Isaura

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Isaura’s Bookshelves

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Isaura is Currently Reading

Isaura is currently reading

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

by Milan Kundera

bookshelves: right-in-the-spot, en, currently-reading

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Nov 03, 2026 02:02AM

Isaura is currently reading

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants

by Robin Wall Kimmerer

bookshelves: right-in-the-spot, en, currently-reading

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progress:

(14%)
— Sep 23, 2026 02:59AM

Sep 23, 2026 02:59AM

Isaura is currently reading

Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence

by Pope Leo XIV

bookshelves: currently-reading, en

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Isaura said: " (read from the POV of a non-theist from a Catholic culture)

8/6/2026, after reading the introduction:
The Pope uses the stories of Babel and the rebuilding the walls of the city of Jerusalem in Nehemiah as metaphors for the choice that face us in our (read from the POV of a non-theist from a Catholic culture)

8/6/2026, after reading the introduction:
The Pope uses the stories of Babel and the rebuilding the walls of the city of Jerusalem in Nehemiah as metaphors for the choice that face us in our use our technology. Babel stands for building through/for self-affirmation to the detriment of others, a power that dominates others, "the idolatry of profit that sacrifices the weak, a uniformity that neutralizes differences, and the pretense that a single language — even a digital one — can translate everything", while the "way of Nehemiah" stands for building for the common good, each bringing what they have to offer to the project for the benefit of all, while seeing diversity as a possibility and a resource rather than as a source of division or conflict. The Pope defends this second course of action.

But that very tension between a false universalism and diversity is also in the text. The Pope simultaneously addresses Christians and "all men and women of goodwill". But the path he traces is fundamentally Christian: it requires communing with God, having a relationship with God. This is all quite meaningless for many non-Christians, though we can all make an effort of translating what that would mean for us. But for a project that aims to include all humanity in its diversity, each according to their abilities and personhoods, this is quite a steep excluding, Babel-like fake universalizing step straight off the bat. I should probably not expect an encyclical to be an action guide for all humanity (it's the first I'm reading), and the Pope's job is to serve Catholics first and other Christians second, but it's interesting that pre-Vatican 2 pretense to universalism is not completely gone, and mostly that this tension doesn't really seem to have been dealt with (I'm interested if anyone has thoughts on the matter).

Anyway, none of this removes from the interest of the read, I look forward to getting more familiar with the Social Doctrine of the Church and encyclicals, and there are some very good passages:

"If we focus only on contingencies, we risk letting the succession of emergencies dictate the direction of our path."

"In the abstract, technology in and of itself is not a solution to humanity’s problems, just as it is not inherently evil. In practice, however, technology is never neutral, because it takes on the characteristics of those who devise, finance, regulate and use it. Therefore, the primary choice is not between a “yes” or “no” to technology, but rather between constructing Babel or rebuilding Jerusalem; between a power that claims to dominate the heavens and a people who work together in the presence of God to rebuild the walls of fraternal coexistence."

"Building for the common good means accepting the limits and weakness of humanity without considering them an error to be corrected. Today, the human desire for fullness of life is at risk of being misled by deceitful goals, such as the prospect of a technology that promises to free us from all weakness, and models of wellbeing that leave behind entire populations. [...] As a result, while some pursue the illusion of unlimited self-assertion, many are deprived of basic necessities."

"No one can single-handedly bear the weight of the challenges the world is facing, just as no one is so weak that they cannot play their part." ...more "

progress:

(38%)
— Sep 23, 2026 02:59AM

Sep 23, 2026 02:59AM · see review

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