Ep. 41: Patrick Farnsworth on Hope in Perilous Times, Or a Meditation on Eco-Catastrophe

Patrick Farnsworth of the Last Born in the Wilderness podcast joins Parallax Views for a nearly two-hour, wide-ranging, sobering conversation on man's future in light of the possibility of catastrophic climate change. Despite the grim subject matter Patrick tries to offer a glimmer of hope in what many are dubbing the "Anthropocene", arguing that if we are past overshoot in climate change there nonetheless remains a redemptive potential in how we, as species, deal with it. Among the topics we cover are Patrick's TedX talk "Forging Connection in Perilous Times", "doomerism", grief in relation to the possibility of eco-catastrophe, how lifestylist environmentalism is not enough, alienation and technology, Dr. Christopher Ryan's writings on human sexuality and anthropology, ideology and the narratives we tell ourselves, psychedelics, critiquing Steven Pinker's defense of neoliberalism and the culture of logic-bros, the importance of love and human relationships, the idea of "Exit" and Patrick's discussion with Douglas Rushkoff about Rushkoff's article "Survival of the Richest", consciousness and panpsychism, religion and dogma, the little talked about problem of global dimming, and much more.