The podcast explores William Blake's criticism of abstraction in politics, economics, and the humanities. It discusses the impact of generalizations on alienation and disillusionment, as well as the rise of populism as a reaction to abstraction. By highlighting the need for alternative visions and reconnection with nature, the discussion advocates for a shift away from abstract thinking towards a more meaningful engagement with the world.

The new movie Freud’s Last Session is well worth a watch, particularly if either man is of interest.The issues you might expect are aired between them, not least belief in God. But also the more shadowy sides to their lives - Lewis’s relationship with Janie Moore, Freud’s with his daughter Anna.I enjoyed it, though also wondered if they might have discussed other things and found common ground.There’s more about the film here - https://www.sonyclassics.com/film/freudslastsession

I've been thinking about politics and disillusionment that seems most characteristic of now, in the West at least, and thinking about the prepolitcal  - what politics needs to work well.I've thought about Plato on beauty and Aristotle on ethics in previous posts.Now a third guide, Jesus on... which isn't immediately easy to say. And that's the point.Some would say that Jesus and politics is easy to define.- a preference for the poor- the prosperity gospel- or Christian exceptionalism and oppressive regimes.But the heart of Jesus and politics is not in practical policies or polities, I believe. He was in the world but not of the world. He stood for something more than was immediately obvious or practical He constantly acted so as to respond to the moment but so as to allow more to come in.That was why he talked of the kingdom that is near, revising apocalyptic expectations and ushering the transformation of the self.I mentioned David Lloyd Dusenbury's book, I Judge No One - see here https://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/i-judge-no-one/And my book, A Secret History of Christianity - see here https://www.markvernon.com/books/a-secret-history-of-christianity

Rupert Sheldrake and Mark Vernon explore the expansive concept of life, discussing how stars and atoms can have life cycles. They debate Whitehead's idea that even inanimate objects are organisms, touching on consciousness, the powers of nature, and the connection of all life. They question the origin of life and the experience of being alive, expanding the notion of life and the awe of existence.

Disillusionment with politics is probably the most obvious feature of the current mood. This is, in part, because politics has collapsed onto anxiety about material improvement and lost sight of much more. In a secular society in which this facet of wellbeing is increasingly hard to deliver, politics appears therefore to be failing.So now is a good moment to consider what is sometimes called the pre-political - the more that politics needs.A second thought reaches back to Aristotle who asked about the relationship between ethics and politics. He agreed that democracy is the best political system but also that it isn't self-justifying. The deeper question of why it is the most "friendly" polity needs to be asked.But there is a problem with ethics, today. It has been weaponised, used to divide, deploy to stop thinking rather than encourage an engagement with the muddle of life. Ethics has become part of the disillusionment, I think.So in this thought, I ask why and what alternatives there might be. Which is where Aristotle can be a guide.

Disillusionment with politics is probably the most obvious feature of the current mood. This is, in part, because politics has collapsed onto anxiety about material improvement and lost sight of much more. In a secular society in which this facet of wellbeing is increasingly hard to deliver, politics appears therefore to be failing.So now is a good moment to consider what is sometimes called the pre-political - the more that politics needs.And a first thought comes from Plato, who would highlight the matter of beauty. He felt that if you lose touch with that, you lose touch with too much, and a loveless, ugly society would follow.Why does beauty matter? How come it is so unfashionable now, even embarrassing? What is it to be educated in beauty? Where can it be found?

Rupert Sheldrake and Mark Vernon delve into the world of fields in science, from electromagnetic to morphic fields. They explore the concept of fields as hidden realities, drawing on ancient philosophical views and modern scientific understandings. Discussing the relationship between fields and consciousness, they highlight the enigmatic nature of fields in physics and their link to souls and minds.

To read the essay, go to Aeon magazine's website, or https://aeon.co/essays/in-the-beginning-there-was-love-we-can-move-with-its-power

The everyday stuff called matter turns out to be both more fascinating and stranger than we usually assume. In this episode of the Sheldrake-Vernon Dialogues, Rupert Sheldrake and Mark Vernon ask just matter is, beginning with contemporary ideas from quantum physics, in which matter is frozen light, as the physicist David Bohm put it. They consider the relationship between matter and gravity, as well as matter and ancient notions of potentiality, which turn out to be surprising relevant today. The differences between quantity and quality offer another conversational thread, with the discussion also drawing in wider questions, such as the nature of matter within the philosophy of panpsychism, and also the etymological links between matter and mater, or mother, revealing factors about material of which most are unconscious today.For more conversations between Rupert and Mark seehttps://www.sheldrake.org/audios/sheldrake-vernon-dialogueshttps://www.markvernon.com/talks

There is much talk of a revival of Christianity amongst secular intellectuals, at least in my cultural bubble. That may or may not be sociological significant and church attendence figures stay in marked decline. But what interests me is not so much the numbers as the spirit of the renewed interest. What is the feel of the Christianity being discussed, what attitudes does it embody, what spiritual does it represent?CS Lewis and Owen Barfield discussed these things and, then, Barfield teased out differences between them after Lewis’s death. He characterised that as the difference between an analytic and romantic rationality, which produces separate even oppositional understandings of God, Jesus, salvation, this world, the imagination, the human and the creation as a whole.I think that their “oppositional friendship” might illuminate our now, which I try to tease out in this talk.Recorded in St Mary Magdalene church, Stapleford Park0:00 The revival now and the differences between Lewis and Barfield4:25 The Christian story as chasm or participation8:08 Salvation or participation?11:20 Exclusive Christianity or porous Christianity?13:45 The role of reason and the imagination17:11 Following the head or the heart?21:21 Analytical and Romantic, allegorical and mythological approaches to truth27:39 The appeal of Lewis, simplicity and joy32:02 Polarities, oppositions and Trinitarian perception35:40 Different experiences of time, culture wars and choice39:02 What of the future of Christianity?