William Irwin Thompson (1938 – 2020) was an American cultural [[History|historian]], philosopher, and writer whose work straddled history, myth, literature, [[Science]], and [[Spirituality]]. He is best known for synthesising wide-ranging disciplines into sweeping narratives about [[Civilisation]], consciousness, and the future. Here are the main dimensions of his life and thought: ![[IMG_Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture (1981).jpeg]] 1.  Academic and Intellectual Background - Educated at Pomona College and Cornell University (PhD in comparative literature). - Taught at institutions such as MIT and York University (Toronto). - Left academia in the mid-1970s, disillusioned with its limitations, and founded the Lindisfarne Association in 1972, an intellectual and spiritual [[Community]] that brought together scientists, poets, artists, and mystics. 2.  The Lindisfarne Association - Named after the medieval monastic community on Lindisfarne, an island off the Northumbrian coast known as a centre of early Christian learning. - It was conceived as a modern monastery for scholars and artists, seeking to bridge science, [[Religion]], [[Art]], and [[Ecology]]. - Participants included figures like Gregory Bateson, James Lovelock, E. F. Schumacher, and Kathleen Raine. - It functioned as a counter-institution to the conventional university and became a hub for cross-disciplinary exploration. 3.  Themes in His Work - Cultural [[Evolution]]: Thompson viewed history as a series of transformations of consciousness, often using mythic and poetic frameworks rather than purely [[Empirical]] ones. - Critique of Modernity: He argued that the modern, industrial, and technocratic world had reached a crisis of [[Meaning]] and sustainability. - Myth and [[imagination]]: For him, myth was not an archaic remnant but a living, essential form of knowledge. - Ecology and Planetary Culture: He was early in articulating a vision of planetary consciousness and ecological awareness, anticipating much of today’s discourse on sustainability. - New Sciences: He engaged with [[Systems Theory]], [[Chaos]], Gaia theory, and other alternative scientific paradigms, seeing them as part of a cultural shift away from mechanistic [[Thinking]]. 4.  Key Works - At the Edge of History (1971) — one of his most influential books, exploring the cultural shift from industrial [[Society]] to what he called “planetary culture.” - Passages About Earth (1974) — reflections on ecology, travel, and myth. - [[The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light]] (1981) — a sweeping account of myth, sexuality, and the origins of culture. - Coming into Being (1996) — another exploration of creation myths and the evolution of consciousness. - C.G. Jung and Hermann Hesse (2017, late work) — revisiting the role of psychology and literature in shaping the inner life. 5.  Style and Approach - Thompson’s writing is often poetic, metaphorical, and associative rather than linear or strictly academic. - He drew freely from mythology, anthropology, literature, and speculative science. - His voice positioned him closer to a poet-seer or cultural bard than a conventional historian. 6.  Legacy ![[IMG_Place the naked body silent.jpeg]] - Seen as part of a lineage of visionary thinkers bridging science, spirituality, and culture (often compared with Teilhard de Chardin, Lewis Mumford, or Joseph Campbell). - His Lindisfarne Association influenced the development of ecological thought and the “new paradigm” sciences of the late 20th century. - Though sometimes criticised for being too sweeping or unorthodox, his work remains valued among readers interested in integrative, post-disciplinary perspectives on civilisation and consciousness. `Concepts:` `Knowledge Base:`