“The safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato.”
–Alfred North Whitehead
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The brain is not a computer, and thinking is not information-processing.
Sharing an email response to a question I received about the possibility of explaining human consciousness computationally, and whether such explanations might be compatible with Rudolf Steiner’s spiritual science. I do not think the computational paradigm has much to teach us about the sort of Sophianic consciousness Steiner attempted to unveil. I summarized my thoughts Read more
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“The Great American Trip,” dialogue on “Growing Down”
I’m winding down a cross-country road trip and had the pleasure of talking about it in the context of America’s larger political predicament with Jeremy and Ryan on their “Growing Down” podcast. Read more
Alfred North Whitehead, Ancient Philosophy, Aristotle, Brian Swimme, Bruno Latour, Darwin, Descartes, Heidegger, Modern Philosophy, politics, race, Ralph Waldo Emerson, reason, Religion, Romantic Philosophy, Schelling
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Rupert Sheldrake on Whitehead
I interviewed Rupert Sheldrake as part of a new series for the Cobb Institute. I’ll be speaking with a number of scientists who have been influenced by Whitehead. Read more
Alfred North Whitehead, Ancient Philosophy, Aristotle, Daniel Dennett, Darwin, Descartes, Extended Mind, Henri Bergson, imagination, Plato, reason, Religion, Richard Dawkins, William James
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Reason, Reality, & Religion in the Making (dialoguing with John Vervaeke)
Thanks to John Vervaeke for hosting me on his channel. It was a wonderful conversation. As you’ll hear, we are planning to do a few trilogues soon with Jorge Ferrer and Evan Thompson. Read more
Alfred North Whitehead, Ancient Philosophy, Aristotle, autopoiesis, Descartes, Edmund Husserl, Evan Thompson, Francisco Varela, Heidegger, Kant, Modern Philosophy, Plato, reason, Religion, Romantic Philosophy, Schelling, Spinoza, William James
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Naturphilosophie as Process Philosophy in Schelling and Whitehead
Christopher Satoor and I discussed Schelling, his German Idealist context, and Whitehead’s inheritance of Schellingian ideas about mind and nature. Read more
Alfred North Whitehead, Ancient Philosophy, Brian Swimme, Carl Jung, Darwin, Descartes, Edmund Husserl, Fichte, Gilles Deleuze, Goethe, Graham Harman, Hegel, Heidegger, Hume, Iain Hamilton Grant, imagination, Jakob Böhme, Kant, Ken Wilber, Meister Eckhart, Modern Philosophy, Plato, politics, reason, Romantic Philosophy, Schelling, Slavoj Žižek, speculative realism, William James
“In one sense philosophy does nothing. It merely satisfies the entirely impractical craving to probe and adjust ideas which have been found adequate each in its special sphere of use. In the same way the ocean tides do nothing. Twice daily they beat upon the cliffs of continents and then retire. But have patience and look deeper; and you find that in the end whole continents of thought have been submerged by philosophic tides, and have been rebuilt in the depths awaiting emergence. The fate of humanity depends upon the ultimate continental faith by which it shapes its action, and this faith is in the end shaped by philosophy.”
—Alfred North Whitehead
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