Redefining Spirit, Soul, and God | Transcendent Naturalism #3

Dr. John Vervaeke and Gregg Henriques continue their thought-provoking exploration of Transcendent Naturalism by examining extended naturalism, neoplatonism, and the dimensions of sacredness. They challenge conventional notions of sacredness by examining its connection with strong transcendence and discussing Spinoza's insights into nature, God's ultimate reality, and the universe's deterministic nature, aligning with the Neoplatonic framework. They discuss religious perspectives, comparing classical and common theism and their evolution, while addressing the interplay between energy, consciousness, and reality, highlighting the philosophical underpinnings of theism. They also intriguingly differentiate spirituality from religion, both rooted in the concept of the sacred, and discuss symbolic ideals, spiritual richness, consequential history, and the profound significance of consequential decisions in our lives.

In episode three of TN, John and Gregg continue their exploration by bridging from the argument for extended naturalism into the implications it has for elucidating sacredness and meaning in life. John explores the linkages of extended naturalism with “the one” in the Neoplatonic tradition, and points to the connections between the one-many dialectics, the experience of the real, and its connection to the good. Gregg aligns this with the idea of “marrying the Coin to the Tree,” meaning connecting one’s epistemic ideas and ideals with the real to give a sense of the true into the good into the beautiful. Near the end of the episode, Gregg lays out some of his most recent thinking on developing a “real, idea, idealism,” which connects physical world as mapped by modern physics to phenomenological ideas to formal ideals as framed by UTOK in a potentially fruitful and coherent way.

Resources:

The Case for God - Karen Armstrong

Religion and Nothingness - Keiji Nishitani

Thinking Being: Introduction to Metaphysics in the Classical Tradition - Eric Pearl

Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge - Edward Osborne Wilson

Time-Codes:

[00:00:00] Dr. John Vervaeke outlines the episode's structure: extended naturalism, the meaning of sacredness within extended naturalism, the concept of strong transcendence, and three phenomena where people traditionally express a sense of transcendence: rituals, altered states of consciousness, and belonging to a worldview.

[00:04:53] Dr. Vervaeke dives into the first topic, extended naturalism. He discusses the consilience between structural and content arguments in the context of neoplatonism.

[00:07:36] Discussion of Spinoza's distinction between nature nurturing and nature being nurtured, a concept that explores the relationship between top-down and bottom-up processes in nature, bringing forward the idea of God not as a physical entity but as the source of all existence and understanding.

[00:15:14] Dr. John Vervaeke discusses the features of common theism and its basis in classical theology, shares his perspective on the debates between theists and atheists, and the conception of God as a supreme being

[00:18:00] The concept of God as the ground that supports continual self-transcendence, and a contemplative discussion on theism's classical and common forms, pushing the boundaries of philosophical exploration.

[00:25:19] A deep dive into how truth can exist outside our understanding, challenging conventional beliefs.

[00:30:20] Dr. Vervaeke delves into the concept of sacredness, describing it as an inexhaustible and paradoxical fountain of intelligibility. He also highlights the limitations of traditional propositional knowing in fully comprehending this concept.

[00:37:23] The concepts of soul and spirit as ineffable aspects of human experience, with the soul, referring to the groundedness of our experiences and spirit pointing to our capacity for self-transcendence, and discussion on the connection between the symbolic ideal and the transcendent,

[00:38:09] Symbolic Ideals & Transcendence: Gregg Henriques links symbolic ideals to deeper philosophical perspectives, enriching the discourse.

[00:41:20] Dr. John Vervaeke explains the concept of sacredness as a transjective experience, providing a new perspective on the understanding of sacredness.

[00:44:53] Gregg Henriques introduces a proposes a new concept of inconsequential versus consequential history; viewing historical events based on their long-term impact.

[00:55:00] Dr. John Vervaeke outlines his plan to explore the deep interconnections between an extended notion of rationality and ritual and their power, including an explanation of how and why we experience strong transcendence within ritual experiences, within the framework of extended naturalism.