“The safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato.”
–Alfred North Whitehead

Tag: psychology

  • Remembering the Repressed with Carl Jung and Rudolf Steiner

    Judi: Hello, everybody. It’s my great pleasure to introduce Matt Segall. Matt is a PhD, a transdisciplinary researcher, philosopher, and teacher applying process-relational thought across the natural and social sciences. He is an associate professor in the Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness Department here at CIIS. His presentation is titled Remembering the Repressed with Jung and Steiner. Matt…


  • Notes on Carl Jung’s Problem of the Fourth (with help from Rudolf Steiner)

    In part five of his essay “A Psychological Approach to the Trinity,” titled “The Problem of the Fourth,” Carl Gustav Jung turns to Christian, Gnostic, and Hermetic religious symbolism for clues about the collective psychological development of Western humanity. His aim is not to offer metaphysical disambiguations of theological dogmas but to illuminate the path toward…


  • Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy: A dialogue with Evan Sola, PsyD and Casey Paleos, MD

    A clinical psychologist and psychiatrist involved in MAPS’ phase 3 MDMA trials weigh in on the ethical and ontological challenges of psychedelic psychotherapy. Here is a rough transcript of this conversation. Evan and Casey both have chapters in a soon to be published American Psychological Association textbook on psychedelic therapy, which formed the basis of…


  • On Jung’s “Answer to Job” (dialogue with Timothy Jackson)

    This recording is our first of at least two dialogues on a book I’ll never be done reading. Below is my own brief summary after re-reading roughly the first half of the text: Physical facts aren’t the only basis for truth. According to Jung, there are also psychic truths, and they are no less valid,…


  • C. G. Jung: Reception and Relevance

    Tim and I shared our appreciation for Jung, reviewed the charges of anti-semitism, and discussed his enduring relevance (timestamps available on YouTube).


  • “Psyche Unbound: Essays in Honor of Stanislav Grof” [Review]

    “Psyche Unbound: Essays in Honor of Stanislav Grof” [Review]

    Tarnas, Richard, & Kelly, Sean (Eds.). (2021). Psyche Unbound: Essays in Honor of Stanislav Grof. Foreword by Rick Doblin. Sante Fe, NM: Synergetic Press & the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. xxvi + 428 pp. ISBN: 9780998276526. Hardcover. $35. Reviewed by Matthew D. Segall. It was 1973 when Dr. Stanislav Grof left what was then the last surviving…


  • Dialogues with Scientists of Matter, Life, and Mind

    Figured I should collect these dialogues in one place. They range from the last year or two up through earlier this afternoon. Timothy Jackson (Biologist and Toxinologist) John Pohl (Physician and Gastroenterologist) John Torday (Physician and Cellular Biologist) Greg Henriques (Psychologist) Praful Gagrani (Physicist and Origin of Life Scientist) John Vervaeke (Cognitive Scientist) Rupert Sheldrake…


  • Psychedelics, Society, and Reality

    That tweet came after I listened to several episodes of the recent NYMag/Psymposia podcast series “Power Trip.” Having now finished the series and shared a mixed review, I wanted to collect further thoughts on the subject. The NYMag/Psymposia series focuses on the dangers of both underground and clinically regulated psychedelic psychotherapy. The basic criticisms being…


  • Archetypal Panpsychism: Whitehead, Jung, & Hillman

    Archetypal Panpsychism: Whitehead, Jung, & Hillman

    If you happen to live near Boise, Becca and I will travel there in January to give a weekend workshop for the Idaho Friends of Jung. January 20-21, 2017 Archetypal Panpsychism:  Whitehead, Jung, and Hillman A presentation by Matthew D. Segall, PhD, & Becca Tarnas, ABD Friday Lecture, 7:00 – 9:00 PM; Saturday Workshop, 10:00 AM –…


  • 1st draft of dissertation submitted

    I submitted the first draft of my dissertation to my committee a couple of weeks ago. I’m aiming to defend in March. Here’s a sneak peak of the table of contents. I still need to fill out the introduction and conclusions. Originally, I had no intention of writing so much about Kant, but he proved…


  • “Expanding and Re-Enchanting the Psyche: The Pioneering Thought of Stanislav Grof”

    If you’re a Bay Area local, do try to attend this conference celebrating the work of Stan Grof Oct. 24-25 (Friday and Saturday) at the Hotel Whitcomb. It is being sponsored by the new Center for the Study of Psychedelic Medicine at C.I.I.S. and the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. >>More information<<       >>Registration<<   …


  • Levi Bryant on the Role of Love in Philosophy

    Bryant posted a great piece on textual transference and the role of love in learning. He has succeeded in making me wonder what it is exactly that gives ideas their alluring personalities. How is it that sympathy and charisma have such an effect in the world, while cold-hard facts and rationally deduced truth seem to…


  • Uncovering the Unconscious: Towards an Integral Psychology

    This paper was presented at the Jung Society of Monterey in 2019 (video below, unfortunately with poor audio):


  • James Hillman on the folly of reducing mind to brain.

    From The Soul’s Code by James Hillman, p. 150-154: The upshot of genetic studies leads in two (!) directions: a narrow path and a broad one. The narrow road heads toward simplistic, monogenic causes. It wants to pinpoint bits of tissue and correlate them with the vast complexity of psychic meanings. The folly of reducing…


  • Transpersonal Intersubjectivity

    I’ve just been reading Christopher Bache’s book “Dark Night, Early Dawn,” and he, not unlike Christian de Quincey in his book “Radical Nature,” argues that the interpersonal and collective dimensions of spiritual experience have been paid too little attention. Taking intersubjectivity into consideration requires a return to our embodied experience as beings embedded in a…