Solution Space

I discuss the psychological phenomenon of projection, when we see things outside us that are really happening within. It opens up traumatic self-questioning, to which I compare the Lovecraftian figure of the Eldritch abomination. Both these themes figure in my discussion of Donald Trump as eldritch horror, forcing us to confront the changing and weirding times in which we live. All this opens us up to cosmological projection in the theory of the holographic universe, and the Hindu concepts of Lila and Maya. In these ways of thinking, the whole universe is a projection. "You're projecting" is never quite so simple...

On this week's program, I continue to engage with the ongoing conversations of Jordan Hall, John Vervaeke, and Gregg Henriques concerning cognitive science. This time, they emphasize the pernicious effects of equivocation in preventing clear discourse. I bring in an example from a recent Chomsky interview, where he clarifies that all political systems are forms of state capitalism. This helps us see that debates about socialism, capitalism, communism, and fascism are irrelevant, since they correspond to 19th/20th century situations we are now past. Finally, I reference the movie Arrival, and Jordan Hall again, to broach the topic of the Non-Zero-Sum, or Anti-Rivalrous, to get into the problem of turning our power tools of computational propaganda toward finding greater harmonies and space for development on our own terms, as opposed to the increasing paranoia we see now, which can only lead to terrorism.

On this show, I outline how much of today's politics can be sketched by the phrase "the personal is political," combined with Foucault's reversal of Clausewitz: "politics is the continuation of war by other means." What we have now is a renewed war of all against all, pursued through the transpolitics of identity. To flesh out this analysis, we delve into Transpersonal Psychology as an exploration of psychology beyond the individual, and Baudrillard's transpolitics as conflict beyond the social. In this spiritual emergency, the question is, what is emerging?

As anticipated, 2020 has turned out to be a year of radical upheaval. From the Covid-19 epidemic to economic tumult to the resurgence of #BlackLivesMatter and the controversy surrounding JK Rowling's posts about transgender people, nothing is being left unchanged. I delve into the murky waters brought to light by these rapid social upheavals, and cast what we've seen in 2020 so far as "the tip of the spear" when it comes to grappling with deep-seated veins of dehumanization in our society. I'm back to recording shows, and will supply some extra ones to help make up for the time I've missed (and evade the constraints of radio airwaves!).

I discuss COVID-19 in response to Hall's discussion of systems collapse and Zizek's recent articles on the virus as an opportunity for capitalism. I start to put these in context of Debord and Baudirllard's discussion of the fusion of state and corporations in the early 20th century post 1929, framing their analysis as arguing we are already Post-Capitalism. I frame this as COVID-19 shocking us into realizing that the public/private distinction has been overcome.

Part 2 of my interview with Dr. John Vervaeke. We discuss Romantic Poetry and elite psychology, articulating the problematics that accompany the Meaning Crisis in its political dimensions. In sum, we address issues related to the parts we must all play in generating the cognitive-affective conditions for a reciprocal opening and enriching among people and (psycho-)technology. Don't just solve problems: encounter the mystery.

In the second part of our interview, Dr. Vervaeke and I delve deeper into the societal function of "the elite," and the cognitive-affective economic reasons why a new golden age is easily within reach, even if the Meaning Crisis still leaves it out of our (optimal) grasp

Part 1 of my conversation with Dr. John Vervaeke of the University of Toronto. We discuss what Dr. Vervaeke calls the "meaning crisis," manifested in widespread despair and the sense of being stuck, and how Percy Shelley and Jean Baudrillard might harmonize with the content laid out in his "Awakening from the Meaning Crisis" series.

On this episode I give a rundown of my recent activities and lay down a concept I coined in my recent essay "The Metonymy Economy" (up at www.SpeakingBroadlyShow.com) called cognitive-affective protectionism. From putting on headphones to entering a safe space, protecting ourselves from overstimulation is perhaps the defining challenge of our times.

Paycheck by Adam Stephen Wadley