On the nature of reality | Iain McGilchrist and Rowan Williams

Iain McGilchrist and Rowan Williams discuss the limits of materialism.

What is knowledge?

Who are we? Why are we here? Does life have a meaning beyond itself? Join former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, and groundbreaking psychiatrist, literary scholar and author of 'The Matter with Things', Iain McGilchrist, to explore the nature of meaning, and why we should move beyond the assumptions of a materialist worldview from radically divergent perspectives.

#knowledge #materialism #psychiatry #theology

Iain McGilchrist is a former Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. He is committed to the idea that the mind and brain can be understood only by seeing them in the broadest possible context, that of the whole of our physical and spiritual existence. Rowan Williams is the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, and is a highly acclaimed theologian, writer, and pastor.

00:00 Introduction
01:06 Iain McGilchrist: We have lost sight of the nature of reality
03:55 Rowan Williams: The mythology of mere matter
07:22 McGilchrist: Two hemispheres
10:18 Williams: Knowledge is relational
12:31 McGilchrist: Intuition
14:02 Williams: The failings of online diagnosis
15:10 McGilchrist: AI cannot understand relationships

[TheInstituteOfArtAndIdeas]

Can we know the world other than by relating to it? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

[musopaul]

How wonderful to hear two highly educated and articulate people speaking in complete sentences about the wonders of the universe. Doesn't happen very often these days...

[micheldisclafani]

Do you remember when you became conscient of being? I am 86 now, yet I remember the instant in which I became conscient of reality and of being. My mother told me many years later that I was nine months old when I became conscient and start to call mama, mama. We are in reality prepared by nature during our gestation, to be ready to deal with reality. Reality is eternal and universal. To become conscient is like waking from a deep sleep, no more and no less. I remember vividly the sensation of waking and be able to feel in a world that was almost waiting for me and through my parents, welcomed me. This was my experience and for me we, and any living creature are systematically prepared for the reality of life.

[ximono]

Not the funniest episode of Between Two Ferns. Zach Galifianakis is aging well though!

[RAFAELÁLVAROPULIDOMOYANO]

We should explore in detail the articulation between MacGilchrist´s views with Clare W. Graves´s theory on eight “levels/systems of existence”. Grave´s words: “Systems 1, 3, 5, and 7 are externally oriented change systems. Their focus is on the external world and how to master and change it. System control and domination within each odd-numbered system is exercised by the left cerebral hemisphere. The even-numbered systems, 2, 4, 6, and 8 are internally oriented. This internal orientation is focused on achieving internal peace and dominated by the right cerebral hemisphere. (Clare W. Graves, The Never Ending Quest, 2005, p.188)

[ThatisnotHair]

12:22 Lower ī° are not always trustable

[KL]

2:40 Apropos of McGilchrist's oft-used music metaphor, I wish he'd one day name just ONE person who claimed that science COULD explain why Mozart's music affects a listener so powerfully. Every time I hear it I visualize a man made of straw.

[loriscunado]

So mean of the Institute of A&I to cut the conversation off like that.

[rosejackson]

All discourse and reflection lead to the same point. The origin of the discourse and reflection.

[chriskenney]

Wittgenstein and John Herny Newman respected intuitions.

[Alan-zftt]

Fascinating! And some naive reflections of my own.
Matter as a thing. Matter as a judgement. Both seem intertwined here. Matter exists as it has been determined to be such and such.
Such and such has been determined to be important. Existence and importance. But not as static things. Nor as instructions written in stone.
Matter as a manifestation of one's life in a living universe? If so, education seems to be: contemplation of listening to creation and decisions made by one and others of such importance. Matter matters in so many ways. Realistically and non-realistically if one assumes reality of existence trumps reality of judgement?
And this interplay seems to flow in a ying-yang way. It combines what our senses perceive what creation reveals to us AND (importantly) how we respond to those things

[canoedoc]

William James believed that the life of religion consisted of the belief that there is an unseen order to the universe, and that our wellbeing comes from aligning ourselves with it. Science is man’s attempt to align with the physical reality of our universe, and religion is our attempt to align ourselves with the moral laws of our universe.

[djayjp]

The problem is when people ascribe non-physical properties to energy. Everything is entirely physical, including oneself and one's mind. When the structure of one's brain fails, so too does one's mind.

[TheWay-un]

Matter is the modem for the spiritual which is to be up to the brightest to tune..

But first we must become liberated from the private space upon the collapse of the supply chain which sustains it

[RonaldEmerald]

Everything has a reason but what is enough of a reason?

[lah]

The yogis in ancient India embarked on an investigation into the nature of the self 3000 years ago. The Buddha then took the incredible methodology and knowledge gained from the yogis and took the investigation further into realizing the true nature of reality 2600 years ago. These guys need to get the 14th Dalai Lama in on the discussion. The Dalai Lama could shed some light on the nature of reality and what consciousness is. This is the Buddha's area of expertise. Buddhist philosophy especially Tibetan Buddhism out of the Nalanda University tradition is very rational, scientific and can be validated. Our white male philosophical materialist western view of the world and reality is one way of viewing the nature of reality, however most of its premise falls apart when subjected to rigorous analysis and debate. We need to take our curiosity beyond the confines of our western point of view which is very restricting and limited in terms of who we are as a species and the reality we crate around us.

[TheVeganVicar]

There are THREE possible explanations for life/existence:

1. The external, objective universe is the sole REALITY.

2. The perceiver (that is, the subject) of the objective universe is the sole REALITY.

3. This existence is a virtual REALITY, similar to the premise of “The Matrix” films.


Which do YOU believe to be the most plausible explanation?

[brendabeamerford]

All roads lead home to our one infinite Creator no word can describe no image can compare one of infinite Realms of infinite energy of infinite intelligence one of whom never loses a single soul in Jesus is our messenger of love and forgiveness an example of what we can choose to be Cosmos our Heavens are full of free will the name of our Universal Game of Life.
3Conscious ATONED Christ like mind369 is WISDOMS universal aim of life in each individual heart mind body soul of time... cuz everyone's created IS CREATED equal complete unique individually Immaculate conceptions from first Light
. learning the PowerHouse of our infinite Mind through all the stages and ages of family time.
Coming of age and to Enlightenment answers our questions blowing in the wind for eons
Who are we,
where did we come from what is love, what is light, what is eternal third eyesight, and reveals gates open to our kingdom that lasts forever

[sonarbangla]

Ukraine is winning and Russia is losing, that is 'reality' according to white intellectual philosophy. Eastern mysticism decided a thousand years ago that relity is related to the dual and non-dual, with physics and metaphysics.

[nicktaylor]

Lost me at "In a relationship you trust the other".

Yea, not always mate.