Is there inherent meaning to the universe, or is it meaningless? Are ethics simply a matter of "matter"—the result of a bunch of firing neurons and the relativistic musings of the mind? Is our current paradigm of what is "true" beginning to be updated? In this episode, we are joined by philosopher and author Zak Stein, who elucidates what it means to acknowledge the “first principles” of the universe—and how failing to do so has led us towards the “meta-crisis” we now face as humanity.
Dr. Zachary Stein is a Co-Founder of the Civilization Research Institute and the Center for World Philosophy and Religion. He was trained at the interface of philosophy, psychology, and education and now works in fields related to the mitigation of global catastrophic risk. He is a widely sought-after and award-winning speaker and a leading authority on the future of education and contemporary issues in human development. He is the author of dozens of published papers and books, including Education in a Time
Between Worlds. With his colleagues at the Center for World Philosophy and Religion, he helped author their new book, First Principle and First Values: Forty-Two Propositions on CosmoErotic Humanism, the Meta-Crisis, and the World to Come.
In this episode, we discuss:
-How Zak came to religion and philosophy through music.
-The “Meta-crisis” we are currently facing including human-created, existential threats.
-Moral relativism versus a worldview that holds first principles/values.
-How value is encoded into the universe.
-Free will versus determinism.
-The myth of the march of progress and the growth of technology as “good.”
-How global stress is heightening relativism, separateness, technofeudalism, and moving us closer to a tipping point.
-Iain McGilchrist’s work on Left and Right hemispheres and how these show up in the collective.
-The question of whether society is experiencing a sort of mental illness.
-How attention/awareness acts as an organizing force and helps to create more health, interrelation, intimacy, and evolution.
-The effects of technology on attention and the manipulation of our attention spans.
-The body as a portal to understanding first principles.
-Technofeudalism, coercion, manipulation, and social media in our modern world.
-The conundrum of whether it is moral to control people for “good” reasons.
-Chaos, order, and re-order in the evolution of our society.
Check Out/Learn More About Zak's Work:
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