How do we relate to ourselves, each other and the world around us as individuals? In this episode we look at what underpins our understanding of the self by delving into the history, as well as the foundational beliefs and axioms, of Western Civilization. Looking at why we've come to hold a sense of individuality as sacred, and how we have to reconcile that idea with our seemingly inherent capacity to inflict harm and carry out evil. Date of RecordingOriginal conversation recorded July 2021TimestampsLast episode recap (02:57)How the sanctity of the individual is manifest in today’s world? (06:44)Is the intrinsic value of the individual self-evident? (12:17)Origins of the sanctity of the individual (16:31)The Greeks - Reason vs fatalism (22:13)The Romans & the ancient role of power (24:27)Christianity and its transformational impact (30:18)​​The universality of the sanctity of the individual (36:31)The transcendental replacing material power for value orientation (40:19)Fatalism to sanctified conscious moral agents (43:43)The unfolding Imago Dei - The relation of the individual to society (45:13)Imago Dei - contexts and caveats (48:02)Divine right of kings and the Magna Carta (50:28)Competing and decentralising power structures, Petition & Bill of Rights (58:27)Human nature and sovereignty: Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau (01:01:18)The French Revolution (01:09:17)The American Revolution (01:12:00)Paradoxes and in-group out-group dynamics (01:19:41)Universal Human Rights (01:23:07)Fallen natureUnion of opposites (01:25:58)Limited agents of creation, logos (01:29:35)Russian revolutions, The line of good and evil (01:35:46)Good, 2 types of evil and the danger of ideologies (01:40:23)Wrapping up, concluding thoughts (01:45:58)Imago Dei/Fallen as a heuristic compass by which we can navigate the worldOutro (01:53:51)Questions to ponder overDo you think we still hold a sense of individuality as sacred in modern society?How would your life change if you were to treat yourself and others as if they’re lives were so? How would your actions and decisions change if you considered yourself and others conscious moral agents participating in the arena?Could we strengthen the nodes on the network by fully adopting and internalising this mindset?Links to exploreImago Dei Dominion by Tom HollandGenesis 1:27Galatians 3:28Divine Right of Kings Impact of the Magna CartaNelson Mandela’s appeal to the Magna CartaGhandi’s reference to the Magna CartaPetition of RightThe Bloodless RevolutionBill of RightsLeviathan - Thomas HobbesThe Second treatise of Government - John Locke The Social Contract - Rousseau General WillThe American RevolutionThe French RevolutionLiberté, égalité, fraternitéTemple of ReasonUS ConstitutionUS Bill of RightsMartin Luther King JrWilberforceFrederick Douglas Universal Declaration of Human RightsAleksandr SolzhenitsynThe Gulag ArchipelagoGulag Contact [email protected] 

What is a cultural network? In this episode we dive into how the exponential rise of technology is influencing culture, looking at how it shapes us and how we in turn are shaping it.Date of RecordingOriginal conversation recorded June 1st 2021TimestampsLast episode recap (01:32)Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - a portal into the network (03:45)Culture is meaning in action (09:57)Technology accelerating shallowness, disconnection from reality, 50 years on from Zen (12:53) Participation: outside vs inside the world, hyper connectivity to each other overwhelming tribal circuitry (16:28) ‘Newness’, technology and the dissolution of home and belonging (20:28)The paradoxical nature of technology  (23:23)The decline of real-world friendship (26:38)Technology driving the uncoupling of the agent to the arena (29:19)Losing your centre of gravity (sense of self) in the digital world (31:50)Participation & dynamic coupling in cultural network (35:55) Andy in a pre-internet world (41:55) Culture shaping the world in which we inhabit (48:17)Holding multiple perspectives with technology (51:24)Cognition as participatory (01:09:24)Setting up distributed cognition groups (01:20:21)Channel deepening through dialogue  (01:23:24)Wrap up (01:27:49)Outro (01:33:33)Questions to ponder overHow do we strengthen ourselves and therefore strengthen the network? How do we participate in that cultural network? How do we make ourselves more agentic, make ourselves more full of self-efficacy and resilience so that when we participate in the arena, we are contributing to that cultural network in a way that edifies it, and doesn't corrupt it?How do we concentrate on what's best rather than what's new? What are the values that help us to orientate ourselves in a world that seems to be continually becoming more and more confusing and complex and difficult to navigate?Links to exploreZen and the Art of Motorcycle MaintenanceRobert M. PirsigAwakening from the Meaning CrisisJohn VervaekeJoseph Campbell's hero monomythZero-sum gamesDaniel SchmachtenbergerHyper objectsContact [email protected] 

In what ways do we participate with others in the arena? In this episode we dive into how we organise ourselves in groups, in the organisational structures that exist in our arena, and how that might be changing over time. Looking at the psychological, structural, and technological aspects of group participation as we try to adapt to the complexity that surrounds us.

A short update and a reflection on where we've gotten to so far on the journey.

How do we make sense, not just of ourselves, but of other people, other ways of seeing the world and of our environment as a whole? In this episode we look into our ability to sense-make and explore what it takes to find signal in a noisy world.

How is the world we're in shaping the way we see ourselves and our identity and how do we find a sense of meaning and purpose within it? Join us as we explore how we might be able to strengthen our agency and our sovereignty within the moment in which we all find ourselves.

Looking into the ways of thinking and perceiving the world from the past that still influence us today, focusing specifically on the effects of industrialisation, the thinking that accompanied it and the legacies that it's left on our arena.

An exploration into the relationship between us as individuals and the world we inhabit. Thinking about how we can shape our environment and how in turn our environment shapes us.

A whirlwind tour across many of the topics and themes that we will be discussing over the course of this podcast, starting off by looking at how the pandemic has accelerated and surfaced a lot of the trends and ideas that are in our rapidly changing world today and ending with some of the things it might be lacking or even calling out for.

A taster of what to expect from the podcast