Explore every episode of the podcast The Living Philosophy
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🎙️#19 Prof. Jason Ā. Josephson Storm: Disenchantment is a Myth | 01 Nov 2026 | 01:23:31 | |
Jason Ānanda Josephson Storm is Professor of Religion and Chair of Science and Technology Studies at Williams College. His books include The Invention of Religion in Japan, The Myth of Disenchantment and Metamodernism: The Future of Theory. He co-founded the journal Metamodern Theory and Praxis with Brendan Graham Dempsey, and is writing Transcendent Machines: Religion and the Philosophy of Technology for Cambridge University Press. In this conversation, I sit down with Jason to explore one of the foundational stories of modernity: that God died, magic vanished, and the modern West became a disenchanted place. Jason traces this narrative back through Schiller's The Gods of Greece and the German Romantics, and much further, to medieval books of magic that already claimed magic was lost, Chaucer's departed fairies, and the Irish fairy farewell. We discuss the romantic spiral, Hegel's negation of the negation, and how Jason's Hegelian reading of postmodern theory, originally titled Absolute Disruption, became Metamodernism: The Future of Theory. Jason tells the story of how the Fukushima disaster, a Kyoto tattoo parlour and an offhand remark about "mystical Asia" exposed the Orientalism at the heart of the disenchantment story, and why so many of its theorists, from Freud to the Vienna Circle, were themselves doing psychical research. We then turn to the new myths of technology: religion as technique, the Denden-gū shrine where Thomas Edison is worshipped as a god of electricity, the AI bubble, and why college should be a gym for the brain. This is a conversation for anyone who has felt the loss of meaning in modern life and wondered whether the story of that loss is itself a myth. 🔗 Links ⏳ Timestamps: | |||
| 🎙️#18 Prof. Peter Tse: How Imagination Made Us Human | 04 Oct 2026 | 01:30:36 | |
Peter Ulric Tse is a Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Dartmouth College, currently on sabbatical as a visiting professor at Cambridge and a Visiting Fellow at Clare Hall. A Guggenheim and Humboldt Fellow, he studies attention, visual consciousness and volition, and has spent over fifteen years building a naturalistic case for libertarian free will, beginning with The Neural Basis of Free Will: Criterial Causation (MIT, 2013). He is now two volumes into a trilogy: A Neurophilosophy of Libertarian Free Will and Free Imagination (both OUP, 2024), with Re-enlightenment to follow. In this conversation, I sit down with Peter to explore the idea at the heart of Free Imagination: that what makes humans free is not intelligence but imagination, our capacity to model what is not, has never been, and could not be. We start with bonobos sitting miserably in the rain and the Löwenmensch, a 40,000-year-old carving of a lion-headed man, and trace how tool-making may have forged an internal virtual avatar that lets us act in imagination long before we act in the world. Peter takes apart the Libet experiments and the case against free will made by Sapolsky and Gazzaniga, arguing that the real action lies not in split-second choices but in distal, deliberative imagining. We explore the brain's planning and willpower systems, efference copy and schizophrenia, Kundalini yoga, and why lobotomised patients simply stopped acting. Then the conversation turns to culture: whether our imaginations are sovereign, Edward Bernays and The Century of the Self, why some stories grip us from beneath, and Peter Singer's expanding circle. This is a conversation for anyone who suspects the imagination is both our greatest tool and our greatest weapon, and wants to know whether we can learn to wield it freely. 🔗 Links ⏳ Timestamps: | |||
| 🎙️#17 Dr. Sharon Blackie: Can We Re-enchant a Disenchanted World? | 09 Aug 2026 | 01:13:33 | |
Dr. Sharon Blackie is an award-winning writer, psychologist and mythologist whose work sits at the junction of depth psychology, mythology and ecology. Coming from a background in behavioural psychology and neuroscience, she has spent over two decades reinstating imagination and intuition as ways of knowing. She is the author of seven books, including the internationally bestselling If Women Rose Rooted and Hagitude, which reframed midlife and elderhood as alchemical rather than diminishing. Her latest, Ripening: Why Women Need Fairy Tales Now, was published in May 2026. She writes the global-bestselling Substack The Art of Enchantment (60,000+ readers), is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and an Honorary Member of the Association of Jungian Analysts, and recently founded the Nostos Institute, which aims to build a living Western spiritual path out of ancient philosophy and depth psychology. ________________ In this conversation, I sit down with Sharon to explore what it might mean to re-enchant a disenchanted world. We begin with her winding path: from a fiercely behaviourist psychology department, to a PhD in the neuroscience of anxiety, and finally to the imaginal, mythic heart of depth psychology. Sharon gives a crash course in Neoplatonism (the One, the Nous and the World Soul) and traces how James Hillman and Henri Corbin drew on it to describe the imaginal world: a real, intermediary realm where images, dreams and synchronicities live. We dig into the difference between enchantment and magical thinking, why so much Jungian thought stops short of the metaphysics, and how big dreams and synchronicities tend to convert people rather than arguments. We talk about Plato's Myth of Er and the guardian daimon, why Sharon has focused on reclaiming women's stories and the archetypes of the older woman (the Hagitude project), and what her new Nostos Institute is trying to build. Along the way: fairy tales as the antidote to alienation, why young people are turning to Christianity, and whether a screen-bound, precarious, increasingly mechanised world can find its way back to community and the more-than-human world. This is a conversation for anyone who feels the pull of meaning and belonging but can't quite find the door. ________________ 🔗 Links ________________ ⏳ Timestamps: | |||
| 🎙️#16 Benjamin Studebaker: Why the Revolution Isn't Coming | 20 Jul 2026 | 01:30:05 | |
Benjamin Studebaker is a political theorist with a PhD from Cambridge whose work cuts against the grain of almost every revolutionary and reformist story on offer. He is the author of The Chronic Crisis of American Democracy: The Way Is Shut (2023) and Legitimacy in Liberal Democracies (2024). His central claim is that the Western democracies have become "embedded democracies" — systems in which citizens can no longer imagine an alternative worth sacrificing for, and so remain trapped in a low, stable, and deeply frustrating equilibrium. ________________ In this conversation, I sit down with Benjamin to explore his diagnosis of the chronic crisis at the heart of liberal democracy. We begin with the idea of the "embedded democracy" and the restricted imaginarium left behind by the catastrophes of the twentieth century, before working through why the culture war functions as a manageable — even useful — form of disagreement, one that dissipates energy rather than threatening the order. Benjamin unpacks his distinction between personal and impersonal hypocrisy, his four levels of legitimacy (perfect, full, minimal and liminal), and the concept of "enclavism": the retreat into faith, family, fandoms and futurism when politics feels futile. We range across Don Quixote and quixotic socialism, the Lord of the Rings image behind his book's subtitle, the problem of capital mobility, NATO defence spending and the Americanisation of European politics, and why a networked, nuclear-armed, drone-fought world makes the old theories of revolutionary change look obsolete. It's a sobering, clarifying conversation for anyone trying to understand why our politics feels simultaneously so turbulent and so stuck. ________________ You can find Benjamin's work at: Website: https://benjaminstudebaker.com ________________ ⏳ Timestamps: | |||
| 🎙️#15 Prof. Georg Northoff: Can AI Be Conscious? Self, Time and the World-Brain Problem | 22 Jun 2026 | 01:11:11 | |
Georg Northoff is Canada Research Chair in Mind, Brain, Imaging, and Neuroethics at the University of Ottawa's Institute of Mental Health Research, a practising psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and philosopher, and one of the founders of neurophilosophy. Over two decades his work has reframed the brain's resting spontaneous activity — the Default Mode Network — as the primary architect of consciousness and selfhood. He is the author of The Spontaneous Brain, alongside more accessible introductions including NeuroWaves: Brain, Time, and Consciousness (2023) and NeuroPsychoAnalysis (2023). ________________ In this conversation, I sit down with Georg to explore his spatial-temporal neuroscience — a framework that replaces the mind-body problem with the world-brain relationship. We begin with AI consciousness, move into the Default Mode Network and why depression is a brain running too slowly, his non-dual awareness study with meditators, his critique of Heidegger as still anthropocentric, and Whitehead's process ontology. A conversation that starts with ChatGPT and ends near the edge of what it means to exist. ________________ 🔗 Links ________________ ⏳ Timestamps: | |||
| 🎙️#14 essentialsalts (The Nietzsche Podcast): Übermodernism and Nietzsche's Philosophy of the Future | 03 May 2026 | 01:34:44 | |
Keegan Kjeldsen hosts The Nietzsche Podcast and the Untimely Reflections (essentialsalts) YouTube channel — a deep four-year project working through Nietzsche, his forerunners back to the ancient world, and his afterlives in 20th- and 21st-century thought. He’s also a doom metal guitarist with Destroyer of Light and Slumbering Sun, and the author of The Ritual Madness of Rock & Roll, a memoir-meets-aesthetics inquiry written on the road through Europe. ________________ I sat down with Keegan to work through his concept of übermodernism — what’s “over and above” modernism, in the same Nietzschean spirit as the Übermensch is over and above man. We trace the history of “the modern” all the way back to Petrarch in the 14th century, work through Nietzsche’s perspectivism and his critique of the genealogical fallacy, and ask where the next modernism is meant to come from. A conversation for anyone tired of fighting over whether Nietzsche belongs to the right, the left, or the postmodernists. 📚 I’m hosting the Interintellect book club this Sunday 10th May to work through the third and final essay of Nietzsche’s Genealogy of Morality. Tickets: https://interintellect.com/salons/what-is-the-meaning-of-ascetic-ideals-friedrich-nietzsche-on-the-genealogy-of-morality ________________ 🔗 Links ________________ ⏳ Timestamps: | |||
| 🎙️#13 Dr. Aldrich Chan: Taoism, Neuroscience and Our Disconnection from Nature | 30 Mar 2026 | 01:24:09 | |
Dr. Aldrich Chan is a neuropsychologist, psychotherapist and founder of the Center for Neuropsychology and Consciousness. An adjunct professor at Pepperdine University, Aldrich's research on the default mode network, mindfulness and trauma bridges neuroscience with ancient Taoist philosophy. He is the author of Reassembling Models of Reality (2021) and Seven Principles of Nature: How We Strayed and How We Return (2025). ________________ In this conversation, we explore Aldrich's synthesis of neuropsychology, Taoism and evolutionary mismatch theory — his SAD theory (separation, alienation, discord), the seven principles of nature (CPR WEST), subcortical midline structures and our original experience of connectedness, and what it means to live in alignment with nature. ________________ 🔗 Links ________________ ⏳ Timestamps: | |||
| 🎙️#12 Dr. Erik Goodwyn: Who Creates the Dream? The Invisible Storyteller | 24 Mar 2026 | 00:56:41 | |
Dr. Erik Goodwyn is a practising psychiatrist with a background in neurobiology who bridges the worlds of neuroscience, Jungian psychology, and fantasy. Erik is co-editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Jungian Studies and has written dozens of academic papers along with books on the neurobiology of the gods, dreams, and archetypes. Last year he published his first fantasy novel, King of the Forgotten Darkness, which won the Literary Titan Golden Book Award. ________________ In this return visit, we dive deep into who actually creates the dream – the Invisible Storyteller that isn't your conscious self. We explore the neuroscience behind this, discussing the Default Mode Network, Salience Network, and Executive Control Network, and what they reveal about dreaming, meaning-making, and the deeply non-egoic nature of consciousness. Erik shares clinical insights into Dissociative Identity Disorder as evidence of an underlying organising principle, we tangle with what it means for consciousness to be "non-egoic," and we work through his groundbreaking definition of archetypes through Cognitive Metaphor Theory. It's a conversation that challenges everything you think you know about who you are. ________________ 🔗 Links ________________ ⏳ Timestamps: | |||
| 🎙️#11 Adriana Forte: Menstrual Futurism | 05 Mar 2026 | 01:22:13 | |
Adriana Forte is a Brazilian-born writer, facilitator, and developmental thinker currently based in a rural intentional community in Bellingen, New South Wales, Australia. Originally trained as a journalist, Adriana has spent years investigating the intersection of women's cyclical biology, embodied knowing, and the structures of modern life. She runs retreats and workshops through her Substack platform C-Lab (A Lab for a Cyclically Informed Society), and is currently completing a book on the spell of modernity and the role of the matriarch as a force for cultural repair.________________ In this conversation, James sits down with Adriana to explore one of the most under-examined questions in contemporary culture: what happens when society is built around a linear, continuous model of productivity — and half the population runs on a fundamentally cyclical one? Drawing on her own journey from Brazil through Hong Kong and India to off-grid life in rural Australia, Adriana maps the hormonal landscape of the female cycle and argues that the oscillation between estrogen and progesterone doesn't just produce moods — it produces a distinct mode of subjectivity, perception, and thought. We explore the cultural erasure of rites of passage, the psychological costs of the contraceptive pill, the wisdom encoded in perimenopause and menopause, and why Adriana believes the matriarch — the post-menopausal woman — may be the missing counter-energy to the relentless forward drive of modernity. The conversation moves through evolutionary biology, embodied philosophy, grassroots community-building, and genuine hope for a more rhythmically intelligent future.________________ You can find Adriana's work at: Substack (C-Lab): https://theclab.substack.com/ ________________ ⏳ Timestamps: | |||
| 🎙️#10 Michael Montgomery: Psychophobia and Bridging East and West in Therapy | 02 Feb 2026 | 01:27:13 | |
Dr. Michael R. Montgomery (PhD, MA, MSc, MSW, LCSW) is an existential psychoanalyst who represents a radical wing of contemporary depth psychology—one deeply influenced by R.D. Laing's anti-psychiatry tradition, phenomenology, and a fierce commitment to humanising extreme mental states. Based between Boston, Massachusetts and having deep roots in post-conflict Belfast, Montgomery positions himself as both clinician and activist, bridging psychoanalytic practice with community healing, peace work, and cultural critique. | |||
| #9 Layman Pascal - Metashamanic Nietzsche | 19 Jan 2026 | 00:58:31 | |
Layman Pascal is a Canadian "feral philosopher" and host of The Integral Stage podcast who has become a central connector and theorist in the overlapping worlds of metamodernism, integral theory, and Game B. His signature contributions—the Metaphysics of Adjacency, the Integration Surplus Model of spirituality, and Metashamanics—offer a sophisticated yet playful bridge between abstract philosophy and embodied transformation. Known for his capacity to hold complexity with humour, Pascal brings both philosophical rigour and playful irreverence to questions of meaning-making in an age of metacrisis. ____________ In this conversation, we talk Nietzsche, metashamanism, and the ontology and epistemology of entities.We delve into the role of personal experience in shaping philosophical thought, and the implications of neurodiversity in understanding shamanic practices. The dialogue also touches on the nature of imagination, creativity, and the unpredictability of inspiration, exploring our different approaches to life from the moist pragmatism to dry scholarism. ____________ 🔗 More from Layman Layman's website: https://www.laymanpascal.com/ Layman's Substack: https://laymanpascal.substack.com/ ____________ ⏳ Timestamps: 00:00 Intro - the Feral Philosopher 03:19 Blaise Pascal's spiritual note 05:18 Nietzsche and the irrationality of philosophers 08:55 The power of irrationality in humanity's story 10:41 Layman's book on Nietzsche 12:00 The Integral Nietzsche 14:13 What if Nietzsche hadn't gone mad? 16:06 The enlightened Nietzsche 19:33 The shamanic Nietzsche 22:04 What is metashamanics? 23:07 Shamanic neurodivergence 26:26 Attributes of the well-adjusted shaman 28:33 Liminality and the epochal emergence of the shamanic 31:31 The shamanoid Elvis 33:17 The reality of entities 37:05 Layman Pascal: pragmatist? 47:12 The power of trance 51:50 The muse as entity 56:34 Layman's guest recommendation 57:59 More from Layman | |||
| #8 Stefano Carpani: Jungians vs. Post-Jungians vs. Neo-Jungians | 12 Jan 2026 | 01:08:07 | |
Dr Stefano Carpani is an Italian Jungian psychoanalyst, lecturer at the C.G. Jung Institute Zürich, and scientific consultant at Pacifica Graduate Institute. At 46, he has emerged as a leading voice amongst a new generation of Jungian thinkers, bridging depth psychology with sociology, critical theory, and contemporary political questions. In this conversation, Stefano and I explore the landscape of contemporary Jungian thought, beginning with his distinction between Jungian, post-Jungian, and neo-Jungian approaches—where neo-Jungians like himself aim to make analytical psychology relevant to 21st-century crises beyond the consulting room. We discuss his I+I theory, which synthesises Jung's individuation with sociologist Ulrich Beck's individualization, arguing that contemporary identity formation requires both psychological and sociological lenses to understand. Stefano shares insights from his award-winning work on the fall of the Berlin Wall, explaining how the numinous—an autonomous psychic force Jung described—operates in collective historical transformation, suggesting that major shifts require not just political will but adequate psychic conditions and "the attraction of the symbol." We explore the concept of enantiodromia, Jung's idea that psychological and cultural movements tend to revert to their opposites when pushed too far, applying this to contemporary political polarisation and populism. Throughout, Stefano makes a compelling case for why Jungian analysts must engage courageously with war, democracy, and social transformation, bringing depth psychology out of the clinic and into public discourse. 🔗 Links - For Jungian monthly talks organised by Stefano: https://www.instagram.com/jungianeum_/ and https://www.youtube.com/@psychosocialwednesdays1944/videos - Stefano's YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHpWRYvgyhifcVkNGk9Tq-A
⏳ Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 01:08 Stefano, the international Jungian 02:21 Jungians vs. Post-Jungians vs. Neo-Jungians 07:27 The Post-Jungians 10:15 The Neo-Jungians 12:50 Classical Jungians vs. Developmental vs. Archetypal 15:40 James's case for a Jungian textbook 20:01 The Jungian language barrier 23:20 The hindrance of jargon 27:11 Stefano's sociological Jungian work 31:49 Bringing the unconscious into everyday life 34:52 Covid through the lens of Jung 35:49 The fallacy of the end of history 38:05 The fall of the Berlin Wall as a numinous event 43:33 Moments of memetic infection 47:16 History makers as artists 49:42 Jungian lens on contemporary politics 50:53 Returning to memetic infection 58:24 What is enantiodromia? 01:00:12 Populism and energetic release 01:04:33 Stefano's guest recommendations 01:05:18 Where to find out more about Stefano | |||
| #7Jon Mills: The Psychology Behind Our Self-Destructive Civilisation | 02 Dec 2025 | 00:49:31 | |
Get Jon's book "End of the World: Civilization and Its Fate": https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/end-of-the-world-9781538189016/ _______________ Dr Jon Mills is a philosopher-psychoanalyst and Honorary Professor at the University of Essex, whose work bridges Hegelian philosophy, psychoanalytic theory, and contemporary existential threats facing civilisation. With over 35 books to his name—including five Gradiva Award winners—Jon has spent decades developing what he calls “dialectical psychoanalysis,” a rigorous philosophical framework for understanding the unconscious mind. His latest work, which we’re discussing in this episode, confronts an uncomfortable question: does humanity possess a collective death drive that propels us towards self-destruction? _______________ You can find Jon’s work at:
_______________ In this conversation, I sit down with Jon to explore the darkest questions about our species’ future. We examine whether humanity harbours a death wish, diving into the multiple existential crises threatening civilisation—climate change, nuclear weapons, AI risks, geopolitical conflict, and overpopulation/demographic collapse. Jon brings his formidable philosophical toolkit to bear on these challenges, drawing from Hegel, Freud, and his own dialectical framework to understand how good and evil operate simultaneously in human affairs. We debate techno-optimism versus existential pessimism, explore the psychology behind apocalyptic thinking, and we talk about my previous episode on secular eschatology and we discuss what that reveals about our relationship with mortality. We’re left with the question of whether our species can transcend its self-destructive patterns or whether we’re inexorably drawn towards catastrophe. _______________ ⏳Timestamps 00:00 James’s Intro | |||
| #6 PF Jung: What is Enlightened Centrism | 18 Nov 2025 | 01:27:38 | |
PF Jung is a YouTube content creator renowned for making the meme of "Enlightened Centrism" great again. He's a self-styled "memetic feudal lord" and "applied sociologist" who has gotten himself in trouble for his attempts to bridge the polarities in society and seeking to bring the far right and far left together. He creates philosophical and political commentary content exploring nuanced positions that resist tribal categorisation, though this approach has led to significant challenges navigating the online political space. You can find Paul's work at: YouTube: youtube.com/@PFJung In this conversation, I sit down with Paul to explore the crisis facing political nuance in online spaces. We discuss his co-opting of the Enlightened Centrism meme, why holding mixed political views has become increasingly difficult to sustain online, and the exhausting work of maintaining charitable interpretation when everyone wants the fight. Paul shares his experience growing a channel whilst managing contradictions, navigating the Peterson-adjacent space, and what it means to be at the "edge of the inside" of multiple political communities. We also explore why the online political warzone demands tribal allegiance and whether there's still room for complexity in an era of constant gotchas and worst-case interpretations. ⏳ Timestamps 00:00 James's Intro | |||
| #5 Brendan Graham Dempsey: Can We Scientifically Measure Worldviews? | 02 Nov 2025 | 01:15:09 | |
Brendan Graham Dempsey is a metatheory researcher at the Institute of Applied Metatheory and host of the Metamodern Meaning podcast. His work bridges evolutionary theory, developmental psychology, and worldview studies, bringing empirical rigour to questions about how human consciousness and culture evolve. His latest book, Psyche and Symbolic Learning, is the second in a planned ten-volume series exploring these themes through the lens of hierarchical complexity and neo-Piagetian developmental frameworks. You can find Brendan’s work at: Our previous chats: In this conversation, Brendan introduces me to the ambitious world of metatheory – an attempt to create a unified, coherent understanding of all human knowledge by bridging disciplines from neuroscience to sociology to the humanities. We explore his new role researching worldviews empirically at the Institute of Applied Metatheory, where he’s working to bring scientific rigour to questions that have long been speculative: Can we measure the complexity of worldviews? Do cultures develop through predictable stages? How complex is the Bible compared to Homer, or a text message to your mam? We dive deep into hierarchical complexity, a psychological framework that quantifies the sophistication of thinking across domains and time periods. Brendan shares fascinating research comparing the cognitive complexity of ancient religious texts, from early biblical narratives to the Epic of Gilgamesh, revealing how literacy transforms meaning-making structures. We discuss the difference between metatheory and interdisciplinary work, why spiral dynamics isn’t quite a metatheory, and how this research programme aims to give metamodernism and integral theory the empirical grounding they’ve long needed. This is a conversation for those curious about the big questions: How does all human knowledge fit together? Can we study worldviews scientifically? And what does it mean to truly understand complexity? ⏳ Timestamps | |||
| #4 Greg Dember: Metamodernism and the Defence of Interiority | 27 Oct 2025 | 01:16:19 | |
"The protection of interiority is the central motivation of Metamodernism." So says Greg Dember, a Seattle-based musician, songwriter and independent researcher in Metamodernism. As the co-founder of the What Is Metamodern? website with Linda Ceriello, PhD, Greg’s writing and podcast appearances speaking on metamodernism have helped popularize the terminology outside of academic discourse through accessible writing. He is the author of Say Hello To Metamodernism!: Understanding Today’s Culture of Ironesty, Felt Experience, and Empathic Reflexivity (2024 Exact Rush). He is also a co-editor of the forthcoming multi-author volume, My Impossible Soul: The Metamodern Music of Sufjan Stevens (Bloomsbury/Lexington). He holds a BA (1987) from Yale University. ____________ Greg and Linda's Metamodern site - https://www.whatismetamodern.com Greg's article on the 11 methods of Metamodernism - https://medium.com/what-is-metamodern/after-postmodernism-eleven-metamodern-methods-in-the-arts-767f7b646cae Greg's book on Metamodernism - https://www.amazon.com/Say-Hello-Metamodernism-Understanding-Reflexivity/dp/B0DHGFKZ8W/ __________ In this conversation, I sit down with Greg to explore metamodernism as the cultural backdrop that's emerged since roughly 2000, taking over from postmodernism's ironic detachment. We discuss how metamodernism oscillates between modern earnestness and postmodern irony to defend the significance of interiority and felt experience. Greg introduces his framework of 11 metamodern methods—including empathic reflexivity and the double frame—and we examine how artists like the Daniels (Everything Everywhere All At Once), Wes Anderson, Bo Burnham, and even The Beatles navigate this territory. The conversation ranges from David Letterman's evolution to Don Quixote as a proto-metamodern text, exploring how this sensibility has spread from indie niches into mainstream culture, and what it means for how we make and experience art today. _____________ ⏳Timestamps 0:00 Episode Intro2:26 Greg's current work: Sufjan Stevens book3:26 What is metamodernism? Cultural backdrop since 20104:50 From modernism to postmodernism to metamodernism7:36 David Letterman: from postmodern irony to Metamodern maturity10:32 The oscillation between modern and postmodern attributes12:26 Jimmy Fallon and the trend toward sincere enthusiasm15:56 Felt experience vs. detached observation19:26 Bo Burnham's Metamodern masterpiece "Inside"24:31 Rick Glassman and the Dance of Irony25:26 The new sincerity and its relationship to metamodernism28:26 Defending interiority as Metamodernism's central motivation31:38 From indie niches to mainstream: Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift33:29 Everything Everywhere All At Once: metamodernism as hell38:26 Wes Anderson and the metamodern sensibility39:28 The 11 metamodern methods framework40:31 Method #1: Empathic reflexivity40:56 Method #2: Oscillation between modern/postmodern dualities41:24 Method #3: The double frame (Raoul Eshelman)44:26 Quirky as a metamodern aesthetic46:26 Irony vs. cynicism: an important distinction49:26 Don Quixote as proto-metamodern?53:26 History rhymes: Shakespeare, Nietzsche, and cultural crossroads57:26 Exploring quirky and other metamodern methods59:39 Play, playfulness, and Wes Anderson1:01:01 Method #4: Meta-cute1:01:46 Moonrise Kingdom and Fantastic Mr. Fox as meta-cute1:03:56 Protecting interiority: the motivation behind metamodern art1:04:56 Metamodernism as reclaiming something eternally human1:06:26 Sufjan Stevens and the Illinois album1:07:16 Proto-metamodern vs. actually metamodern: the key distinction1:08:26 The Metamodern "Rocky Racoon"1:12:29 The Proto Metamodern Morrissey and The Smiths1:14:43 Guest recommendation: Linda Ceriello1:14:58 Where to find Greg's work | |||
| Erik Goodwyn: Dreams, Metaphor and Fantasy Writing | 20 Oct 2025 | 00:48:42 | |
Dr. Erik Goodwyn is a practising psychiatrist with a background in neurobiology who bridges the worlds of neuroscience, Jungian psychology, and fantasy. Erik is co-editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Jungian Studies and as well as dozens of academic papers he has written books on the neurobiology of the gods, dreams, and archetypes, and this year published his first fantasy novel, King of the Forgotten Darkness, which won the Literary Titan Golden Book Award. You can find Erik's work at:Website: https://erikgoodwyn.comYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theimaginarium In this conversation, I sit down with Erik to explore the neuroscience of dreams and their connection to creativity, trauma, and healing. We dive deep into how the default mode network operates during dreaming, why dreams create "as if" narratives to help us make sense of our lives, and how the psyche uses metaphor to consolidate memory, regulate emotions, and plan for the future. Erik shares fascinating insights from his clinical work, including how trauma dreams evolve during the healing process and why some dreams seem to bookend creative projects. We also venture into the realm of fantasy literature, discussing how writers like Tolkien and Sanderson use fantastical elements to tell deeply human stories about real lived experiences. ⏳Timestamps | |||
| CJ the X: Play, Pragmatism and Jordan Peterson | 03 Oct 2025 | 01:38:20 | |
https://cjthex.com/subscribe → subscribe to CJ's mailing list for all things CJ the X https://tinyurl.com/asdi708uo → buy tickets to CJ's show in San Francisco, CA on the 10th October I sat down with CJ the X recently to discuss the creative process, pragmatism, their recent world tour and later in the weird world of dreams. We also talk about the topic that first brought us together many moons ago: Jordan Peterson and CJ's year long deep dive into him that dragged him deeper into the philosophical quest. ⏳Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction 01:39 - Reflections on CJ's Intercontinental Speaking Tour 05:56 - Wrestling with the need to be right 10:27 - Play, fear and the creative process 15:27 - Colonised by the algorithm 17:47 - Search for Signal 19:27 - Exploring the Balance of Routine and Passion 23:52 - Flywheel or Passion? 26:14 - CJ's journey from chaotic fun to serious philosophy 27:33 - CJ done with YouTube? 32:28 - CJ's Jordan Peterson video 36:28 - James's struggle with intellectual responsibility 40:43 - CJ on why passion has to be the guide 44:18 - Is CJ a Platonist or a Pragmatism 45:55 - CJ on the sacred and the profane 47:11 - James on holding knowledge lightly 48:39 - The Metaphysical Club 49:48 - The strands of pragmatism 50:34 - C.S. Peirce 51:18 - William James and Peirce's Relationship 53:44 - Pragmatism and Jordan Peterson 55:55 - What is Pragmatism? 57:17 - Pragmatism vs. Postmodernism 1:00:48 - Is Western civilisation the peak? 1:01:35 - Peterson's Pragmatic Christianity 1:04:19 - The dangers of high status 1:05:51 - CJ's lessons learned from speaking tour 1:11:28 - CJ's Anti-mimetic attitude 1:14:55 - James starting Jungian Masters 1:15:38 - James on Dreams 1:16:55 - CJ's troubled relationship with the dreamworld 1:19:32 - Dreams and creativity 1:24:40 - CJ on James's excessive curiosity 1:26:18 - CJ's read on James's alien dreams 1:27:36 - Connection between dreams and creativity 1:30:01 - James wants to study CJ's dreams 1:34:44 - Wrapping up 1:35:27 - CJ's Guest Recommendations | |||
| Gary Clark: 'Jung Was 100 Years Ahead!' How Psychedelics Are Proving the Collective Unconscious is Real | 23 Sep 2025 | 01:10:13 | |
"Jung was essentially an evolutionary theorist". These are the words of Gary Clark, a Visiting Research Fellow in the School of Medical Sciences at the University of Adelaide in Australia, who has written a book on the intersection of Jungian Analytical Psychology and evolutionary neuroscience. If you want to learn more about Gary you can check out his book "Carl Jung and the Evolutionary Sciences: A New Vision for Analytical Psychology" (and grab a free PDF of its intro) here. You can also dive into the rest of his work on academia.edu and ResearchGate. In this conversation, I sit down with Gary to explore the intersection of Jungian psychology and evolutionary neuroscience, examining how recent psychedelic research provides empirical validation for Jung's theories about the collective unconscious and archetypes. We discuss how modern neuroscience, particularly studies of primary and secondary consciousness systems, maps onto Jung's framework of ego consciousness versus deeper archetypal layers. The conversation covers the revolutionary potential of psychedelic research for studying previously inaccessible aspects of consciousness and Jung's prescient evolutionary approach to depth psychology. ⏳Timestamps | |||
| Carl Jung Was Racist. | 12 Jan 2025 | 00:23:03 | |
This episode is an exploration of the allegations of racism against Jung and looks at some possible defences of Jung. Since Dalal published Jung: A Racist in 1988 there has been something of an open crisis in Jungian circles regarding the extent of the issue and what is to be done about it. This episode is about laying out the issue in as clear a way as possible. To learn more about the schism in the Jungian community see Samuels 2019 in the Further Reading section below. ____________________ 📚 References: - Hannah, B. (1976). Jung: His Life and His Work. New York: Putnam - Jung, C.G. (1909) Report on America. In The Collected Works of C. G. Jung, vol. 18. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. - Jung, C.G. (1927) Woman in Europe. In The Collected Works of C. G. Jung, vol. 10. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. - Jung, C.G. (1927a) Mind and Earth. In The Collected Works of C. G. Jung, vol. 10. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. - Jung, C.G. (1930) The Complications of American Psychology. In The Collected Works of C. G. Jung, vol. 10. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. - Jung, C.G. (1930) A Radio Talk in Munich. In The Collected Works of C. G. Jung, vol. 18. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. - Jung, C. G. (1935). The Tavistock lectures. In The Collected Works of C. G. Jung, vol. 18. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. - Jung, C. G. (1989). Memories, Dreams, Reflections. New York: Vintage Books. - Radin, P. (1927). Primitive Man as Philosopher. New York: D. Appleton and Company - Shamdasani, S. (2003). Jung and the making of modern psychology: The dream of a science. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. 📚 Further Reading: - Dalal F (1988) Jung: A Racist. British Journal of Psychotherapy 4(3): 263–279. - Collins J (2009) ‘Shadow Selves’: Jung, Africa and the Psyche. Interventions 11(1). Routledge: 69–80. - Brewster F (2013) Wheel of Fire: The African American Dreamer and Cultural Consciousness. Jung Journal 7(1): 70–87. - Brewster F (2017) African Americans and Jungian Psychology: Leaving the Shadows. London: Routledge. - Samuels A (2018) Jung and ‘Africans’: a critical and contemporary review of some of the issues. International Journal of Jungian Studies 10(2). Brill: 122–134. - Samuels A (2019) Notes on the Open Letter on Jung and ‘Africans’ published in the British Journal of Psychotherapy, November 2018. Psychoanalysis, Culture & Society 24(2): 217–229. - Johnson, J. (2020) Being white, being Jungian: implications of Jung’s encounter with the ‘non-European’ other1. The Journal of analytical psychology 65(4). J Anal Psychol. - Carter C (2021) Time for space at the table: an African American - Native American analyst-in-training’s first-hand reflections. A call for the IAAP to publicly denounce (but not erase) the White supremacist writings of C.G. Jung. The Journal of analytical psychology 66(1). J Anal Psychol. ________________ ⭐ Support the channel (thank you!) ▶ Patreon: https://patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy ▶ Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy _________________ 💬 More from The Living Philosophy ▶ Discord https://discord.gg/XNd4gTpfu9 ▶ 📨 Subscribe with email: https://thelivingphilosophy.substack.com/ ________________ 🎼 Media Used: 1. Eye - Hara Noda 2. Five Leaves - Hara Noda 3. Anew - Hara Noda 4. Goodnight Mr. Malone - Bladverk Band 5. Mural - Hara Noda 6. Waltz for Maybe - Jonah Aardekke All music courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com _________________ ⌛ Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 2:13 Jung: A Racist 5:46 One African Race 8:53 Nature Over Nurture 11:31 Jung on African Americans 16:58 Defence 1: Primitive Compliment 19:21 Defence 2: Man of His Times 21:50 Implications | |||
| Jung on Americans: the Illusion of Freedom | 15 Dec 2024 | 00:13:44 | |
Jung describes Americans as having an “astonishingly feeble resistance to collective influences” which he found “positively terrifying”. His 1931 article on the uniquely American psychology is filled with novel insights into American psychology: its herdlike nature, the Heroic Ideal driving it as well as showcasing some of Jung’s more unsavoury Shadow elements — his racism which we’ll talk more about in the next episode. ____________________ 📚 Further Reading: - Jung, C.G. 1931. The Complications of American Psychology ________________ ⭐ Support the channel (thank you!) ▶ Patreon: https://patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy ▶ Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy _________________ 💬 More from The Living Philosophy ▶ 📨 Subscribe with email: https://thelivingphilosophy.com/ ________________ 🎼 Media Used: 1. Eliot Ness - Bladverk Band 2. Common Language - Venla 3. Dans Les Pensées - Franz Gordon 4. Here and Now - Bladverk Band All music courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com _________________ ⌛ Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 0:50 It’s Complicated 06:52 The Heroic Ideal 09:25 The Source of American Psychology | |||
| Carl Jung’s Synchronicity: Meaningful Patterns in Life | 24 Nov 2024 | 00:24:06 | |
Synchronicity was coined by psychological pioneer Carl Jung. Its meaning is simple: a Synchronicity is a “meaningful coincidence”. But it seems that there has been a lot of misreading of Jung going on. In this episode we are going back to Jung’s original definition of Synchronicity in his 1952 work “Synchronicity: An Acausal Principle” to see what he really meant by the term. ____________________ 📚 Further Reading: - Atmanspacher, H. “The Pauli-Jung Conjecture and Its Impact Today” - Cambray, J., “Synchronicity as emergence” in “Analytical Psychology: Contemporary Perspectives in Jungian Analysis” - Cavalli, C. “Synchronicity and the emergence of meaning” - Jung, C.G. and Pauli, W., “The Interpretation of Nature and the Psyche” - Jung, C.G. and Jaffé, E., “Memories, dreams, reflections” - Jung, C.G. “Letters of C. G. Jung vol.1” - Shinoda Bolen, J., “The Tao of Psychology” - Main, R., “Synchronicity and analysis: Jung and after” http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13642530701725924 - Main, R., “Revelations of chance: synchronicity as spiritual experience” - von Franz, M. L., “On divination and synchronicity: the psychology of meaningful chance” ________________ ⭐ Support the channel (thank you!) ▶ Patreon: https://patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy ▶ Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy _________________ 💬 More from The Living Philosophy ▶ Discord https://discord.gg/XNd4gTpfu9 ▶ 📨 Subscribe with email: https://thelivingphilosophy.substack.com/ ________________ 🎼 Media Used: 1. A Garden Romance - Martin Landström 2. I May Have Lost Forever - Martin Landström 3. Paris in the Rain - Martin Landström 4. Moonlight Sparkle - William Claeson 5. Sea Smoke - Gustav Lundgren Trio 6. Make You Smile - Magnus Ringblom Quartet 7. Balance - Amaranth Cove 8. Silent Waves - Helmut Schenker 9. Monograph - Johannes Bornlöf All music courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com _________________ ⌛ Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 03:50 1. Temporal Alignment Component 06:46 2. Internal/External Component 10:37 3. Acausal Component 14:56 (concrete) synchronicity vs. (abstract) Synchronicity 18:38 Winks from the Universe? | |||
| One must imagine Sisyphus happy | 13 Oct 2024 | 00:15:44 | |
________________ 📚 Further Reading: - Camus, Albert, *The Myth of Sisyphus* - Camus, Albert, *The Outsider* - Camus, Albert, *The Rebel* - Camus, Albert, *Caligula* ________________ ⭐ Support the channel (thank you!) ▶ Patreon: https://patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy ▶ Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy _________________ 💬 More from The Living Philosophy ▶ 📨 Subscribe with email: https://thelivingphilosophy.substack.com/ ________________ 🎼 Media Used: 1. Cessura - Ever So Blue 2. Refreshing - Megan Wofford 3. Nova Scotia - Synthetic Tides 4. Save You from the Death - Ruiqi Zhao 5. By Night - Hushed 6. Common Language - Vendla All music courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com _________________ ⌛ Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 4:07 1. Suicide 5:41 2.Philosophical Suicide 7:36 3. Absurdism 12:57 4. The living philosophy of Absurdism | |||
| Can Neuralink Destroy What Makes Us Human? | 15 Sep 2024 | 00:14:47 | |
Could Neuralink accidentally turn all its users into a hive mind? That’s what we’re going to be exploring in this episode where we take a look inside the brain and at the possibility for Neuralink’s high bandwidth and low latency to transform the nature of consciousness. _________________ 📚 Further Reading:
_________________ ⭐ Support the channel (thank you!) ▶ Patreon: https://patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy ▶ Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy _________________ 💬 More from The Living Philosophy ▶ Discord https://discord.gg/XNd4gTpfu9 ▶ 📨 Subscribe with email: https://thelivingphilosophy.substack.com/ _________________ 🎼 Media Used:
_________________ ⌛ Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 2:06 Split Brain Science 5:55 Watts Argument: Merging of Consciousness 9:14 The Age of BCIs 10:47 What Will a Super-Consciousness Look Like?
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| Why Leftists Should Have Loved Rich Men North of Richmond (But Didn't) | 25 Aug 2024 | 00:14:43 | |
If an alien arrived on this planet having read only the writings of Marx, Proudhon and other great leftist socialist thinkers, they would be very surprised by the reaction to Rich Men North of Richmond. Oliver Anthony's song was loved by some and hated by others with the usual weird subtextual energies of the Culture Wars infusing both. This episode looks at why, from a historical theoretical it could have been otherwise. And why it wasn't. ____________________ 📚 For Your Further Perusal: - Oliver Anthony's Rich Men North of Richmond https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqSA-SY5Hro&pp ________________ 🎼 Media Used: 1. Anguish — Kevin MacLeod Subscribe to Kevin MacLeod https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic _________________ ⌛ Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction | |||
| Self-Actualisation is Not Enough | 11 Aug 2024 | 00:12:50 | |
In this video we are going to tackle a challenging question: what is self-actualisation isn't what we should be doing; what if instead it is a big cope — a way of burying our head in the sand (rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic; playing our fiddle while Rome burns — choose your preferred analogy) while the world burns. ------------------- 📚 Further Reading:
------------------- ⭐ Support the channel (thank you!) ▶ Patreon: https://patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy 💬 More from The Living Philosophy ▶ Discord https://discord.gg/XNd4gTpfu9 🎼 Media Used:
Subscribe to Kevin MacLeod https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic ------------------- ⌛ Timestamps: | |||
| Enlightenment, Non-Attachment and Other Toxic Spiritual Con Jobs | 28 Jul 2024 | 00:17:50 | |
In this episode, we look at why you should listen to South Park's Butters over modern Buddhist gurus. We talk about the sales pitch used by spiritual gurudom to get people hungry for Enlightenment while hiding the truth about the awful reality of that path. Fun fun fun. ____________________ 📚 Further Reading: - Mingyur, R.Y. and Swanson, E., 2010. _Joyful wisdom_. Random House. ________________ ⭐ Support the channel (thank you!) ▶ Patreon: https://patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy ▶ Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy _________________ 💬 More from The Living Philosophy ▶ Discord https://discord.gg/XNd4gTpfu9 ▶ 📨 Subscribe with email: https://thelivingphilosophy.substack.com/ ________________ 🎼 Media Used: 1. Anguish — Kevin MacLeod 2. Allegro — Emmit Fenn 3. Evening Fall Harp — Kevin MacLeod 4. Alone With My Thoughts — Esther Abrami 5. Dark Times — Kevin MacLeod Subscribe to Kevin MacLeod https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic _________________ ⌛ Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 3:32 Everything is S ** T 6:08 The Horrors of Spiritual Attainment 8:40 Who's Falling for It? 10:31 Who It's Really For 12:37 Spiritual Bypassing | |||
| Books Saved My Life | 14 Jul 2024 | 00:12:40 | |
In this episode I talk about the books that rescued me in my darkest times by giving me the breath of heroic inspiration I needed to get moving out of the dark pit I'd found myself in. I talk about what these books had in common and why we need them. ____________________ 📚 Further Reading: - _I’m Not There_. (2008). [Movie]. - Dumas, A., *The Three Musketeers* - London, J., *The Call of the Wild* - Conan Doyle, A., *The Lost World* ________________ ⭐ Support the channel (thank you!) ▶ Patreon: https://patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy ▶ Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy _________________ 💬 More from The Living Philosophy ▶ Discord https://discord.gg/XNd4gTpfu9 ▶ 📨 Subscribe with email: https://thelivingphilosophy.substack.com/ ________________ 🎼 Media Used: 1. Promising Relationship — Kevin MacLeod 2. Alone With My Thoughts — Esther Abrami 3. Letting Go Subscribe to Kevin MacLeod https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic | |||
| How to Think Like Nietzsche | 30 Jun 2024 | 00:15:15 | |
The aphoristic style of Friedrich Nietzsche is a wellspring of inspiration. In this episode, we explore the connection between this style and Nietzsche's hiking (10 hours of hiking a day, if he is to be believed). It is Nietzsche's walking that gave birth to the aphorisms in a passive form of thinking that stands in stark contrast to the thorough linear thinking of philosophers like Kant and Hegel. ____________________ 📚 Further Reading: - Nietzsche FW (2000) _Basic Writings of Nietzsche_. translated by Walter Kaufmann. New York: Modern Library. ________________ ⭐ Support the channel (thank you!) ▶ Patreon: https://patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy ▶ Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy _________________ 💬 More from The Living Philosophy ▶ Discord https://discord.gg/XNd4gTpfu9 ▶ 📨 Subscribe with email: https://thelivingphilosophy.substack.com/ ________________ 🎼 Media Used: 1. Juniper — Kevin MacLeod 2. Fresh Air — Kevin MacLeod 3. Anguish — Kevin MacLeod 4. Letting Go Subscribe to Kevin MacLeod https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic _________________ ⌛ Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 3:48 The Walking Philosopher 6:20 The Walking Muse 10:41 How to Think Like Nietzsche | |||
| Karl Marx: Capitalism's Weirdest Fanboy | 16 Jun 2024 | 00:10:19 | |
Karl Marx is the most (in)famous critic of Capitalism. Or is he? As with all stories, it's not so simple. Marx isn't a reactionary dreaming of a tribal communal paradise but more of a sci-fi visionary looking to the society that will transcend Capitalism using its foundation as a jumping off point to a much more interesting, much better world. ____________________ 📚 Further Reading: - The British rule in india: https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1853/06/25.htm - Predictions of revolution: Robert Payne, Marx. p. 338 - Other quotes: Marx, K. and Engels, F. (1848) *The Communist Manifesto* https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist-manifesto/ ________________ ⭐ Support the channel (thank you!) ▶ Patreon: https://patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy ▶ Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy _________________ 💬 More from The Living Philosophy ▶ Discord https://discord.gg/XNd4gTpfu9 ▶ 📨 Subscribe with email: https://thelivingphilosophy.substack.com/ ________________ 🎼 Media Used: 1. Allegro — Emmit Fenn 2. Anguish — Kevin MacLeod 3. Alone With My Thoughts — Esther Abrami Subscribe to Kevin MacLeod https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic _________________ ⌛ Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 1:08 The Hegelian Marx 5:42 Why Marx Loved Capitalism | |||
| Our Tragic Hero - the Mistborn Jordan Peterson | 09 Jun 2024 | 00:17:00 | |
Following on from the last episode on Jordan Peterson's brilliant 2005 essay on "Peacemaking" this time we look at what went wrong and at JBP's arc as that of the classical tragic hero. And having a bit of fun with this we compare him to the villain in one of my favourite fantasy series Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. We look at Aristotle's definition of tragedy, and at mapovers between Peterson and Mistborn's Lord Ruler and also Dune's Paul Atreides. ____________________ 📚 Further Reading: - Herbert, F. (1965). *Dune*. London: Penguin - Peterson, J.B. (2005). _Peacemaking Among Higher Order Primates_ in _The Psychology of Resolving Global Conflicts_ ed. by Mari Fitzduff, Chris E. Stout. Michigan: Praeger Security International - Sanderson, B. (2015). *Mistborn Trilogy Boxed Set: Mistborn, The Well of Ascension, The Hero of Ages*. London: Gollancz ________________ ⭐ Support the channel (thank you!) ▶ Patreon: https://patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy ▶ Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy _________________ 💬 More from The Living Philosophy ▶ Discord https://discord.gg/XNd4gTpfu9 ▶ 📨 Subscribe with email: https://thelivingphilosophy.substack.com/ ________________ 🎼 Music: 1. Juniper — Kevin MacLeod 2. Allegro — Emmit Fenn 3. Density & Time — Ether Real 4. Fresh Air — Kevin MacLeod Subscribe to Kevin MacLeod https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic ________________ 📸 Mistborn Images: Ruin and Preservation: reddit.com/r/Cosmere/comments/k9dg2a/ruin_and_preservation_again_but_this_time_in_a/ Kredik Shaw: https://www.deviantart.com/somnicide/art/Kredik-Shaw-315216988 Mistborn Mistbank Wiki Fandom: https://mistbank.fandom.com/wiki/Mistborn?file=Mistborn.jpg Lord Ruler: https://medium.com/@inkimpressionsss_30394/mistborn-unveiling-the-allomantic-symphony-a-journey-through-brandon-sandersons-great-trilogy-17c18f230604 The Skaa: https://readingseconds.com/the-skaa-explained-mistborn/ Rashek: https://www.tumblr.com/runmienn/709526582105112576/mistborn-spoilers-another-compilation-of?source=share The Deepness - Reading Seconds: https://readingseconds.com/the-deepness-explained-mistborn/ The Well of Ascension: https://medium.com/@jazznyul/the-mistborn-trilogy-the-well-of-ascension-part-one-my-book-review-57f7dfedefe2 Alendi and Rashek: https://adonalsium.tumblr.com/post/186149488793/sometimes-i-worry-that-im-not-the-hero-everyone Luthadel with Kredik Shaw, Mist and volcano in bg: https://mistborn.fandom.com/wiki/Mist?file=Kredikshaw_luthadel01.jpg _________________ ⌛ Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 2:16 Summary of Peacemaker 5:54 Mistborn 11:02 The Mapover with Peterson | |||
| Jordan Peterson's Bizarre (and Brilliant) Manifesto | 19 May 2024 | 00:20:51 | |
In 2005, long before he became a household name, Jordan Peterson wrote an article with the title "Peacemaking Among Higher Order Primates" and it is amazing — partly for its own beauty and pathos and partly for the contract it provides with The Daily Wire Peterson we have today. It is a brilliant ode to what peace looks like and how it might be achieved and a stark reminder of the potential pitfalls for even the best-intentioned. ____________________ 📚 Further Reading: - Peterson, J.B., (2005). Peacemaking Among Higher Order Primates in The Psychology of Resolving Global Conflicts ed. by Mari Fitzduff, Chris E. Stout. Michigan: Praeger Security International - Peterson, J.B., (2002). Maps of meaning: The architecture of belief. Routledge. ________________ ⭐ Support the channel (thank you!) ▶ Patreon: https://patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy ▶ Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy _________________ 💬 More from The Living Philosophy ▶ Discord https://discord.gg/XNd4gTpfu9 ▶ 📨 Subscribe with email: https://thelivingphilosophy.substack.com/ ________________ 🎼 Media Used: 1. Anguish — Kevin MacLeod 2. Promising Relationship — Kevin MacLeod 3. Disquiet — Kevin MacLeod 4. Alone With My Thoughts — Esther Abrami 5. Dark Times — Kevin MacLeod Subscribe to Kevin MacLeod https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic _________________ ⌛ Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 3:50 Peacekeeping Among Higher Order Primates 7:40 What Separates Them 9:50 Different Localities as Different Paradigms 11:56 As Sowellian Visions 13:53 Patreon Aside 14:26 The Peacemaker 16:41 Reflections | |||
| The Edge of the Inside — How to Change the Superstructure | 05 May 2024 | 00:18:37 | |
Why it Matters is back (kind of). This video revisits the Prophet archetype with a bit more passion and a little less bookishness. It is great to have the previous video as a foundation but as with the old Why it Matters videos the point of this video is to get into why I care so much about this topic and why I think you should as well. We're going to be looking at the Prophet through the lens of Richard Rohr's description of the Prophet's position as being at "the edge of the inside" and we are going to look at some examples of this Prophetic archetype like Karl Marx, Jordan Peterson, Contrapoints and Donald Trump. ____________________ 📚 Further Learning: - The original video on the Prophet archetype: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnaYn6WpwuA - Jonas Ceika/Cuck philosophy video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHtvTGaPzF4 - Szakolczai Á (2003) _The Genesis of Modernity_. Routledge studies in social and political thought 36. London ; New York: Routledge. ________________ ⭐ Support the channel (thank you!) ▶ Patreon: https://patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy ▶ Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy _________________ 💬 More from The Living Philosophy ▶ 📨 Subscribe with email: https://thelivingphilosophy.substack.com/ ________________ 🎼 Media Used: 1. Allegro — Emmit Fenn 2. Anguish — Kevin MacLeod 3. Alone With My Thoughts — Esther Abrami 4. Dark Times — Kevin MacLeod Subscribe to Kevin MacLeod https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic _________________ ⌛ Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 1:14 What is a prophet? 5:27 Ad spot 7:21 The Marx example 10:17 Jordan Peterson 10:42 Derrick Bell 12:30 Reflection 15:57 Personal reflection | |||
| Subconscious vs. Unconscious | 21 Apr 2024 | 00:10:08 | |
In approaching the underworld there are a couple of terms that people use. Sometimes it can get a bit confusing who's using what and what we should be using. In this episode we look at the term subconscious vs unconscious and what the meaning and background is of each. As we'll see it wasn't always so clear cut — the French psychological heritage from Pierre Janet started with one term then with Freud it bounced to another and Jung and Adler followed in their direction now using unconscious instead of subconscious. ____________________ 📚 Further Reading: - Freud, S., 1969. _Questions Of Lay Analysis_. WW Norton & Company. ________________ ⭐ Support the channel (thank you!) ▶ Patreon: https://patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy ▶ Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy _________________ 💬 More from The Living Philosophy ▶ Discord https://discord.gg/XNd4gTpfu9 ▶ 📨 Subscribe with email: https://thelivingphilosophy.substack.com/ ________________ 🎼 Media Used: 1. Overture — Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky 2. Fresh Air — Kevin MacLeod 3. Dreams Become Real — Kevin MacLeod 4. Juniper — Kevin MacLeod Subscribe to Kevin MacLeod https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic _________________ ⌛ Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 0:51 The Origins: Janet and Freud 4:03 A Tale of Two Usages 8:41 Which one is right? | |||
| Reality vs Archetype — The Two Types of Romcom | 07 Apr 2024 | 00:13:54 | |
In this palette cleanser we are going to talk about the philosophy of romcoms for a change. I reckon this should remove any accusations of important work being done on The Living Philosophy. We'll be looking at two romcoms — the classic Norah Ephron When Harry Met Sally and the lesser known Just Like Heaven starring Reese Wetherspoon and Mark Ruffalo. One is reflective of a type of art that strives for psychological accuracy (Dostoevsky, When Harry Met Sally) category — while the second category (Just Like Heaven, Alexander Dumas's The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo) dispense with reality and works at the hyperreal level of the archetypal underworld. *** Damien's YouTube channel: "Science Fiction with Damien Walter": https://www.youtube.com/@DamienWalter *** 📚 Learning Resources:
*** ⭐ Support the channel (thank you!) ▶ Patreon: https://patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy *** 💬 More from The Living Philosophy ▶ 📨 Subscribe with email: https://thelivingphilosophy.substack.com/ *** 🎼 Media Used:
Subscribe to Kevin MacLeod https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic *** ⌛ Timestamps: | |||
| An (Ancient) New Theory of Happiness | 10 Mar 2024 | 00:14:47 | |
You can get "Become Who You Are" here: http://designingthemind.org/becoming It's rare that you encounter a fresh take on a path as well-trodden as happiness. I've read a lot of books on the topic and I have to say that Ryan Bush's take is fresh and yet simultaneously ancient. I think this is part of the reason I'm so enthusiastic about it: it integrates a trend in academic philosophy that I've yet to see anyone else talk about: Virtue Ethics. This is an ethical approach to philosophy that goes all the way back to the ancients especially Socrates, Aristotle and the Stoics. Bush integrates this old esteemed tradition with very 21st century fields like Cognitive Science and neuroscience to produce a thought-provoking map of the good life that I can't recommend highly enough. ____________________ 📚 Further Reading: - Pan W, Liu C, Yang Q, et al. (2016) The neural basis of trait self-esteem revealed by the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations and resting state functional connectivity. _Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience_ 11(3): 367–376. - Bush R. (2023) _Become Who You Are_. USA: DTM Press - Davey CG, Pujol J and Harrison BJ (2016) Mapping the self in the brain’s default mode network. _NeuroImage_ 132: 390–397. _________________ 🎼 Media Used: 1. Letting Go — Kevin MacLeod 2. Juniper — Kevin MacLeod 3. Dreams Become Real — Kevin MacLeod 6. Anguish — Kevin MacLeod Subscribe to Kevin MacLeod https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic _________________ ⌛ Timestamps: 0:00 Gain and Loss 2:45 The Third Dimension of the Good Life 4:00 How to Eudaimonia 5:21 The Spiritual Path 7:06 The Neuroscience of Self-Esteem 9:43 Virtue: the Royal Road to Eudaimonia | |||
| The Lost Art of Leisure | 03 Mar 2024 | 00:12:37 | |
We modern serfs have forgotten something: we've forgotten how to live. You don't question the meaning of life when leisure is the heart of life rather than work. But with the rise of modern urban life, the intrinsic mode of living has died at the hands of the instrumental mode of life. Our entire lives have been colonised by "utility". We don't relax or rest for their own sake anymore — now we rest so that we are more productive. In this episode we explore these two relationships with time: the leisurely intrinsic mode and the future-oriented instrumental mode. _________________ 📚 Further Reading:
_________________ ⭐ Support The Living Philosophy (thank you!) ▶ Patreon: https://patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy ▶ Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy _________________ 💬 More from The Living Philosophy ▶ 📨 Subscribe with email: https://thelivingphilosophy.substack.com/ _________________ 🎼 Media Used:
Subscribe to Kevin MacLeod: https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic ⌛ Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 01:27 Modern Times 03:51 The Other Story 10:46 Conclusion | |||
| The Prophet — the Archetype of Societal Renaissance | 28 Jan 2024 | 00:14:22 | |
Before the Axial Age the religious archetypes were those of the Priest and the Magician. But with the increased complexity and evolution of society a new archetype emerged: that of the Prophet. This is the archetype of liminal transformation in the midst of a society paralysed by its own success. The Prophet comes in from the edge of inside and shows the society where it has lost its way. ____________________ 📚 Further Reading: - Szakolczai Á (2003) _The Genesis of Modernity_. Routledge studies in social and political thought 36. London ; New York: Routledge. ________________ ⭐ Support the channel (thank you!) ▶ Patreon: https://patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy ▶ Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy _________________ 💬 More from The Living Philosophy ▶ Discord https://discord.gg/XNd4gTpfu9 ▶ 📨 Subscribe with email: https://thelivingphilosophy.substack.com/ ________________ 🎼 Media Used: 1. Anguish — Kevin MacLeod 2. Density & Time — Ether Real 3. Mind Scrape — Kevin MacLeod 4. Alone With My Thoughts — Esther Abrami 5. Shores of Avalon — Kevin MacLeod 6. Disquiet — Kevin MacLeod 7. Letting Go — Kevin MacLeod 8. Allegro — Emmit Fenn 9. Evening Fall Harp — Kevin MacLeod Subscribe to Kevin MacLeod https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic Subscribe to Emmit Fenn https://www.youtube.com/c/emmitfenn _________________ ⌛ Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 01:14 Priests and Magicians 03:33 Prophets 04:13 Power and the Priest 06:11 Refusal of the Call 08:19 Personal Aspect and Revelation 09:16 Exemplary and Ethical Prophecy 11:31 Elitist Exemplarys 12:34 Conclusion | |||
| Justice vs. Vengeance — Is There a Difference? | 31 Dec 2023 | 00:15:04 | |
Philosopher and anthropologist Rene Girard once described justice and public vengeance. Nietzsche expressed the same in his Genealogy of Morals. Why then do we value justice so highly and look down so judgingly on revenge? And what, if this is true, is the purpose of justice? How is it in any way different from vengeance? The answer is that it is profoundly different and in this video we explore why. ____________________ 📚 Further Reading: - Prisoner abuse data: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0032885500080004004 - Death penalty data: https://www.ipsos.com/en-uk/death-penalty-international-poll - MP support of death penalty: https://ukandeu.ac.uk/big-differences-on-economic-and-social-values-between-mps-and-voters-new-academic-survey-finds/ - Recidivism in Norwegian prisons - 1 year: https://medium.com/wagovernor/how-norwegian-prisons-prepare-inmates-to-become-better-neighbors-534409a90f33 - 3-year Norwegian recidivism: https://www.firststepalliance.org/post/norway-prison-system-lessons - 1980s Norway recidivism: https://www.firststepalliance.org/post/norway-prison-system-lessons - Nietzsche, F. (2000) *Genealogy of Morals* in _Basic Writings of Nietzsche_ ed. by Walter Kaufmann. New York: Modern Library. - Girard R. (1979) _Violence and the Sacred_. Baltimore: Hopkins Univ. Press. ________________ ⭐ Support the channel (thank you!) ▶ Patreon: https://patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy ▶ Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy _________________ 💬 More from The Living Philosophy ▶ Discord https://discord.gg/XNd4gTpfu9 ▶ 📨 Subscribe with email: https://thelivingphilosophy.substack.com/ ________________ 🎼 Media Used: 1. Anguish — Kevin MacLeod 2. Mind Scrape — Kevin MacLeod 3. Fresh Air — Kevin MacLeod 4. Dreams Become Real — Kevin MacLeod 5. Dark Times — Kevin MacLeod Subscribe to Kevin MacLeod https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic _________________ ⌛ Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 01:33 Rehabilitation vs Punishment 06:29 The Dark Side of Justice 10:15 The Hegemony of Justice 13:26 Further Avenues for Research | |||
| Is Equality the Enemy? | 17 Dec 2023 | 00:18:33 | |
Would you rather live in a better world or a happier one? In this video we are going to explore how equality has made the world a better place but also how, like the Edenic apple of knowledge, it has come with a cost. The world looks better from the outside but seen from the subjective side it seems that things have only gotten worse. This is following up on the recent episode on Nietzsche's concept of ressentiment that we examined in the previous episodes and follows along our explorations in to the social and political radical theme of modern times. ____________________ 📚 Further Reading: - De Botton A (2005) _Status Anxiety_. First Vintage International edition. New York: Vintage International. - Nietzsche FW (2000) *The Genealogy of Morals* in _Basic Writings of Nietzsche_. ed. by Martin Kaufmann. New York: Modern Library. - Orlowski, J. (2020) _The Social Dilemma_ Netflix. - Scheler M (1915) Ressentiment. 1915. - Seligman MEP (2013) _Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment_. Atria paperback edition. New York London Toronto Sydney New Delhi: Atria Paperback. - Tocqueville A de, Bevan GE, Kramnick I, et al. (2003) _Democracy in America: And Two Essays on America_. Penguin classics. London: Penguin. ________________ ⭐ Support the channel (thank you!) ▶ Patreon: https://patreon.com/thelivingphilosophy ▶ Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thelivingphilosophy _________________ 💬 More from The Living Philosophy ▶ Discord https://discord.gg/XNd4gTpfu9 ▶ 📨 Subscribe with email: https://thelivingphilosophy.substack.com/ ________________ 🎼 Media Used: 1. Mesmerize — Kevin MacLeod 2. Despair and Triumph — Kevin MacLeod 3. Long Note Three — Kevin MacLeod 4. Anguish — Kevin MacLeod 5. Dreams Become Real — Kevin MacLeod 6. Letting Go — Kevin MacLeod 7. Fresh Air — Kevin MacLeod Subscribe to Kevin MacLeod https://www.youtube.com/user/kmmusic _________________ ⌛ Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 2:07 Democracy in America 5:21 The Shadow of Equality 8:21 In the 21st Century 9:59 Medieval Eden 12:00 What to do with Equality 13:48 The Limitations of Meritocracy | |||
| Liminality and the Values of the Left | 19 Nov 2023 | 00:16:14 | |
In The Ritual Process the anthropologist who put Liminality on the map Victor Turner gave a list of contrasts between Liminality and Structure. There is an uncanny resemblance between these values and the values of Leftism. That is what we are going to explore in this episode which in the final episode in our exploration of Victor Turner's work in this field. | |||
| The Homelessness Crisis — Where Individualism Breaks Down | 22 Oct 2023 | 00:09:28 | |
"When all you have is a hammer every problem begins to look like a nail." Good philosophy is always trying to break up and recreate its map of the world. In this episode we are going to break up the Individualist model of the world a little and broaden our map to include the Collectivist perspectives. We talk a lot about Nihilism and the Meaning Crisis as if they are only to be understood as individual problems but the challenges and solutions that face us in the 21st century can't be understood merely from one angle. This episode is a case study in the Homelessness Crisis and how it looks from the vantage points of Individualism and Collectivism. | |||
| Liminality X Nihlism — The Real Cause of the Meaning Crisis | 08 Oct 2023 | 00:17:23 | |
Is Liminality the real root of the crisis of Nihilism? In this episode we are going to explore this question and whether Liminality is a better diagnosis of the Meaning Crisis than Nietzsche's Death of God. When looking at Turner's qualities of Liminality the relations between it and Nihilism are striking; if nothing else if provides us an alternative angle on the crisis — a different perspective from which to behold the quagmire we find ourselves in. What is particularly appealing about the Liminality-centred explanation is that it can explain Nihilism AND the value system of the Left from Marx to Social Justice — a theme we'll be exploring in a future video. | |||
| The Last Man — Nietzsche | 24 Sep 2023 | 00:14:56 | |
For Nietzsche The Last Man stood as the opposite of the Ubermensch and the great danger of the "levelling" tendency of modernity. In this episode we are going to look at what Nietzsche meant by the Last Man and how his prophecy has come through. We look at The Last Man in 21st century society and what Nietzsche got right even while we should be cautious of fully embracing his ideal. | |||
| Liminality — Our World in One Word | 10 Sep 2023 | 00:25:13 | |
We live in an age of Liminality. It's at the roots of the Meaning Crisis of Nihilism and Leftist value structures. Coming from the same Latin word as subliminal (*limin* meaning "threshold") it is a term that has entered the mainstream from its roots in Anthropology with the work of Victor Turner. | |||
| Addicted to Apocalypse: Our Psychological Need for the End | 27 Aug 2023 | 00:22:51 | |
Apocalypse is traditionally a religious idea but the secular age has been more alight with an Apocalyptic fervour than any preceding age. In this episode we explore why by looking at predictions through the ages and across cultures in an attempt to triangulate on what it is about the end of the world that is so sticky to the human psyche. We are going to explore the archetypal phenomenon of the end of the world and see why Apocalypse remains so compelling. | |||
| Why Jung Hated Philosophers | 13 Aug 2023 | 00:24:20 | |
Jung once described himself as a failed philosopher. Instead he chose the path of science with psychology. It is surprising then to see what Walter Kaufmann calls Jung's "wildly emotional overreaction" to thinkers like Heidegger and Kierkegaard. Is philosophy Jung's Shadow? In this episode we explore what Jung said about the philosophers and why. | |||
| Camino de Santiago: Why I Hiked and What I Learned | 12 Jul 2023 | 00:31:11 | |
A summary of my Camino experience: what I hiked, why I hiked and what I learned. | |||
| The Rural vs the Far Left — from Marx to AOC | 18 Jun 2023 | 00:08:45 | |
83% of America's counties voted for Trump in the 2020 but these counties account for only 29% of America's GDP. Why aren't this lesser off rural/exurban population voting for the party who theoretically are most aligned with their interests i.e. the Democratic Socialists? | |||
| Structure vs. Communitas — the Two Modes of Human Society | 28 May 2023 | 00:17:14 | |
Anthropologist Victor Turner, who popularised the term Liminality, found that human society has two modes of interrelatedness that function like a yin and yang — mutually dependant and without which human life would be impossible. Structure is the mode of status and hierarchy in society; Communitas of love, compassion and myth. | |||