After Socrates: Episode 1 - Introduction | Dr. John Vervaeke

Welcome to After Socrates, a new series by Dr. John Vervaeke; Professor and award-winning lecturer at the University of Toronto in the departments of psychology, cognitive science and Buddhist psychology.
In this introduction of the series, Dr. Vervaeke explains the differences between Imaginary and Imaginal, as well as the concepts of Predictive Processing, Reciprocal Interpretation, Dialogical Reflection, and the Salience Landscape.
Join Dr. Vervaeke as he attempts to follow "After" Socrates in a quest towards true and applicable wisdom. Please join our patreon to support our work! / johnvervaeke
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You are invited to join me live, online, at the next Circling & Dialogos Workshop where we discuss & practice the tools involved in both Philosophical Fellowship & Dialectic into Dialogos.
You can find more information, and register, here:
circlinginstitute.com/circlin...
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Books mentioned:
The Art of Spiritual Midwifery | Stephen Faller - amzn.to/3WZBujZ
Philosophising the Dialogos Way Towards Wisdom in Education | Guro Hansen Helskog - amzn.to/3VYhQ6B
Socrates: Quotes and Facts | Blago Kirov - amzn.to/3GkXLS8
Plato Quotes: 365 Quotes by Plato | B. Ashiedu - amzn.to/3VYi4ut
The Allegory of the Cave | Plato - amzn.to/3W66oGc
Thinkers Referenced:
Guy Sengstock
Rafe Kelly
Dan Chiappe
Henry Corbin
Karl J. Friston
Mark Miller
Brett Andersen
John Russon
Peter Limberg
Tanya Luhrmann
Jack Kornfield
Søren Kierkegaard
Show Notes:
[0:00] Introduction to episode
[0:57] Circling: Is a multi-stage relational practice and unique transformational modality. It is a dynamic group process that is part-art-form, part-skillful facilitation and part-relational yoga. It is also a unique modality that can be practiced one-on-one. Although it is based on complex ideas, participating in it can be easy and fun for people at all levels of experience.
[6:20] "Imaginary" - Imagination as fantasizing. We often use it in reference to something unreal or illusory.
[6:20] "Imaginal" - Imagination to enhance perception and insight. The realm of imagination where we encounter the deeper patterns of being.
[8:51] Predictive Processing - In neuroscience, predictive processing (or predictive coding) is a paradigm of brain function that links perception to mental modelling: the brain generates a model of the environment and uses it to predict sensory input. These predictions are compared to the actual input received, and the errors are used to update the mental model. There is increasing integration between predictive processing and 4E cognitive science.
[17:25] Taoism - Tao is a Chinese word that is often translated as "way" or "path." It is a fundamental concept in Taoism, a philosophical and spiritual tradition that originated in China. In Taoism, the Tao is the fundamental source and ultimate reality of all things, and is seen as the natural order and flow of the universe. It is not a deity or a personal God, but rather an impersonal force or principle that underlies and permeates all things.
[35:22] In Latin, the word "inventio" means "discovery" or "finding." It is related to the verb "invenire," which means "to come upon, find out, invent, discover, or devise." "Inventio" is a powerful term because it can refer to an act of invention as both creation and recollection. This makes it very apt for describing Socratic midwifery.
[48:58] Sapiential is often used in reference to religious or philosophical texts that are considered to contain profound wisdom or insight. For example, the writings of ancient Greek philosophers like Plato and Aristotle, or the Hindu Vedas, could be described as sapiential.
[1:09:47] A salience landscape is the way a cognitive agent determines relevance through decisions about how to commit its attentional, and behaviour resources in a complex, dynamic, and self-organizing manner. These decisions and commitments result in certain information from the environment standing out more than other information such that the cognitive agent will only orient to certain aspects of objects and situations.
[1:10:00] The monkey mind is a Buddhist term that refers to various states of restlessness or distraction, i.e., "unsettled; capricious; whimsical; fanciful; inconstant; confused; indecisive; uncontrollable."
[1:24:33] Meditation is not a vacation. It is an education.
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After Socrates is a series about how to create the theory, the practice, and the ecology of practices such that we can live and grow and develop through a Socratic way of life. The core argument is; the combination of the theoretical framework and the pedagogical program of practices can properly conduct us into the Socratic way of life. We believe that the Socratic way of life is what is most needed today because it is the one that can most help us cultivate wisdom in a way that is simultaneously respectful to spiritual tradition and to current scientific work.

[@NotIT777]

If you're paying attention to the right people, the amount of wisdom and new ideas we have access to just blows me away. This is a GOLDEN age of wisdom and TRUTH. We are in it. Pay attention to all the other things and you can be in a dark age of your own making. What are you putting your energy towards? Thank you for your amazing insight and wisdom. Deep gratitude from my heart.

[@johnvervaeke]

Thank you so much for your kind comment, Alex Parsell! Please consider subscribing to the channel so that we can continue to increase our reach to new people with our work!

[@Ac-ip5hd]

Disagree, we are in a chiliastic age of Gnosticism democratizing a pagan syncretism with less demands and low volume sorcery through science, and overcomplexification that seizes authority for intellectuals and their apostles in lay intellectuals and revolutionary spirit with solutions to suffering as a call to action that can always do the math on the large number of discontent people. As the adult is to the child, the sage is to the adult. But as the adult is to the child the saint is to the sage, and as the saint is to the child, God is to the saint. And as the priest is to God the intellectual is to the pseudo religion of the sage, falsely stating the existing religions much engage in reciprocal reconstruction on the terms of the intellectual and his ecology of practices and reordered extraction of philosophy. The coming Orthodox response and debates with Dr. Vervaeke are going to show that, and the degree of “necessity” of RATNAR and these suppositions is going to be much lower, along with the number of people who can’t return to the working religion of our culture (which actually has community and churches, marriages, practices and family, hence the new age, Yale Teligion of Ecology with Chardin, and leftist infiltration of the churches they cannot build themselves.) Especially when you stack this with academia and the Jungian misrepresentation of the early Hebrew and Christian understanding of the archetypal landscape for a 19th century taxonomy of monotheist vs polytheist to portray our religion as retarded and give an “aha” gotcha moment to destroy or assert the need and lack of sin in engaging with mediumistic practices. To those fortunate enough to be faced with this information some will not be able to believe. But for most it will not be a matter of CAN’T but a matter of WON’T. And it will be the desire to take a god like stance pulling from all religions, to be part of something, the Allies and archetypal interacts, and more relativistic moral permissions of this new religion that will be the deciding factor. Plus the chiliastic politics.

[@youssefsammouh501]

@Ac i agree with you that rtnar is a sterile endeavour. But I would not be worried about this taking anyone away from church. Of all the people engaging with this content, some will as a result enter orthodoxy, and really noone will leave. So it is a good thing. And I dont think vervaeke has any malicious intent, to do this gotcha moment and ridicule the church.

[@Ac-ip5hd]

I think this is at the crux of it. I wouldn’t have converted to Orthodoxy without Peterson, Vervaeke and their reading lists and practices. However, the gotcha moment is already baked into their projects and sources through academia, Neoplatonic naturalism, and the Jungian revival. It’s a statement that monotheism is on one hand a linear evolution out of pagan/Gnostic pansychism but on the other hand they were evil masterminds covering up their pagan roots one day, then randomly having days where they were mentally retarded and leaving in evidence of other gods, as if they didn’t live next to these people and show God as the most high with a heavenly court of angels given dominion over other nations and a distinct rejection of their worship and sorcery. The gotcha moment is that a.) the religion is still evolving and we must continue that evolution by bringing it to the nones who integrate Christianity, or having Christianity integrate this project to be taken serious and give modernity what it wants and split the baby with it and it’s worldly religions b.) this evolution will require universalist and ecumenical integration of all mysticism and psycho technologies across world religions, and a reinstatement of these pagan Jungian practices of channeling with meditative contemplation of the natural universe replacing God in a new monalatry while we gain new insight affordance. This is sorcery and nephilim creation, and we see that in the mystic insight experiences of Oppenheimer, or Tesla who have given us the gifts of mutually assured destruction and wave lengths to worship shape changing idols on a screen (Steve Jobs and his acid trips helped the last, and our insight into medicine gave us corona as a way for one of two bereft false political religions to protect itself and pederast Epstein Island from reality star buffoonery.) What will happen more than conversion to Orthodoxy is just what the Bible predicts, a rejection of real Christianity for a religion of antichrist that will at first make peace (which is not a malicious intent just as the goals of communism and all chiliastic movements are really nice.) Protestantism as we saw with PVK and Jordan B Cooper will mostly stop at Aquinas (where scholasticism helped destroy real Christianity for reason) and have no answer to the need for a deeper ecology of practices the orthodox have without violating Christianity. The rest will over integrate these projects to continue being the “Christian” religion that’s not a religion with a right wing doing the wim hoff ice plunge method and the left continuing to be a progressive swedengorgian, Jungian version all on board with game b and the left wing Catholics doing lectures on a religion of ecology and Teilhard De Chardin (whose goal is to transcend Christianity and dogma, just like Ken Wilbur and his goal to evolve out of post modernism, and all chiliastic movements.) And John, Peterson, Christopher M., and a few others are the good faith actors here. The rest of the project and Luciferian spirit of Jung, post modernism etc riddles their colleagues like Bonita Roy, Robert Bosnak, Anderson Todd making a Gnostic retconning of Christianity to enchant you before declaring wizards instead of saints, Chloe Valdary excusing infantalized Jacobinism because Descartes so the answer is to make God have a wife, all the people smuggling in Jen Wilbur through circling. That is the spirit of the times. Make no mistake there either, that super ecunimical project through Henry Corbin will also be targeted at Islam as the revolutionary spirit and modernity do their damage there and it’s second and third generations in the west lose their faith. The “gotcha moment” will hit there as well. And you see it slip out of John when he has to bring up his girlfriend saying he is more Christian than Christians (see Pageau’s video on more Christian than Christianity.) When making this “aha” statement with Paul Tillich “we need a God beyond the God of theism. Like right? How Gnostic is that?” Or when he starts advocating for Giordano Bruno in the cognitive science show and declaring how he renders Christ unnecessary. It’s in there and implicit in the basic model. And with Vervaeke and Peterson it’s just human bias and fallibility built on modernism and academia. The people it trickles to and their desires are at net a Gnostic, apostate cesspool, and we have decided to get data on how giving them what they want will make them happy and increase well being, our highest modern goal, and then John frames it with a call to end their human suffering and they are suffering and need help now. No serious wisdom tradition or religion (which is not just a “wisdom tradition” beholden to sophiology) ever promises to end all suffering. Any choice freedom from suffering involves and embracing of serious choices, constraint, and suffering. This project is the continued reduction of god to dialogues and transformation: to achieve a worldly goal. And it’s reciprocal reconstruction implies that other religions must abide by its rules and model to reconstruct themselves while denying the most sophisticated forms of their religion which actually do have practices. It’s a salesmanship game that promises you can pull from all religions without making a choice and discarding any other, and you can have mediumistic spiritual toys, the re-sexualizing of religion where it meets psychology, save parts of post modernism, an easier morality, and the right to paganism that the mean old religion “stole” from everyone.

[@Ac-ip5hd]

The other issue here is not taking people away from the true church, but having people come in trying to turn it into a pagan pseudo religion doing eastern practices, worldly solutions in Game B left or Alexander Dugin’s right wing Gnostic sorcery, and declaring all mystic experiences and chiliasm true like radicals within orthodoxy such as Berdyeav have, or Bulkogovich (spelling may be off) and his attempt to institute a sophiology goddess worship in the church. These are by the way, the thinkers Corbin (who is one of John’s meaning crisis prophets) leans to as the “superior” members of the Orthodox Church, just as he looks to Alumut and the rejection of dogmas there. Science and psychology will continually validate the mystic and radical sides of the religion while discarding the dogmas that don’t replicate or fit what they want. Even Corbin violates his own command from the mystics: to follow the precepts of one’s religion and to have mentorship because the angelic can become demonic. He calls himself a direct disciple of Khidir, and is therefore above that, which is where Catholicism goes wrong with Assisi and chiliasm takes over. The book of John very early states “Do not believe every spirit.Try the spirits.” And he says to make them repeat that Jesus is the one and only son of God. The church fathers further this with the creeds and declaration of the trinity, scrutiny by the other priests on the quailia of the experience or spirit (ex on father had “angels” who would pray for him so he could translate more, but would not read the New Testament, the laughter when speaking in tongues and feel good “pouring out of the Holy Spirit” in Pentecostal and charismatic churches is invalidated.) The angels are then asked to repeat the Jesus prayer repeatedly and it is permissible to ask them to leave and accidentally reject God’s gifts for fear of being tricked by demons, who the scriptures say will come in false prophecy. These projects and many Christian “practices” reject that to give everyone spiritual toys that make them toys for spirits. John’s route simply makes it more respectable than New Age and uses a combination of Neoplatonic, Eastern, and Stoic practices to numb yourself to these experiences and use them for well being.

[@SanjuroSan]

Oh my lord! This drops at the same time your interview with Peterson??? Are you kidding me?? This is Christmas morning all over again! Let's go John!!

[@n8works]

Seriously! Right?! A JV one two punch! We are lucky! I can't wish this guy more success!

[@OusamaLarbi]

Marketing. Good Marketing :)

[@AFringedGentian]

That was a glorious episode, so rich! It went over my head but I loved listening and wrestling with it all.

[@ferreirap.]

As an Italian, I must remind myself that if I ever encounter a kalahari person making that gesture, he's not telling me "what the heck you want", but he's trying to help me tracking the animal!

[@Maxpsychologie]

First thing I’m going to watch when I wake up tomorrow! May everyone who watch this gain insight and meaning for their life.

[@richardsantanna5398]

Thank you. I hope I get something positive out of this.

[@willowstarfeather]

Lucky me it’s morning in Australia so I get to watch now. There is a lot to take out of this. Might need a few tries. I really need this right now so I will join you.

[@woodrowjr.7166]

Don't procrastinate, watch now. "tomorrow ... tomorrow .. tomorrow ... ". I used to say that all the time. Now I'm dead, so there is no more tomorrow. Tomorrow is today; today is not tomorrow. And there is no word in English for the day after tomorrow, which is crazy, because if there were, I would use it. But I can't anymore. Since I"m deader than a door nail handle opener knob. That's right. Your mama.

[@missh1774]

@@woodrowjr.7166 ¹>--- beetlejuice ---

[@tensevo]

have at it, Bucko

[@shredfix1993]

Tertiary level education, available to the masses. What a time to be alive! Cheers for your hard work as John!

[@johnvervaeke]

Thank you for your kind comment and your continued support of my work, Juniper 9! Please consider joining my Patreon, if you have yet to do so, in order to help the Vervaeke Foundation continue to increase our capacity to make a meaningful difference in the world :)

[@generaltheoryofnothing]

right!?

[@andreasmuller5223]

First, me wisest

[@MrJamesdryable]

You wisest.

[@JCOmeAlp]

Let the first be last .....

[@ronandunne4361]

That's how it works , well done .

[@michealwalli7324]

love it 😂

[@mr_YENKINS]

Where banana?

[@gavindheilly3620]

I’m a cog sci major at ucsd who only found the field after breaking mentally and being forced to find my own life path. John I came to so many of the same habits, opinions, & goals as you, it gives me hope in convergent evolution leading the wanna-be-wise to the same intellectual positions & projects for humanity. I’m beyond overjoyed to see what you’re doing & putting out into the world. I truly believe the cooperative stage of human development needs these ideas. Thank you!!!!

[@pipeline732]

A "convergent evolution leading the wanna-be-wise to the same intellectual positions & projects" - what an utterly beautiful way of seeing it, and what an extraordinarily beautiful thing to wish for. That expression, along with this episode, made my day. I hope whatever you found built you back up and will continue to build you :) And in writing this I instantly realized something that had never ocurred to me before: That there's a double etymological connection between building and the germanic word Bildung as both an all-round form of education/development and as becoming something that you aspire/strive to be (The root word is connected to both building and depicting). Moving closer to an ideal, perhaps. Feels like Bildung in this double sense could have been the slogan of the series; building yourself by moving along the path of Socrates, trying to close in, hopefully reciprocally re-interpreted. Maybe you already knew, just wanted to spread the smile that spread on my face when I realized.

[@joshgarrison7779]

Different profession, similar story... You're not alone, brother..

[@markcounseling]

@@pipeline732 Thanks for connecting Bildung, Bild, and building for me. Beautifully, "building" is both the thing in itself, whole and complete, as well as the path to its completion. We are building the building. The path is the goal, we've all heard that. And then there is Ausbildung, the apprenticeship, which seems to be what we're happily engaging with the dear Professor about.

[@HelsinkiFINketeli_berlin_com]

Originary there was no dichotomy between 'theoria' and 'praxis' in the early greek philosophy. That is important to understand, methinks.

[@hintergrundfisch]

The awakening from the meaning crisis lecture was so profound. I have seen it from start to beginning several times. I will watch this episode tomorrow, but wanted to leave a comment so the algorithm showes this to more people. Truly just the best wishes

[@Pneumanon]

I have watched the first 25 hours a few times, and still trying to digest all the information presented. I haven't even progressed to the second half of the series!

[@hintergrundfisch]

@@Pneumanon I wrote a reply comment where I recommended some papers by Professor Vervaeke, but KZbin deleted it. That is probably because it entailed links. You can find interesting papers by Professor Vervaeke on relevance realization and wisdom on philpapers or und researchgate and I highly recommend them along with the lecture, because it goes into the technical details of relevance realization and the cognitive science around it. It is brilliant work, which is in my oppinion not always easy to digest, but it is absolutely worth it

[@Pneumanon]

@@hintergrundfisch Thank you, I'll take a look for them!

[@martintore38]

@@Pneumanon I've gotten to the episode about relevance realization (episode 29). I've heard it mentioned by a few people that the first 25 episodes were the most helpful. Would you say it's worth it to go through the whole series? I'm sort of split between finishing it or throwing myself into After Socrates now.

[@martintore38]

@Auspician hmm... Not really sure how to take that but thanks I guess 🤷 I'll make my own decision but I was just interested in hearing other's perspectives on the other lecture series.

[@Khendriix]

“Knowing thyself isn’t your autobiography, it’s your owners manual. How do you function, how do you break down & malfunction?” I Loved that.

[@rhysgoddard6771]

I feel so incredibly grateful to live in a time when resources like this exist for free. Thank you so much for your hard work and generosity John

[@generaltheoryofnothing]

Ditto.

[@pyb.5672]

It's fascinating to see how creative ideas in cognitive science are amalgamation of previous ideas in subjective narratives. This is the exact same process of composing original music, which is unconsciously a process of amalgamation of previously heard melodies, harmonies, motifs, in a narrative that serves for expression of our emotions.

[@stivianvalchev7738]

Congratulations on launching this series John, your contributions are invaluable as always.

[@tonybaker2968]

I had stalled on Kierkgaard. (Seemed like you'd have to be stoned to write it, let alone understand it) Yet all the cool people seem to get him, so I dialed up John Vervaeke Kierkegaard, and got this lecture series. Thank you, dear brother. I'm going to pull this thread all the way back of Kierkegaard, and beyond.

[@IrisStammberger]

This is a real banquet for me. I anticipate with delight the feast of the upcoming episodes. I am also swimming in an ocean of gratitude for the immensity of this contribution to our understanding of ourselves and for the new spaces of possibility John Vervaeke has crafted. Perhaps now we can start dreaming about a future where we are not destroyed by the complexity of the world we have created. Thanks, John. Long life and good health!

[@sean2662]

Somewhere as i listened and daydreamed i realized something profound about metaphors. I have always seemed to think and talk in metaphors without really realizing it. I realized in counseling practicum as i watched back my taped sessions with my supervisor that I speak in metaphors. I pondered that for a good 5 years and realized that that is how I make sense of new information so it makes sense that thats how i relay information. That's completely normal, metaphors are fundamental to thinking but what I think is the profound part is that I have also identified a fascination I have to find the intersection points of different logic systems and that metaphors create these intersections. I visualize it as different sine wavelengths converging at a single point every so often kind of thing. Then I realized that metaphors are connectors of different logics into a meeting place so all of us different idiots with our idiot logics elsewise can see the same object then go about our idiot ways in complete outerspace and not realize that we are on our own sine wave because of the convergences that can be created. And those convergences, metaphors, create a "true" space. The bazaars of the real.

[@santosfelipe13]

BUCKLE UP! We're going into a new adventure of depth and insight!

[@SeekersofUnity]

This is delightful. Looking forward to watching it.

[@pleasureofdoubt2753]

So excited to watch! Please join us on the discord to discus! Link in the description.

[@kyleganse4978]

Man John or some inspired engineers need to work with John to make a phone app.The phone app facilitates all these practices and wisdom for daily use and connecting with others. I think this is taking eastern tools and repackaging it in a western context so it’s not so foreign.

[@JanusZudnik]

The rug really holds the room together.

[@the_wheelbarrow_of_pathos]

Roger still loves you, John!

[@MarkaKnight]

Listening to Awakening from the Meaning Crisis has been such an embodied, deep experience, shaking me out of prolonged existential inertia. Then the series got to Luther and I experienced regression, backlash, and some of the worst catatonia of my life. I'm really glad to be going "back" to Socrates now, who feels so completely "forward."

[@iamlovingawareness2284]

Production is amazing. Moved at a great pace. Perfect for setting up the series. This is everything I wanted it to be and I know so many people will benefit from this series as it unfolds.

[@word-pictures]

How blessed are we to have Vervaeke as a teacher ❤

[@generaltheoryofnothing]

pretty darned blessed if you ask me :)

[@HelsinkiFINketeli_berlin_com]

Me too am excited here in faraway Finland. Studied theoretical philosophy in the University of Helsinki in the 90's. After that been an independent scholar meaning I'm constantly broke but feeling so rich, so wealthy.

[@Ephantus_]

Came here after watching John with Dr Peterson. I hope to learn a lot from this. At 33th minute,I feel that he can be more compendious in his introduction;and hopefully so in episodes to come.

[@lizbec1085]

John, you ROCK! Finally, we are listening to Socrates, Jesus, and the Tao have meaningful, thougful, and respectful conversations. So excited for this series!

[@generaltheoryofnothing]

I loved the way you put that

[@bran4564]

I really love the Meditation practice part. It clarifies many things from Meditating with John Vervaeke.

[@janhenckell4178]

I can already tell that this series is going to be short no matter how many episodes will be made.

[@johnvervaeke]

Thank you for your kind comment and your continued support of my work, Jan Henckell! Please consider joining my Patreon, if you have yet to do so, in order to help the Vervaeke Foundation continue to increase our capacity to make a meaningful difference in the world :)

[@IsoMorphix]

This is what Christian faith is supposed to be, p.s. I'm glad Vervaeke talks to Pageau so much because that keeps becoming clear to me. Like...the old chant goes "As many as have been baptized into Christ have *put on Christ*. Alleluia." The move is to attempt to see and move the way Christ/God moves and Sees. Not just like, unthinking unmotivated supplication.

[@japhy3556]

Loving the production upgrades, well worth the wait. Thanks to everyone involved!

[@GuildOfTheBlackCrow]

Me too. Although i would gladly listen to John if he was speaking from the inside of a trash can.

[@n8works]

Yes! It's great to see him take things to the next level! While we may want to think visuals don't matter, they really do. Quite a bit actually!

[@oliviergoethals4137]

Thx for genuine lesson.

[@stoicforall]

I started listening to the lecture and in the 6th minute realized that I might have to sit up straight and take notes. A mere absentminded listening is doing injustice to oneself.

[@sillybilly7590]

I once was ill for a period of ten weeks, not doing anything productive. Waking up from it I realised I had 6 days to learn a semester worth of maths. I remember instinctively starting to imagine myself to be a samurai, or more accurately the pop culture icon I've been fed. What was central to the character I embodied was the precision by which I imagined the samurai acts, how he takes in his surrounding and sees it through a lens of complete focus on the ultimate goal, how he then acts thoughtfully, with minimal necessary force, and has a good idea of how it's all gonna work out. I imagined myself to be water, the natural way it flows by obstacles seemlessly and how it always takes the shortest path down.

[@jimparr01Utube]

@Auspician Oh dear me! Don't think I wanna go there chap. I have enough crap going on in my life without adding the classic death-wish. Yes I know that is not what you meant - as I jest - but most (including me) will simply not attain such detachment from our day-day living. Most folks, regardless of culture, will understand in a personal sense what the 'way' is when facing death in a calm and 'hospitable' environment.

[@MathiasMNielsen]

I'm going to watch this, take notes and with the help and call of the highest realities I hope to integrate the wisdom into my life. Your work with the likes of Peterson and Pageau has planted so many seeds of wisdom that is growing, that my goals and desires for transformation towards the highest good and potential is at mountain peeks that was unimaginable a few years back. I'm grateful for your work in bringing these realities into relatable manners. May we all be united and do our best bringing down the Kingdom of God, Platos Reputblic, or anything that is not fractured and as chaotic as the spirit of the time. God bless.

[@TheWorldTeacher]

philosophy: the love of wisdom, normally encapsulated within a formal academic discipline. Wisdom is the soundness of an action or decision with regard to the application of experience, knowledge, insight, and good judgement. Wisdom may also be described as the body of knowledge and principles that develops within a specified society or period. E.g. “The wisdom of the Tibetan lamas.” Cf. “wisdom”. Unfortunately, in most cases in which this term is used, particularly outside India, it tacitly or implicitly refers to ideas and ideologies that are quite far-removed from genuine wisdom. For instance, the typical academic philosopher, especially in the Western tradition, is not a lover of actual wisdom, but a believer in, or at least a practitioner of, adharma, which is the ANTITHESIS of genuine wisdom. Many Western academic (so-called) “philosophers” are notorious for using laborious sophistry, abstruse semantics, gobbledygook, and pseudo-intellectual word-play, in an attempt to justify their blatantly-immoral ideologies and practices, and in many cases, fooling the ignorant layman into accepting the most horrendous crimes as not only normal and natural, but holy and righteous! In “The Republic” the ancient Greek philosopher Aristocles (Plato) quotes his mentor Socrates as asserting that the “best” philosophers are, in actual fact, naught but useless, utter rogues, in stark contrast to “true” philosophers, who are lovers of wisdom and truth. An ideal philosopher is one who is sufficiently intelligent to understand that morality is, of necessity, based on the law of non- violence (“ahiṃsā”, in Sanskrit), and sufficiently wise to live his or her life in such a harmless manner. Cf. “dharma” and Chapter 12. One of the greatest misconceptions of modern times is the belief that philosophers (and psychologists, especially) are, effectively, the substitutes for the priesthood of old. It is perhaps understandable that this misconception has taken place, because the typical priest/monk/rabbi/mullah seems to be an uneducated buffoon compared with those highly-educated gentlemen who have attained doctorates in philosophy, psychology and psychiatry. However, as mentioned in more than a few places in this book, it is imperative to understand that only a miniscule percentage of all those who claim to be spiritual teachers are ACTUAL “brāhmaṇa” (as defined in Chapter 20). Therefore, the wisest philosophers of the present age are still those exceptionally rare members of the Holy Priesthood! At the very moment these words of mine are being typed on my laptop computer, there are probably hundreds of essay papers, as well as books and articles, being composed by professional philosophers and Theologians, both within and without academia. None of these papers, and almost none of the papers written in the past, will have any noticeable impact on human society, at least not in the realm of morals and ethics, which is obviously the most vital component of civilization. And, as mentioned in a previous paragraph, since such “lovers-of-wisdom” are almost exclusively adharmic (irreligious and corrupt) it is indeed FORTUITOUS that this is the case. The only (so-called) philosophers who seem to have any perceptible influence in the public arena are “pop” or “armchair” philosophers, such as Mrs. Alisa “Alice” O’Connor (known more popularly by her pen name, Ayn Rand), almost definitely due to the fact that they have published well-liked books and/or promulgate their ideas in the mass media, especially on the World Wide Web. The fact that, after THOUSANDS of years following the publication of Plato’s “Republic”, not a single nation/country on this planet has thought it wise to accept Plato’s advice to promote a philosopher-king (“rāja-ṛṣi”, in Sanskrit) as the head of its social structure, more than adequately proves my above assertion. Unfortunately, however, both Plato and his student, Aristotle, were themselves hardly paragons of virtue, since the former was an advocate of infanticide, whilst the latter favoured carnism (animal slaughter). The only Western philosopher that I know of who was truly wise was the German, Arthur Schopenhauer, because he espoused a reasonably accurate metaphysical position and he adhered to the law (that is, the one and only law, known as “dharma” in Bhārata) to a larger degree than most other Westerners. Hopefully, someday, I will discover another philosopher without India to join Arthur. Because there are literally tens of thousands of academic “philosophers” who adhere to the above misconception of what is an ACTUAL philosopher, I am loath to nominate a single person of whom to make mention. However, because the former University of Oxford scholar, Mr. Colin McGinn, claims to be the “best” philosopher in the history of humanity (a claim he has repeatedly made on his own website), I therefore have no reservations about using that fool as an ideal example for my position in regards to academic “philosophers”. To preface, McGinn’s area of expertise is in the philosophy of mind, and he has written extensively on the subject. However, near the beginning of a videographed dialogue posted on the Internet, he admitted that he was unable to even proffer a cogent definition of the word “mind”! The fact that Colin garnered a Master of Arts degree in psychology from a major English university did not seem to help with his understanding of the mind, despite the fact that psychology is concerned with the psyche. I am quite certain that there are several teenagers in Bhārata (India) who understand the topic more clearly than McGinn. In fact, there is very little doubt in my mind that my precocious second daughter, Sītā Anna, would have much more fully understood the concepts of mind and consciousness by the time had she reached the age of TEN, had she not been (figuratively) kidnapped by a devilishly-wicked, evil, dirty, demonic, violent criminal organization known as the “Government of Australia”. In the same video, McGinn claimed that homosexuality was not immoral for the reason that most persons (though I am sure he meant most persons in the decadent Western countries) accept perverse sexuality to not be immoral - a truly blatant example of the logical fallacy known as the “Argumentum ad Populum (“appeal to popularity fallacy”). McGinn claims to be a supporter of animal rights but whether or not he is a genuine vegan is, at the time of writing this Glossary entry, unknown, since he has either not received my Email to him, or else not bothered to reply to it. At the risk of sounding presumptuous, I would guess that he is not an actual vegan, judging by my vast experience in the (so-called) vegan community on the Internet. Very few of those who claim to be vegan are, in fact, vegan, sad to say. Most are either plant-based eaters (in other words, strict vegetarians) or they do not adhere to the one and only definition of the word “veganism” as coined by Mr. and Mrs. Donald Watson, and when asked for a definition of the term, in virtually every case, tender a rather inaccurate explanation of what constitutes “veganism”. Apart from his claim to be the greatest philosopher in history, Colin believes that his writing style to be among the clearest of any philosopher in history, despite his articles and books containing numerous syntactic and vocabulary errors. There are a number of other truly idiotic remarks and assertions of McGinn that I can quote, such as his inane positions on free-will, metaphysics, and politics, but those mentioned above should be sufficient to convince an ACTUAL philosopher of his abject ignorance in regards to all facets of philosophy and psychology. Furthermore, Colin’s books on morality and ethics would have seemed far more authoritative if he had refrained from sexually- harassing one of his female graduate students during his tenure at the University of Miami. I have sent Emails to literally HUNDREDS of academic philosophers (most all of them professors at major tertiary “education” institutions), yet not a single one of them (including Mr. McGinn) has accepted my generous offer of a free copy of this eBook. Just see how incredibly closed-minded are the so-called “thought leaders” of our society! The “problem” with these academic philosophers is that they are members of the working-class, which implies that it is their nature to work for a living, whereas actual philosophers are members of the Holy Priesthood, who, by definition do not “work”, but who have a mission to teach truth to humanity, no matter the cost to themselves.

[@ThePathOfEudaimonia]

I will be traveling a long distance via bus and train tomorrow. This will be perfect as a travel companion. I was hoping for an hour, but we got a generous 1,5 hours. Thanks, John and team!

[@johnvervaeke]

Plus episodes 2 and 3 also releasing today!

[@pipeline732]

I had high expectations and I was not disappointed. What a treat this will be. Thank you, John!

[@James-mk8jp]

Great stuff, John. Really enjoying the angle you are taking on this for deep students out there. An invisible art. Your making love metaphor reminded me of the quote "a consultant is someone who knows 100 ways to have sex but doesn't have a girlfriend".

[@Spacexioms]

One of the most spiritual moments in my life was when I took a philosophy course on Plato and Aristotle. All of a sudden, I felt like I could see and I was more aware. It felt like I was asleep for 18 years of my life and that everything beforehand felt like a dream or state that I cannot remember anymore. I remember thinking about how everyone else was aware of me and all my actions including my thoughts, whilst I was ignorant of how I was living or how I was living. I'm not sure if anyone else felt like this or if I described this experience correctly.

[@frederik188]

As you always say: "Thank you for your time and attention." ... I am shaken to tears almost as I am, and surely many other people, are thankful for your time and dedication. :-D

[@generaltheoryofnothing]

I felt gratitude like that too. thanks for saying it.

[@benrohr]

So exciting!

[@chrisdavey3113]

I'm so pumped for this series.

[@nathanchasse8189]

So excited!!!

[@michaelbogucki7647]

We should be after John Vervaeke.

[@DanHowardMtl]

Very good John!

[@Mrdeanop2]

Wonderful, thank you John!

[@anthonylawton5363]

Wow. I can see and feel the thousands of hours that you have travelled to create this. Thank you John.

[@jollojakar8995]

Thank you. Can't wait to get thru the series.

[@n8works]

Wow! 😍 JV is taking his game to the next level!!! I'm here for it! Congrats to him and his team! Great things ahead!

[@johnvervaeke]

Thank you for your kind comment and your continued support of my work, Nate Johnson! Please consider joining my Patreon, if you have yet to do so, in order to help the Vervaeke Foundation continue to increase our capacity to make a meaningful difference in the world :)

[@n8works]

@@johnvervaeke hey! I should really add you to my Patreon list! I didn't even know you had one. 🤦 Would be more than happy to support the JV foundation in any way possible. Just listened to episode 2 with my wife this morning before walking the dog. 🙏 We really appreciate it!

[@kractopus7383]

Thank you for doing this ❤

[@hasalast6530]

Thank you for this.

[@JSMI]

Thank you for this series. 🙏

[@richardsantomauro6947]

Finally!!!! Thank you!!

[@macanbhaird1966]

Many thanks for this!

[@shaynehunter6160]

I'm excited thanks John

[@missh1774]

The portico to Agora. A place I willingly walk into. Thank you John and to all the amazing people for bringing this together 💜

[@dsstephen2173]

If perchance the science of Vulcan mind-melds becomes a reality in our lives, could I please reserve your services, Good Sir? Your wisdom is astounding, and your generosity in shining that light out into the void is a blessing to us all.

[@Xaloxulu]

This is gonna be a wild ride! 🙏

[@generaltheoryofnothing]

Beautiful !

[@betauser6233]

This is truly a gem 💎 thank you so much 🙏

[@sloancrawford]

Thank you, John!

[@v1adko_]

I am a software engineer from Ukraine who recently moved to Canada due to war. I somehow see these ideas resonate with my experience of life. Hopefully I can follow through with the lectures.

[@robsockett1710]

Wonderful! Thank you, Dr. Vervaeke. Looking forward to this new series.

[@atto42]

So incredibly excited for this. Thank you John and team.

[@kidmerit]

I'm so excited for this journey

[@matthewschaublin8425]

Excited to delve into this series and watch it develop

[@guitardeez]

Looks very professional. I like the setup!

[@leohyams9227]

What exactly do you mean by spirituality in this context? For example, "the breath has deep spiritual significance". Spirituality as a term has become so loaded with different meanings it would be helpful to define.

[@thomassteininger2052]

This will be exciting. Thank for this series, John!

[@notloki3377]

i'm a simple man. i see rafe kelly, socrates, and john vervake in the first 3 minutes of a video, i subscribe.

[@Anna-yv7zm]

This is so exciting. Very grateful

[@alodera]

This is awesome, thank you! And practical things certainly would make the understanding deepen. Can't wait for the next episode!

[@zappzapp00]

That was a wonderful beginning, John. Thank you very much for this!

[@oscarpaez123]

Remember that in Plato’s allegory he writes in the passive voice. Remember that he is not saying that YOU will free yourself but that an already wise and enlightened person will free you meaning somebody like Vervaeke who has the knowledge or gnosis will set you free.

[@mariog1490]

Very excited

[@jeremyfurtner]

John, this is brilliant. Thank you.

[@AlexCovic1]

Thank you John 🙏

[@nuetrino]

This is episode 1. It is nice to have something to look forward to. Thanks

[@plazahotelmusic]

Thanks for this incredible resource

[@jackjohnston1373]

Brilliant!

[@RubensteinRNerisma]

Beautiful stuff, looking very forward to diving into your work Sir

[@leedufour]

Thanks John and all involved!

[@desomahony5462]

this is beyond brilliant. thank you John.

[@jayguilloty6560]

Glad I found this video

[@diana1833]

Finally! Been waiting for hours! Excited to watch it with everyone else.

[@nasar8480]

Thank you so much for the series, John. I'll be following along till the end, trying to participate fully with all the practices you recommend :)

[@atlasfeynman1039]

Love the new format - it's like squaring off to wrestle!

[@billgezella]

God love you, John!!! I just wrapped up your Meanin Crisis series in about two weeks this week, dove straight into this series, & foremost, I cannot thank you enough for the work that you do with such passion! If I can give a small background, I drive a tractor-trailer for a living, & listen to lectures, panel discussions, etc. spanning history, philosophy, religions of the world, etc. up to 70hrs a week to keep my mind sharp. The work you are doing is a gift, & I cannot thank you enough. I would love to befriend you one day.

[@boot9965]

thank you John

[@birgitteolsenrose]

Thank You.

[@mdmh9999]

Here we go Episode 1 to infinity! Very excited John and team!!

[@nicobucefalusdeath]

The world needs this John! Thanks so much.

[@kerrydeswardt9857]

I’ve literally been counting down the days. So thrilled this has finally arrived!

[@jonelmquist]

I'm so happy to see this and, frankly, I've needed it. I'm not even sure I knew how much I needed it until I was already deep into the episode. Thank you, John! I'm very much looking forward to this series. I wish the best for you, those who helped you to make this happen, and all those who come across this video!

[@Diego-valdivia]

Super excited for this journey John! The production looks amazing!

[@givemorephilosophy]

The existential reality is so close to humanity now that we are all very soon going to be enlightened.We will need to just live in a humane way neither exploit nor be exploited but just be human.

[@thewanderer37]

It's here! So ready for this. Time to continue studying with John and continue becoming a better human.

[@davidlakhter]

thank you Dr. Vervaeke, this is going to be great!

[@andrewseymore4506]

Thank you so much for making these wisdom teachings. Your awakening from the meaning crisis series helped me get through some deep depression. Your soul is beautiful

[@edwardfosterart3848]

At last! Very exciting!

[@fetterfettsackfett7930]

thank you for this video