Unpacking Ideas – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode we unpack, Swiss Psychologist, Marie-Louise von Franz's classic book, "The Problem of the Puer Aeternus" from a series of lectures she gave in 1959.

This book explores

-The Eternal Child Archetype

-The Mother Complex (Jungian)

-The Loss of Initiation Rituals in the Modern Age

Links to Reading & Articles mentioned

The Problem of the Puer Aeternus by Marie-Louis von Franz

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

*note* reading is not required to enjoy this episode!

Host: Zach Stehura  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠UnpackingIdeas.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Guest: David Bloome

Music: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Polyenso⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Time Stamps

0:00:00 Introduction

0:02:24 David’s Story Discovering the book

0:12:07 Characteristics of The Puer Aeternus

0:16:14 Commitmentphobia/Megalomania 

0:23:00 The Mother Complex

0:28:46 Enmeshment

0:37:45 Analysis of “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

0:40:47 Symbolism of the Boa Constrictor choking the Elephant 

0:46:00 Symbolism of the Little Prince Image

0:50:45 Symbolism of The Overgrown Baobob Trees

0:54:11 The Literal and Figurative Crash of Individuals suffering from the Eternal Child Complex

0:58:04 Von Franz’s Antidote to the Problem - Initiation Rituals 

1:02:02 Consequences of the Lack of Initiation Rituals in the Modern Age

1:06:00  The literal and Figurative crash of Societies Suffering from the Eternal Child Complex 

1:08:40 Jung’s Antidote to the Problem- Work

1:17:18 outro 

In this episode we unpack Swiss Psychiatrist and Author Elisabeth Kubler-Ross's classic book "On Death and Dying" from 1969.

This book explores...

• The Fear of Death in the Modern Age
• The Five Stages of Grief
• Advice for Navigating the 5 Stages of Grief

Links to Reading & Articles mentioned

On Death and Dying by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

The Trauma of Birth by Otto Rank

Uses of the Erotic by Audrey Lorde 

Illness as Metaphor by Susan Sontag 

Empathy vs. Sympathy by Brene Brown (video)

*note* reading is not required to enjoy this episode!

Host: Zach Stehura  UnpackingIdeas.com

Guest: Andrea Dispenziere Psychology Today

Theme Music: Polyenso

Timestamps

00:00:00 Introduction 

00:02:58 Autumn’s Association with Death

00:06:15 Reminding Ourselves of our Mortality 

00:13:19 Fear of Death in the Modern Age

00:14:40 Decline in Infant Mortality 

00:17:25 Impersonal Treatment of Terminal Patients 

00:24:29 The Illusion of Control

00:25:39 Summary of Kubler-Ross’s Interview Project 

00:28:10 Verbal Ventilation 

00:28:59 Importance of Meaning/Purpose

00:33:38 Mourning the Loss of Certain Abilities before Death

00:36:42 The Five Stages of Grief

00:38:23 Stage 1: Denial

00:39:18 Euphemism 

00:40:51 Emotional Detachment 

00:46:00 The Stigma of Denial

00:48:50 The Last Stage of the 5 stages of grief is the First Step of the 12 steps Program 

00:50:05 The Link between Denial and Hope

00:52:16 Shock and Numbness 

00:53:22 The Connection between Isolation and Denial

00:55:24 Stage 2: Anger

00:55:29 Anger at God

00:57:06 Anger at Oneself

00:59:05 Victim Blaming

01:01:00 Anger at the Living

01:02:16 Stage 3: Bargaining 

01:02:54 Ambivalence 

01:04:50 Bargaining with God

01:05:43 Reneging on the “Agreement”

01:10:45 Stage 4: Depression 

01:10:49 Reactive vs. Preparatory Depression

01:12:47 Telling the Depressed Person to “Cheer Up”

01:14:15 Grieving your Anticipated Future 

01:18:49 Sitting with the Person in Whatever Stage They’re In

01:21:28 Stage 5: Acceptance 

01:21:36 Detaching from Life

01:22:30 Conflating Acceptance as “Quitting”

01:23:30 Difficulty Accepting Death in a Masculine Culture

01:25:57 Need for Solitude at End of Life

01:29:12 Kubler-Ross’s View of Death and Dying

01:30:30 Wrapping up/Outro

In this episode we unpack American Naturalist and Environmental Activist John Muir's Spiritual Writings from 1867-1915.

These letters explores...

• The Revitalizing Effects of Wilderness on the Body and Spirit
• The Interconnectedness of All Things in Nature
• Finding Gratitude in the Big and Little Things in Life

Links to Reading & Articles mentioned

Spiritual Writings by John Muir

Man and Nature by Alan Watts

Chief Seattle full Speech 1854

Cinderella Man (film)

*note* reading is not required to enjoy this episode!

Host: Zach Stehura  UnpackingIdeas.com

Guest: Mark McCann   Wordsnvisions.com 

Theme Music: Polyenso

Timestamps

00:00:00 Introduction 

00:03:55 Hiking as a Metaphor for Life

00:05:13 Summary of John Muir’s Life

00:08:35 Water over Stones 

00:09:14 Finding God in a Thunderstorm 

00:12:44 The Fear of the Unknown 

00:16:57 The Call of Nature

00:20:52 The Confessional of the Woods/Solitude

00:24:13 Man’s Relationship to Nature 

00:34:10 Seeking God in Scripture and Nature

00:35:06 The Cathedral Effect 

00:40:27 Gratitude for The Big and Little Things

00:43:22 The Revitalizing Effects of Wilderness on the Body and Spirit

00:51:00 Muir’s Mission in Life

00:53:34 Wrapping up/Outro

In this episode we unpack British novelist and public intellectual Aldous Huxley's 1954 essay "The Doors of Perception."

This essay explores...

• Huxley's experience on Mescalin
• The Reducing Valve Theory of Consciousness 
• The human desire to transcend self-conscious self-hood
• The ethics of the contemplative life

Links to Reading & Articles mentioned

The Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley

General Resonance Theory (paper)

Entropic Brain Hypothesis (paper)

Pivotal Mental States (paper)

Nested Observer Windows (paper)

The Bhagavad Gita translation by Eknath Easwaran

How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan

*note* reading is not required to enjoy this episode!

Host: Zach Stehura  UnpackingIdeas.com

Guest: Nikki Johnson   linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikki-johnson-free-thinker/

Theme Music: Polyenso

Timestamps

00:00:00 introduction 

00:03:05 background about Huxley’s trip

00:05:58 the challenge of trying to communicate direct experience 

00:11:30 Nikki's multi-sphere model of consciousness 

00:14:28 the various terms for “God”

00:16:36 the reducing-valve theory of consciousness 

00:27:52 types of people who filter out less primary consciousness 

00:28:09 The Artist 

00:31:26 The Schizophrenic 

00:35:40 The Genius 

00:36:33 the terror of witnessing God directly

00:43:06 the morality of the contemplative life

00:46:32 Huxley’s conception of enlightenment 

00:48:46 the desire for self-transcendence 

00:50:45 the war on psychedelics 

00:54:27 integrating lessons from past lives

00:56:15 how a psychedelic experience changes a person’s character 

00:57:23 wrapping up/outro

In this episode we unpack Canadian psychiatrist and analyst Eric Berne's 1964 book "Games People Play."

This book explores...

• The 6 different types of social interactions
• The most common games people play
• What intimacy is and why it is so rare

Links to Reading 

Games People Play by Eric Berne

*note* reading is not required to enjoy this episode!

Host: Zach Stehura  UnpackingIdeas.com

Guest: Sonya   @selfhelpsonya on TikTok & Instagram

Theme Music: Polyenso

Timestamps

00:00:00 Intro

00:04:04 The 6 Types of Interactions

00:05:59 Withdrawal

00:08:09 Procedures

00:10:13 Rituals

00:11:39 Emotional Stroking 

00:14:28 Calculating how many strokes to give

00:19:21 Pastimes/Small-talk 

00:20:06 Types of Small-talk

00:21:08 How a host determines the pastimes people play at a party

00:24:08 The rules for small-talk

00:27:16 Why we engage in small-talk

00:28:38 The 3 Ego States

00:29:25 The Parent Ego State

00:29:45 The Child Ego State

00:30:18 The Adult Ego State

00:31:32 Complementary Transactions

00:33:31 Crossed Transactions

00:36:00 Child-Child Transaction

00:38:04 Adult-Adult Transaction

00:38:39 The 2 Levels of of an interaction (social level & psychological level)

00:39:05 Superficial Transactions

00:39:32 Ulterior Transactions

00:39:46 Flirtatious Games

00:42:32 A Thesaurus of Games

00:42:36 "Look Ma, No Hands!"

00:47:32 "Now I've got You, You Son-of-a-Bitch!"

00:52:55 "Why Don't You, Yes But..."

00:55:25 Intimacy

00:56:00 The Uncorrupted Child 

00:57:39 Operations ie. stating a need directly

01:00:36 Why most people settle for games

01:01:53 Closing Thoughts

01:03:34 Outro 

In this episode we unpack Swiss Epistemologist and Developmental Psychologist Jean Piaget's 1969 book "The Psychology of a Child."

This book explores...

• The Stages of Cognitive Development
• How Morality develops in the child
• How and Why Children Play

Links to Reading and Other Sources Mentioned

The Psychology of the Child by Jean Piaget

A Piaget Primer by Dorothy G. Singer & Tracey A. Revenson

Conversations with Piaget by Jean-Claude Bringuier

Civilization and Its Discontents by Sigmund Freud 

Babies (Netflix docuseries)

*note* reading is not required to enjoy this episode!

Host: Zach Stehura  UnpackingIdeas.com

Guest: Jeff Micheal-Johnson 

Theme Music: Polyenso

Timestamps

00:00:00 Intro 

00:05:26 What Piaget was trying to study 

00:09:15 How a Child Learns (Adaptation/Assimilation/Accommodation) 

00:17:04 The Stages of Cognitive Development 

00:24:00 The Sensory-Motor Stage/Egocentrism 

00:30:42 Object Permanence 

00:33:19 Language at the Sensory-Motor Stage 

00:36:15 Play at the Sensory-Motor stage/Practice Play 

00:37:32 The Pre-moral Stage 

00:38:21 The Pre-operrational Stage/Superstitious Thinking 

00:43:44 Language at the Pre-operational stage/The Monologue 

00:46:00 The Collective Monologue 

00:47:53 Play at the Pre-operational stage/Parallel Play 

00:50:57 Symbolic Play 

00:52:48 Animism 

00:54:20 Free Play 

00:57:39 The Conventional Stage of Morality 

01:01:18 Conservation 

01:06:36 The Concrete Operations Stage 

01:07:15 Language in the Concrete Operations stage 

01:10:07 Play at the Concrete Operations stages/Games with Rules 

01:16:10 The Autonomous Stage of Morality 

01:18:42 The Formal Operations Stage/Abstract Thought 

01:22:17 Language at the Formal Operations Stage 

01:22:56 Life after the 4 stages of Development 

01:24:09 Spiritual Development 

01:25:30 Egocentrism vs Egolessness 

01:27:17 How the Child Lives on in the Adult 

In this episode we unpack Algerian Novelist Albert Camus' 1942 essay "The Myth of Sisyphus."

This essay explores...

-Why life is an absurdity

-Why sitting with inconvenient truths make them easier to bare

-How to find meaning in a meaningless world

Links to Reading and Other Sources Mentioned

The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus

Hamlet by William Shakespeare 

A Night of Serious Drinking by Rene Daumal

Oedipus by Sophocles

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings (film)

*note* reading is not required to enjoy this episode!

Host: Zach Stehura  UnpackingIdeas.com

Guest: Arthur O'Dwyer

Theme Music: Polyenso

Timestamps

00:00:00 Introduction 

00:02:52 Writing from a place of confusion and curiosity 

00:08:15 The only Serious Philosophical Problem

00:08:55 The Nietzschian Criterion 

00:11:32 Can we live with the awareness of the absurd without turning away?

00:13:00 Suicide as a social cause vs. existential cause 

00:14:56 Is living worth the suffering?

00:14:44 The uncertainty of the afterlife

00:16:47 Camus two certainties 

00:18:08 Nostalgia for Unity 

00:20:40 Camus’s Critique of Science 

00:23:11 Waking up to the Absurd  

00:27:35 Definition of Absurdity

00:30:04 Philosophical Suicide 

00:30:55 Critique of Kierkegaard 

00:36:25 Critique of the Phenomenologists

00:43:21 Truths worth Dying For

00:47:05 The Greek Myth of Sisyphus 

00:52:50 What Makes Sisyphus a Tragedy 

00:54:44 Abandoning Hope

00:57:29 Consciousness as the cause of and cure to suffering 

00:58:16 Finding Meaning in the struggle 

01:03:42 We can only control how we respond 

01:05:27 Crushing Truths Perish from Being Acknowledged  

01:09:00 wrapping up/outro

In this episode we unpack American Philosopher Harry G. Frankfurt's 1986 essay "On Bullshit."

This essay explores...

-What bullshit is

-How bullshitting differs from lying

-Why bullshitting is so prevalent in our culture

Links to Reading and Other Sources Mentioned

On Bullshit by Harry G. Frankfurt

Of Liars by Michel de Montaigne

Glengarry Glen Ross (film)

Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes

*note* reading is not required to enjoy this episode!

Host: Zach Stehura  UnpackingIdeas.com

Guest: Max Robinson

Theme Music: Polyenso

Timestamps

00:00:00 Introduction

00:02:59 the Bullshit Artist

00:06:18 Background of the Essay

00:07:20 The Proliferation of Bullshit

00:09:12 How Bullshitting Differs from Lying

00:13:38 Politician’s Dodge

00:17:38 Incentives to Bullshit

00:24:00 How Bullshitting Differs from Bluffing

00:25:36 The Etymology of “Bullshit”

00:26:51 Speaking Without Saying Anything 

00:29:00 Bullshitting Compared to the Act of Shitting 

00:30:53 What Function Does Bullshit Serve?

00:32:58 Has the Digital Age Increased Bullshit?

00:33:41 Is there More Bullshit Now than in Previous Generations?

00:37:16 How Democracy Increases Bullshit

00:40:42 “Talking Out of Your Ass”

00:41:53 “Trash Talking” 

00:42:56 “Smooth Talking”

00:43:52 A Bull Session

00:46:55 “Shooting the Shit”

00:48:30 Pretentious Bullshit

00:49:53 “Don’t Piss on My Leg and Tell me it’s Raining”

00:50:39 Outro

In this episode we unpack American Social Psychologist Stanley Milgram's 1974 book "Obedience to Authority."

This book explores...

-Why we lose our sense of moral responsibility when taking orders

-Why we are so bad at predicting our capacity to be obedient

-Why the desire to be polite can lead us to do evil

Links to Reading and Other Books/Movies Mentioned

Obedience to Authority by Stanley Milgram

CRT: An Introduction by Richard Delgado & Jean Stefancic

Cat Person by Kristen Roupenian (short story)

Experimenter (movie about Stanley Milgram)

A Hidden Life by Terrence Malick (film)

**note** reading is not required to enjoy the episode!

Host: Zach Stehura    UnpackingIdeas.com

Guest: Claire Bevan [email protected]

Theme Music: Polyenso   listen here

Timestamps

00:00:00 Introduction

00:02:52 Historical context of the Milgram Experiment

00:05:00 Asch’s Conformity Experiment

00:06:57 Milgram’s Existential Questions for the Experiment

00:09:25 Milgram’s Personal Motivation for the Experiments

00:09:53 Summary of the Experiment

00:15:012 Milgram’s Hypothesis for the Experiment

00:17:25 Results of the Experiment

00:18:39 the Disconnect between our predictions and reality

00:19:50 The Attribution Error

00:21:07 The Agentic State/Loss of Moral Responsibility

00:25:47 The Horrific Consequences of the Division of Labor in Society

00:28:12 Doing What We’re Told as a Way of Preserving Cognitive Energy

00:32:35 Victim Blaming

00:33:10 Dehumanization feedback loop

00:38:26 Variations of the Experiment

00:39:20 Proximity of Experimenter to Subject

00:43:35 Proximity of Subject to Victim

00:47:47 Power in Numbers in Dissent

00:51:30 Not Seeing Disobedience as an Option

00:54:08 Counteranthropromorphism

00:56:36 More Variations

00:58:52 Motivations for Dissent

01:01:30 The Sequential Nature of Action

01:03:43 The Unknown of Dissent

01:04:22 The Moment of Bravery to Say No

01:05:08 Obeying out of a sense of Politeness

01:09:49 Feeling Bad After Doing the Right Thing

01:12:28 Profiles of Subjects

01:13:22 Obedience to God as an Antidote to Obedience to Corruption

01:18:14 Feeling Bad vs. Doing Good

01:20:18 The Effects of the Experiment on the Subjects

01:23:08 The Ethics of the Experiment

01:24:40 Lessons Learned for the Experiment

01:29:16 Variations we would have liked to see

01:32:22 Wrapping Up/Outro

In this episode we unpack "The Book of Job" from The Old Testament of the Bible

This book explores...

-Why God allows bad things to happen to innocent people

-Why surrender is sometimes the only answer to that which is out of our control

-Why pondering the cosmos helps put our personal suffering into perspective

Links to Reading and other Books mentioned

The King James Bible

The Wisdom Books by Robert Alter

The Art of Biblical Poetry by Robert Alter

Answer to Job by Carl Jung

The Tree of Life by Terrence Malick (film)

**note** reading is not required to enjoy the episode!

Host: Zach Stehura    UnpackingIdeas.com

Guest: Lee Posna  [email protected] 

Theme Music: Polyenso   listen here

Timestamps

(00:01:22) Introducing Job

(00:03:59) Author/Date/Translation

(00:09:45) Summary of Job Story

(00:17:10) Loyalty to God

(00:22:55) "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, naked shall I return tither."

(00:26:19) Job's wife's skepticism

(00:27:55) Victim Blaming (Job's friends)

(00:36:39) God's response to Job

(00:42:40) Acceptance/Surrender to fate

(00:46:20) Carl Jung's "Answer to Job"

(00:53:59) Putting personal suffering into perspective

(00:58:43) The Problem of Evil

(01:23:28) Summing up