THIRD EYE DROPS The Meaning Crisis, Platonism and Mystical Experiences with John Vervaeke | Mind Meld 372
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Dec 21, 2023 
Cognitive scientist and professor John Vervaeke discusses the importance of mystical experiences, the meaning crisis, and the merging of ancient wisdom with modern cognitive science. They explore the value of Platonism, Zen Buddhism, and the tension between finitude and transcendence. The speakers also delve into the concepts of transjectivity, cultivating wisdom, and the mystery of reality in naturalism. They challenge misconceptions of the supernatural, advocate for a proper relationship with sacredness, and explore the concept of aporia and ontological layers.
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Become Philosophically Self Sufficient
- Approach meaning by becoming philosophically self-sufficient: learn tools to think, practice, and examine rather than only adopt beliefs.
- Vervaeke's 'Awakening from the Meaning Crisis' aims to teach people how to live as practicing philosophers.
Vervaeke's First Mystical Encounter With The Forms
- John Vervaeke had a first mystical experience while meditating in his childhood bedroom that felt multidimensional and revealed Platonic forms.
- That early visionary encounter combined with reading Socrates and the Republic cemented his lifelong commitment to Platonism and practice-based wisdom.
Non Propositional Knowing Grounds Intelligibility
- Non-propositional knowing (skills, embodied perspective, receptivity) grounds our ability to make sense of reality and is as important as propositional knowledge.
- Vervaeke ties this to Plato's divided line and argues cultivating these capacities lets us participate in reality's intelligibility.