Metamodern Spirituality | Updating Neoplatonic Spirituality (w/ John Vervaeke) Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-10-20 | Metamodern Spirituality | Updating Neoplatonic Spirituality (w/ John Vervaeke)
Metamodern Spirituality | A Praxis for Development in Metamodern Christianity (w/ Doug Scott) Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-10-10 | I'm joined by Doug Scott, LCSW, to discuss his SH!PS approach to interpersonal transformation and development. Doug is a clinical social worker with a background in ministry and has worked as a mental health counselor since 2001. Here we discuss the common pattern Doug has abstracted from his counseling and pastoral experience for achieving growth and connection, uniting spiritual and mental health perspectives. 0:00 Introduction1:26 Doug's Story6:47 A Praxis for Development and TransformationThe SH!PS Approach12:18 (I)nterview: Perspective-Taking21:32 (S)olidarity: We're All in this Together27:27 (H)ope: Cultivating Aspirational Purpose56:55 (P)rocess: Honoring the Way Things Become1:03:22 (S)ervice: How to Human Better1:11:24 Conclusion
Metamodern Spirituality | UTOK and Metamodern Alchemy (w/ Gregg Henriques) Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-10-03 | Gregg Henriques and I talk about the release of his new book UTOK: The Unified Theory of Knowledge through Sky Meadow Press. We discuss how this book is different from other works Gregg has written, its aesthetic nod to the classic alchemical tradition, and the arc of his journey from hard-nosed materialism to metamodern metatheoretical mythopoeia. We talk about UTOK through the lens of personal mythology and religio and the grand takeaway about the nature of meaning and the sacred from such a system.The book is available at skymeadowinstitute.org/press0:00 Introduction0:28 UTOK: The Unified Theory of Knowledge Published by Sky Meadow Press2:56 An Accessible, Aesthetic Primer for UTOK6:32 Big Picture Thinking and Metamodern Alchemy16:27 From Modern Materialist Reductionism to Metamodern Emergent Mythos22:20 Life and Calling: Personal Myth and "Building the Cathedral"27:08 Avoiding the Pitfalls of Imaginal/Archetypal Projects34:10 Relating to Meaning and the Sacred38:32 Mythos and Logos: Waking up to a New Worldview44:21 Ritual and Praxis in a Time Between Worlds48:07 UTOK as Framework for Religio50:44 Mythopoeia admidst the Desire for Tradition56:46 UTOK...? So What? The Miracle of Self Knowing the World1:07:09 ConclusionCheck out the brand new UTOK website for more:utokunifiedtheoryofknowledge.com
Metamodern Spirituality | Reality, Abstraction, Mysticism (w/ Matt Segall) Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-09-08 | Process thinker Matt Segall joins me again to continue our ongoing metaphysical exploration of a panmatheistic universe coming to self-knowledge. Here we discuss modern science's "blind spot" with regard to direct experience vs. scientific abstraction and the problem of "misplaced concreteness" before considering the proper understanding of the role of the human in the cosmos. 0:00 Introduction2:02 "The Blind Spot": Mistaking Scientific Models for Reality12:59 The Limits of Abstraction: From Idea to Feeling34:18 Learning as Movement from Concrete to Abstract46:00 Quantum Mechanics, Misplaced Concreteness, and Conceptual Prehension58:16 The Will of the Universe to Wake Up: Towards Anthropos + Christ1:11:03 Towards a 360° Platonism1:20:50 Art, Incarnation, and the Face of God1:33:09 Next Questions
Metamodern Spirituality Labs: The Vibe from Inside Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-09-07 | On the day our spring 2024 metamodern spirituality lab ended, Aviv Shahar of the Portals podcast interviewed me and Layman Pascal to get a sense of the vibe here at these events and discuss a little bit of what goes on. The next lab is less than a week away (with spots still available), but here's a preview of folks interested in the sort of things we get up to at these meaningful gatherings. You can register for the fall 2024 lab (September 13-15) at www.skymeadowinstitute.orgAviv Shahar hosts the Portals of Perception podcastportalsofperception.org
Fall 2024 Metamodern Spirituality Lab Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-08-19 | September 13-15, join us for the fall metamodern spirituality lab, happening at Sky Meadow Institute in northeastern Vermont. Register at skymeadowinstitute.org
Metamodern Spirituality | The Development of Meaning (w/ Theo Dawson) Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-08-19 | Neo-Piagetian scholar Theo Dawson joins me to discuss her profound contributions to the field of cognitive developmental psychology. Building off the insights of Piaget, neo-Piagetian researchers have developed impressive frameworks for understanding human learning. Dawson's work has offered a way to quantitatively model such frameworks — an advance which has allowed her to refine the developmental metric of "hierarchical complexity" with unprecedented precision and accuracy. Using this refined metric, the development of semantic information in human linguistic content over time can be mapped. Could such data reveal a pattern to the way human (systems of) meaning complexify through history? Using her computerized scoring system ("CLAS"), I am working on a so-called "Cultural Complexity Index" (CCI) for assessing the evolution of human meaning systems across the cultural record. By measuring a representative sampling of literary works from the dawn of human civilization to today, can we reveal the ways in which not just conceptual meanings but concepts of meaning have evolved? 0:00 Introduction0:57 The Legacy of Piaget's Theory of Learning 5:42 Dawson's Early Neo-Piagetian Work: A Turn to Quantitative Modeling22:01 Refining a Scale of Hierarchichal Complexity27:34 Making a Developmental Dictionary of Meanings39:48 Scoring Textual Responses on a 1300-Point Scale49:01 Towards a Map of Meanings: Capacity vs. Content55:14 Our Project, The Cultural Complexity Index (CCI): Measuring the Historiogenesis of Meaning1:07:23 Conclusion
Metamodern Spirituality | Experience, Science, Christianity (w/ Rafe Kelley) Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-08-12 | Rafe Kelley and I discuss his recent transformational experiences with Christianity, then consider the best sense-making frames for such life-altering religious experiences. What are the role of Christianity's traditional propositional claims relative to direct experiential encounters with the Christ archetype? Can the activation of transformational memetic archetypes actually require acting "as if" some false claims are true? 0:00 Introduction2:06 Character: Who Do You Want to Be?7:08 Rafe's Background30:35 The Christian Lure in the West49:56 Mythos and Logos1:03:25 Rafe's Conversion1:16:45 Experience vs. Theology1:26:17 Faith and the Transhistorical1:39:22 Toggling into the Christ Archetype1:47:17 Metamemes, Consciousness, and Believing "As If"1:57:18 Building the Cathedral2:03:58 Conclusion
Metamodern Spirituality | Physics, Metaphysics, Meta-Metaphysics (w/ Matt Segall) Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-08-10 | Matt Segall joins me to explore the notion of a learning universe. Matt has read my most recent book, A Universal Learning Process, but has some contributions and critiques based on his deep engagement with Whitehead and process philosophy. In this discussion, we begin to explore the metaphysical aspects of such a project and dig into the details of such a world picture.0:00 Introduction2:47 "Panmatheism": Being the Universe Learning6:24 Matt Summarizes Brendan's Project10:58 Brendan Summarizes Matt's Project19:07 Complexification and Metaphysical Categories35:06 A Minimal Metaphysics for Meaning and Value1:03:23 Continuity and Discontinuity 1:10:48 Efficient (+ Formal + Final + etc.) Causal Closure1:26:06 Cells Worship the Body1:33:00 Explaining Sacrifice: "I Am Because You Are"1:37:50 Conclusion and Next StepsMatt's response to the book can be found here: footnotes2plato.com/2024/08/05/evolution-as-a-universal-learning-process
Goddess Talk: Looking Towards the Next Metamodern Spirituality Lab Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-07-23 | I'm joined by Layman Pascal and Schuyler Brown to consider some avenues of exploration for the next metamodern spirituality lab, during which our thematic focus will turn to "The Goddess." Such a shift marks a logical turn after the spring gathering's theme of "God." But what semantic aura tinges this term, Goddess? What sort of things can we expect this next gathering (September 13-15) to foreground and emphasize? What are the archetypes--and stereotypes--involved, and how might we be called to attend to this field of possibilities?To learn more/register for the lab, go to skymeadowinstitute.org/.
Metamodern Spirituality | Complexity and Identity (w/ Neil Theise) Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-07-17 | Neil Theise joins me to talk about his book Notes on Complexity: A Scientific Theory of Connection, Consciousness, and Being. As a liver pathologist gazing daily through his microscope, Neil lives in an ongoing liminal state between scales: the micro cellular and the macro organismic. How is it, he asks, that any given "thing" seems to disappear when you zoom in or out? Neil brings a complexity science lens to this issue of lensing, which he synthesizes with his longterm practice of Zen meditation to interesting conclusions. Is this processual "no-thing-ness" what the Buddhists speak of as "emptiness"? What is the "I" if it can be similarly deconstructed? What insights can meditation add to the metaphysical picture once we appreciate the limits of other ways of knowing?0:00 Introduction0:57 Spark-'Notes on Complexity'4:30 Neil's Interdisciplinary Background14:33 Body or Cells? Scale, Process, and (Relative) No-Thing-ness40:29 "Self" and Complimentarity50:03 Self and the Limits of Science: Consciousness and Quantum Physics56:24 Self and the Limits of Mathematics: Incompleteness and Intuition1:08:45 Can Meditative Practice Reveal Metaphysical Realities?1:26:51 No Separation
Metamodern Spirituality | Emergent Spirituality (w/ Tim Freke) Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-07-08 | Philosopher and author Tim Freke joins me to talk about his conceptions of an "emergent spirituality." We discuss his 2017 book Soul Story, in which he lays out a vision for a developing cosmos leading to deeper self-realization. From there we discuss his thinking about the continuation of imaginal phenomena after the biological death of the individual. 0:00 Introduction1:22 Soul Story and Emergent Spirituality8:56 Is Consciousness Fundamental? Tim's Recent Move to Emergentism 9:25 card to Tim's video on emergentism of consciousness19:59 The Profound Meaning within Emergentism26:02 Psyche after Death?36:11 Imaginal Information in an Inforverse48:52 God as Real Dream: Temporal Holonic Emergence56:57 Soul and the Redemption of Suffering1:01:34 A New Understanding1:05:57 Praxis: "Why Your Life Really Matters"1:11:30 Conclusion
Sky Meadow Mystery School - Harvest 2024 Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-07-01 | August 21, 2024, 2:00 PM – August 28, 2024, 2:00 PMThe Sky Meadow Mystery School is a free, week-long residential immersion into wholesome work and Deep Play in Vermont’s beautiful Northeast Kingdom.Our theme at the 2024 Harvest Mystery School is memento mori ergo carpe diem; “remember death and therefore seize the day.” For millennia there has existed an underground, countercultural perspective on mortality; life as the Art of Being Well-Remembered. The Mystery School embodies this philosophy through a balanced program of practical homesteading skills and creative, mythopoetic exploration.Between 10am–12pm and 2–4pm each day, you will learn (or hone) harvest skills such as crop gathering, apple picking, wood stacking, and produce canning: all vital, down-to-Earth tasks as the full-time residents of the Sky Meadow Retreat Center prepare for the winter months. No prior homesteading experience is necessary, but Scholars should be comfortable doing active outdoors work and come ready to get their hands dirty.Each early afternoon and evening at the Mystery School is an immersion into mythopoetic Life-and-Death mystery through the Deep Play of communal storytelling, craft, symbolic ritual, music and poetry, led by Tony Wolf, Kathrynne Wolf and/or Brendan Graham Dempsey. Here you will learn ways to sustain and be sustained by the memento mori ergo carpe diem perspective, finding (or creating) and deepening your own meaning as a mortal human being in communion with others of like mind.As a Scholar, you will experience a quasi-monastic, semi-communal lifestyle for the week, with your choice of free accommodation in one of the dorm-style rooms in the Barn (the hub of Sky Meadow) or quaint cabins. While you provide your own food and transportation, communal dining and resource-sharing enrich the experience. The nearby mountain town of Hardwick offers plenty of grocery and restaurant options.There are ponds to swim in and forests to explore. A herd of sheep, a brood of chickens and one magical cat. The sauna beckons after a fulfilling day’s work. Soulful conversations with kindred spirits abound. Sky Meadow is also just 20 minutes from the famous Bread and Puppet Theater, whose al fresco political circus/giant puppet shows have been a mainstay of the East Coast counterculture since 1974, and whose 2024 performance season nicely coincides with the Mystery School (just saying).At the end of the School, a delicious feast of local (some very local) produce awaits you!If you wish to be one of the twelve to join us at Sky Meadow this Harvest season, please get in touch to reserve your place.skymeadowinstitute.org/event-details-registration/sky-meadow-mystery-school-harvest-2024
Metamodern Spirituality | Metamodern Gurdjieff (w/ Layman Pascal) Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-06-26 | Layman Pascal joins me to discuss his new book, Gurdjieff for a Time Between Worlds. Who was G. I. Gurdjieff and why is he keenly relevant to our present metamodern moment? In what ways can we see in his work anticipations of contemporary spiritual modalities, such as sincere irony, integration of pluralities, immanent transcendence, and the mythopoeic construction of new imaginal narratives gesturing beyond modernity? With classic flare and verbal acuity, Layman unpacks his "hyperpersonal essays for the grandfather of metamodern spirituality."0:00 Introduction1:38 Who was G. I. Gurdjieff?5:21 Gurdjieff and Metamodernity9:29 "The Sly Man": Serious Play, Sincere Irony, Crazy Wisdom20:04 Integrating Pluralities31:04 Gurdjieff the Shamanoid36:51 Real vs. Imaginal Mythos51:35 Eso-, Meso-, Exo-teric 56:31 Pascal's Imaginal Gurdjieff?1:05:25 Transcendent ImmanenceGet the book here: skymeadowinstitute.org/press
Metamodern Spirituality | The Thermodynamics of Meaning (w/ David Wolpert) Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-06-07 | Complexity scientist David Wolpert joins me to consider the idea of meaning at its most fundamental level. Historically, information theory has helped us quantify information (e.g., bits), but says nothing about the ways information might be useful, significant, relevant, or meaningful. Recently, however, Wolpert and colleagues have filled in what's missing from that account, offering a theory of "semantic" or "meaningful" information by showing how some information actually has causal power to influence the well-being and viability of systems in context. Here we explore this idea and a number of its implications for what's "meaningful" across the complexity stack, from a whirlpool to a bacterium all the way up to us. 0:00 Introduction0:46 Meaning and Semantic Information2:17 Background Context: Information Theory, Utility Functions, and Statistical Thermodynamics14:03 Meaning FOR a System: What Information Helps One Stay Far from Equilibrium 21:54 Meaning: Mutual Information with Causal Power for Viability27:57 Meaning and Meaurement up the Complexity Stack33:42 Indirect Meaning, Chains of Significance, and Intelligence37:20 A Semantic Information Theory of Individuality?42:03 Relative vs. Absolute Semantic Information Metrics49:52 The Complexification of Meaningful Information through Evolutionary Transitions52:30 Layered Meaning through EvolutionA link to the paper "Semantic information, autonomous agency and non-equilibrium statistical physics":royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsfs.2018.0041
Metamodern Spirituality | Arethion: Spiritual Community after Christianity Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-06-03 | Caleb Cuccaro-Green is the founder of Arethion, a new kind of spiritual community for seekers, questioners, and those who've left the church but haven't given up on community, service, and a spiritually meaningful orientation to life. Here we discuss how Arethion arose, beginning with Caleb's story of deconstruction out of his fundamentalist Christian faith through modern historical-critical studies of archeology and biblical criticism and on into his reconstructive path towards meaning on the other side. We discuss the video series put out through Arethion that covers the important information he encountered as part of his studies but otherwise unavailable in the Christian informational ecosystem. From there, we talk about the new sort of spiritual community Caleb has founded, where seekers from all backgrounds are welcome to participate in a "church that is not a church." Is Arethion, and other groups like it, the future of metamodern spirituality?0:00 Introduction2:00 What is Arethion?5:45 Caleb's Story: Leaving Christianity11:07 Deconstruction through Modern Biblical Archeology 17:38 Group Responses to Questioning and Critique24:20 Compassionate Criticism: Asking the Tough Questions of Traditional Faith32:38 From Legacy Religion to a New Kind of Spiritual Community 41:39 Meaning Reconstructed58:17 "You Don't Have to Believe to Belong": What Arethion Is Doing1:08:00 Is This a Cult?1:10:12 Is This a Religion?1:17:06 The "God" of ArethionArethion's website:arethion.comArethion's YouTube: @join.arethion youtube.com/@join.arethion
Metamodern Spirituality | Devotional Arts (w/ Swan Frayne-Dao) Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-05-29 | Dr. Swan Frayne-Dao joins me to discuss their work with the Institute of Devotional Arts and preview the upcoming retreat we will both be participating in here at Sky Meadow in July. Our conversation ranges from the theoretical to the personal to the practical as we explore the topic of igniting the sacred imagination through artistic ritual, creation, and performance. To register for the retreat, go to devotionalarts.org/events/devotional-arts-retreat-imagination-now.0:00 Introduction and Event Information1:34 The Sacred Imagination: The Mission of the Institute of Devotional Arts10:35 Swan's Story22:12 The Search for Integration38:41 The Sacred Arts of Fullness and Devotion49:23 All Traditions Complete, All Traditions Unfinished57:00 The Devotional Arts Retreat at Sky Meadow (July 17-21)
Metamodern Spirituality | Reconstructing Value (w/ Zak Stein) Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-05-15 | Philosopher Zak Stein joins me to discuss the "the great post-postmodern project, the reconstruction of value itself," and get into the nuances of what his framework looks like as presented in his new co-authored book First Principles & First Values. What does it mean to say that value is both fundamental and relational? How does a metaphysics of value avoid premodern pitfalls (e.g., the myth of the given, a God's-eye view/view from nowhere, etc.)? What are the challenges posed by language when trying to track value across discontinuities in the complexity stack? Here we compare notes on our respective projects and try to clarify key points. 0:00 Introduction1:58 Summary Overview of First Principles & First Values7:35 The Project: A Post-Postmodern Reconstruction of Value12:44 Is Positing Value as Fundamental a Premodern Move?32:24 "Value": Avoiding Reification39:11 Languaging the Reconstruction: Difficulties and Diversity48:29 The Challenge and Importance of Modern Critique of Value52:39 "Intimacy" or "Complexity"? Seeking Normative Terminology without Anthropomorphizing1:03:07 Shifting the Paradigm: Translation or Equivocation?1:06:25 Panpsychist vs. Emergentist Framings1:10:26 Shifting Telos across Scales: E.g., Dissipative Structures1:17:56 Value and Anti-Value1:22:04 New God: Moving towards the Infinite Intimate1:27:21 Building the Cathedral/Temple: Living with Sacred PurposeBook available here: amazon.com/First-Principles-Values-Propositions-Cosmoerotic/dp/B0CS85WYVX
Metamodern Spirituality | Traditional Faith and Metamodernism (w/ Jared Morningstar) Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-05-09 | Process thinker Jared Morningstar joins me to discuss the relationship of metamodernism to traditional forms of religion. How can engaging the traditional frame be done without losing hard-won gains in complexity and perspective-taking? Here Jared advocates for an open, flexible, and epistemically humble form of experimentation and participation in different religious modalities. We consider the role of 'causal opacity' in religious functionality and whether reflection is inherently harmful to generating emergent potential in religious contexts. We also explore the ways traditional faiths may be genuinely engaging with hyper-complex phenomena and how tradition-specific language can be helpful in extending faith into metamodernity. Finally, we discuss the role of plurality and singularity, the general and the particular, in what it means to engage religion from a metamodern perspective.0:00 Introduction 1:34 Reaction vs. Reconstruction: Which Direction Is Calling?10:50 Unseen Causes: Participatory Experimentation and Epistemic Humility17:43 Breaking the Frame: Causation, Disenchantment, and Etic vs. Emic Perspectives24:25 Moving In and Out of Tradition: Looking Back or Going Back?35:24 Superstition or Super-Complexity? Parsing Tradition's Relationship with Hyperobjects50:03 Beyond Perennialism: Religious Pluralism and Traditional Particularity1:03:09 Living the Openness1:10:59 Orienting Value in the Uncertainty1:18:46 Integrating the General and the Particular: Heading Out and Coming Home1:23:33 Conclusion
Deconstruction and Spiritual Growth: Reflections on Metamodern Spirituality Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-05-05 | A 2021 talk I was invited to give on the Integral Stage, pehaps even more relevant right now..."What paths lie ahead for religion and spirituality in the 21st Century? How might the insights of modernity and post-modernity impact and inform humanity's ancient wisdom traditions? How are we to enact, together, new spiritual visions – independently, or within our respective traditions – that can respond adequately to the challenges of our times?"0:00 Meta-Crisis from a Meaning Crisis9:42 Correcting a False Dichotomy13:05 Losing Our (Traditional) Religion18:06 Grieving the Loss of Naive Traditionalism22:00 Disillusionment: The Chaos between Worlds27:48 Insights of Modernity32:37 Insights of Postmodernity36:36 Failures of Modernity and Postmodernity40:46 Integration and Development42:56 Reconstructing Religion55:40 Conclusion*The original video can be found on The Integral Stage @theintegralstage8140 podcast:youtube.com/watch?v=zj5_3zwHtTE
Gods Fight with the Dragon | Yahwehs Cosmic New Year Festival Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-05-03 | See how ancient Israel's New Year festival celebrating Yahweh's combat with the Dragon of chaos got transformed into Axial Age visions of a cosmic world order, which opened the gateway, in turn, to full-blown apocalyptic thought, as the battle with chaos and resultant victory/regeneration became the lens through which struggling Jews in the Second Temple period came to interpret all of reality. TEXT VERSION HERE: brendangrahamdempsey.substack.com/p/gods-fight-with-the-dragon-part-iii0:00 The Combat Myth Background for Later Scriptural Allusions2:04 Rousing the Divine Warrior5:56 Exilic Transformations of the Myth by Deutero-Isaiah21:35 Similar Allusions in Nahum23:40 Axial Abstraction and Apocalyptic Idealization30:18 Second Zecariach's Apocalyptic Day of Yahweh
Metamodern Spirituality | God After Deconstruction (w/ Thomas Jay Oord) Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-05-01 | Theologian and philosopher Thomas Jay Oord joins me to discuss God after deconstruction, a topic important to metamodern Christianity as well as the title of his new book with Tripp Fuller. We talk about the relationship of deconstruction and postmodernism, Tom's personal story of multiple deconstructions, and the path beyond deconstruction through open and relational theology. 0:00 Introduction2:08 Meanings of Deconstruction: Relationship with Postmodernism12:10 Reconstruction, Not Return: Towards a God "After Deconstruction"15:55 Tom's Deconstruction Story: Moving through the Traditional, Modern, and Postmodern25:54 Stages of Faith and Unfaith: The Direction of Growth as the Movement towards God33:48 Reconstructing Christianity: Love beyond Certainty and Definitions43:45 Open and Relational Theology47:48 A Living, Changing God55:27 An Evolving, Learning God1:02:14 Jesus after Deconstruction1:04:05 Relating across the Deconstructive Divide1:11:42 Going Deeper
Metamodern Christianity | 4. The Metamodern Christ Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-04-20 | Who is the Christ of faith? What if he is the telos of existence itself? the direction to which all of thought and action tend? What if Christ Consciousness is the goal of a more comprehensive, open, de-centered, contextualized, and other-sensitive perspective? What if we (you and me) actually participate in the unfolding of God in the world?...0:00 "After Deconstruction Must Come Reconstruction"6:34 Metamodernism and Relating to the Christ of Faith9:18 Moving Beyond Postmodern Relativistic Perspectivalism19:43 Metamodernism: Seeing the Pattern of Perspectives34:28 Christ as the Aim of Sacred History48:13 "Christ" as Expanding Consciousness54:10 Idols vs. Icons: The Death and Resurrection of "God"1:00:19 Metamodern Informed Naivete1:03:07 Forking the Lightning of God
Metamodern Christianity | 2. Metamodernism, Miracles, and the Historical Jesus Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-04-18 | Does the modern historical-critical lens on the Bible reject miracles on principle and thereby exclude in advance what it presupposes not to be true? Here I counter this critique by explaining how the miracles in the Gospels are problematized not by metaphysical prejudice but historical analysis. Taking the miracles in the Gospels at face value as historical events is problematic even if we work within a metaphysical frame that allows for miracles. Ultimately, it's a matter of historical reconstruction, not worldview, that forces us to rethink how much of the materials can be taken as reliable accounts of "what happened."0:00 Does Modern Historical-Critical Scholarship Preclude Miracles on Principle?2:23 A Metamodern Christianity Needs the Modern3:59 Anti-Miracle Modernism: Steelmanning that Argument (Even Though It's Not Mine)9:37 The Argument I *Am* Making: More Information Problematizes Naive Readings13:09 Setting the Stage: Messianic Expectation and Prophecy FulfilmentAssessing Miracle Accounts in Light of the Historical Context17:07 1. Jesus' Birth29:15 2. Jesus' Calming of the Storm36:00 3. Jesus' Crucifixion39:38 4. Jesus' Resurrection41:38 5. Jesus' Ascension44:15 Other Historical Considerations53:50 "Liar, Lunatic, or Lord?" Misses the Point Entirely58:10 Meta-Naturalism: Appreciating an Incomplete Scientific Paradigm1:03:28 Metamodern Christianity Should Be Robust and Include the Modern Lens1:06:38 Metamodern Christianity: Informed Naivete and Truth in Development1:09:50 Conclusion*Thanks to @xaviervelascosuarez who pointed out an error in the previous version of this video. Correction: Matthew writes Herod's massacre to conform to a prophecy about the Messiah coming out of Egypt (Matthew 2 14-15), not Bethlehem.
Conversations with TLC | Luke Thompson Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-04-17 | As "This Little Corner (of the internet)" (TLC) engages with metamodernism and its relationship to Christianity, I'll be dialoging with various members to see how folks are putting the pieces together. Here, I chat with Luke Thompson, a frequent live-streamer and conversation partner in TLC.
Metamodern Spirituality | God: A Metamodern Perspective (w/ Layman Pascal) Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-04-16 | Integrative thinker Layman Pascal joins me to talk about the meaning of "God" from a metamodern perspective. How does thinking in terms of "surplus cohesion" point us to a helpful way of relating to all the meanings of the term? Why and when is a 2nd person relationship with Reality warranted? Who is this Face in the Universe summoning us to greater communion and transcendence? How do we communicate about all this across the various memetic sensemaking structures of culture (traditional, modern, postmodern metamodern)? Finally, what can folks expect about the upcoming metamodern spirituality gathering on the topic, which will be hosted at Sky Meadow in May and led by Layman?0:00 Introduction1:21 Layman's "Surplus Cohesion" Framework4:48 God as Ultimate Reality in the 2nd Person9:52 The Face of the Universe: Seeking the 2nd Person in the Complexity Stack16:27 Some Framing: Reality as Dynamic Becoming, Not Static Being21:36 Reflecting on the Alpha and the Omega: Problematizing the "Creator" Image27:46 But Is This Still God? Communicating across Memetic Tribes37:22 "Real in What Way?" across Levels of Memetic Complexity45:05 Summarizing a Metamodern Sort of God47:06 "God" in Quotation Marks: Moving beyond Totality52:10 The God Encounter1:08:12 The Divine Other1:13:33 Praxis: Courting Visio Divina1:16:41 Pluralistic Mysticism1:23:10 Trinity as Dynamic Architectonic Plurality1:27:08 Naturalism and Metaphysics1:30:46 God is Love1:37:20 Talking about "The G Word"1:39:40 The Upcoming Metamodern Spirituality Lab on "God" at Sky Meadow (May 24-26)More on the metamodern spirituality lab at www.skymeadowinstitute.org
God as Emergent Potential Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-04-15 | A stream-of-conscious sermon-ramble synthesizing ideas from psychology, big history, complexity theory, sociology, and more into a transcendent-naturalistic vision of the sacred. How do the insights from thinkers like Layman Pascal, John Vervaeke, Gregg Henriques, Ken Wilber, Bobby Azarian, Michael Levin, and others cohere into a metamodern conception of the divine? With maddening jargon and name-dropping, I explain. Hopefully of value to some. Pretentious and pedantic for most. 0:00 The Sacred as Surplus Cohesion0:47 Optimal Grip of Affordances in Context1:41 Flow and Reciprocal Opening2:21 Learning3:08 Relevance Realization as Complexification4:04 The Zone of Proximal Development5:16 Leveling Up5:44 Meaning6:26 Evolution as Learning: The Integrated Evolutionary Synthesis7:28 Energy Flow and Informational Richness8:28 The Sacred as the Call to Transcend, Evolve, Complexify15:37 Traditional Socialization through the Sacred16:24 The Call into Uncharted Territory: Updating the Sacred17:24 Emergence18:30 God19:20 Learning and Worldviews19:59 The Sacred as Transcendence in Human Culture21:38 Evolution of the God-Concept25:06 Telos: The God Beyond All "Gods"
Metamodern Spirituality | UTOK Consilience Conference 2024 Preview Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-04-11 | Gregg Henriques joins me to offer a sneak peek at the 2024 UTOK Consilience Conference, which goes from Friday, April 12 to Saturday, April 13. Register here: events.zoom.us/ev/AiZSf1lvPBtp9qu2nvN7w7ICUms98Vkgto8PTx-OmegbQpi5spxw~AoeQ6Qxv9FG4799Wts70Tie7Qit-PoHG9Qw8tLkwfHJKDFPprlOrsZe74w?
Metamodern Christianity | 3. Metamodern Christianity is Transhistorical Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-04-11 | To get beyond the enduring impasse of the "science vs. religion" debate, let's give science its due—and then leave it in the dust! There's no need to affirm the historical basis of the Christian story to relate to the Christ of faith. If we can accept that the Gospels are prehistorical materials, we can get beyond the classic hangups and begin to see how "it's all made up" AND "it's all real!" are both true simultaneously. Here I frame the current debates around history and religion in light of the "pre/trans fallacy" so well described by integral theory. This framing, I think, helps position us to appreciate what a truly metamodern Christianity can look like. By accepting the historical Jesus account, we are freed to embrace the Christ of faith and tradition—not in spite of the facts, but because we have transcended them.0:00 Introduction2:01 Moving Beyond History4:20 The Pre/Trans Fallacy8:31 "Trans-" Demonstrates Capacity and Transformation13:56 The Gospels and the History of History21:05 Christianity and the Fallacy of Origins24:38 Transcending the Claims History Makes on Us39:11 Cultural Metamodernism and the Transhistorical46:41 Owning Deconstruction without Equivocation54:41 The Growth Edge of Christianity56:31 Conclusion
Gods Fight with the Dragon | The Hebrew Combat Myth Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-04-09 | Having looked at other combat myths from the ancient Near East, here we turn to the tradition from ancient Israel, and note the continuity with earlier motifs. In ancient Israel, Yahweh is the mighty divine warrior storm god, and his enemies are Sea, Leviathan the dragon, and perhaps Death as well. I then consider the various political uses to which the combat myth was deployed as well as the cultic context in which it was celebrated as part of the ancient New Year festival in Israel.TEXT VERSION HERE: brendangrahamdempsey.substack.com/p/gods-fight-with-the-dragon-part-ii0:00 Introduction0:34 God as Divine Warrior1:22 No Complete Narrative2:38 Yahweh vs. Sea7:21 Yahweh vs. Leviathan11:27 Yahweh vs. Draconic Helpers12:06 Yahweh vs. Death?13:41 Political Uses of the Hebrew Combat Myth20:53 The Combat Myth in Hebrew Cult24:24 The Divine Warrior Hymn in the Psalter25:47 Enthronement Psalms and the Feast of Tabernacles
Metamodern Spirituality Lab - Spring 2024 Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-04-08 | The spring 2024 metamodern spirituality lab, led by Layman Pascal and hosted at Sky Meadow Institute, is happening May 24-26, with an extended retreat starting May 21.
Metamodern Christianity | 5. Catechism for a Metamodern Christian (w/ Brendan Graham Dempsey) Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-04-08 | Catechism has meant "religious education," especially as a coming-of-age initiation into the fullness of spiritual community and engagement with its mysteries. It has to do with what sort of support and instruction young people and converts receive about their faith as they move into deeper spiritual relationship with God and church. Here I ask, What would a supportive catechism look like for Christians on the path towards a metamodern form of faith? How might religious learning unfold in healthy and sustainable ways such as would foster a kind of Christianity that is truly metamodern in outlook? What are the right developmental moments for literalism, doubt, even atheism, and conviction?0:00 An Education for Faith1:55 Grades or Phases of Spiritual Learning 4:32 Age 0-7*: Childhood Enchantment9:20 Age 7-10: Mythic Literalism15:12 Age 10-13: Symbolic Belief21:03 Age 13-15: Reflective Religion26:24 Age 15-18: Rational Meaning-Making29:28 Age 18-23: Deconstructive Questioning41:33 Age 23-27: Integrative Wisdom50:13 What's Missing?54:13 Invitation to Keep Learning*All ages are just rough approximations
Gods Fight with the Dragon | Ancient Near Eastern Influences Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-04-07 | It may come as a shock to learn that the most important story about God in ancient Israelite religion was the one in which he battles a draconic sea monster using his lightning bolts and mighty storm winds. Most people will not even know such a story existed, let alone that it formed the core of ancient Temple worship, or that it was the basis for the later invention of the Devil in Christian mythology. But, if we’re to understand the history of apocalyptic thought, and early Christianity specifically, we must consider the crucial role played by this ancient myth and its various transformations throughout history, tracking the evolution of the “combat myth” from ancient near eastern cultic traditions into ancient Israelite religion, Jewish apocalypticism, and, finally, the early Christian church. TEXT BASED VERSION: brendangrahamdempsey.substack.com/p/gods-fight-with-the-dragon-part-i0:00 Introduction1:24 The Combat MythMeanings of the Myth5:50 1. Agricultural7:21 2. Cultic12:32 3. Political13:50 4. Philosophical/Theological15:56 Structure/Plot20:05 Motifs/ImageryExamples22:32 Ninurta vs. Azag28:13 Ninurta vs. Anzu31:23 The Storm God vs. the Serpent35:30 Marduk vs. Tiamat41:49 Baal vs. Sea (Yamm)50:27 Baal/Anat vs. the Dragon52:13 Baal vs. Death (Mot)57:52 Conclusion
Metamodern Spirituality | Christianity as Process (w/ Jay McDaniel) Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-04-05 | Process theologian Jay McDaniel joins me to discuss the contributions of process thought to the Christian tradition. What points of similarity and dissimilarity are there between process thinking and traditional, modern, and postmodern lenses?0:00 Introduction1:06 What Does Theology Look Like from a "Process" Lens?Relationship with Traditional Faith5:44 A Feeling, Responding God8:40 Not All-Powerful14:40 A Dynamic, Living WholeRelationship with Modern Thought19:41 The Naturalistic Paradigm and (the) Beyond24:30 A Theology of Organism and Complexity29:30 "God" as Counter-Entropic Lure and Preserver of Good39:33 A Modern Gestalt for Christianity?49:31 Looking Forward, Not Back54:52 The Pathos of GodRelationship with Postmodern Thought1:04:38 Play, Beauty, RealityRelationship with Metamodernism1:10:33 Lineages, Legacies, and Futures1:14:40 ConclusionJay's essay relating process theology to metamodernism can be found here:openhorizons.org/christian-process-theology-and-metamodernism-springboards-for-conversation.html
Metamodern Religion is Just Getting Started Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-04-05 | Despite the recent uptick of high-profile conversions to traditional Christianity, metamodern spirituality remains centered in progressive developments of and radically novel innovations to religion. Here I foreground and recall these efforts in the desire to reconnect our community to its essential insights about the nature and role of religion in this time between worlds. Metamodern interpretations of legacy religions remains an important and vital aspect of the work, but we shouldn't lose sight of what has characterized the movement to date. We are only beginning to see the emergence of metamodern religion...
The Defiant Rebirth of Spirit Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-04-01 | The God emerges...Text version here: brendangrahamdempsey.substack.com/p/easter
The Death of God Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-03-29 | A meditation on the death of God as the death of our older versions of the God-concept. This is a passage from 'The GOD Emerging'': a reading for Good Friday 2024.Text version here: brendangrahamdempsey.substack.com/p/good-friday
Metamodern Spirituality | Further Reflections on Integrating Modernity in Metamodern Christianity Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-03-27 | By request, I offer some more responses/reflections on my chat with Paul VanderKlay as it relates to integrating the genuine insights of modernity into a metamodern Christianity. These responses are to comments about the discussion that were posted on Paul's channel.0:00 Introduction1:14 "Aren't you just a modernist?" Response to @newglof95584:08 "What is 'real'?" (on the reality of "body"/"spirit" etc.) Response to @CNArtDesign and @TheRationalCarpenter33:52 "What's your telos?" Response to @andymurphree36:41 "How can we know the good?" Response to @pik37741:41 "Are you saying we just have to get stuck with historical criticism (like you did)?" Response to @ryanalderson713344:48 "Isn't historical criticism just hubristic nonsense?"* Response to @anselman3156 and @xaviervelascosuarez1:00:16 "Why not trust tradition?" Response to @ButterBobBriggs1:08:54 "Isn't modernity worse than tradition?" Response to @ddod72361:13:23 "Be nice." Response to @Neal_Daedalus1:15:54 ConclusionIt wasn't Reuban but Esau. Gen 26;34-35 (P), then all of Gen 27 (J), then Gen 27;46 (P)
Metamodern Spirituality | Metamodern Christianity (w/ Brendan Graham Dempsey) Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-03-23 | Here I lay out my conception of what a metamodern version of Christianity looks like. Drawing on the insights of all the previous cultural paradigms, the revelation of God's nature and the deepening quality of the relationship between God and man can be understood as progressing through a series of covenants/dispensations that map to a learning process unfolding through time. Such a perspective helps us non-arbitrarily coordinate tribal, imperial, traditional, modern, and postmodern conceptions of God that have manifested across sacred history. All of these are necessary and contribute to a coherent story of deepening understanding about and relationship with the ever-transcendent Divine.0:00 Introduction0:56 "Metamodern"5:50 "Christianity"9:00 Sacred History as Learning and Expansion11:43 Dynamics of Learning: Assimilation and Accomodation16:47 Learning as Complexification of Thought18:04 The Revelation of God as a Learning Process24:34 1. The Sacred Relationship in the Tribal Epoch26:12 2. Relationship with God in the Monarchy29:02 3. Deepening Divine Relationship in the Prophets and Gospels31:10 Recap: The Arc of Learning God Better33:41 4. Revelation in the Modern Era40:05 5. The Way of Jesus in Postmodernity42:09 6. Metamodern Christianity: Embracing All Stages of Revelation53:37 ConclusionMy videos on metamodernism:Metamodernism 101: youtube.com/watch?v=9BzD3wUEMaQMetamodernism, Part I: youtube.com/watch?v=i-0zSy6nkoQMetamodernism, Part II: youtube.com/watch?v=Rvxeqb7e8lY
Response to My Conversation with Paul VanderKlay Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-03-23 | Continuing the recent deep-dive into the "God pivot"/metamodern Christianity discussion, here I offer a direct reply to some comments left on my recent chat with Paul VanderKlay before concluding with some general reflections about the nature of the discussion going forward.0:00 IntroductionResponses to:1:27 @user-yg1di4ui1t14:16 @Christustotalis 17:19 @christianbaxter_yt 19:12 @acuerdox 31:20 @mixk1d 34:16 @vivienneb6199 36:27 @williambranch4283 41:21 @rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr144:50 General Reflections
Metamodern Spirituality | Debating the Legacy of Modernity for Christianity (w/ Paul VanderKlay) Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-03-21 | In this episode, I assume the modern historical-critical perspective with pastor and 'This Little Corner of the Internet' thinker @PaulVanderKlay to explore the tension points it has with the traditional-devotional lens--and to consider if and how these impasses might be transcended. Does history matter to faith and to the faithful? If so, how, when, and why? Can we avoid equivocating discussions around the "reality" of Christianity? How crucial is the nonrational? Overall, we rehearse what challenges the traditional approach to Christianity faces as it develops into modern expressions and interpretations on the way towards a metamodern instantiation.0:00 Introduction0:55 The "God Pivot" and Metamodernism: The Missing Modern7:39 How Does Faith Relate to Modern & Postmodern Critical Approaches?24:30 The Reality of Religion in Different Psycho-Social Contexts36:18 Reality vs. History: Language as Metaphor or Fact52:38 Worldview, Rationality, and Projection1:04:28 "Spirit": Substance Reification vs. Transjective Relationality1:07:22 Avoiding Equivocation and Taking Modern Science Seriously 1:20:59 Pragmatic and Developmental Hermeneutics1:47:17 Nonrationality and the Meaning Crisis1:59:15 Different Metamodern Spiritual Arcs: The Theological is Personal2:16:00 ConclusionCheck out Paul's channel here: youtube.com/c/paulvanderklay
Metamodern Christianity | 1. Whats Missing from the Discussion Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-03-17 | In this episode, I offer my own take on the "God Pivot" towards Christianity in the Intellectual Dark Web and adjacent communities (e.g., the liminal web, "This Corner of the Internet," and beyond). Reflecting on my recent interview with Jordan Hall, I see something glaringly absent from the broader conversation: the modern historical-critical perspective. Therefore, I ask: 1) How does the Traditional-Devotional perspective differ from the Modern Historical-Critical one with regard to the Old and New Testaments? 2) What might a metamodern Christianity look like that could successfully and syngergistically toggle between these different lenses to yield something progressive and robust? 0:00 Introduction4:40 Hermeneutic Lenses: The Traditional-Devotional and Modern Historical-Critical Perspectives7:46 Old Testament: Traditional-Devotional13:13 Old Testament: Modern Historical-Critical32:01 New Testament: Traditional-Devotional37:53 New Testament: Modern Historical-Critical47:58 Implications and SynthesisJules Evans's piece:ecstaticintegration.org/p/blessed-are-the-sense-makers
Metamodern Spirituality | Trans-Paradigmatic Christianity? (w/ Jordan Hall) Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-03-14 | Following a recent conversion to Christianity, Jordan Hall offers his perspective on the Christian worldview, its orienting beliefs and how they inform (and affirm) ways of being in the world. Brendan brings his own background of being raised in and and leaving the church to the conversation, trying to gain deeper understanding about how one can affirm Christian doctrine in the context of a metamodern world. 0:00 Introduction2:47 Faith and Understanding: Christian Propositional vs. Participatory Knowing15:36 Beyond a "Religion vs. Reason" Debate20:26 Jordan's Reasons to Believe: Scripture, History, 1st Person Experience*30:36 Jordan Not Impressed by Naturalistic Challenge to the Resurrection35:56 Notions of Gospel and Sin: Faith Changing Behavior --- For Good or Ill41:53 Jordan's Rejection of Naturalism and His Faith in Christian Historicity and Ontology52:21 (Brendan Has a Lot of Responses He Won't Get Into in This Context)53:07 Self-Confirming Faith: Reciprocal Opening in Other Faiths?1:02:32 Excursus: Historicity and Hermeneutics of the Doctrine of the Trinity1:08:52 Self-Confirming Faith: Pathologies in Self-Justifying Beliefs1:16:20 Self-Confirming Faith: Participatory Knowing and Confirmation Bias1:27:53 Conclusion*Brendan meant to say "premodern" epistemological framework at 21 38
Metamodern Spirituality | Beyond Science vs. Religion (w/ Patrick Barry) Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-02-21 | Patrick Barry joins me to continue our discussion about the emerging contours of a metamodern wisdom school and the secular spirituality beginning to fill in the "missing tradition" between and beyond science and religion. 0:00 Introduction0:34 Towards a Secular Spirituality5:01 Awe and Mystery in Both Religion and Science10:25 "Faith" in What Is17:18 Being Naturally At Home in the Universe27:08 Past Church and Academia: Forging a New Kind of Wisdom Institution46:21 A New Story: A Self-Appreciating Cosmos58:40 Meaning as Awe as Learning1:04:18 Significance vs. Scale1:09:58 Speculating on God and Telos: Finding Ourselves in the Depths of Being1:24:23 Conclusion
Metamodern Spirituality | Postmodern Philosophy and Beyond (w/ Stephen Hicks) Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-02-01 | Stephen Hicks, a professor of philosophy and author of Explaining Postmodernism, joins me to discuss the transformation of worldviews from the premodern to the modern and from the modern to the postmodern. After his incisive overview of these dramatic shifts, we discuss what it might look like to integrate the genuinely positive contributions of postmodern thought, and consider where we are headed in a post-postmodern world.0:00 Introduction1:58 How to Trace Philosophical History4:15 From Premodern to Modern15:56 From Modern to Postmodern34:07 How Do We Move Beyond the Modern and Postmodern while Integrating Their Strengths?43:28 Relativizing the Critique51:14 Living After Postmodernismwww.BrendanGrahamDempsey.com
Education and the Future of Democracy - Feb 23-25, Sky Meadow Institute Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-01-30 | Sky Meadow Institute is hosting a weekend-long, in-person symposium February 23-25, 2024 exploring the nexus of education, technology, Bildung, and democracy. Register here:brendangrahamdempsey.com/event-details/education-and-the-future-of-democracy
Metamodern Spirituality | Rebuilding Our Cultures Missing Tradition (w/ Patrick Barry) Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-01-29 | Patrick Barry, a former science journalist and current coder for the popular Waking Up meditation app, joins me to talk about building wisdom communities and Stoas for secular spirituality. As those who claim no affiliation with organized religion (the "nones") are now the most populous religious identity in America, what institutions of meaning, virtue, and self-reflection might we see appear that can properly meet the needs of metamodern seekers?0:00 Introduction4:13 Stoicism, Empiricism, and Secular Spirituality: Towards a Sacred Naturalism12:55 Science and the Sublime: Finding Significance in the Known22:52 The Missing Tradition27:02 Wisdom Gyms for Lived Philosophy: Adding 1st- and 2nd-Person Truths to 3rd-Person Fact51:30 Know Thyself: A Second Curriculum57:44 "Broicism"?: Shadow and the Developmental Conveyor Belt1:03:27 Integrating Tradition and Myth1:12:02 Stoicism in Metamodernity1:15:15 Conclusion
Metamodern Spirituality | Metamodernism and the Legacy of Integral Theory (w/ Bruce Alderman) Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-01-12 | I'm joined by Integral thinker, theorist, teacher, writer, and community elder Bruce Alderman to talk about the ongoing love/hate relationship between metamodernism and Integral Theory, especially as the debate has been stirred up anew by the publication of my new book Metamodernism: Or, The Cultural Logic of Cultural Logics. Here we tackle some of the ongoing controversies that continue to swirl in some parts of the metamodern discourse, especially around the degree to which Ken Wilber and his formulation of the post-postmodern does/does not, should/should not inform our understanding of theories of the metamodern. Given the relationship that does exist, how do we best acknowledge and utilize it in pragmatic and integrous ways? How do we properly parse and distinguish these post-postmodern paradigms? What are the genuine fault lines and distinguishing characteristics of each framework, and what's just meme fluff?0:00 Introduction1:55 Bruce's Integral Context/Background5:06 Brendan's Metamodern Context/Background8:07 Did Hanzi Just Rip Off Wilber?13:03 Did Hanzi Just Steal the Term "Metamodern" for an Integral Framework? 25:26 Has the Ship Sailed? Could Metamodernism Be the/a Future of Integral? 42:48 Did Brendan Just Excise/Ignore Wilber?51:33 Does Metamodernism Offer a Workable Social Science Where Integral Doesn't?1:01:03 The "Woo" Factor1:14:15 Conclusion
Metamodern Spirituality | Embodied Connection in Digital Spaces (w/ Ēlen Awalom) Brendan Graham Dempsey 2024-01-09 | Embodiment practitioner and teacher Ēlen Awalom joins me to talk about the promise and necessity of bringing more embodied wisdom into our world and, especially, our online spaces. We consider some approaches one can use in the context of triggering or polarizing engagements in digital forums in an attempt to return the focus back to the body and lived emotional experience in very disembodied contexts. Finally, we talk in broad terms about the importance of increasing our somatic intelligence in all areas of life, whether that's in response to the meta-crisis or our own interpersonal relationships.0:00 Introduction2:00 Bringing More Embodiment to Metamodern Discourse9:13 Responding with Somatic Intelligence: Step 1. Center Yourself and Feel the Emotion16:47 Step 2. Respond with Open Questions20:00 Step 3. Use "I Statements" 23:15 Step 4. Know When to Step Back 31:20 The Challenge of Bypassing36:19 Intentions for Embodied Leadership50:19 ConclusionFor more on Ēlen's work, check out elenawalom.com/.
Metamodern Spirituality | Prehension: Is Experience Fundamental? (w/ Matt Segall) Brendan Graham Dempsey 2023-12-15 | Whitehead scholar and process thinker Matt Segall joins me to deepen our conversation about responses to the meaning crisis as it relates to reconnecting cosmos, consciousness, and value. In this discussion, we dive into the topic of "prehension," an idea from Whitehead that posits an experiential component to all phenomena in the universe. 0:00 Introduction5:08 Prehension: Not Interior, but the Interior/Exterior Bridge12:06 Prehension and Panpsychism16:27 Identifying Basal Experience: Subjectivity and Time25:52 Experience and Complexity33:40 Attempting to Describe Fundamental Experience47:06 Is Time Subjective?54:36 Metaphysics and Novelty: Evolving Laws?1:00:16 The Spectrum of Consciousness1:04:22 Whitehead vs. Anthroposophy?1:10:28 Philosophy's Role in a Scientific Age1:21:43 Next Steps For more of Matt's ideas on this topic, check out his essay "The Varieties of Physicalist Ontology: A Study in Whitehead’s Process-Relational Alternative":matthewsegall.files.wordpress.com/2020/11/segall_ptsc_7_1_105-131.pdf?
Metamodern Spirituality | Debating the Place of the Human in Cosmology (w/ Matt Segall) Brendan Graham Dempsey 2023-12-07 | Matt Segall joins me to debate the relative merits of "anthroposophical" aproaches to addressing the meaning crisis, such as those adopted in the works of Steiner, Stein and Gafni, and, to some degree, Whitehead.0:00 Introduction4:15 Revisiting the Image of Nature: Revitalizing Romanticism?12:00 Humans in a Cosmos or a Cosmos Known by Humans?21:17 Is Mechanism Just a Part of the Process? Emergence All the Way Down30:05 Advance or Regression? Thinking in Terms of Assimilation and Accomodation38:13 Defining a "Mechanistic" Approach: The Minimal Need for Causality41:17 Retrojecting Novelty into Primals? Positing "Prehension"57:01 Upshot: So...Is the Universe Expanding or Not?1:11:52 Against a Model--or ...Models?1:17:13 What Does an "Emodied" Knowledge Entail?1:25:25 ConclusionHere's a link to the full article by Matt mentioned in the discussion:matthewsegall.files.wordpress.com/2022/12/goethe-and-whitehead_holistic-science-journal.pdf?
