John Vervaeke | The Future of Consciousness: A Deep Dive with Dr. John Vervaeke, Gregg Henriques, and Brett Andersen @johnvervaeke | Uploaded September 2023 | Updated October 2024, 1 hour ago.
In Episode 9 of the Transcendent Naturalism series, Dr. John Vervaeke, Gregg Henriques, and guest Brett Andersen delve into the intricate relationship between complexity, criticality, and consciousness. The episode explores the concept of self-organized criticality and its role as a linchpin in understanding a variety of scientific topics. Andersen introduces his work on the diametric model of autism and psychosis, and the trio discusses the growing consensus around criticality as a framework for understanding brain function. The episode also touches on the psychology of meaning, the nature of sacredness, and the transformative power of psychedelics. This intellectual journey culminates in a discussion about the role of individual and collective consciousness in shaping society. Whether you're interested in the cutting-edge theories of cognitive science or the philosophical implications of modern neuroscience, this episode offers a comprehensive look at how these ideas are shaping our understanding of the world.
Brett Andersen, a Ph.D. student in Evolutionary Psychology at the University of New Mexico, is a compelling voice at the intersection of cognitive science, complexity science, and the philosophical underpinnings of morality and religion. With a penchant for delving into controversial topics, Brett crafts thought-provoking essays on Substack and produces insightful YouTube videos. He's also in the process of writing a book, slated for a free PDF release, that encapsulates seven years of rigorous research across scientific and philosophical literature.
Resources:
Brett Andersen: Substack | YouTube | X
Gregg Henriques: Website | Facebook | X
Books:
Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief - Dr. Jordan Peterson
How Nature Works: the science of self-organized criticality - Per Bak
The Life of the Cosmos - Lee Smolin
The Cortex and the Critical Point: Understanding the Power of Emergence - John M. Beggs
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions - Thomas S. Kuhn
The Romance of Reality: How the Universe Organizes Itself to Create Life, Consciousness, and Cosmic Complexity - Bobby Azarian
The Voyage of the Beagle - Charles Darwin
Publications:
Predictive processing and relevance realization: exploring convergent solutions to the frame problem - Brett P. Andersen, Mark Miller & John Vervaeke
Relevance, Meaning and the Cognitive Science of Wisdom - John Vervaeke and Leonardo Ferraro
Flow as spontaneous thought: Insight and implicit learning - John Vervaeke, Leonardo Ferraro, and Arianne Herrera-Bennett
The self-organization of cognitive structure. - Stephen and Dixon
The entropic brain: a theory of conscious states informed by neuroimaging research with psychedelic drugs - Robin L. Carhart-Harris et al.
Gaining Insight Into the ‘‘Aha’’ Experience - Sascha Topolinski and Rolf Reber
The Experience of Presence in the Mars Exploration Rover Mission - Dan Chiappe, John Vervaeke
Distributed Cognition and the Experience of Presence in the Mars Exploration Rover Mission - Dan Chiappe, John Vervaeke
The Enactment of Shared Agency in Teams Exploring Mars Through Rovers - Dan Chiappe, John Vervaeke
Perception and self-organized instability - Karl J Friston, Michael Breakspear, and Gustavo Deco
Psychological Entropy: A Framework for Understanding Uncertainty-Related Anxiety - Jacob B Hirsh, Raymond A Mar, and Jordan B Peterson
Video:
Intimations of a New Worldview, Part 7.1: The Evolutionary Psychology of Meaning - Brett Andersen
MIsc.
The REBUS Model
Timecodes:
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:00:20 - Dr. John Vervaeke opens the discussion
00:00:48 - Gregg Henriques provides a recap of previous episodes
00:02:09 - Brett Andersen introduces himself and his work
00:03:46 - Andersen introduces the concept of self-organized criticality
00:05:40 - Discussion on Per Bak's work and complexity in nature
00:07:40 - Complexity emerging at the border between order and chaos
00:09:20 - Introduction of the concept of relevance realization
00:13:00 - Growing consensus around criticality in neuroscience
00:16:20 - Introduction of behavioral investment theory
00:18:20 - Discussing the epistemological implications of criticality
00:21:41 - Introduction of the microscopic and macroscopic fractal of criticality
00:25:50 - Complexity of human existence and its sense of sacredness
00:27:40 - Dr. Vervaeke on our ontological significance
00:32:23 - Introduction of the concept of nested language
00:41:00 - Exploring the clash when an anomaly disrupts tradition
00:50:36 - Dr. Vervaeke on collective intelligence and hyperobjects
01:00:29 - Dr. Vervaeke on the living entity of intelligibility
01:02:55 - Discussion on affordance coupling
01:08:36 - Dr. Vervaeke on psychedelics and transformative processes
01:09:20 - Preview of the next discussion on the Trinitarian model and worldview implications
In Episode 9 of the Transcendent Naturalism series, Dr. John Vervaeke, Gregg Henriques, and guest Brett Andersen delve into the intricate relationship between complexity, criticality, and consciousness. The episode explores the concept of self-organized criticality and its role as a linchpin in understanding a variety of scientific topics. Andersen introduces his work on the diametric model of autism and psychosis, and the trio discusses the growing consensus around criticality as a framework for understanding brain function. The episode also touches on the psychology of meaning, the nature of sacredness, and the transformative power of psychedelics. This intellectual journey culminates in a discussion about the role of individual and collective consciousness in shaping society. Whether you're interested in the cutting-edge theories of cognitive science or the philosophical implications of modern neuroscience, this episode offers a comprehensive look at how these ideas are shaping our understanding of the world.
Brett Andersen, a Ph.D. student in Evolutionary Psychology at the University of New Mexico, is a compelling voice at the intersection of cognitive science, complexity science, and the philosophical underpinnings of morality and religion. With a penchant for delving into controversial topics, Brett crafts thought-provoking essays on Substack and produces insightful YouTube videos. He's also in the process of writing a book, slated for a free PDF release, that encapsulates seven years of rigorous research across scientific and philosophical literature.
Resources:
Brett Andersen: Substack | YouTube | X
Gregg Henriques: Website | Facebook | X
Books:
Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief - Dr. Jordan Peterson
How Nature Works: the science of self-organized criticality - Per Bak
The Life of the Cosmos - Lee Smolin
The Cortex and the Critical Point: Understanding the Power of Emergence - John M. Beggs
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions - Thomas S. Kuhn
The Romance of Reality: How the Universe Organizes Itself to Create Life, Consciousness, and Cosmic Complexity - Bobby Azarian
The Voyage of the Beagle - Charles Darwin
Publications:
Predictive processing and relevance realization: exploring convergent solutions to the frame problem - Brett P. Andersen, Mark Miller & John Vervaeke
Relevance, Meaning and the Cognitive Science of Wisdom - John Vervaeke and Leonardo Ferraro
Flow as spontaneous thought: Insight and implicit learning - John Vervaeke, Leonardo Ferraro, and Arianne Herrera-Bennett
The self-organization of cognitive structure. - Stephen and Dixon
The entropic brain: a theory of conscious states informed by neuroimaging research with psychedelic drugs - Robin L. Carhart-Harris et al.
Gaining Insight Into the ‘‘Aha’’ Experience - Sascha Topolinski and Rolf Reber
The Experience of Presence in the Mars Exploration Rover Mission - Dan Chiappe, John Vervaeke
Distributed Cognition and the Experience of Presence in the Mars Exploration Rover Mission - Dan Chiappe, John Vervaeke
The Enactment of Shared Agency in Teams Exploring Mars Through Rovers - Dan Chiappe, John Vervaeke
Perception and self-organized instability - Karl J Friston, Michael Breakspear, and Gustavo Deco
Psychological Entropy: A Framework for Understanding Uncertainty-Related Anxiety - Jacob B Hirsh, Raymond A Mar, and Jordan B Peterson
Video:
Intimations of a New Worldview, Part 7.1: The Evolutionary Psychology of Meaning - Brett Andersen
MIsc.
The REBUS Model
Timecodes:
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:00:20 - Dr. John Vervaeke opens the discussion
00:00:48 - Gregg Henriques provides a recap of previous episodes
00:02:09 - Brett Andersen introduces himself and his work
00:03:46 - Andersen introduces the concept of self-organized criticality
00:05:40 - Discussion on Per Bak's work and complexity in nature
00:07:40 - Complexity emerging at the border between order and chaos
00:09:20 - Introduction of the concept of relevance realization
00:13:00 - Growing consensus around criticality in neuroscience
00:16:20 - Introduction of behavioral investment theory
00:18:20 - Discussing the epistemological implications of criticality
00:21:41 - Introduction of the microscopic and macroscopic fractal of criticality
00:25:50 - Complexity of human existence and its sense of sacredness
00:27:40 - Dr. Vervaeke on our ontological significance
00:32:23 - Introduction of the concept of nested language
00:41:00 - Exploring the clash when an anomaly disrupts tradition
00:50:36 - Dr. Vervaeke on collective intelligence and hyperobjects
01:00:29 - Dr. Vervaeke on the living entity of intelligibility
01:02:55 - Discussion on affordance coupling
01:08:36 - Dr. Vervaeke on psychedelics and transformative processes
01:09:20 - Preview of the next discussion on the Trinitarian model and worldview implications
