Inner Life, Talks and Thoughts

Valentin Gerlier, a thinker at the crossroads of poetry and philosophy, delves into the vital role poetry plays in today's world. He and Mark Vernon explore how figures like Plato and Blake viewed the poetic voice as essential for deeper understanding. They discuss why we are drawn to poets like Shakespeare and examine the paradoxes in human experience that both poetry and philosophy reveal. The conversation encourages a fresh perspective on profound texts, suggesting that a deeper engagement with poetry can transform our understanding of existence.

Just Stop Oil and the imprisonment of Roger Hallam and others has provoked an outcry, on both sides of the dispute. And the heightened emotions have made me think. What's going on here? What is at stake?I suspect that what’s being missed is something fundamental to human society and how we participate in a wider environment, and that can be discerned more fully by considering the true nature of freedom of speech.I draw on a talk given by Joseph Milne at the excellent Temenos Academy. The archive of talks can be found here - https://www.temenosacademy.org/main-lecture-archive/The approach is to consider what freedom of speech meant to our ancestors, so as to cast a light on the present. Aristotle's thoughts in the Politics is key, as speech for him is what makes human society - speech understood as a sharing the wider rationality and intelligence of the animate cosmos.Justice, then, is an exercise in the bonds of friendship, which is very different from an exercise in rights and the will to power. The limits of social contract theories, the mainstay of modern understandings, are on display. And what we need to recover are other ways of speaking freely - modes of dialogue and discourse that aren't primarily about proposition or facts, but commitments, relationships, devotions, celebrations.

Randomness and luck, fate and providence. How do these facets of life relate to one another? Or is everything, actually, mechanically determined with synchronicities, say, being no more than coincidences? In this episode of the Sheldrake-Vernon Dialogues, Rupert Sheldrake and Mark Vernon discuss the ways in which philosophers and scientists, ancient and modern, have imagined and explored notions of causality and sympathy in nature, alongside fortune and calamities. The ideas of Aristotle and Boethius provide a striking background against which to consider more recent scientific work. Rupert also demonstrates how fields can influence seemingly random effects using a Galton Board - a remarkably profound analogue for, say, practices such as prayer.

William discusses the importance of taking Blake's Christianity seriously, highlighting the continuous incarnation and Jesus' role. They explore forgiveness, self-annihilation, and the divine breath in Blake's work. The failure of naturalism, mystical Christianity, and the need for an experiential relationship with the divine are also touched upon.

The podcast delves into the significance of 'trans' proxies in contemporary politics, exploring trans activism, transhumanizing, and transitioning the economy. It questions the lack of understanding of the soul in these issues, emphasizing qualities of relationship to our bodies, minds, and the natural world. Drawing on insights from Rowan Williams, it delves into the soulful element in politics and the importance of attunement, intuition, and connection to the divine spirit.

There is a link between rising levels of mental-ill health and political disillusionment. Feeling cut off is not just an economic and psychological problem, but is a symptom of a wider alienation arising from modern consciousness.Owen Barfield argued that contemporary political problems are fundamentally due to estrangement not only from others but from ourselves, due to a loss of soul and spirit to materialism and literalism.As Carl Jung put it, the gods have become diseases – diseases of the collective as well as individual psyche. The pre-political must address this crisis of anthropology if politics is to be restored.This is the sixth thought in which I’ve turned to a guide to illuminate the overwhelming feeling of malaise in this democratic year.Look at others on my YouTube channel: Plato on beauty, Aristotle on ethics, Jesus on being in the world but not of it, Dante and civilisational decline, and William Blake on the rise of abstraction.

The podcast explores William Blake's criticism of abstraction in politics, economics, and the humanities. It discusses the impact of generalizations on alienation and disillusionment, as well as the rise of populism as a reaction to abstraction. By highlighting the need for alternative visions and reconnection with nature, the discussion advocates for a shift away from abstract thinking towards a more meaningful engagement with the world.

The new movie Freud’s Last Session is well worth a watch, particularly if either man is of interest.The issues you might expect are aired between them, not least belief in God. But also the more shadowy sides to their lives - Lewis’s relationship with Janie Moore, Freud’s with his daughter Anna.I enjoyed it, though also wondered if they might have discussed other things and found common ground.There’s more about the film here - https://www.sonyclassics.com/film/freudslastsession

Rupert Sheldrake and Mark Vernon explore the expansive concept of life, discussing how stars and atoms can have life cycles. They debate Whitehead's idea that even inanimate objects are organisms, touching on consciousness, the powers of nature, and the connection of all life. They question the origin of life and the experience of being alive, expanding the notion of life and the awe of existence.

I've been thinking about politics and disillusionment that seems most characteristic of now, in the West at least, and thinking about the prepolitcal  - what politics needs to work well.I've thought about Plato on beauty and Aristotle on ethics in previous posts.Now a third guide, Jesus on... which isn't immediately easy to say. And that's the point.Some would say that Jesus and politics is easy to define.- a preference for the poor- the prosperity gospel- or Christian exceptionalism and oppressive regimes.But the heart of Jesus and politics is not in practical policies or polities, I believe. He was in the world but not of the world. He stood for something more than was immediately obvious or practical He constantly acted so as to respond to the moment but so as to allow more to come in.That was why he talked of the kingdom that is near, revising apocalyptic expectations and ushering the transformation of the self.I mentioned David Lloyd Dusenbury's book, I Judge No One - see here https://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/i-judge-no-one/And my book, A Secret History of Christianity - see here https://www.markvernon.com/books/a-secret-history-of-christianity