Korea Deconstructed

Bernardo Kastrup and The Search for Meaning

Apr 27, 2024

Bernardo Kastrup, a dual Ph.D. holder, discusses the essence of reality being mental. Topics explore Nietzsche's views on culture change, transitioning to a service-oriented life, introspection, analytic idealism, and the profound impact of art and philosophers on our understanding of existence.

01:31:55

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Episode guests

Bernardo Kastrup

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Quick takeaways

Life is about service to nature, not individual happiness.

Introspection leads to understanding the universal will and essence of existence.

Synchronicity reveals meaningful coincidences beyond mere chance.

Deep dives

The concept of life being about service to nature

Life is not about individual happiness but rather about service to nature. Using the metaphor of an apple blossom, the podcast episode emphasizes that just like an apple blossom serves the grand scheme of nature by withering and making space for future trees, humans are also part of nature's grand dynamics. Rejecting the cultural convention that life is selfishly about the individual, the episode highlights that understanding our role in nature does not require full comprehension, but a willingness to listen to our deep intuition and be part of the universal will of nature.

The Destruction of Transcendent Meaning

01:16

Il ciclo di bisogni gestaltici - un ciclo di significato

01:17

The Superhuman Ideal According to Nietzsche

02:14

Why will is the ultimate endogenous experience Schopenhauer

03:24

Introduction

4min

Contemplating Human Purpose in Nature's Scheme

3min

Evolution of Science Paradigms and Societal Ambitions

5min

Nietzsche's Insights on Culture Change and Meaning

18min

Transitioning to a Service-Oriented Life Perspective

11min

Exploring Introspection, Will, and Synchronicity

23min

Exploring Analytic Idealism and the Singular Mind

21min

Reflections on the Profound Impact of Art and Philosophers

7min

Bernardo Kastrup is the executive director of Essentia Foundation. His work has been leading the modern renaissance of metaphysical idealism, the notion that reality is essentially mental. He has a Ph.D. in philosophy and another Ph.D. in computer engineering. As a scientist, Bernardo has worked for CERN and Philips Research Laboratories. Bernardo's 11th book, coming in 2024, is 'Analytic Idealism in a Nutshell: A straightforward summary of the 21st-century's only plausible metaphysics.'

This is me listening to Bernardo and asking him questions so as to better understand the world as mind. To do this, we explored what it means to be human. Bernardo explained the work of Nietzsche, Frankl, Schopenhauer, and Jung to me as well as how a bourgeoise has sought to wrest control of our culture away from the church and ultimately leave us stranded, meaningless, and seeking solutions elsewhere.

Bernardo taught me that we should not seek answers or solutions. These will never appear to us and we simply don't have the capability to understand what is going on. Instead, like the apple blossom in his garden, we should just be. We should listen to the noumena, the will inside us. We can describe it as duty, as calling, as fate, or as many other things. But ultimately, we are a violin and we should allow ourselves to be played by nature rather than seeking to force ourselves on the world. We should seek service instead of personal happiness. These ideas will stay with me for a while.

At the end, I asked him to recommend a movie, a book, and a song. The movie he suggested was The Double Life of Véronique (1991) by Polish director Krzysztof Kieślowski. The song was Song to the Siren by Cocteau Twins vocalist Elizabeth Fraser. The book was Schopenhauer's The World as Will and Representation.

Bernardo's Website: https://www.bernardokastrup.com/

The Essentia Foundation: https://www.youtube.com/@UCHKZdDf09_8vVHm102fu0sg

Bernardo's upcoming book: https://www.amazon.com/Analytic-Idealism-Nutshell-straightforward-metaphysics/dp/1803416696

Discussion Outline:

0:00 The importance of service

7:40 The bourgeoisie capture of culture

12:33 Immanent meaning

25:35 Spiritual but not religious

31:00 Carl Jung and our two stages of life

41:58 Introspection as the royal path to knowledge

48:15 Schopenhauer and the will inside us

54:52 Synchronicity 1:05:03 Religion and science