Ep #19 - John Vervaeke
Our guest today is John Vervaeke - a cognitive scientist, Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto and internet star (in the world of secular spirituality and reimagining religion).
He burst to prominence with his amazing examination and integration of modern cognitive science, ancient wisdom practices, philosophy, and history in his YouTube series ‘Awakening From The Meaning Crisis’.
John’s theory is this: our culture today is beset by multiple overlapping crises which make our lives difficult: financial, ecological, political - tons of crises.
But underlying and connecting these is a crisis of meaning: the sense that we have lost a narrative which situates us in the world and helps us make sense of it all.
Three Key Takeaways
You’ll understand how our increased sense of loneliness and disconnection is related to the loss of big-picture meaning in our lives;
You’ll learn, from a cognitive scientific viewpoint, how religions fulfil deep human needs which haven’t gone away in our more secular age;
You’ll learn about the new science of wisdom. Obviously this is at the center of many religions and traditions throughout the ages, so how might we cultivate wisdom today?
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