New York Cultural Center
HUMAN AFFAIRS
Dialogues on events
that shape our world
Dialogues on events
that shape our world
MEMORY AND
IDENTITYExploring our
heritage
Testing our tradition
IDENTITYExploring our
heritage
Testing our tradition
BEAUTY WILL SAVE
THE WORLD
Discovering the world
of arts: performances
and presentations
THE WORLD
Discovering the world
of arts: performances
and presentations
MEETINGS AT
THE CROSSROADS
Face to face with...
THE CROSSROADS
Face to face with...
Crossroads New York Cultural Center is a meeting place for people who share a passion for
knowing. This passion is aroused by wonder and attraction because "out there" things are,
because life is given, always as a new and unexpected event that nourishes our experience.
This focus on reality as event (and not on ideas) determines the "style" of our cultural work:
•We prize encountering people because every human being is an irreducible novelty. We want
to meet them at the "crossroads" of life, regardless of any cultural, religious or social boundary.
•We value beauty because it sparks the wonder and attraction at the origin of human
experience.
•We are interested in the events that shape our world, because what happens always contains
a suggestion, a hint that affects and may change our lives.
•We cherish appreciating and testing our heritage because the fabric of our life is woven from
all the events that happened before us.
Thus, Crossroads aims to be, above all, a place where education takes place, that is, where we
may learn to look with openness, curiosity and critical judgment at every aspect of reality.
knowing. This passion is aroused by wonder and attraction because "out there" things are,
because life is given, always as a new and unexpected event that nourishes our experience.
This focus on reality as event (and not on ideas) determines the "style" of our cultural work:
•We prize encountering people because every human being is an irreducible novelty. We want
to meet them at the "crossroads" of life, regardless of any cultural, religious or social boundary.
•We value beauty because it sparks the wonder and attraction at the origin of human
experience.
•We are interested in the events that shape our world, because what happens always contains
a suggestion, a hint that affects and may change our lives.
•We cherish appreciating and testing our heritage because the fabric of our life is woven from
all the events that happened before us.
Thus, Crossroads aims to be, above all, a place where education takes place, that is, where we
may learn to look with openness, curiosity and critical judgment at every aspect of reality.
Home | About | Events | Links | Transcripts | Contact Copyright ©2005 Crossroads NYC admin@crossroadsnyc.com |
The whole world is amazed by New York, by its energy, by its
vibrancy, by its constant motion. But what moves New York?
What is at the origin of every human motion? In a word, it is
attraction. Ultimately, all that we do and desire originates
from the appeal that the world has for us. New York
embodies this appeal, which touches us before we take even
one step. In fact, our personalities are formed in response to
this attraction.
It is the presumption of old age that reality is shaped by our
ideas. The experience of the child is wonder in front of
something that is completely given, always new, unexpected
and appealing. Life is either the continuous, exciting
discovery of something that was unknown, or it is an
inevitable slide into boredom.
In fact, what is most attractive about the world is that, in its
givenness, it always points beyond itself to something other,
still unseen, secret, mysterious. Accordingly, to live is to walk
following the mysterious call of reality: homo viator. The
explorer, not the "expert," is the paradigm of humanity.
To return to this original position is the only way to a new
beginning and to the possibility of culture in its fullest sense:
the free development of our human capacity for knowing and
interpreting everything that exists. Otherwise we are doomed
to fall into the trap of ideology.
Paradoxically, few periods in history have been as aware of
"cultural" issues as we are today. We go to great lengths to
catalogue, analyze, preserve and restore the most obscure
expressions of human experience. At the same time, few
ages in history have been as unable to "cultivate" humanity
as we are. Deep down, we are nagged by doubt about the
status of our own humanity after successive waves of
rationalist ideology have attempted to reduce or deny the
innate and mysterious thirst for meaning that marks us. If the
ultimate value of the human experience is in doubt, what
room is left for culture? Are we not justified to suspect, with
Nietzsche, that the antiquarian and technical expertise of our
time conceals a grave sterility? And what is the root of this
sterility if not insecurity about our own value and the very
positivity of being? If this is the case, we should not waste
time in rear-guard battles against the senile follies of
modernity and its conflicting ideologies.
The initiative for Crossroads starts from the perception that
we need a new education, a fresh start. A fresh start is not a
matter of a new "idea;" it is a matter of being faithful to our
most original experience - "reality precedes us and it is
positive" - and to what we already are - "a relationship with."
vibrancy, by its constant motion. But what moves New York?
What is at the origin of every human motion? In a word, it is
attraction. Ultimately, all that we do and desire originates
from the appeal that the world has for us. New York
embodies this appeal, which touches us before we take even
one step. In fact, our personalities are formed in response to
this attraction.
It is the presumption of old age that reality is shaped by our
ideas. The experience of the child is wonder in front of
something that is completely given, always new, unexpected
and appealing. Life is either the continuous, exciting
discovery of something that was unknown, or it is an
inevitable slide into boredom.
In fact, what is most attractive about the world is that, in its
givenness, it always points beyond itself to something other,
still unseen, secret, mysterious. Accordingly, to live is to walk
following the mysterious call of reality: homo viator. The
explorer, not the "expert," is the paradigm of humanity.
To return to this original position is the only way to a new
beginning and to the possibility of culture in its fullest sense:
the free development of our human capacity for knowing and
interpreting everything that exists. Otherwise we are doomed
to fall into the trap of ideology.
Paradoxically, few periods in history have been as aware of
"cultural" issues as we are today. We go to great lengths to
catalogue, analyze, preserve and restore the most obscure
expressions of human experience. At the same time, few
ages in history have been as unable to "cultivate" humanity
as we are. Deep down, we are nagged by doubt about the
status of our own humanity after successive waves of
rationalist ideology have attempted to reduce or deny the
innate and mysterious thirst for meaning that marks us. If the
ultimate value of the human experience is in doubt, what
room is left for culture? Are we not justified to suspect, with
Nietzsche, that the antiquarian and technical expertise of our
time conceals a grave sterility? And what is the root of this
sterility if not insecurity about our own value and the very
positivity of being? If this is the case, we should not waste
time in rear-guard battles against the senile follies of
modernity and its conflicting ideologies.
The initiative for Crossroads starts from the perception that
we need a new education, a fresh start. A fresh start is not a
matter of a new "idea;" it is a matter of being faithful to our
most original experience - "reality precedes us and it is
positive" - and to what we already are - "a relationship with."
A place where roads meet. A time of change
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