Consciousness & Demons & Epistemology, Oh My! 20ish Q's - With Myron A. Penner
Mar 27, 2024
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Canadian Mennonite Philosopher Myron A. Penner discusses consciousness, demons, epistemology, skepticism towards spiritual encounters, exploring resurrection, intertwining beauty with faith and science, and a humorous historical church figures bar challenge.
Infinite love of God mirrored in fairness, grace shown through parable of workers.
Aesthetics in nature, science, art integral to understanding spirituality, revealing insights into psyche and faith.
Challenging perspectives on consciousness: reductive materialism, mind-body dualism, panpsychism provoke reconsideration and exploration.
Deep dives
The Parable of the Workers
The parable of the workers who received the same wage regardless of different work hours resonates deeply with the infinite love of God, portraying a beautiful image of fairness and grace.
The Role of Beauty
Beauty and aesthetics, especially in nature, science, and human creations, play a significant role in understanding spirituality. The appreciation of beauty in scientific work and artistic expressions can reveal deep insights into the human psyche and faith.
Inspirational Beauty and Human Experience
The genuine expression of human experience and compassionate ideas like God identifying with marginalized individuals evoke deep emotional responses, underscoring the profound impact of ideas that resonate with intrinsic beauty.
The Universality and Subjectivity of Beauty
Beauty, being both universal and subjective, poses a complex yet intriguing aspect of faith and spirituality. While cultural differences may influence individual perceptions of beauty, the universality and subjective nature of beauty are intertwined in the human experience.
Different Perspectives on Materialism and Dualism
The podcast delves into discussions about reductionistic materialism, mind-body dualism, and panpsychism as contrasting perspectives on the nature of consciousness. The speaker expresses a personal affinity towards reductive materialism but acknowledges the complexities of property dualism and substance dualism. The episode explores how the notion of reductionistic materialism has been challenged, leading to a reconsideration between mind-body dualism and panpsychism as alternative viewpoints.
Natural Phenomena of Sex Transition in Nature
The podcast highlights surprising research findings on natural sex transition processes observed in various species. The conversation explores how sex transition occurs in nature and provides examples from biological studies on sex determination and expression. The episode discusses instances where organisms transition from one sex to another based on environmental triggers, shedding light on the nuanced and diverse ways sex is manifested in different organisms. The research findings challenge simplistic notions of binary biological sex categories and emphasize the naturalness of sex transition in living beings.
This week our favorite Canadian Mennonite Philosopher and Friend Myron A. Penner is back on the show. He was brave enough to volunteer for an episode of 20ish Q's. I recycled some old questions and wrote some new ones just for Myron. This was a fun and wide-ranging conversation and I loved hearing Myron's answers. Enjoy!
*Special thanks to Josh Gilbert for managing the podcast, Marty Fredrick for producing the podcast, and Dan Koch for providing music for the podcast. I love you guys.*
