human race 252 Man alone in the crowd 254

PART TWO

WHAT SHOULD OUR GOALS BE? 268

CHAPTER 6 THE NEW IDEAL PERSON: THE FREE THINKER 277 What free thinking is 277 The value of free thinking 281 Examples of free thinkers 290

CHAPTER 7 THE NEW SOCIAL PERSON: HE WHO WILL LIVE IN THE TRI-LEVEL OF KNOWLEDGE – CONSCIOUSNESS – HAPPINESS 301 12

The triangle of unhappiness 301 The tri-level of happiness 315 Man and civilization 328

CHAPTER 8 THE NEW POLITICAL PERSON: HE WHO WILL PUT PLANETARY INTERESTS ABOVE LOCAL INTERESTS 338 Mankind under the roof of democracy 338 For the first time, mankind in the spotlight of planetary events: planetary referenda 346 Universities in the vanguard of Philocosmy 351 The new political person: he who will give priority to planetary over local problems, guided by “one people, one goal” 353

CHAPTER 9 THE NEW RELIGIOUS PERSON: THE PERSON WITH FREE RELIGIOUS SENTIMENT 357 The Book of Humanity and the religions 357 Religious sentiment 360 Free religious sentiment 363 The inhibitive effect of religion on the search for truth in our world: the case of Ancient Greece 374 From Idolatry to God knowledge 382 1. Idolatry - God Worship - God Knowledge 382 2. Comparison between “biological” and “theological” evolution 383 3. Religious disputes and how we will resolve them 388 4. Mankind’s “scientific – religious” spectrum 389 5. Man must seek the path of understanding and not of fabricating the world 393 Our compass is “one people, one God” 394 Comparison between the creation of the universe and the creation of life and its consequences for theology 399 13

God is uninvolved in the events of our lives 402 The new religious person: the person with free religious sentiment 405 Towards a new religion: theossolonism 408 1. Introduction to the theossolonic religion 408 2. The traits of Theossolon 409 3. The relationship between Theossolon and the universe 409 4. The relationship between Theossolon and man 411 5. The relationship between the theossolonic religion and the other religions and with atheism 414 6. Theossolon: the ultimate god 418 7. Other characteristics of theossolonism 418 8. The “Intelligent Design” of Theossolon 420 9. Man’s “Grand Unified Concept” of God 422 10. The levels of the theossolonic religion 423

CHAPTER 10 THE NEW ECONOMIC PERSON: HE WHO WILL REIN IN HIS GREED 425 The three old paths of the economy (the three old “isms”) 425 1. Capitalism 425 2. Socialism 432 3. Communism 433 The old and new conditions of man’s survival 439 1. The old conditions of man’s survival 489 2. The new condition of man’s survival 440 The new course of the economy (the new “ism) philocosmism ” : 442 1. What philocosmism is 443 2. The economic principle of 14

philocosmism 449 3. The definition of philocosmism 456 4. The philocosmic transformation 462 The World History of Mankind and philocosmism 466 The new economic person: the philocosmist 470

CHAPTER 11 THE PHILOCOSMER: HE WHO WILL BE CONSTANTLY FIGHTING FOR A BETTER WORLD 472 Definition of Philocosmy and the Philocosmer 472 Description of Philocosmy and the philocosmer 476 1. Description of Philocosmy 476 2. Description of the philocosmer 487 Proposals of Philocosmy 490 Homo Erectus, Homo Sapiens, Homo Philocosmus 495

CHAPTER 12 OUR OVERALL GOAL: THE STATE OF PHILOCOSMY 502 Definition of the state of Philocosmy 502 Utopian societies 504 Philocosmy is not a utopian society, but is a “society by necessity” if we want not to perish 506 The unified vision of the State of Philocosmy is the triad “one people, one goal, one God” 512 The philocosmic symbols 513 The first one hundred years of Philocosmy 520 Partial implementation and the levels of Philocosmy 524 1. Partial implementation of Philocosmy 524 2. The levels of implementation of Philocosmy 524 Final comments 527

PART THREE

HOW WILL WE ACHIEVE OUR GOALS? 534

CHAPTER 13 SCIENTIFIC WAY OF GOVERNING THE PLANET: THE BOOK OF HUMANITY AS A GLOBAL CONTROLLER 540 Automatic Control Systems: Introductory Concepts 540 1. Preliminaries 541 2. Feedback: open and closed-loop ACSs 548 3. Specifications of a closed-loop ACS 553 4. Special closed-loop ACS strategies 554 Who controls whom in a society 558 The Book of Humanity has the structure of a closed-loop ACS 562 The Book of Humanity as a philocosmic global controller 563 Designing the philocosmic planetary controller 566 1. The three steps in designing a closed-loop ACS 566 2. The three factors of the controller 569 The double task (the double duty) of the philocosmic planetary controller 570 1. The (sub-) controllers of prevention and remedy 570 2. The great significance and value of the (sub-) controllers of prevention and remedy 575 The factors of preventability and remediability 577 The necessary and sufficient conditions for achieving the goals of the 16

Book of Humanity 587 The responsibility for designing the “Philocosmy” controller 588 Optimal and sub-optimal control strategy 590 The Book of Humanity as subject of scientific study 593 Planetary inter-scientific staff 596

CHAPTER 14 THE COSMOTHEORY OF PHILOCOSMYAND THE PHILOCOSMIC ENLIGHTENMENT 599 Introduction 599 Science – Philosophy – Religion 600 The holon 603 Anthropospacetime 608 Man’s self-identification 615 1. The history of man’s self- identification 615 2. The self-identification quotient (S.Q.) 619 3. If we want to survive and live a truly meaningful and substantial life S.Q.(r)= S.Q.(ι) 621 4. Know thyself, life, the universe and God 624 From a death-centered to a life-centered cosmotheory: towards a life of deeper meaning and substance 625 The constant point of reference and the recommended way of living 627 Philocosmic virtues, philocosmic liberation, philocosmic ideal, philocosmic happiness and man’s self-realization 629 1. Definitions 629 2. Man’s self-realization 631 3. General comments 634 Man’s philocosmic redemption is his self-realization 638 Man’s philocosmic destiny: Man is the guardian angel of the world 639 The Philocosmic Enlightenment 643 17

1. Introduction 643 2. The characteristics of the Philocosmic Enlightenment which guarantee its success 644 3. The Philocosmic Enlightenment as proposal-vision 646 4. The Philocosmic Enlightenment leads to the most beautiful and substantial life since the beginning of time 648 The Philocosmic sponge 648

CHAPTER 15 THE PHILOCOSMIC GOVERNANCE OF OUR PLANET 651 Introduction 651 Planetary institutions: general principles of structure, function and responsibilities of the Cosmostate 652 1. Definitions of planetary institutions 652 2. Aspirations of the Cosmostate 654 3. Cosmo-organizations 660 The human race is the unique and eternal planetarch on Earth 665 The philocosmic planetary state in the footsteps of the European Union 666 Philocosmic pilot programs 671 Have there been efforts to form a planetary government up to now? 673 Necessity and reason lead us to planetary institutions and not romanticism and utopia 674 Control mechanisms of the Cosmogovernment 680

CHAPTER 16 MAN’S “INTELLIGENT DESIGN” 688 The white flag of the Book of Humanity 688 The Book of Humanity is the quintessence of human toil 690 Man’s “Grand Unified Concept” of our world 692 1. God and man 692 18

2. Nature and man 693 3. The Book of Humanity 694 The three “dynamic” entities of our world 699 The Book of Humanity is the embodiment of Man’s “Intelligent Design” 700 The building of the Book of Humanity 704 1. The basement, the ground floor and the five floors of the building of the Book of Humanity 704 2. The position of Barack Obama in the building of the Book of Humanity 706 3. David and Goliath 709 4. The hammer and sickle 712 Several suggested organizational ideas on the implementation of Philocosmy 712

EPILOGUE 717 General conclusions 717 The Book of Humanity=Man’s “Intelligent Design” 721 Many recent developments rightly vindicate Philocosmy 727 THE TEN ISSUES OF THE BOOK OF HUMANITY 737

INDEX OF NAMES 743

BRIEF BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE ON THE AUTHOR 749

Prologue

PROLOGUE

INTRODUCTION

A brief review of mankind’s course since the beginning of time up to now could be summarized as follows: Mankind has progressed thanks to the countless struggles and sacrifices made by its peoples, who have contributed decisively to the establishment of certain universal values, such as freedom, democracy, equality, justice and peace. Mankind has also developed thanks to the contribution of many gifted fellow humans in various fields, such as science, technology, philosophy, art, culture and generally in man’s spiritual and ethical life. In recent decades, progress in science and technology has been exceptionally spectacular. This progress has opened up enormous possibilities, for the good, but also, unfortunately, for the bad. If this progress is used for the good, then we can say with certainty that man today possesses the exceedingly pleasant potential of producing goods that are capable of nourishing the whole of mankind and, at the same time, putting an end to poverty, destitution, disease and illiteracy on Earth. Never before in his history, throughout the centuries, has man had this priceless opportunity to be so useful to his fellow man and to the entire world. However, up to now, man has not taken advantage of this priceless opportunity to be useful to his fellow man, but has preferred to continue doing what he has been doing since the beginning of time, which is to increase his greed at the expense of his fellow man, which leads to a continual recycling of wars, poverty, injustice and inhumanity all around the planet. If, however, progress continues to be used in the way it is being used today, then Man is certainly heading for the undermining of himself and his own existence, creating great dangers, dead ends and threats. The most significant of these threats can be grouped in two categories, as follows:  The threat of great disasters for mankind and our planet (nuclear disaster, the destruction of the environment, overpopulation, the economic and energy crisis, contaminated food and the world food crisis, drugs, international terrorism, etc.).  The threat of great ethical and social dead ends, such as the threat of collapse of universal values (spiritual, moral and cultural values)

Prologue and the threat of increasing inhumanity (poverty, hunger, disease and destitution, which afflict 3/4 of the Earth’s population). This dyad of threats seriously undermines the future of mankind because it could mean incalculable catastrophes, and even mankind’s complete destruction. These great threats resemble a many-headed monster, which day by day is growing bigger and stronger, and is constantly becoming more difficult to annihilate. Consequently, the sooner we decide to deal with it, the better our chances of taming it. The longer we leave it alone to grow bigger and stronger, the fewer our chances of overcoming it. We pose the following question: Starting today and given everything we have done, good and bad, from now on, what can we do to set mankind on a path that is safe, just and humane? There are many answers to this question. There is, however, one answer that we certainly all agree on. This answer is that mankind’s course must provide at least the basics for every inhabitant of the planet. And when we say the basics, don’t think we mean anything extravagant or unfeasible (e.g. villas and palaces for each of us). We mean something reasonable and feasible, which is a way of life that we all deserve. In other words, a way of life in which each one of us will have what he needs to survive and to live in a safe, peaceful, just and humane society. We pose another question: Has mankind succeeded up to now in taking this course? The answer is known to all of us and it is that unfortunately mankind has not yet found its way. The undeniable proof of this is that since the beginning of time, the overwhelming majority of people have been and remain poor, illiterate, marginalized, neglected, humiliated and unhappy. And worst of all is, mankind not only has not found its way, but in recent years, through his greed and foolishness, man has taken a course which will lead him to incalculable catastrophes, if not his complete destruction. Now we pose the following reasonable question: Has mankind ever come up with and implemented an overall plan that will daily bring it closer to the desired course mentioned above? Has mankind ever come up with an overall plan, has it ever had a planetary vision, which will raise it from the level of degradation and lead it to a better life that we can live, if nothing else, like HUMAN BEINGS? The answer is that we never have. And not having such a plan, we have developed and continue to develop without guidelines, in a wasteful and exceptionally

Prologue dangerous way, recycling war, poverty and destitution in very corner of the planet, as we have since the beginning of time. Finally, we pose the most important question of all: Does mankind need such a plan today and for the future? If so, what is this plan? How can we come up with and implement such a plan? Who is going to decide on this plan in the end? I am of the opinion that mankind should long ago have dealt with its overall course, with the overall planning of the course of mankind, and to have implemented such an overall plan. If it had done that, then today man would be at a very high level of prosperity and civilization in every corner of the Earth. As for the future, I am of the uncompromising view that such an overall plan is absolutely essential if we want both to survive the great threats to mankind and to create a better world. As time goes by, the need to come up with and implement such a plan is becoming so imperative that if we do not do it soon, we may perish. The tragedy of man is that he is born, grows up and dies in a world that he himself did not create. In a world in which it is not written anywhere who created it, for what purpose he created it, why he created life and particularly man, how man should live, what man’s purpose is on Earth and in the universe, etc. Throughout the ages, man has tried to comprehend and to adapt to this world and, to the best of his ability, to improve the conditions of his stay here. In his effort to comprehend the world, man has wandered and been beset by superstitions, convictions and prejudices. Only in the last few centuries, and continuing up to the present, science has brought to light some great discoveries which allow us to leave ignorance behind and to emerge into the light of knowledge. Of course, to date, scientific knowledge has not provided answers to all the questions that have preoccupied us, but it has answered many important questions, radically changing the course of man. For the first time, the scientific knowledge we have today gives mankind a clear answer as to how we can achieve a better life for all of us in this world, in this universe we live in. This answer says that there is no point in expecting help from others, but only from ourselves and our fellow humans. We must realize that the responsibility for a better life rests solely with us. Only if man relies on himself and cooperates with his fellow men can he have well-grounded hopes of being able to transform the human drama that he is living into a human miracle.

Prologue

The truth is that science and technology have clarified many matters and will continue to clarify many more, as far as the universe and life are concerned. What has not been clarified by science or anyone else is the meaning of the “work” in progress, the meaning and the message of the “work” that we call the universe and life. However, in this “work” in progress, from the moment that man becomes conscious of what he sees, he takes on a part of the responsibility. The book you are holding in your hands is an attempt to define this responsibility, a proposal for taking initiatives about life, man, the planet, the universe and God himself. We stress once again that over the last decades, advances in science and technology have been extraordinarily spectacular. However, up to now, man has not utilized this invaluable opportunity to be useful to his fellow man, but has preferred to continue to do what he has been doing since the beginning of time, which is to increase his greed at the expense of his fellow humans and of nature. If, however, progress continues to be used in the way it is used today, Man will be leading himself to the undermining of his own self, of his own existence, because Mankind, embracing nuclear weapons, the destruction of the environment, overpopulation, the economic and energy crises, etc., has no future. It is a coexistence that will not last long. The above show that Humanity and our Planet are sending out an S.O.S. To respond to this S.O.S., we will all have to cooperate in order to agree on a common overall plan, which will guarantee that this progress will no longer lead humanity to a techno-scientific culture with no orientation, which is absurd and terribly dangerous, but on the contrary, will lead it to a world that is safe, peaceful, just, prosperous and profoundly humane. Within this framework, we have taken the initiative and formulated a proposal for such a plan. A proposal for discussion and inquiry. A proposal which we call, in a word, Philocosmy, which we present in this book entitled, The Book of Humanity: Man’s “Intelligent Design”.

THE BOOK OF HUMANITY: MAN’S “INTELLIGENT DESIGN”

Let us stop and listen and think about the eternal questions: Who created the universe and how? Who created man and how? Where have we come from and where are we going? Why are we here? What is the purpose of man’s existence? Is there life after death? What is the most

Prologue advisable way of life? Could there be values that all men should implement and what could those be? Who determines these values? What do we want to achieve in our life? Who determines our goals and how we will achieve our goals? For the sake of brevity, we summarize these questions in the following three:

Who are we really? What should our goals be? How will we achieve our goals?

What is ultimately the answer to the above questions? We can say that there are many answers. As many as there are stages of human history, as many as there are human societies, as many as there are cultures, as many as there are people. These answers are sometimes found written in texts, sometimes in people’s traditions, sometimes in archeologists’ findings. Some of these answers, and particularly those from the distant past, may have been lost forever or some of them are still buried in the Earth after thousands of years. What is most impressive of all is the enormous number of books that have been written to answer the above three age-old questions. These books can be divided in different categories, such as religious, philosophical, political, scientific and others. Next, for each of these categories, we will present a few indicative titles of the most significant of these books:

Religious books:  The Bible. It is the holy book of the Jewish religion.  The Gospel. These are the holy books of the Christian religion.  The Koran. This is the holy book of the Muslim religion.  The Bhagavad Gita. It is the holy book of Hinduism.  The Tao Te Ching. This is the holy book of Taoism.  The Kangyur. This is the holy book of Buddhism.

Philosophical books:  The books of Plato.  The books of Aristotle. 25

Prologue

 The books of Kant.  The books of Hegel.

Political books:  The books of Plato.  The books of Aristotle.  Rousseau’s Social Contract.  Marx’s Das Kapital.

Scientific books:  Galileo’s Dialogues.  Newton’s Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy.  The Origin of Species by Darwin.  Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity.  DNA by Watson and Crick.

The books above show that up to now not one book has been written that covers the whole range of activities and aspirations of the human race, but every book refers to some of the activities and aspirations, such as religion, philosophy, politics, science, etc. It is obvious that it would be extremely useful for such a book to be written, a book which would cover all of the aspects of the human race and whose ultimate goal is to present an overall view of our world. As for the title of this book, we take the liberty of proposing the title The Book of Humanity: Man’s “Intelligent Design.” We point out that the Book of Humanity: Man’s “Intelligent Design.” differs without exception from all of the preceding books that have existed up to now, in terms of both author as well as content, as follows:  The author will be all of the Earth’s inhabitants.  The content will be the answers given by mankind to the three eternal questions that we mentioned before, that is, on the following three questions: Who are we really? What should our goals be? And how will we achieve our goals? We make it clear from the start that the Book of Humanity: Man’s “Intelligent Design” or simply The Book of Humanity, is not coming to negate any of the existing books, such as those we presented above, but it is coming to unite, to show off their substance and to

Prologue elevate the sphere of spiritual integration in which, in any case, they are united. With all of the views of all people of all times united, and reconciled from now on, the Book of Humanity will be the beacon that will light the way and guide Humanity so that it will AT LAST reach its desired goal, which is to build, all together, a world that is worthy of us. The structure of the Book of Humanity is adapted to the framework of Man’s three age-old questions which we raised earlier and that is why it has been separated in three Parts, where each Part answers one of these three age-old questions. More specifically, these three Parts have the following titles:  Part One: Who are we really?  Part Two: What should our goals be?  Part Three: How will we achieve our goals? The Book of Humanity has as its main goal to organize and put in order the overall course of mankind in such a way that it will be as friendly to, and as comprehensible and accepted by, as much of the human race as possible. And to achieve that, it has chosen the following specific way: to approach the whole problem of mankind’s course by providing complete and persuasive answers to the above three main age- old questions of man. Note that these three questions have not been placed in random order, but as they should be so that each successive question will be answered based on the answers of the preceding question or of the preceding questions. In this way, the correct sequence of answers to the three questions is ensured, which will lead us with certainty to the achievement of the ultimate goal of the Book of Humanity, which is to come up with and implement an overall plan that will lead us to a life of meaning and substance and to a world full of meaning. The Book of Humanity is aimed at providing a new orientation, which will comprise the foundation and, at the same time, the common compass for all mankind (and not many compasses as we have had up to now), which will lead us to the desired goal of upgrading all of the peoples on Earth. The Book of Humanity will contain the visions of the human race, written simply and comprehensibly by all of us for all of us. It will be the common point of reference of all of the peoples on Earth. It will be the mind and soul of mankind. It will be the expression of our

Prologue planetary intelligence. It will be the universal conscience. It will be the signature of humanity. The Book of Humanity will unite us so that we can deal with any schemer. It will unite us in our effort to deter any evil that threatens humanity and together to build a better world. The Book of Humanity will be the advocate of the human race, of nature, of Mother Earth. It will be the call for a global and panhuman dialogue, in which together we will select and implement a common line of defense for man against the annihilation of his dignity and for our planet against the annihilation of life. The Book of Humanity will be the declaration of mankind’s right to the continuity of life. This declaration is the most important in the history of our race. It is a global and universal demand that must be legally safeguarded and put into practice as quickly as possible. There is no room here for failure. Because if we fail, there will not be a second chance, because everything will have ended, since life will have ended and the planet Earth will have become a vast graveyard. The Book of Humanity’s fundamental goal is to unite people into what it really is: one unified and indivisible race, the human race. And it will achieve this goal if Mankind adopts the foremost triad of the Book of Humanity, which is “ONE PEOPLE, ONE GOAL, ONE GOD.” “ONE PEOPLE” means that we are all brothers, that we are one unified human race, because regardless of the color of a person’s skin, beneath the skin, all people are the same. “ONE GOAL” means that we all agree on one common goal: to construct a planetary political- economic system that will guarantee a life that is safe, just and humane for all of us. “ONE GOD” means that we all agree that there are not many gods, but that there is only one God, which on one hand will lead us to better levels of understanding and faith in God, while on the other hand it will contribute significantly to our further spiritual and moral elevation. If we achieve this hugely significant triple goal, then we will have laid the essential foundations that will ensure us a life that is better for all of us. The Book of Humanity will be the philocosmic planetary controller (or regulator) that will keep an alert eye on mankind’s course. And in order to ensure the desired course of mankind, it will implement both preventive as well as remedial measures. In cases where it finds that mankind’s actual course is deviating from the desired course,

Prologue it will intervene so that our course will always be within the desired specified limits. The preventive measures will be the universal values known to all of us, such as democracy, justice, peace, equality, education, ethos, honesty, virtue, etc. In addition to the universal values, the preventive measures will include two new approaches which will contribute catalytically to man’s elevation. The two new approaches are the Philocosmic Cosmotheory and the Philocosmic Enlightenment. These two approaches will be mankind’s springboard which will help it and guide it in making the necessary moral and spiritual leap, so that it can manage to do away with the ball and chains of the past and to reach up high, where it will be able to put into practice that which we call the philocosmic way of perceiving our world. This new way of perceiving our world is based on scientific knowledge and reason, which reveal to us the mysteries of the universe and of life. These revelations show us who we really are and help us to define our goals and point the way to the road that will lead to their achievement. The remedial measures will be planetary codes and laws that will have to be enforced by all of the people on Earth. More specifically, a neutral planetary democratic authority, the Cosmostate, will be formed and will consist of three bodies, the Cosmogovernment, the Cosmoparliament and the Cosmojudiciary, which will function as a global regulator, so that mankind’s course will remain within desired limits. The officials of these three bodies will be elected through cosmo- elections by all of the people on Earth. The primary and most urgent goal of the Book of Humanity is to protect our planet from the great threats. The survival of the human race can be accomplished if we make the armor of knowledge that we possess serve man. Starting with that and implementing democratic processes on a global scale, we can set in motion a new way of governing our planet. With the participation of all the inhabitants of the Earth, through planetary referenda, cosmoreferenda, we can establish neutral and impartial planetary institutions. One such institution could be, as we have already mentioned, the Cosmostate, with exclusively planetary authorities, that is, authorities concerning only matters related to the protection of the planet from the great threats, aimed at ensuring the smooth and unhindered progress of the upward development of the human race. In this way, mankind will continue its beautiful journey on

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Earth, wearing a safety belt, thus reducing the possibility of injury or the shortening of life by the great threats. Along with the guarantee of a safe planetary course for man and life, the Book of Humanity will propose the development of important activities to combat the two other extremely great threats against mankind: the collapse of universal values and increasing inhumanity. The more profound goal of the Book of Humanity is to raise man up from the level of insignificance, where the powerful since the beginning of time have so cleverly kept him, and raise him up high, where he rightfully belongs: on the pedestal of the topmost life form of his world. And he rightfully belongs on this pedestal because from now on, life and the universe will no longer be entirely under the control of natural and biological laws, but also under the control of man. That is why man must be worthy of this position and become the philocosmic leader and controller of life and of the universe (in the noble sense of the terms leader and controller), that is, the guardian angel of his world. It becomes apparent that the Book of Humanity is an optimistic life attitude. It is a life attitude that looks ahead to the near and distant future and proposes awareness and vigilance so that we will take the necessary preventive measures to prevent the worsening of the evils that threaten mankind and that are gradually increasing with time. Overall, it aims at forming the appropriate all-encompassing spiritual atmosphere that the human race needs so that, as we have already said, it will be freed of its prejudices, the human passions, profiteering, criminality, graft and corruption and, supported by knowledge, values and our collective consciousness, it will build a better world for all of us. In order to achieve the goals of the Book of Humanity, we will have to tell the whole truth, to put it all on the table, to call a spade a spade, without likes and dislikes for anyone, but with courage, candor, selflessness and love for others and with the sole purpose of creating a better world for all of us by all of us. By telling the whole truth, we will most likely become unpleasant to many. We sincerely ask for forgiveness in advance. It is not our intention to be unpleasant and harsh with anyone. However, there is no other path for the Book of Humanity, unless we accept the whole truth. If we do not tell the whole truth, if we do not believe that the philocosmer’s sole purpose is to seek the truth selflessly, then we ourselves are undermining the criterion that would be a catalyst for a better world. In other words, we are undermining precisely that which we wish to accomplish.

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If we manage to place our planet within the framework of the Book of Humanity, we will have achieved the greatest victory that man has ever accomplished. We will have well-grounded hopes that we are on a course that gradually converges on a safe planet and a humane life. We will have well-grounded hopes that mankind’s course is gradually converging on the desired goal of all people of all times, which is that the entire planet is rendered a society of people with equal opportunities for each inhabitant of Earth. It will be a new age of joy and creativity. The planet Earth will no longer be inhabited by HOMO SAPIENS (intelligent man), but by a new, even greater glorification of the creation of life, the PHILOCOSMER. He will be the man whose distinctive features are thoughtfulness, protection, respect and love for the entire world, both animate and inanimate, for our planet, for the whole universe and for God. He will be the man permanently engaged in the battle for the good of his fellow man, for the dignity and happiness of us all. He will be the man constantly fighting for man and the glorification of life. The Book of Humanity will be written in common by all of the peoples on Earth. The book at hand, the Book of Humanity, expresses the author’s initial view on how he imagines the composition of the book in question and calls upon every inhabitant of Earth to express his view so that together we can co-formulate the Book of Humanity, adopt it and implement it in every corner of our planet. Thus, for the first time, humanity itself will be at the helm of humanity. It will be the sum total of the scientific knowledge, views and wishes of all of us. It will be a guide that will light the way and provide us with solutions to our problems, which with time will become crystal- clear, as scientific knowledge is added to and broadened. And this is the most advisable solution because the best helmsman of the human race is the human race itself. There is no better helmsman than the human race. That is why the Book of Humanity could have the title: “THE COURSE OF MANKIND.” Thus, for the first time in history, mankind will at last have found its way. A way that mankind has been hungrily searching for since the beginning of time. A way that will be based on the cooperation and unity of all the peoples and will lead to a peaceful and humane world. A way that will point to the spiritual and moral elevation of man, just as the compass always points to the north. Thus, for the first time in history, Humanity will have its own book, which it will have written for itself. It will be the Book of the

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Human Species. It will be the Book of the Human Race. That is why this book could fairly be called the Universal Social Contract, the Social Gospel of Humanity. It could be called the guide of life. It could be called the identity of the human species. The Book of Humanity does not aim to gain your appreciation and admiration, but your concern and questioning. It does not demand that you accept everything it says, but that you think it all over. If it succeeds in doing that, then it will have achieved its basic goal, because the first decisive step of the Book of Humanity is to move us to question the present and the future of mankind. If it achieves that, then we will have well-grounded hopes that we will be able to change things for the better. The Book of Humanity must not be seen as a simple reading, but as a source of inspiration for the present and future generations to contribute not only to perfecting it, but to implementing it so that AT LAST the human race will see better days. The Book of Humanity is an S.O.S. for our world. It is an S.O.S. for us to wake up and resist the disease of graft, corruption, the stink and decay of fascism and imperialism, which eat away at our democracy, education and culture and which will one day strangle us. That is why, we note again, the Book of Humanity should not be regarded simply as something to read. Because the Book of Humanity is a proposal for action, for immediate and decisive action. It is a message that we hope will serve as an alarm bell and as a trigger and is summarized as follows: People of the whole Earth, rise up to save our planet and create a better world. It is unacceptable, it is inconceivable, it is catastrophic for all of us that the private interests of just a few “wolves” should determine the course of mankind and our civilization. We will not allow, we must not allow a few cunning ones to destroy mankind, literally for a handful of dollars (or a handful of euros or whichever other currency you like). We must struggle. We must resist. There is no other choice! If we do not struggle, if we do not resist and finally, if we do not get serious, we may perish. That is why we maintain that:

“The Book of Humanity must become known and loved by the entire world, just as the Moon and the Sun are.”

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The Book of Humanity is a message of Hope. It is a message of hope for a life we desire, with an effort we can make. It is a message for us to rally against those who so cleverly tie our hands and then trample on us and take advantage of us, just so they can acquire greater wealth, power, glory and fame and let the rest live in deprivation, disease, despair, humiliation and darkness. Against those who have so skillfully managed to make us feel that the supreme human law, which is the OBVIOUS GOOD FOR US ALL, that is, peace and prosperity for all people, should be considered INCONCEIVABLE and UNACHIEVABLE. And we will rise up to make radical-revolutionary changes to change things and create a better world. The Book of Humanity will not be static, but dynamic, in the sense that it will be adapted to every new demand of life. In practical terms, this means that the book of humanity will have to be issued at regular time intervals, improved and adapted to each new circumstance, adapted to new scientific knowledge and the new demands of life. We propose that the Book of Humanity be translated into all of the languages and distributed free of charge to all the families in every corner of the Earth. We also propose that a common course be established in all of the high schools on Earth, where the course book will be the same for all of the high school students all over the Earth, and it should be the Book of Humanity. Likewise, we suggest that the Book of Humanity, written and adapted for younger ages, be taught in all the elementary schools and middle schools on Earth. We point out once again that the views and proposals of the Book of Humanity are called, in a word, Philocosmy. The word Philocosmy (in ancient Greek, philo=I love) is knowledge, respect, care, protection and love for the entire world, where the term world includes everything: ourselves, our fellow humans, nature, the entire universe and God. Therefore, the title “The Book of Humanity: Man’s Intelligent Design” has the equivalent and synonymous title Philocosmy. But the title “The Book of Humanity: Man’s Intelligent Design” can also be divided in two parts: “The Book of Humanity” and “Man’s Intelligent Design,” where these two parts are also identical and synonymous. In particular, the Book of Humanity is the written expression of Man’s Intelligent Design. In summary, we have:

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The Book of Humanity: Man’s “Intelligent Design” = The Book of Humanity = Man’s “Intelligent Design” = Philocosmy

The titles above will be used interchangeably in the text and as we see fit, which will help in the best possible presentation of the material of the book. The foremost thought in the Book of Humanity is the idea of Man’s “Intelligent Design.” This thought starts with the ascertainment that in our world, there are three “dynamic” beings: God, Nature and Man. God “provides for” the universe based on an “Intelligent Design” (that is what we believe). Nature “provides for” life based on an “Intelligent Design” (this is what we see). Man “provides for” his course based on his own “Intelligent Design” (this is not what we have begun to formulate). In closing, we can say that the Book of Humanity comprises a framework, a broad framework, within which are found all human activities and aspirations, all of man’s contemplations and quests, all of the wishes and dreams of all people of all times. All of these, gathered together within the framework of the Book of Humanity, express a powerful message of hope. All of these, gathered together within the framework of the Book of Humanity, resemble an enormous garden, which we humans have been cultivating since the beginning of time. Up to now, it appears that, while we try to make this garden a paradise, where we will all, without exception, live meaningfully and substantially, we have still not managed to do it. I wonder, why? What has been to blame and what continues to be to blame for hindering us from constructing a better world for all of us? The Book of Humanity is and will continue to be, perhaps forever, a common effort of all of the inhabitants of the Earth in their search for the causes of our failure and then, in finding the most advisable solution for our way out of the situation we find ourselves in and, finally, in the implementation of this solution. In this effort, we all wish all of us every success. Finally, we point out that the book is divided in 16 chapters, each of which is almost self-contained, allowing one to read them in any order he likes. In addition, the sixteen chapters together constitute a “vertebral” form of presenting the book. This vertebral form was chosen so that

Prologue reading it will not become tiring and so that understanding the material will be easier. Also we point out that the information given in brackets about some important person appears only once, specifically the first time that the person is encountered in the book. All the rest page numbers on which the name of the person is mentioned are provided in the INDEX OF NAMES at the end of the book. * If I were a painter, I would draw the most important picture of my life in order to show you how I feel and to tell you my opinion about what course we have to take in the fog and moral decline we are living in. If I were a poet, I would write my best poem. If I were a novelist, I would write my best story. I am none of those things. I am a simple person and this book is the best I could do for my fellow man, for mother Earth, for the entire world, for God himself. With this book I want nothing more than to be given the opportunity to leave behind the intense loneliness that is cultivated in these times and to speak to all of you, with all the people on Earth, about how we can handle the gift of life that we hold in our hands. To tell you how I feel about God, about the universe, about life, about the future of mankind, but also to hear you speak and take interest in the same things. This book is the product of a long quest and study of the many aspects of human activity. My interest was first sparked long ago, in my childhood, and was triggered by the teaching of Christ about love. As I grew up and reached the present day, that spark has strengthened and gradually turned into a fire by many experiences and stimuli. More than any other stimulus, it was a few lines from the work “Christ Recrucified” by the great Greek thinker and man of letters of the 20th century, Nikos Kazantzakis (1883-1957) that influenced me. These few lines refer to a dialogue between Father Fotis (an old and wise priest) and Manolios (an illiterate, young and kindhearted shepherd), which goes as follows: “And every man, Manolios said ardently, ‘can himself save the whole world. I have often had that thought, Father, and it makes me tremble. Have we then such a great responsibility? What must we do, then, before we die? What way must we follow?’ ‘Hush.’ Night had fallen now, the old women had lit fires and were preparing the meal; famished, the children waited, squatting round them. 35

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Manolios placed his hand on the knee of Father Fotis, who, deep in thought, said nothing. ‘How ought we to love God, Father?’ he asked in a whisper. ‘By loving men, my son.’ ‘And how ought we to love men?’ ‘By trying to guide them along the right path.’ ‘And what is the right path?’ ‘The one that rises.” For many years I have tried to answer the following question which I put in the mouth of Manolios: ‘And what is this path that rises, Father?’ ‘Philocosmy, my child.’

14 February 2011 P. N. Paraskevopoulos

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Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, 1452-1519, Italian painter. One of the greatest masterpieces of painting. She looks like a living creature. She seems to be looking at us and to have her own opinion of what she sees (Korn I. 1997 and Gombrich E.H. 2000).

A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE BOOK OF HUMANITY

Over the last decades, advances in science and technology have been extraordinarily spectacular. However, up to now, man has not utilized this invaluable opportunity to be useful to his fellow man, but has preferred to continue to do what he has been doing since the beginning of time, which is to increase his greed at the expense of his fellow humans and of nature. If, however, progress continues to be used in the way it is used today, Man will be leading himself to the undermining of his own self, of his own existence, because Mankind, embracing nuclear weapons, the destruction of the environment, overpopulation, the economic and energy crises, etc., has no future. It is a coexistence that will not last long. The above show that Humanity and our Planet are sending out an S.O.S. To respond to this S.O.S., we will all have to cooperate in order to agree on a common overall plan, which will guarantee that this progress will no longer lead humanity to a techno-scientific culture with no orientation, which is absurd and terribly dangerous, but on the contrary, will lead it to a world that is safe, peaceful, just, prosperous and profoundly humane. Within this framework, we have taken the initiative and formulated a proposal for such a plan. A proposal for discussion and inquiry. A proposal which we call, in a word, Philocosmy, which we present in this book entitled, The Book of Humanity: Man’s “Intelligent Design”.  The Book of Humanity is a first attempt to present a philocosmic, moderate and realistic common overall plan which presents solutions to the current and future problems of mankind. This proposal has a panhuman universal orientation with two main goals. The first goal is to safeguard the continuation of life on our planet by deterring and eliminating peacefully the great dangers (the calamity of war, the destruction of the environment, etc.), which threaten us with catastrophe of biblical proportions or even with our complete extinction. The second goal is to upgrade the quality of life by bringing back universal values and by fighting social corruption, the violation of human rights, injustice, poverty, illiteracy and inhumanity.  The Book of Humanity is a new universal web whose elements are imperative need and the common good, and which will be woven out of the two best ‘threads’ ever made by man: Knowledge and Love. This panhuman web will bring us all closer so that together we can deal with the great problems of our planet and of humanity, with a deep faith that the Planetarch of Earth is one, unique and eternal and is the Human Race. And we will govern through cosmoreferenda (or global referenda) and with one neutral and impartial democratic Cosmogovernment (or Global Government) which will be elected by all of the voters on Earth through free and democratic processes.  The Book of Humanity proposes a new Cosmotheory and a new Enlightenment, which we call Philocosmic Cosmotheory and Philocosmic Enlightenment. The Cosmotheory of Philocosmy raises man up from the unjust insignificance into which he has fallen and places him where God himself has always placed him, as the mind, soul and conscience of the universe, as the guardian angel of the world. The Philocosmic Enlightenment unites all existing values, adds new ones and creates one unified, indivisible supreme value. The Philocosmic Enlightenment, thanks to which the Cosmogovernment will be able to function, is not a precept, but is an eternal universal TRUTH and has the following main feature: It simultaneously serves Man, Nature and God in the best possible way.  The Book of Humanity is the embodiment of Man’s “Intelligent Design” with the aim of a better world for all of us.