Introduction

For the fourth episode, they turn from reflection on grieving the death of God and the loss of the transcendental sacred, to grieving the state of the world and the impending loss of the immanent sacred.  They  discuss Nietzsche's insights into the pervasiveness of affective  nihilism in modern cultures, and the strengths and shortcomings of his  prescriptions; the problem of "god surrogacy," in a world that has lost  its center; the dynamics of a culture of make-believe and the  impediments to facing collective cultural shadow; the process of  grieving the state of the world and our implication in many of its  crises, environmental and otherwise; the radical challenge of moving  beyond anthropocentrism in our social organization and self conception;  and much more.