Ep 64 | UTOKing with John Vervaeke | Consilience, Wisdom, and Fellowship in Philosophia
Feb 8, 2023
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John Vervaeke, Philosophy professor and host of the After Socrates series, joins UTOKing with Gregg for an inspiring conversation. They discuss John's After Socrates series and Gregg's book on psychology. They highlight the importance of understanding the mind and behavior, bridging the gap between science and spirituality, and exploring the pursuit of wisdom and rationality in leading a better life.
Greg's book provides a new synthesis for addressing the problem of psychology and bridging the gap between science and spirituality.
Epistemic humility and participatory knowing are essential for a deeper understanding of reality and a more comprehensive educational system.
Exploring the concept of being 'after Socrates' reveals the relevance of his philosophy in contemporary times and the importance of seeking wisdom.
Deep dives
Greg's new book and the problem of psychology
Greg has written a new book that addresses the problem of psychology by providing a new synthesis. The book explores the Enlightenment gap in psychology and presents a clear argument for contending with the issues in the field. It emphasizes the need to establish a coherent ontology for psychology and offers a new system that maps out the domains of behavior and mental processes. Greg's work proposes a unified theory of knowledge, introducing a framework that incorporates neurocognitive structures and justifying self-conscious systems. The aim is to bridge the gap between science and spirituality, allowing for a more comprehensive understanding of human meaning-making and mental health capacities.
The importance of a coherent descriptive metaphysics and the integration of science and wisdom
The podcast episode highlights the need for a coherent descriptive metaphysics that provides a framework for understanding the relationship between science and wisdom. It explores how Socrates' philosophy and his emphasis on epistemic humility can guide the way towards a better life and a deeper understanding of reality. The discussion delves into the significance of participatory knowledge and how it complements propositional knowledge in our educational system. The episode also emphasizes the importance of recognizing the existence of minded animals in the animal kingdom and the need to differentiate them from living organisms. This recognition opens up new possibilities for bridging science and spirituality and redefining our conception of the matter-mind relationship.
Exploring the concept of being 'after Socrates'
The podcast episode explores the multifaceted concept of being 'after Socrates'. It touches upon the quest to understand Socrates and his teachings, the significance of what came after him in terms of philosophy and thought, and the aspirational aspect of emulating Socrates as a sage. The episode highlights the challenges of reconciling Socrates' claim of not knowing while also claiming to be the most virtuous and the importance of grappling with this paradox. It delves into the nature of dialectic deal logos and its role in uncovering hidden knowledge. The episode underscores the relevance of Socratic principles in contemporary times and the need to integrate them into our lives to seek wisdom and enhance our wellbeing.
Upcoming Dialogical Series on Transcendent Naturalism
The podcast hosts announce an upcoming dialogical series called Transcendent Naturalism. They aim to bridge the gap between the scientific world and human spirituality. The series will explore an ontology that supports the human experience of transcendence while maintaining a naturalistic framework. The hosts express excitement about the series, which will feature various guests and promote dialogue, research, and community cultivation.
Conference on Consilience and Wisdom Commons
The podcast hosts discuss an upcoming conference titled Consilience: Unifying Knowledge and Orienting Toward a Wisdom Commons. The conference aims to bring people together to achieve a more coherent vision of knowledge and wisdom and to address the 'wisdom famine' in society. The hosts emphasize the importance of uniting academics and practitioners in various fields to create a communitas and develop practices that are relevant and accessible beyond the academic ivory tower.
In this UTOKing with Gregg, John Vervaeke returns to the program, and they share the developments in their work. John’s major effort has been focused on developing the After Socrates series, which Gregg has been following. Gregg shares the beauty he has seen in watching the series, and how he found the way John framed After Socrates to be illuminating and inspiring. In addition, Gregg explains why he found the connection between the “dialectic into dialogos” and participatory knowing that John highlights to be profound. Gregg’s major achievement has been the release of his book, A New Synthesis for Solving the Problem of Psychology: Addressing the Enlightenment Gap. John shares why he found the book to be so inspiring and important. Specifically, he shared how it lays out a plausible, intelligible account for understanding the mental across virtually all domains, and thus achieves what he calls a “synoptic integrative” view of psychology. He reiterates what he said in his review of the book, which is that he sees Gregg as a kind of modern day Aristotle who is generating a taxonomy and metatheory that can revolutionize psychology. In addition, two upcoming events. First, they discussed the upcoming conference that Gregg is organizing and for which John will give a keynote address. Called Consilience: Unifying knowledge and Orienting Toward a Wisdom Commons, it will be held March 17-18th from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm Eastern. It will consist of over 45 presentations, and will be free to the public. Finally, they discussed the plans for the next cognitive science show series, Transcendent Naturalism, where they will work to show how their joint visions can provide a naturalistic framework for orienting toward the transcendent and thus provide the groundwork a new “religio” for the 21st Century.
