PROGRESS, PURPOSE AND CONTINGENCY: A RESPONSE TO THOMAS BERRY'S THE GREAT WORK: OUR WAY INTO THE FUTURE

There is much to applaud in Berry's book The Great Work . However this response questions the framework of purposive, hierarchical progress of the universe which is outlined in Berry's narrative. It suggests that an alternative view is to see cosmic change as non-progressive and contingent - and that this perspective encourages the affirmation of wonder at the universe.