After Socrates: Episode 1 - Introduction | Dr. John Vervaeke
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Published 2023-01-09
In this introduction of the series, Dr. Vervaeke explains the differences between Imaginary and Imaginal, as well as the concepts of Predictive Processing, Reciprocal Interpretation, Dialogical Reflection, and the Salience Landscape.
Join Dr. Vervaeke as he attempts to follow "After" Socrates in a quest towards true and applicable wisdom. Please join our patreon to support our work! www.patreon.com/johnvervaeke
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You are invited to join me live, online, at the next Circling & Dialogos Workshop where we discuss & practice the tools involved in both Philosophical Fellowship & Dialectic into Dialogos.
You can find more information, and register, here:
circlinginstitute.com/circling-dialogos/
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Books mentioned:
The Art of Spiritual Midwifery | Stephen Faller - amzn.to/3WZBujZ
Philosophising the Dialogos Way Towards Wisdom in Education | Guro Hansen Helskog - amzn.to/3VYhQ6B
Socrates: Quotes and Facts | Blago Kirov - amzn.to/3GkXLS8
Plato Quotes: 365 Quotes by Plato | B. Ashiedu - amzn.to/3VYi4ut
The Allegory of the Cave | Plato - amzn.to/3W66oGc
Thinkers Referenced:
Guy Sengstock
Rafe Kelly
Dan Chiappe
Henry Corbin
Karl J. Friston
Mark Miller
Brett Andersen
John Russon
Peter Limberg
Tanya Luhrmann
Jack Kornfield
Søren Kierkegaard
Show Notes:
[0:00] Introduction to episode
[0:57] Circling: Is a multi-stage relational practice and unique transformational modality. It is a dynamic group process that is part-art-form, part-skillful facilitation and part-relational yoga. It is also a unique modality that can be practiced one-on-one. Although it is based on complex ideas, participating in it can be easy and fun for people at all levels of experience.
[6:20] "Imaginary" - Imagination as fantasizing. We often use it in reference to something unreal or illusory.
[6:20] "Imaginal" - Imagination to enhance perception and insight. The realm of imagination where we encounter the deeper patterns of being.
[8:51] Predictive Processing - In neuroscience, predictive processing (or predictive coding) is a paradigm of brain function that links perception to mental modelling: the brain generates a model of the environment and uses it to predict sensory input. These predictions are compared to the actual input received, and the errors are used to update the mental model. There is increasing integration between predictive processing and 4E cognitive science.
[17:25] Taoism - Tao is a Chinese word that is often translated as "way" or "path." It is a fundamental concept in Taoism, a philosophical and spiritual tradition that originated in China. In Taoism, the Tao is the fundamental source and ultimate reality of all things, and is seen as the natural order and flow of the universe. It is not a deity or a personal God, but rather an impersonal force or principle that underlies and permeates all things.
[35:22] In Latin, the word "inventio" means "discovery" or "finding." It is related to the verb "invenire," which means "to come upon, find out, invent, discover, or devise." "Inventio" is a powerful term because it can refer to an act of invention as both creation and recollection. This makes it very apt for describing Socratic midwifery.
[48:58] Sapiential is often used in reference to religious or philosophical texts that are considered to contain profound wisdom or insight. For example, the writings of ancient Greek philosophers like Plato and Aristotle, or the Hindu Vedas, could be described as sapiential.
[1:09:47] A salience landscape is the way a cognitive agent determines relevance through decisions about how to commit its attentional, and behaviour resources in a complex, dynamic, and self-organizing manner. These decisions and commitments result in certain information from the environment standing out more than other information such that the cognitive agent will only orient to certain aspects of objects and situations.
[1:10:00] The monkey mind is a Buddhist term that refers to various states of restlessness or distraction, i.e., "unsettled; capricious; whimsical; fanciful; inconstant; confused; indecisive; uncontrollable."
[1:24:33] Meditation is not a vacation. It is an education.
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After Socrates is a series about how to create the theory, the practice, and the ecology of practices such that we can live and grow and develop through a Socratic way of life. The core argument is; the combination of the theoretical framework and the pedagogical program of practices can properly conduct us into the Socratic way of life. We believe that the Socratic way of life is what is most needed today because it is the one that can most help us cultivate wisdom in a way that is simultaneously respectful to spiritual tradition and to current scientific work.
All Comments (21)
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If you're paying attention to the right people, the amount of wisdom and new ideas we have access to just blows me away. This is a GOLDEN age of wisdom and TRUTH. We are in it. Pay attention to all the other things and you can be in a dark age of your own making. What are you putting your energy towards? Thank you for your amazing insight and wisdom. Deep gratitude from my heart.
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Oh my lord! This drops at the same time your interview with Peterson??? Are you kidding me?? This is Christmas morning all over again! Let's go John!!
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Tertiary level education, available to the masses. What a time to be alive! Cheers for your hard work as John!
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As an Italian, I must remind myself that if I ever encounter a kalahari person making that gesture, he's not telling me "what the heck you want", but he's trying to help me tracking the animal!
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First thing I’m going to watch when I wake up tomorrow! May everyone who watch this gain insight and meaning for their life.
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Congratulations on launching this series John, your contributions are invaluable as always.
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I feel so incredibly grateful to live in a time when resources like this exist for free. Thank you so much for your hard work and generosity John
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I’m a cog sci major at ucsd who only found the field after breaking mentally and being forced to find my own life path. John I came to so many of the same habits, opinions, & goals as you, it gives me hope in convergent evolution leading the wanna-be-wise to the same intellectual positions & projects for humanity. I’m beyond overjoyed to see what you’re doing & putting out into the world. I truly believe the cooperative stage of human development needs these ideas. Thank you!!!!
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The awakening from the meaning crisis lecture was so profound. I have seen it from start to beginning several times. I will watch this episode tomorrow, but wanted to leave a comment so the algorithm showes this to more people. Truly just the best wishes
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This is a real banquet for me. I anticipate with delight the feast of the upcoming episodes. I am also swimming in an ocean of gratitude for the immensity of this contribution to our understanding of ourselves and for the new spaces of possibility John Vervaeke has crafted. Perhaps now we can start dreaming about a future where we are not destroyed by the complexity of the world we have created. Thanks, John. Long life and good health!
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It's fascinating to see how creative ideas in cognitive science are amalgamation of previous ideas in subjective narratives. This is the exact same process of composing original music, which is unconsciously a process of amalgamation of previously heard melodies, harmonies, motifs, in a narrative that serves for expression of our emotions.
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John, you ROCK! Finally, we are listening to Socrates, Jesus, and the Tao have meaningful, thougful, and respectful conversations. So excited for this series!
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So excited to watch! Please join us on the discord to discus! Link in the description.
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Listening to Awakening from the Meaning Crisis has been such an embodied, deep experience, shaking me out of prolonged existential inertia. Then the series got to Luther and I experienced regression, backlash, and some of the worst catatonia of my life. I'm really glad to be going "back" to Socrates now, who feels so completely "forward."
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I really love the Meditation practice part. It clarifies many things from Meditating with John Vervaeke.
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Production is amazing. Moved at a great pace. Perfect for setting up the series. This is everything I wanted it to be and I know so many people will benefit from this series as it unfolds.
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This is delightful. Looking forward to watching it.
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Came here after watching John with Dr Peterson. I hope to learn a lot from this. At 33th minute,I feel that he can be more compendious in his introduction;and hopefully so in episodes to come.
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“Knowing thyself isn’t your autobiography, it’s your owners manual. How do you function, how do you break down & malfunction?” I Loved that.
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I had stalled on Kierkgaard. (Seemed like you'd have to be stoned to write it, let alone understand it) Yet all the cool people seem to get him, so I dialed up John Vervaeke Kierkegaard, and got this lecture series. Thank you, dear brother. I'm going to pull this thread all the way back of Kierkegaard, and beyond.
