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Frank Visser, graduated as a psychologist of culture and religion, founded IntegralWorld in 1997. He worked as production manager for various publishing houses and as service manager for various internet companies and lives in Amsterdam. Books: Ken Wilber: Thought as Passion (SUNY, 2003), and The Corona Conspiracy: Combatting Disinformation about the Coronavirus (Kindle, 2020).

Cosmo-Erotic Humanism

A New Story of Humanity's Place in the Universe

Frank Visser / ChatGPT

In an age of existential uncertainty, climate breakdown, technological acceleration, and widespread spiritual disenchantment, the search for a new cultural narrative has become urgent. Among the proposals that have emerged is cosmo-erotic humanism—a visionary synthesis of evolutionary science, spiritual insight, and ethical philosophy. Advocates describe it as a “new story of the universe,” a response to the fragmented worldviews of modernity and postmodernity. While still in its formative stage, cosmo-erotic humanism aims to reawaken a sense of purpose, agency, and intimacy with the cosmos.

This essay explores the conceptual roots, key themes, and critical implications of cosmo-erotic humanism. It also examines the philosophical tensions that arise when metaphysical claims are made in the name of evolution, and it invites a closer look at the cultural and psychological appeal of fusing eros with cosmology.

1. The Term and Its Origins

The term cosmo-erotic humanism was popularized by Marc Gafni and Zachary Stein, drawing inspiration from earlier integrative thinkers such as Teilhard de Chardin, Sri Aurobindo, Alfred North Whitehead, and Ken Wilber. It combines three elements:

• Cosmos: Referring not merely to the physical universe but to an ordered and evolving Whole, imbued with meaning and direction.
• Eros: Not only sexual love, but a broader life-principle of creativity, attraction, and wholeness-seeking.
• Humanism: A reaffirmation of human dignity, agency, and moral responsibility—now grounded in the larger evolutionary story.

Cosmo-erotic humanism is both a metaphysical and ethical vision. It proposes that human beings are not accidental byproducts of a blind universe but expressions of a deep Eros that drives evolution toward ever-higher forms of complexity, consciousness, and communion.

Marc Gafni is a controversial spiritual teacher and former rabbi known for his work on Integral spirituality and ethical philosophy. He is the co-founder of the Center for World Philosophy and Religion and a leading voice behind the concept of "Unique Self Theory," which plays a central role in cosmo-erotic humanism. Zachary Stein is a philosopher of education and meta-theorist affiliated with the Consilience Project and other transformative initiatives. He brings a rigorous interdisciplinary lens to questions of evolution, meaning, and global ethics. Together, Gafni and Stein have collaborated on developing cosmo-erotic humanism as both a cultural philosophy and a spiritual framework, aiming to provide a coherent worldview that integrates science, consciousness, and moral vision.

2. The Narrative Frame: From Matter to Meaning

At the heart of cosmo-erotic humanism is a mythos—a sacred story of the universe. This story begins not with the fall of man or a random Big Bang, but with a fundamental drive toward intimacy embedded in the fabric of reality. According to its proponents, this cosmo-erotic energy manifests at every level:

• In subatomic attraction and chemical bonding.
• In biological reproduction, evolutionary novelty, and symbiosis.
• In human love, artistic expression, and moral yearning.
• In the drive toward self-transcendence, empathy, and planetary citizenship.

What distinguishes this view from purely scientific accounts of evolution is its normative and teleological interpretation. Evolution is not a neutral process; it is interpreted as a love story, and humans are its self-aware protagonists. In this light, human creativity, sexuality, and ethical striving are expressions of the very forces that have shaped galaxies and life itself.

3. Eros as First Principle

Cosmo-erotic humanism redefines Eros as the central metaphysical principle—a “First Value” or “First Cause” that undergirds all being. This is not reducible to sexual energy but includes it as one of its many expressions. Eros is the yearning for more life, more connection, more depth, more meaning.

Drawing from Whiteheadian process philosophy, Eros is seen as the lure toward novelty and aesthetic intensity. From Teilhard, it inherits the notion of the universe as converging toward greater unity and complexity—culminating in the “Omega Point” of planetary consciousness. From Wilber, it borrows the idea of Spirit-in-action—a dynamic unfolding of consciousness through evolutionary stages.

This metaphysics is sometimes framed in contrast to what Gafni calls “scientific materialism,” which sees the universe as impersonal and meaningless. Cosmo-erotic humanism seeks to re-enchant science, arguing that matter itself is not dead or inert but the visible expression of deeper energetic and intelligent currents.

4. Toward a Global Ethos: The Politics of Intimacy

At the ethical and cultural level, cosmo-erotic humanism aspires to generate a new planetary ethos. If the universe is an evolving love story, and if humans are its self-aware agents, then the moral imperative is to align with its direction. This translates into several key ethical commitments:

• Radical intimacy: Seeing the self not as isolated but as intrinsically connected to others, the earth, and the cosmos.
• Unique Self theory: Each person embodies a distinct perspective of the whole, and thus carries a unique gift and obligation.
• Global responsibility: A call to overcome tribalism, nationalism, and religious parochialism in favor of a shared planetary future.
• Erotic activism: A vision of social transformation rooted not only in justice but in joy, creativity, and desire for deeper connection.

This ethos rejects nihilism and alienation in favor of cosmic belonging. It invites individuals to become lovers of reality—to participate in the healing of the world not as an external duty but as an erotic calling.

5. Philosophical and Scientific Critiques

Despite its inspirational rhetoric, cosmo-erotic humanism faces serious philosophical challenges. Chief among them is its reliance on teleology—the idea that evolution is going somewhere, guided by purpose or value. This clashes with mainstream evolutionary biology, which emphasizes contingency, natural selection, and the absence of intrinsic directionality.

Moreover, the metaphysical inflation of terms like “Eros,” “Unique Self,” and “Intimacy” risks blurring the boundary between poetic metaphor and ontological claim. Critics argue that such language, while seductive, can obscure the hard-won insights of empirical science and reintroduce spiritual metaphysics through the back door.

The appeal to a mythic structure—while psychologically powerful—can also lead to the sacralization of vague abstractions. The risk is that cosmo-erotic humanism may function more as a therapeutic ideology than a rigorous philosophical framework.

6. Cultural Significance and Future Prospects

Nonetheless, the emergence of cosmo-erotic humanism reflects a genuine cultural yearning: to overcome the split between science and spirit, fact and value, self and world. It responds to the crisis of meaning that afflicts both secular and religious cultures. Its promise lies not in replacing science with mysticism, but in integrating knowledge and meaning in a coherent ethical vision.

Whether or not its metaphysical claims hold up, cosmo-erotic humanism offers a symbolic grammar for reimagining humanity's role in a fragile, interconnected world. It invites a shift from alienation to participation, from control to care, from disconnection to intimacy.

Conclusion

Cosmo-erotic humanism is best understood as a mytho-poetic philosophy of evolution—a bold attempt to articulate a new story for a planetary civilization in crisis. It draws from science, spirituality, and humanistic ethics to imagine a world animated by love, creativity, and deep belonging.

Its enduring value may not lie in its speculative metaphysics but in its existential orientation: the call to live as conscious expressions of a meaningful cosmos, to love more deeply, to act more wisely, and to co-create a future worthy of the story we choose to tell.