Author: Matthew David Segall
-
The Metaphysics of Psychedelics (thoughts on Chris Letheby’s new article)
Here is a fantastic new publication on psychedelics by Chris Letheby: “Psychedelics: Recent Philosophical Discussions.”It will appear in T. Schramme and M. Walker (eds.), Handbook of the Philosophy of Medicine (Springer, forthcoming). The whole paper is worth a close read, as it provides a digestible summary of the major philosophical questions that have arisen during the last couple…
-
Artificial Intelligence, Moral Imagination, and Spiritual Evolution (dialogue with Roman Campolo)
Roman and I had another wide-ranging dialogue. Topics traversed include:
-
Dying to be Born (Dialogue with Roman Campolo)
Roman and I sat down for another dialogue. Topics discussed this time include: anatman, evil, relevant novelty, death, the ontological argument for the existence of God and its discontents, and other such matters.
-
Renewing Philosophy (Dialogue with Tim Adalin)
Tim Adalin hosted me on his Voicecraft podcast to discuss process philosophy and its applications. The conversation opened with an exploration of the relationship between philosophy, the elite, and democracy (particularly its susceptibility to tyranny and the importance of wise leadership over populism). I emphasized the role of education in a democratic society, proposing a culture…
-
‘The Progress of Knowledge Has Led to a Regression of Thought’ By Edgar Morin
Edgar Morin: The Progress of Knowledge Has Led to a Regression of Thought The multiplication of wars, global warming, the rise of authoritarian regimes: the world is rushing towards disaster, but we must resist hatred, argues the sociologist and philosopher in a column for Le Monde. Originally published on January 22, 2024. ChatGPT translation with corrections from Sean Kelly.…
-
Space, Time, and Religion in the Making (dialogue with Roman Campolo)
Roman and I had another dialogue session to discuss Alfred North Whitehead’s book Religion in the Making (1926). This book lays out Whitehead’s understanding of the evolution of religious consciousness through the phases of emotion, ritual, belief, and rationalization. We touched on the significance of play behavior in animals and human beings, the transition from…
-
God and Nature in Schelling and Whitehead (Dialogue with Rahul Sam)
I had a great time speaking with Rahul over the weekend. He’d been reading my book on Schelling and Whitehead, so we mostly discussed the philosophy of nature and process theology. I began by discussing death and human destiny in the long term, emphasizing the existential quandary that humans face as animals aware of our…
-
The Art and Science of Improvisation: Dialogue with Merlin Sheldrake and Tim Jackson
I recently had a fascinating conversation with mycologist Merlin Sheldrake and evolutionary toxinologist Tim Jackson. Our discussion revolved around the themes of improvisation, the nature of life, and the interplay between order and chaos in both biology and philosophy. Merlin shared his insights on improvisation in the context of jazz music, which led us to…
-
Human Freedom and the Future of Spirituality (Dialoguing with Roman Campolo)
Roman is a songwriter based out of Los Angeles with credits for K-Pop band BTS and legacy artists like Elton John and Stevie Wonder. The first 15 minutes of this didn’t record because of a technical glitch, but we felt the rest was worth sharing. We explore questions like: Where does spirituality fit into (post)modern…
-
Conference Update – Metaphysics and the Matter With Things: Thinking With Iain McGilchrist
Andrew Davis and I sat down with Iain McGilchrist to discuss our upcoming conference at CIIS in San Francisco, March 29-31. In-person tickets have already sold out, but online registration is still open. Learn more and register to attend the conference online at the Center for Process Studies webpage. Among other topics, we discuss Iain’s…
-
Whitehead, God, & Value: Dialogue with Darren Iammarino and Andrew Davis
Following my first conversation with Darren, Andrew joined us to continue the dialogue about some of the technical aspects of Whitehead’s theology. Above is a clip of my speculation about how Whitehead’s God may become personal. You can watch the whole conversation by clicking on the “Watch full video” button on the bottom of the…
-
Part 2 of my dialogue with Vervaeke and Henriques on Transcendent Naturalism
You can find part 1 of our conversation here. We spoke about the sacred, which we can discover in our relationships with one another, in art, and in our encounter with nature. I shared my attempt to recognize interiority in the cosmos, which I’ve referred to (drawing on the neoplatonic term) as the world-soul. I…
-
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…
-
Whitehead, God, and Eternal Objects (Dialoguing with Darren Iammarino)
Darren and I had an intense geek out session exploring some of Whitehead’s categoreal scheme. Key points include: Here’s my paper on eternal objects (a shorter version was just published in Process Studies): “Standing Firm in the Flux: On Whitehead’s Eternal Objects”
-
Whitehead’s ‘Foresight,’ Or How Philosophy Can Shape the Business Mind of the Future
What follows is a brief essay reflecting on the relevance of Whitehead’s philosophy for shaping the business mind of the future. It is written for the Institute of Transactional Philosophy. I’ll be elaborating on these ideas at their annual Institute Study next month. Whitehead’s “Foresight,” Or How Philosophy Can Shape the Business Mind of the…
-
Prehension: Is Experience Fundamental?
Brendan Graham Dempsey and I connected again to continue our discussion, this time focusing on Whitehead’s concept of “prehension.” I explained that, contrary to Ken Wilber’s placement of the concept in the upper left (individual-interior) quadrant of his AQAL map, prehension does not entail just an internal or subjective experience. It’s a transformative process where…
-
Kant, Reality, Freedom: Dialoguing with Mahon McCann
Timestamps:
-
Debating the Place of the Human in Cosmology with Brendan Graham Dempsey
After some back and forth in his Facebook group, Brendan was gracious enough to invite me on his Metamodernism podcast to discuss several core ideas, including the nature of scientific inquiry, the role of human experience in understanding the cosmos, and the limitations of mechanistic models in science. We discussed the intersection of philosophy, science,…
-
In Dialogue with Seth Zuihō Segall about Virtue, Wisdom, and Pluralism
I had a wonderful time dialoguing with my cousin Seth Zuihō Segall about his new book The House We Live In: Virtue, Wisdom, and Plurailsm (2023). We started with Frank Sinatra’s song “The House I Live In” recorded toward the end of WWII. The lyrics were written by Abel Meeropol, a blacklisted Jewish Communist who…