Metamodern Meaning

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 Introduction1:46 Is Postmodernism a Paradigm or an Episteme?17:15 Hylosemiotics (Cont.): Matter and Meaning29:41 From Realism vs. Anti-Realism to Metarealism59:46 Zetetic Knowledge vs. Skepticism To hear more, visit brendangrahamdempsey.substack.com

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 Introduction1:43 From Is to Ought?9:17 Is Life a Net Negative? Utilitarianism, Gnosticism, Transhumanism22:30 Dual-Aspect Monism and Suffering25:52 Is Consciousness Worth It?31:00 Teleology and Agency32:58 Fighting a Meme War against Potential Gods36:50 Values and Vows40:03 The Law of Choice42:36 Is Wisdom Earned by Suffering?Nihilism and the Truth of Silenus? To hear more, visit brendangrahamdempsey.substack.com

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 Introduction0:51 Franchise Myth6:20 The Mythic-Industrial Complex vs. Modern Folklore13:02 Stories vs. Myths16:47 Mytho-Pathos, Values, and Metamodernism26:22 Multiplicity, Mythos, Meaning, and "Me"37:37 Hallmarks of Metamodern Myth: Embodiment, Ethics, Affect45:44 The Hero, Masculinity, and Development50:34 The Creator Archetype To hear more, visit brendangrahamdempsey.substack.com

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 b******t 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 Introduction0:58 From Mapping Social Imaginaries to Articulating Ideologies7:36 New Myths10:30 Is There Actually a Meaning Crisis?17:01 The Sacred, the Profane, and the Meaningful22:46 The Void: Chaos and Possibility28:34 Rigid Social Norms vs. Emergent Autonomy35:10 Creating New Systems41:37 Follow-Through46:32 Imagining a Beautiful Future55:25 A Values-Driven Pluralism To hear more, visit brendangrahamdempsey.substack.com

Jason Ānanda Josephson Storm is an historian and philosopher, Professor of Religion and Chair of Science & Technology Studies at Williams College. He received his PhD from Stanford University and his MA from Harvard University. He joins Brendan to discuss his work of systematic metamodern philosophy, 'Metamodernism: The Future of Theory.'0:00 Introduction2:34 What "Metamodernism"?7:55 A Metamodern Attractor9:40 The Postmodern Paradigm15:58 Deconstructing Deconstruction: The Anarchist's Cookbook to Destroy Concepts26:33 Reconstructing from the Pieces29:40 Going Meta36:57 After Deconstruction: From Objects to Processes45:21 Development as Identity? Contingency and the Genetic Fallacy59:34 Meaning after the "Linguistic Turn": Hylosemiotics + a World To hear more, visit brendangrahamdempsey.substack.com

Jonathan Rowson of Perspectiva joins Brendan for a conversation about the nature of spirituality in the contemporary public square, the boundaries of the social imaginary, the thirst for spiritual conversation and community in a secular world, religion and epistemic justification, the religious impulse of submission vs. the modern ego, what taking the meta view on a multi-perspectival religious landscape might mean, the divine contribution of the individual/individuating will, and much else.0:00 Introduction2:04 Exploring (the Absence of) Spirituality in Public Space Today9:47 Defining Spirituality14:22 The Elephant in the Room20:24 A More Justified Worldview? Modernity vs. Traditional Religion31:26 Truth and Value in the Public Domain36:02 Transrational Submission or Individuation?44:50 Both Both/And and Either/Or: Religion, Committment, and Multi-Perspectival Awareness53:32 Mystery, Reality, Plurality, and Transcendence57:35 Pluralism, Committment, and the Creative Will of the Metamodern Self1:08:43 Metamodernity as Spirituality1:14:38 Closing Remarks To hear more, visit brendangrahamdempsey.substack.com

In their first-ever conversation on the topic together, Daniel Görtz and Nora Bateson join Brendan to talk about stage theory. Since Nora's social media post declaring developmental stage theories "BS" and "colonial as hell," the value and legitimacy of stage models has been a fervent topic of debate within the liminal web. In this conversation, Daniel and Nora are given space to more completely express their opinions on the topic before engaging with one another directly in discussion/debate in an attempt to gain a deeper appreciation and integration of one another's views. 0:00 Introduction2:57 Daniel's Opening Remarks17:42 Nora's Opening Remarks35:27 Discussion1:17:59 Parting Remarks To hear more, visit brendangrahamdempsey.substack.com

Bobby Azarian joins Brendan to discuss his new book The Romance of Reality: How the Universe Organizes Itself to Create Life, Consciousness, and Cosmic Complexity. In the first half of their conversation, Bobby presents the new cosmic narrative offered by the complexity sciences. Unlike the older, reductionist account, this is a story in which life is inevitable and part of a broader cosmic design towards greater and greater knowledge creation. Beginning with the laws of thermodynamics, Bobby recounts the emergence of order out of (and by means of) chaos; the emergence of life out of ordered structures; and the emergence of consciousness out of life. In the second part of the conversation, the two speculate on the broader significance and meaning of this new cosmic narrative. Have we only seen the beginning of the Universe's waking up? Why does the Universe appear fine-tuned for its own coming to consciousness? How do these ideas relate to religion and purpose?0:00 IntroductionPART I: The Narrative5:40 Entropy, Energy, and Order out of Chaos11:47 Order for Entropy, or Entropy for Order?18:15 The Inevitability of Life23:00 Reductionism or Creationism? A Third Option40:40 Evolution, (Self-)Knowledge, and Consciousness PART II: Implications & Speculations1:00:11 The Emergence of a Cosmic Mind1:08:36 Modernist Transhumanism or Metamodernist Spirituality?1:18:18 What Set Up a Self-Organizing Universe?--- 1:21:07 A Multiverse Explanation?--- 1:24:34 Cosmological Natural Selection?--- 1:29:00 An Intelligent Programmer (AKA "God")?--- 1:44:48 Cosmic Mind Creating Cosmic Mind?--- 1:47:21 The Fall of Consciousness into Unconsciousness, and Its Return to Self-Knowledge1:51:28 Final ThoughtsMore on Bobby's work:The book: https://www.theromanceofreality.com/Application to society: https://roadtoomega.com/ To hear more, visit brendangrahamdempsey.substack.com

James Cussen, creator of the @The Living Philosophy YouTube channel, talks to Brendan about metamodernism within the context of intellectual history, the relationship of philosophy to academia, the need for wisdom schools, and much else. To hear more, visit brendangrahamdempsey.substack.com

Nish Dubashia joins Brendan to discuss the topic of evolutionary spirituality, using the Spiral Dynamics framework to consider how religious conceptions evolve through the different value memes. Beginning with a synopsis of the basic structure of the religious narrative, Nish then shows how this story takes different forms as it finds expression through the different developmental stages. The progression charted, some important ideas are then considered: What is the relationship of self and spirit along this evolution? Does the spiral of development lead to some kind of non-dual awareness? If so, how do we understand this? What role might evolutionary spirituality play in our broader culture?  0:00 Introduction 0:54 The Structure of the Story of Religion  The Story at Different Levels: 8:11 The Story at PURPLE (Animist) 9:43 The Story at RED (Faustian) 12:04 The Story at BLUE (Post-Faustian) 15:10 The Story at ORANGE (Modern) 17:44 The Story at GREEN (Postmodern) 22:50 The Story at YELLOW (Metamodern) 26:21 The Story at TURQOISE (forthcoming?)  28:47 Religion and Development: A Universal Experience 31:20 The Evolution of Religious Narrative AS a Religious Narrative? 35:10 The Coevolution of Self and Spirit 38:02 Spirit as a Subject? Reification, Projection, and Myth 44:00 The End of the Story: Non-Duality? 50:08 Emptiness/Form: On the Evolution of Consciousness towards Ultimate Consciousness 1:03:00 Development and the Study of Religion 1:06:08 Evolutionary Spirituality and the Meaning Crisis 1:14:15 'Dancing with Angels': Nish's Book on Developing beyond Unhealthy Blue 1:21:39 More on Nish's Work/Upcoming Events  Nish's Presentation: The Evolution of Religion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3X20WGbMAw Nish's Website https://integraldream.com/ To hear more, visit brendangrahamdempsey.substack.com