InPresence 0023: William James' Radical Empiricism with Jeffrey Mishlove

InPresence host, Jeffrey Mishlove, PhD, is author of The Roots of Consciousness, Psi Development Systems, and The PK Man. Between 1986 and 2002 he hosted and co-produced the original Thinking Allowed public television series. He is the recipient of the only doctoral diploma in "parapsychology" ever awarded by an accredited university (University of California, Berkeley, 1980). For many years he served as president of the non-profit Intuition Network, an organization dedicated to creating a world in which all people were supported and encouraged in developing inner intuitive abilities.

Here he describes the culminating work of William James' illustrious career. His five essays on radical empiricism were published posthumously. James was thoroughly a product of the nineteenth century era of American industrialism. However, he rebelled against the mechanistic thinking of his age. His work on radical empiricism represents an effort to integrate his interest in mysticism and psychical research with western philosophy.

(Recorded on March 13, 2018)

[anonymoushuman]

Thank you, Jeffrey Mishlove, for showing us genuine love of wisdom and the examined life.

At the liberal arts college I went to, which prioritized turning out future professors, William James was completely off the map in the philosophy and psychology departments and not exactly celebrated in the religion department. Why? What a strange world this is.

[adc]

You just reminded on most fundamental basic . Thank you sir, Every day I eagerly await for your next episode of the series.

[Paddyllfixit]

Again, William James was a man way ahead of his time.

[KazimirArdekanian]

I think a distinction should be made among
- 'reality' (which is within our reach by our senes or the instruments we make),  
- 'reality prime' (to which we will never gain access as their energy fields spin differently!),  
- and 'meta reality' (as the superset of 'reality' and 'reality prime'.)
There is no way out (apparently)

[ShooopWhooDa]

Great segment jeffrey. Human experience is finite but you could say that there is some kind of godly spark in us. It's an expression of the infinite in our seemingly finite form of being.

I truly lobe you and the work you do. I admire you for bringing this wisdom to your viewers. I often find myself in the midts of people that don't have a conscious connection to the infinite and your thoughts on numbing ourself from the collective pain has helped me understand what is "wrong" eith these people. I also want to note that this line of thinking is portrayed by Jung aswell. In one of his writings he describes the experience of openning up to the collective unconscious as laying down the thick armour he wore and destroying the castle that gave him refuge. So yeah thanks alot

[leslietaylor]

I think Dr. Mishlove well explains what all is going on here and this talk can't be pondered enough. The unification of the internal subjective experience with the external empirical experience is a unification of one's consciousness. To expound on that toward a more expansive unity with another human's consciousness (as in telepathy), then unity with the whole of humanity, the planet etc., then, one with All that Is. I tend to think spacetime is not absolute and one could experience any or all of these states in but an instant. "The Varieties of Religious Experiences" cites many such cases. That's what the guided meditation "Healing the Planet Ourselves" explores. Thank you Dr. Mishlove (you're really good) and William James.

[willyt]

Great presentation, Dr. Mishlove. It reminds me of the nondual teachings of Nisargadatta Maharaj where he says "All the objects of consciousness form the universe."

[eternaldelight]

Great video. This reminds me of the philosophy of "neutral monism, " which views matter and consciousness as equally valid descriptors of the primordial reality (see the eponymous Wiki article on the term). Also, I have come to think that the development of science during the last few centuries (since Descartes, Berkley, Hume, et al.), with its emphasis on mathematics and rigorous experimental design, has become the main factor in the crippling of the human consciousness, for such approach sterilizes our perception of nature, ridding it of the more subtle synchronicities and gestalts that are perceived by the faculties such as intuition. This has also lead to severing the proper connections between the emotional and intellectual centers (in Gurdjieff/Ouspensky's terminology), which are necessary for a more complete perception of reality. Thus, scientists are psychologically crippled, just as are those intuitives, etc., who adhere predominantly to the "right-brain, " intuitive perception.

[peterdeutsch]

binge watching in the middle of the night from the beginning

[EarInn]

So well expressed. But still hard to grasp.

[magic-ball]

'Are mental states reducible to neuro-biologic activity' P. Churchland

[tcl]

You misrepresent James’ ideas with profound disrespect.