Is art moral? Why was Plato censorious of art? Does art have a political function? How is art educational? Should art and philosophy be combined? What is the difference between art and entertainment? Is art about individual or communal expression? How is art related to what John calls ‘dialogos’?

Here we continue to ‘reinventio’—the latin word which means to both invent and discover— perennial and popular subjects. We discuss the purpose and function of art from various perspectives: John from the point of view of cognitive science and philosophy, Christopher from the point of view theater and narrative, and Andrew as a songwriter. We concluded that art is about process rather than product, and that the good art leans towards religious experience.

John Vervaeke is a professor at the University of Toronto and the creator of the popular online YouTube Series ‘Awakening from The Meaning Crisis’, which is a rich feast of cognitive science, philosophy, religion, and the history of ideas. What makes Vervaeke special in my opinion is the breadth of his work, but his courage descend the ivory tower and talk to people ‘on the street’—and to exemplify his ideas. His hero is Socrates, and he embodies the living dialogue and courage that Socrates represents.

I was first introduced to Christopher Mastropietro by Peter Limberg for his series on Letter.com. Christopher is John Vervaeke’s writing and research partner and co-author of ‘Zombies in Western Culture: A Twentieth Century Crisis’. A great book which I have used for undergraduate classes in Paris. Chris is among other things an amazing wordsmith who writes and speaks like an 19th Century Henry James/Herman Melville!

Links:
Impossible conversations with Christopher Mastropeitro
Other conversations with John Vervaeke and friends
John Vervaek’s Awakening from the Meaning Crisis

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Intro music: Beautiful Machines by Andrew Sweeny

The God Beyond Being

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