Transcendent Naturalism: Dialoguing with John Vervaeke and Gregg Henriques

Here is the first of two conversations that I’ve recently recorded with John Vervaeke and Gregg Henriques as part of the “Transcendent Naturalism” series. Part two is available here.

Transcendent Naturalism and Process Philosophy: The episode begins with some of my reflections on the “transcendent naturalism” that John and Gregg have been laying out in prior conversations. I tried to briefly share my understanding of transcendent naturalism as a bridge between classical naturalism and more expansive, non-reductive ideas like emergence, emanation, and the spiritual aspects of human consciousness. I expressed some discomfort with identifying solely with naturalism, just as I would be uncomfortable identifying fully with “spiritualism.” I think we can have a grounded, nondualistic sense of both spirit and nature as aspects of our understanding reality.

Imagination and Knowing: A significant portion of the discussion centers around the role of imagination in knowledge and perception. Here it is important to differentiate between the imaginary (fantasy) and the imaginal, with the latter being seen as a crucial bridge between subjective and objective experience, as well as between perceptual and conceptual domains. I see “etheric imagination” as an essential but as of yet largely uncultivated cognitive power that provides deeper insight into the inner life of cosmogenesis than the five senses and rational intellect.

Ritual and Religion: The conversation touches on the role of ritual and religion in human cognition and society. We all agree on the importance of ritual as a form of non-propositional knowing and discussed how religious practices can be a powerful means of entraining with cosmic rhythms. We also all agree about the need for a modern understanding of religion that is rooted in dialogue and open to the plurality of religious experiences, both between people of different faiths, and within ourselves (eg, each person becoming capable of multiple religious affiliations).

Dialogical and Distributed Cognition: We explore the idea of distributed cognition, particularly in the context of hyperobjects, which are phenomena too large and complex to be comprehended by individual human cognition. John suggests that many religious concepts might be understood as early forms of recognizing and engaging with these hyperobjects, and pointed to the necessity of collective intelligence in grappling with large-scale challenges.

Spirituality, Politics, and Economics: I briefly touched on the current geopolitical landscape, including the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and global economic interdependence. I highlighted the urgency of differentiating between legal rights and spiritual freedoms within modern nation-states and criticized the conflation of state and economic interests, especially as it relates to war and conflict.

Challenges in Modern Philosophy and Science: The conversation also delves into the limitations of modern philosophy and science, especially in their traditional forms. We discuss the need for a new language and framework that can bridge the gaps between different scientific disciplines and between science and spirituality.

Synthesis of Ideas: Throughout the episode, we engaged in a synthesizing dialogue, connecting various ideas from Whitehead’s process philosophy, emergent science, and religious thought.