Jim talks with recurring guest Forrest Landry about civilization design. They discuss the meaning of the concept, toolkits for problem-solving, why this work matters now, local hill-climbing, preconditions for sustainability, cultivating an epistemic commons, non-relativistic ethics, value ethics, grounding good choices in relationship, the endurance of cities, how metaphysics provides a foundation for ethics, going beyond explore & exploit, accounting for human nature, transmission of cultural dynamics, having a complete value set, 3 dimensions of human relationship, the invention of monogamy, moving away from sexual egalitarianism, making the unconscious conscious, the balance between cooperation & competition, finding the right level of consideration, absolute & relative metrics, subsidiarity, making choices on the basis of desire, societal congruence levels, what folks should do to start building a better civilization, femoral group process, transcendental design, and much more. Episode Transcript JRS EP31 - Forrest Landry on Building our Future JRS EP96 - Forrest Landry on Immanent Metaphysics: Part 1 JRS EP109 - Forrest Landry on Immanent Metaphysics: Part 2 JRS EP128 - Forrest Landry on Immanent Metaphysics: Part 3 JRS EP134 - Forrest Landry on Non-Relative Ethics JRS EP153 - Forrest Landry on Small Group Method JRS EP181 - Forrest Landry Part 1: AI Risk JRS EP183 - Forrest Landry Part 2: AI Risk Forrest Landry is a philosopher, writer, researcher, scientist, engineer, craftsman, and teacher focused on metaphysics, the manner in which software applications, tools, and techniques influence the design and management of very large scale complex systems, and the thriving of all forms of life on this planet. Forrest is also the founder and CEO of Magic Flight, a third-generation master woodworker who found that he had a unique set of skills in large-scale software systems design. Which led him to work in the production of several federal classified and unclassified systems, including various FBI investigative projects, TSC, IDW, DARPA, the Library of Congress Congressional Records System, and many others.