I talk to psychologist Dr Christopher Kavanagh about the phenomenon of secular gurus. We discussed the secularism of latter day gurus, how they differ and compare to traditional cult leaders, what traits it takes to be a secular guru (galaxy brainedness, cultishness, anti-establishmentarianism), psychopathy/sociopathy, narcissism and techniques for avoiding manipulation.

Here is a link to the "Gurometer" where you can find out more about how to spot your latter day gurus.

Chris is an Associate Professor in Psychology at Rikkyo University and works in the intersection of Cognitive Anthropology and Social Psychology with a research focus on emotions, group and ritual psychology. Chris is also one half of the Decoding the Gurus podcast, a podcast that studies, discusses and examines contemporary 'secular gurus', iconoclasts, and heterodox thinkers such as Jordan Peterson, Joe Rogan, Lex Friedman, The Weinstein brothers, Russell Brand, Sam Harris, Noam Chomsky, Ibram Kendi, Robin D’Angelo etc. You can view Chris's research profile here and also follow him on X (Twitter) here.

If you would like to study with me you can find more information about our online education MAs in Philosophy here at Staffordshire University. You can find out more information on our MA in Continental Philosophy via this link. Or, join our MA in Philosophy of Nature, Information and Technology via this link. Find out more about me here. September intakes F/T or January intakes P/T.

You can listen to more free back content from the Thales' Well podcast on TuneIn Radio, Player Fm, Stitcher and Pod Bean. You can also download their apps to your smart phone and listen via there. You can also subscribe for free on iTunes. Please leave a nice review.

On Secular Gurus with Chris Kavanagh