

The Symbolic World
Jonathan Pageau
Jonathan Pageau looks at symbolism in all its forms, from its source in sacred stories and images to contemporary culture and ultimately how it shapes the world we encounter.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 15, 2023 • 1h 14min
307 - Gregg Hurwitz - The Search for Political Nuance
Gregg Hurwitz, the American novelist and screenwriter, talks about his experience with the Exodus series and the importance of ritual, humility, and nuance in social matters. He discusses CS Lewis and The Great Divorce, the messiness of life, guilt by association, and pluralistic ignorance. The podcast also explores the dangers of excessive purity, the structure of the Exodus seminar, contrasting visions of hell, and living in a bubble disconnected from a larger narrative.

Sep 8, 2023 • 53min
306 - The Search for Participation in Contemporary Art
This podcast explores the search for participation in contemporary art and delves into topics such as the pendulum swing of deincarnation, the alienation of the art object, and the resemblance of rituals. It discusses the works of artists like Marina Abramovic, Joseph Beuys, and Anselm Kiefer, highlighting their use of art as ritual and their attempts to address historical weight and guilt. The podcast also explores the limitations of galleries and museums in engaging with the public and the potential of liturgical art for true participation.

29 snips
Sep 2, 2023 • 1h 30min
305 - Richard Rohlin - How to Read Like a Medieval Person
Medieval literary scholar Richard Rohlin explores how to read like a pre-modern Christian, discussing topics such as the foreignness of traditional Christianity, the detachment of society from faith and scripture, interpreting texts and symbols from a medieval perspective, the impact of technology on perception, kyrotic time and historical understanding, the distinction between gender and sex in traditional cultures, and understanding interconnectedness in life.

Aug 25, 2023 • 22min
304 - The Subtle Bodies of Angels
The podcast explores the concept of angels having subtle bodies, which are not completely incorporeal. It discusses the differing perspectives of church fathers and their relation to the human experience. The chapter also delves into the incorporeal nature of angels, their rationality, and their lack of susceptibility to repentance. It examines how subtle bodies project meaning onto other bodies and influence the world without direct physical connection. The podcast also explores the practice of prayer and its connection to the subtle body, as well as the perception of a goddess and subtle patterns in reality.

12 snips
Aug 17, 2023 • 57min
303 - Ted Lewis - The Technological Society
Ted Lewis, Executive Director of the International Jacques Ellul Society, discusses Jacques Ellul's insights on technology, Christianity, civilization, and transpersonal agency. They explore Ellul's warning about the dominance of technology and its effects on society. They also discuss the reconciliation of images and words in eschatological imagery, the concept of principalities and powers in the internet age, the acceleration of AI and its loss of balance, the portrayal of angels in scripture, resistance and community during Covid-19, and the importance of storytelling for dialogue.

Aug 11, 2023 • 20min
302 - My Participation in a Worldwide Conspiracy
How conspiracies work. It's time to change how we think about conspiracies and get a more nuanced view. While secretive conspiracies also exist, many of them emerge quite spontaneously and openly according to incentives and common attention. You don't have to imagine top-down control at every level of operation for the conspiracy to still be in effect.Original YouTube version of this episode: https://youtu.be/FLxU33EPJWkFollow my brother Matthieu Pageau on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PageauMatthieuMy discussion about conspiracies with Mary Harrington: https://youtu.be/D__CrY3FaWA💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau 🗣 Join The Symbolic World Community for discussions about symbolism: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 🔒 BECOME A PATRON Website: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/pageauvideos 📱 SOCIAL MEDIA Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheSymbolicWorld Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/pageaujonathan Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathan.pageauOur website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.

19 snips
Aug 3, 2023 • 52min
301 - Aidan Hart - Transfiguration: The End of Symbolism
Exploring the symbolism of the Transfiguration of Christ, the value of images in liturgical art, the significance of symbols as pathways to encounter God, and the divine darkness and light in theological descriptions. The discussion also touches on the balance of depicting Christ's divinity and humanity in icons, the transformative power of symbols, and the role of art in celebrating tradition versus questioning contemporary structures.

50 snips
Jul 28, 2023 • 1h 12min
300 - The Role of Art in Identity - Princeton Scala Conference
Three guests, including artists Jonathan Pageau and Aidan Hart, and Anna Bond, the Co-Founder of Rifle Paper Company, discuss the role of art in identity. They explore topics such as the universal vision of art, the breakdown of public art, and the transformative power of art in shaping identity. They also touch on the problems of idolizing political figures and explore the connections between art, faith, and community building.

11 snips
Jul 20, 2023 • 1h 1min
299 - Dr. Paula Boddington - A.I. Ethics
Paula Boddington returns to the channel for us to discuss new developments in artificial intelligence, ChatGPT, ethics, healthcare, the meaning of intelligence, and how AI is exposing how some of our current ways of doing things don’t work, and maybe they haven’t been working for a while.Paula Boddington is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Healthcare at the University of West London where she works with a research group concerned with the quality of care for hospital patients who are also living with dementia. She has held academic posts at the Australian National University, Bristol University, Cardiff University, and Oxford University, and has degrees in philosophy, psychology, and law from Keele, Oxford, and Cardiff Universities. She has a long-standing interest in ethical and social questions in new technologies, including artificial intelligence.YouTube version: https://youtu.be/jj69RnoE9qI----------Previous discussions with Paula Boddington:- How Artificial Intelligence is Reshaping Humanity - With Dr. Paula Boddington: https://youtu.be/jti77KQKYuc- Digital ID and Control | with Dr. Paula Boddington: https://youtu.be/a9VeKqd6szA - Biotech Creation Myths - with Dr. Paula Boddington: https://youtu.be/a9VeKqd6szA ----------Her recent book on this topic, AI Ethics: A Textbook (Artificial Intelligence: Foundations, Theory, and Algorithms) by Paula Boddington:- Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Ethics-Artificial-Intelligence-Foundations-Algorithms-ebook/dp/B0BSGKRYTW- Springer: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-19-9382-4—--------------------Timestamps:00:00:00 - Preview clip00:00:46 - Intro music00:01:11 - Introduction00:01:52 - Various aspects of AI00:04:12 - ChatGPT00:09:36 - Power and intention00:11:02 - What it means to do something00:12:52 - Imposing limitations00:13:44 - Paula's book00:17:35 - Intelligence is only one part of us00:19:35 - Public trust in AI00:26:37 - Embodied living00:29:32 - Medically assisted dying00:31:39 - Machine doctors00:32:21 - "This is going to save time"00:33:58 - A return to embodied experience00:43:35 - Keeping the passions under control00:49:57 - Fetishize—--------------------💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau 🗣 Join The Symbolic World Community for discussions about symbolism: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 🔒 BECOME A PATRON Website: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/pageauvideos 📱 SOCIAL MEDIA Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheSymbolicWorld Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/pageaujonathan Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathan.pageauOur website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.

Jul 13, 2023 • 60min
298 - Mary Harrington - Conspiracies and the Return of Myth
I had a wonderful discussion with writer Mary Harrington about conspiracies, myth and memes, the internet, artificial intelligence, and meaning-making.Mary Harrington is a columnist and editor for UnHerd and runs her own weekly Substack Reactionary Feminist. She's interested in the political and cultural side-effects of globalization, the replacement of class politics by identity politics, the joy of limits, and women’s rights in the biotech age, which is the subject of her first book, Feminism Against Progress.YouTube version: https://youtu.be/D__CrY3FaWA- Mary's Twitter: https://twitter.com/moveincircles - Substack: https://reactionaryfeminist.substack.com/- UnHerd articles: https://unherd.com/author/mary-harrington/- Book: https://www.amazon.com/Feminism-against-Progress-Mary-Harrington/dp/1684514878-----------------------Timestamps:00:00:00 - Introduction to the video00:00:40 - Intro music00:01:05 - How to understand conspiracies00:05:17 - Eating babies00:06:59 - Lizard elites00:09:26 - Why myth is coming back00:16:48 - Meaning-making and money00:19:28 - Oral culture00:21:28 - Artificial intelligence00:22:40 - How does Mary see Ai and writing?00:25:56 - Writers VS ChatGPT00:28:28 - Teams and nation-states00:31:58 - Crowdfunding and Crowdfeeding00:34:09 - Weaponizing the conspiracy label00:43:10 - Anti-normativity00:46:38 - Making normal mainstream again00:49:19 - There will be suffering00:52:23 - Government and Ai-----------------------💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau 🗣 Join The Symbolic World Community for discussions about symbolism: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 🔒 BECOME A PATRON Website: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/pageauvideos 📱 SOCIAL MEDIA Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheSymbolicWorld Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/pageaujonathan Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathan.pageauOur website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.


