Jared Morningstar discusses integrating Islamic tradition with metamodernism, exploring ritual, ethics, and autonomy. The conversation delves into the appeal of Islam, normativities in different religions, and the intersection of process theology with Islamic heritage.

Bonnitta Roy discusses teleology and evolutionary narrative. Highlights pivotal mutations, increasing organism abstraction, and models of hierarchical complexity. Explores pure abstractions, perception of causal manifold, and recursive vantage points. Questions complexity without increasing degrees of freedom. Addresses directionality in mind evolution and potential for further discussion.

Could AI become conscious? Is it already? Everyone seems to be talking about this, yet little of the discussion is actually informed by grounded theories of consciousness and mind. In this episode, I'm joined by Dr. Gregg Henriques, professor of psychology at James Madison University, originator of the unified theory of knowledge framework, and the author of 'A New Synthesis for Solving the Problem of Psychology' to talk about the prospect of consciousness in AI. After zeroing in on just what we mean by "consciousness" in this sense (to get past the endless equivocation commonly found in these discussions), Gregg and I get to the heart of the matter. 0:00 Introduction 2:00 The Question: Can AI Be(come) Conscious? 4:40 (Context: Gregg's Work to Address Confusions about Mind) Part I: What Do We Mean By "Consciousness"? 8:33 Three Definitions: 9:07 (1) Cognition 18:08 (2) Subjective Conscious Experience (The One I Mean) 19:57 (3) Egoic Self-Consciousness Part II: AI and Consciousness 23:08 Could AI Have (2) Subjective Conscious Experience? 29:00 Beyond the Turing Test Standard 33:10 Panpsychist and Idealist Challenges? 35:46 Functional Parallels Are Not Equivalence 37:50 Approaching the Fifth Joint Point 50:17 What Should We Value: Intelligence or Sentience?

Jason Ānanda Josephson Storm discusses conceptions of value after postmodernism. Is postmodernism a nihilistic relativism or an activist moralism? Critics have accused it of both. What values pervade the postmodern academic paradigm? How do value conceptions shift when the postmodern paradigm gets diffused in popular culture? Is the "is-ought distinction" actually valid? What would a positive value project look like, and what are its benefits? Finally, what comes next for metamodernism and Storm's work? 0:00 Introduction 0:52 Postmodernism: Relativist or Activist? Nihilist or Moralist? 9:11 Value vs. Critique 17:07 Politics and Academia 22:17 Postmodern Diffusions 31:04 Is vs. Ought: Who's Afraid of Normativity? 38:04 Systematic Metamodern Philosophy 43:08 Imagining a Positive Future: Ethics and Wisdom 55:55 How Can Academia Reincorporate Wisdom? 59:42:21 Towards a Paradigm Shift: The Future of Metamodernism 1:09:35 Paradigm Projects 1:14:49 What's Next?

Psychology professor John Vervaeke discusses updating Neoplatonic spirituality with contemporary philosophy and cognitive science. They touch on topics like complexification as narrative, nonduality vs. nihilism, and death and reincarnation.

Metamodern sociologist Daniel Görtz joins Brendan Graham Dempsey to dig deeper into the nuances of developmental theory and how it can be applied at the individual and collective levels. Are individuals "at" a stage of development, or do they occupy a range of complexity? With all the distributional ranges involved in individual development, how can we make assessments about entire cultural worldviews? Daniel digs into the nuances of the Model of Hierarchical Complexity, exploring unpublished theories and ideas of Michael Commons and himself as they relate to thinking about conceptual complexification for people and societies. 0:00 Introduction Part I: Individual Development 2:28 Are People "at" a Stage or Thinking/Behaving Across a Distribution? 5:12 The MHC vs. Holistic, Whole-Person Models 10:11 Transjective Behavioral Complexity: Context and Scaffolding 25:17 Cognitive Ranges, Cognitive Ceilings 30:22 Piaget and Beyond Part II: Cultural Development 33:04 Are Ideas "at" a Stage? 42:16 Are Cultural Worldviews "at" a Stage? 56:44 The Dynamics of Cultural Evolution 1:20:36 Pattern and Medium 1:32:16 Problems and Progress: Nothing for Granted

Jason Ānanda Josephson Storm is an historian and philosopher, Professor of Religion and Chair of Science & Technology Studies at Williams College. He returns to continue our conversation about his book Metamodernism: The Future of Theory, a bold proposal for a post-postmodern paradigm. 0:00 Introduction 1:46 Is Postmodernism a Paradigm or an Episteme? 17:15 Hylosemiotics (Cont.): Matter and Meaning 29:41 From Realism vs. Anti-Realism to Metarealism 59:46 Zetetic Knowledge vs. Skepticism

Raymond de Oliveira joins Brendan to discuss the value in the Universe, whether it emerges from the logic of reality itself or is arbitrarily chosen, whether existence is inherently of value, nihilism and Buddhism, the QRI grand narrative of replicators vs. consciousness, the role of suffering in wisdom, and the "Three Realms" of conscious experience. 0:00 Introduction 1:43 From Is to Ought? 9:17 Is Life a Net Negative? Utilitarianism, Gnosticism, Transhumanism 22:30 Dual-Aspect Monism and Suffering 25:52 Is Consciousness Worth It? 31:00 Teleology and Agency 32:58 Fighting a Meme War against Potential Gods 36:50 Values and Vows 40:03 The Law of Choice 42:36 Is Wisdom Earned by Suffering? Nihilism and the Truth of Silenus?

Science Fiction critic, storyteller, and writer Damiel Walter joins Brendan to talk about 'Big Myth' and the culture industry's relationship to contemporary mythopoeia. What are the new stories of our time, what depth and "nutrients" do they contain (if any), and how does myth get transformed through the cultural codes? More than that, what myths do we live by, and why? What sorts of mythic archetypes does our cultural moment particularly need to better navigate the difficulties and challenges of the time? 0:00 Introduction 0:51 Franchise Myth 6:20 The Mythic-Industrial Complex vs. Modern Folklore 13:02 Stories vs. Myths 16:47 Mytho-Pathos, Values, and Metamodernism 26:22 Multiplicity, Mythos, Meaning, and "Me" 37:37 Hallmarks of Metamodern Myth: Embodiment, Ethics, Affect 45:44 The Hero, Masculinity, and Development 50:34 The Creator Archetype

Social imaginarian Ellie Hain joins me to talk about her new project, Rebuilding Meaning, a multi-layered endeavor to rethink meaning, value, and the sacred in a way that can help bring color and vibrancy back to existence and cut through the proliferation of bullshit in modern life. We talk about moving from paradigm thinking to the crafting of ideology, the nature and reality of the meaning crisis, what is meant by "the sacred," the idea of "the void," social norms vs. emergent value, and what it looks like to architect new cultural realities for the future. 0:00 Introduction 0:58 From Mapping Social Imaginaries to Articulating Ideologies 7:36 New Myths 10:30 Is There Actually a Meaning Crisis? 17:01 The Sacred, the Profane, and the Meaningful 22:46 The Void: Chaos and Possibility 28:34 Rigid Social Norms vs. Emergent Autonomy 35:10 Creating New Systems 41:37 Follow-Through 46:32 Imagining a Beautiful Future 55:25 A Values-Driven Pluralism