John Vervaeke: Psychedelics, Evil, & Buddhism

John Vervaeke is an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto focusing on the "meaning crisis" and a 3rd wave cognitive science approach to mindfulness.

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00:00:00 Introduction
00:02:43 What is an "affordance" in Cognitive Science?
00:07:28 The different uses of the word "meaning"
00:10:10 Materialism vs Physical-ism
00:12:48 What is "truth"? Harris vs Peterson from a Cognitive Scientific perspective
00:17:43 Perspectival knowledge (definition and examples)
00:21:13 The ways we practice narrative
00:27:13 The two world model
00:31:13 Buddhism's influence on John's worldview
00:33:43 The definition of Harry Frankfurt's "bullshit"
00:42:43 Addiction
00:45:48 Relationship between Lucifer and Frankfurt's BS
00:55:23 What is the "meaning crisis"? (explicating the "meaning of life")
01:10:23 Poetry should be read aloud
01:11:53 Faith, love, and participatory knowledge
01:18:23 The Platonic / Aristotelian influence on Christianity
01:21:43 How do reverse-engineer other points of view (such as what it's like to be someone in the 1200s)
01:32:13 The relationship between "reason" and "love"
01:47:43 The skepticism toward wisdom institutions and the birth of narcissism
01:49:43 The way Vervaeke uses the word "God" (God as affording transcendence)
01:54:53 The language of myth is lost but we retain the grammar
02:00:43 Where are we going with the "meaning crisis"? Is it getting worse?
02:06:20 How does John manage his time?
02:07:45 What do psychedelics provide that meditation doesn't?
02:18:00 Modelling truth in the other domains of knowledge (procedural, participatory, perspectival)
02:21:40 The "interpretation crisis" vs the "meaning crisis"
02:22:40 "Meaning" is not present in the scientific world view
02:25:50 What's relevance? (technical term is: "relevance realization")
02:31:30 John Vervaeke's origin of recognition of others
02:34:10 How does John collaborate?
02:38:50 People will sacrifice wealth for meaning
02:43:50 What is "evil"? Buddhism vs Christianity
02:49:35 Is Nihilism negative to the psyche, or salutary?
02:50:00 What could "free will" mean, possibly? ("freedom" in a certain sense isn't intrinsically "good")
02:57:20 Trolley Problem + Sam Harris' model of "evil" being neurological and a reduction of responsibility
03:00:50 Jungian individuation's relationship to the Big 5 model
03:05:50 How do we practically use this knowledge to cultivate character?
03:10:45 On self-deception
03:13:00 Tony Robbins (and other self development gurus) operate primarily on the placebo effect
03:14:15 "Being in the present moment" is horrible advice
03:17:10 What is 3rd generation Cognitive Science?
03:24:40 On "wisdom is knowing the difference between what you control and what you don't."
03:27:50 What wisdom is (relevance realization)
03:28:15 Which theory of consciousness does Vervaeke think is most correct / wrong?
03:32:50 Are intelligent people more "consciousness" or wise? If so, are they then more valuable people?
03:39:00 What is "reason" vs "rationality"?
03:41:30 Audience question: What is objectivity / what is real?
03:45:40 Audience question: On evil, and a "moral dimension"
03:48:00 Audience question: Is the point of meditation to reduce anxiety?

[coderjd]

Sheesh thank you!!! I found my people!!!!
God, it's like where every other Podcast stops (AI Podcast w. Lex does get there some times as far as programming/engineering) this channel begins... again unabashed.
It took a second time around but you won me over this is actually the third video deep now... thank you!

I'm going to send this to all my friend's as a proxy for my presence, that way they still get their stimuli 😅 and I retain my precious time...

[JoelNTerry]

This is an INCREDIBLE conversation, as a recovering 30yr. addict/alcoholic there's so much here that I've experienced to be absolutely true in the rebuilding of myself in absence of the survival skills I'd mentally entrenched that no longer serve me well...Thanks Curt, I've commented this before but your podcast is incredible and life altering!!

[tracywilliamsliterature]

an incredible interview... those questions made my brain bleed but John Vervaeke is... well, let me say it is a great relief that there are people like John Vervaeke on planet earth. And respect to the interviewer for such intense questions.... thanks from Wales, UK.

[arquilli]

This interview blew my mind so hard I had to go watch Vervaeke’s 51 part series as an interruption. Absolutely worth it. Life changing

[CSOne_]

This is why great men are professors. They will talk with you all day as long as you stay interested. That’s what I love about, Curt. These men know it’s a conversation they all want to have. It is so deep and so real… I can’t help but love it.

[Pancunian]

This is fast becoming my favourite long (deep and thorough), -form, intellectually honest and stimulating podcastic conversations!

[talastra]

"God is a participatory symbol that actually affords transformation and self-transcendence"

[MegaMONI]

This is slowly becoming my favorite channel on Youtube, great job! Keep honest, and keep 'em coming!

[SirTravelMuffin]

What a fresh set of ideas! I appreciate the nuance with which Vervaeke discusses things, and how he gives weight to alternative perspectives. I also enjoy the rigor in his style that I sometimes find lacking in other contemporary public thinkers

[robertkraljii]

Excellent, just excellent. I first listened to your Chomsky interview, which was excellent . And now nearly 4 hours with Vervaeke, someone new to me. Thanks for your contribution.

[Nick_fb]

I think it's high praise of Vervaeke (or his ideas) that he can talk about all of this stuff while staying calm, personable and not trying to beat the other person over the head. The culture war stuff seems to be partly fishing for angry disagreement and levelling it out with a victor, rather than having respectable flows of information exchange like Vervaeke does.

[mrmonk]

I really enjoy listening to super intelegent people who have kindness and compassion.

[ellorakothare]

Best prof! Seeing him in his office space makes me feel all nostalgic :') thank you for uploading this by the way; it's beautiful.

[CSOne_]

I love this conversation. I’ve watched it 6 times. It’s so good.

Thanks, Curt!

[joshuanaville]

What kind of thinking went into being able to summon the courage to reach out and approach some of these great thinkers? I am genuinely interested. I think this kind of discourse is critically under-represented.

[samismx]

Lex Fridman does amazing interviews, but I really appreciate you for this sort of fast-past, curious interview style. Absolutely riveting. Well done.

[vitapires]

listened to this before and even better on replay. i only wish there was enough time in the day to catch up with mr dynamo Vervaeke!

[JiminiCrikkit]

straight off 5 minutes in I can't help but think of 'Glimpses of Abhidharma' by Chogyam Trungpa; fantastic little read which gives - in a master and student teaching conversational style - a very good brief overview of a core teaching of buddhism. The text describes the nature, origin, and interaction of all psychological and material phenomena, including human consciousness itself.

[CSOne_]

He breaks it down in this video. He breaks it down. This is so good… it doesn’t get any better then this.

[sickparkourdude]

I dont know how you dont have more subscribers. One of the the best channels for long form discussions ive seen with some real depth