Jul 26, 2023
Dr. John Vervaeke and Gregg Henriques continue their thought-provoking exploration of Transcendent Naturalism by examining extended naturalism, neoplatonism, and the dimensions of sacredness. They challenge conventional notions of sacredness by examining its connection with strong transcendence and discussing Spinoza's insights into nature, God's ultimate reality, and the universe's deterministic nature, aligning with the Neoplatonic framework. They discuss religious perspectives, comparing classical and common theism and their evolution, while addressing the interplay between energy, consciousness, and reality, highlighting the philosophical underpinnings of theism. They also intriguingly differentiate spirituality from religion, both rooted in the concept of the sacred, and discuss symbolic ideals, spiritual richness, consequential history, and the profound significance of consequential decisions in our lives.
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Time-codes:
[00:00:00] Dr. John Vervaeke outlines the episode's structure: extended naturalism, the meaning of sacredness within extended naturalism, the concept of strong transcendence, and three phenomena where people traditionally express a sense of transcendence: rituals, altered states of consciousness, and belonging to a worldview.
[00:04:53] Dr. Vervaeke dives into the first topic, extended naturalism. He discusses the consilience between structural and content arguments in the context of neoplatonism.
[00:07:36] Discussion of Spinoza's distinction between nature
nurturing and nature being nurtured, a concept that explores the
relationship between top-down and bottom-up processes in nature,
bringing forward the idea of God not as a physical entity but
as the source of all existence and understanding.
[00:15:14] Dr. John Vervaeke discusses the features of common
theism and its basis in classical theology, shares his perspective
on the debates between theists and atheists, and the conception of
God as a supreme being
[00:18:00] The concept of God as the ground that supports continual
self-transcendence, and a contemplative discussion on theism's
classical and common forms, pushing the boundaries of philosophical
exploration.
[00:25:19] A deep dive into how truth can exist outside our
understanding, challenging conventional beliefs.
[00:30:20] Dr. Vervaeke delves into the concept of sacredness,
describing it as an inexhaustible and paradoxical fountain of
intelligibility. He also highlights the limitations of traditional
propositional knowing in fully comprehending this concept.
[00:37:23] The concepts of soul and spirit as ineffable aspects of
human experience, with the soul, referring to the groundedness of
our experiences and spirit pointing to our capacity for
self-transcendence, and discussion on the connection between the
symbolic ideal and the transcendent,
[00:38:09] Symbolic Ideals & Transcendence: Gregg Henriques links
symbolic ideals to deeper philosophical perspectives, enriching
discourse.
[00:41:20] Dr. John Vervaeke explains the concept of sacredness as
a transjective experience, providing a new perspective on the
understanding of sacredness.
[00:44:53] Gregg Henriques introduces a proposes a new concept of
inconsequential versus consequential history; viewing historical
events based on their long-term impact.
[00:55:00] Dr. John Vervaeke outlines his plan to explore the deep
interconnections between an extended notion of rationality and
ritual and their power, including an explanation of how and why we
experience strong transcendence within ritual experiences, within
the framework of extended naturalism.
Qoutes:
“Strong transcendence has epistemological and ontological import. The idea is that there are truths about reality that are disclosed only when one goes through a transcendence, which also gives you access to different levels of knowing.” - Dr. John Vervaeke
“Generalizability in and of itself it's not really intelligibility. It’s generalizability in relationship to the capacity for differentiation held in appropriate dialectic. There's a generalizable differentiation polarity where the poles between the two is going to afford intelligibility, and it's the right relationship of that t that is fundamentally key.” - Gregg Henriques