John Vervaeke, Ph.D. is an award-winning Professor at the University of Toronto in the departments of Psychology, Cognitive Science, and Buddhist Psychology. He currently teaches courses in the Psychology department. He is the director of the Cognitive Science program, and the director of the Consciousness and the Wisdom Studies Laboratory. He has won and been nominated for several teaching awards, including the 2001 Students’ Administrative Council and Association of Part-time Undergraduate Students Teaching Award for the Humanities, and the 2012 Ranjini Ghosh Excellence in Teaching Award. He has published articles on relevance realization, general intelligence, mindfulness, flow, metaphor, and wisdom. He is the first author of the book Zombies in Western Culture: A 21st Century crisis, which integrates Psychology and Cognitive Science to address the meaning crisis in Western society. He is the author and presenter of the YouTube series, Awakening from the Meaning Crisis.

TIMESTAMPS: (0:00) - Introduction (0:45) - Nature, Function & Meta Problem of Consciousness (2:55) - Key aspects of the Mind-Body Problem (7:04) - Consciousness as a higher order recursive relevance realization (11:47) - Ontonormativity & higher states of consciousness (15:54) - Moral philosophy of mind (19:36) - Psychedelics & altered states of consciousness (25:37) - Introspection in relation to insight & inference (28:48) - Phenomenology & 4E CogSci (& John's 2 more "E"s) (35:13) - The Salience & Significance Landscape (42:30) - Higher states of consciousness & its impact on individual's lived experiences (49:40) - John's upcoming book with Gregg Henriques (Untangling The World-Knot of Consciousness) (53:40) - Addressing Absurdity with Zen Neoplatonic Contemplation (Albert Camus & Thomas Nagel) (1:02:00) - John's relationship with Zen Neoplatonism (1:05:24) - Transcendental experiences & ontological grounding (1:09:38) - John's views on the "isms": Dualism, Idealism, Illusionism, Panpsychism, etc. (1:22:00) - The global collaborative approach to consciousness research occuring (1:27:45) - The future of consciousness research (1:31:03) - Moral and ethical implications of altering states of consciousness (1:35:09) - John's recommended reading (1:39:19) - John's personal story, transcended practices, & search for wisdom (1:46:30) - Awakening from the Meaning Crisis & key takeaways (1:54:21) - Final thoughts (2:00:09) - Conclusion EPISODE LINKS: - John's Website: https://johnvervaeke.com - John's Twitter: https://twitter.com/vervaeke_john - John's Channel: https://youtube.com/@johnvervaeke - Awakening from the Meaning Crisis: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLND1JCRq8Vuh3f0P5qjrSdb5eC1ZfZwWJ&feature=shared - After Socrates: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLND1JCRq8Vuj6q5NP_fXjBzUT1p_qYSCC&feature=shared - Voices with Vervaeke: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLND1JCRq8Vuh8TPRarb1FpwP7FSaUILC9&feature=shared - Untangling the World-Knot: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTJe1xFfoxrAIyl5r1dB4La6zzMfUZVyd&feature=shared - Michael Levin: https://youtu.be/1R-tdscgxu4?feature=shared - Mark Solms: https://youtu.be/rkbeaxjAZm4?feature=shared - Stephen Grossberg: https://youtu.be/gpa0beB18vk?feature=shared CONNECT: - Website: https://tevinnaidu.com - Podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/drtevinnaidu - Twitter: https://twitter.com/drtevinnaidu - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drtevinnaidu - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drtevinnaidu - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drtevinnaidu ============================= Disclaimer: The information provided on this channel is for educational purposes only. The content is shared in the spirit of open discourse and does not constitute, nor does it substitute, professional or medical advice. We do not accept any liability for any loss or damage incurred from you acting or not acting as a result of listening/watching any of our contents. You acknowledge that you use the information provided at your own risk. Listeners/viewers are advised to conduct their own research and consult with their own experts in the respective fields.