Psychedelic Realism, Platonism & The Ground of Being with Danny Forde

Hüseyin Beyköylü left medicine for cognitive science after an LSD experience, and five years later he's arguing that mainstream psychology and neuroscience are built on assumptions that systematically miss what matters most about the mind. This is a dense, careful conversation about epistemology, metaphysics, and why randomized controlled trials can't capture human transformation. We get into the entropy-fluency hypothesis, how destabilization and reorganization cycle through every scale from insight to mystical experience, and why false fluency (the smoothness of a conspiracy theory, the comfort of a simplified worldview) is just as real as the real thing. In the second half, the conversation opens into metaphysics: what is truth, is there a ground, and does groundlessness mean nothing matters? Hüseyin draws on Madhyamaka, Spinoza, Karen Barad, and Varela to argue that reality is a cosmic play we actively participate in, and that truth is something you embody rather than correspond to. TIMESTAMPS 0:00:00 - Introduction & Hüseyin's Background 0:02:16 - From Medicine to Psychedelic Research: The LSD Pivot 0:05:05 - Overview of Published Papers 0:06:31 - The 4P Model: Four Ways of Knowing 0:10:55 - Are the Categories Real? Yogacara, Madhyamaka & Reflexivity 0:17:53 - Language of Description vs. Language of Training 0:23:15 - What's Wrong with Therapy? Non-Propositional Transformation 0:28:18 - The Woo Problem: How to Evaluate Alternative Therapies 0:34:57 - Ergodicity, Idiographic Science & Complex Systems 0:43:31 - Hüseyin's Empirical Research: Time Series & Phase Transitions 0:48:42 - The Cognitive Continuum: From Fluency to Mystical Experience 0:55:48 - Relevance Realization & the Entropy-Fluency Hypothesis 1:02:24 - False Fluency, Conspirituality & Context-Dependence 1:12:23 - The Biggest Problems with Psychedelic Science & Neurophenomenology 1:27:39 - What Is Truth? Groundlessness, the Sacred & the Cosmic Play 2:05:57 - What Would You Tell Your Younger Self? KEY INSIGHTS & TRANSCRIPT https://tiagovf.com/posts/podcast-enactivism-buddhist-epistemology-the-cosmic-play-with-huseyin-beykoylu FOLLOW MY WORK https://substack.com/@tiagovf https://www.instagram.com/tiagobooks/ MUSIC CREDIT Intro song by Lief Sjostrom, titled Peril, from the album 'Impossible Parade' Website: https://liefsjostrom.com/ Album: https://liefsjostrom.bandcamp.com/album/impossible-parade

Most philosophical work on psychedelics either reduces the experience to brain states or floats off into vague mysticism. Danny Forde carves a third path. He argues that psychedelics strip away the ego's narrative overlay and give you direct contact with reality as it actually is. The case is built on realist phenomenology, anti-psychologism, and a sober Platonism that treats essences as real but not otherworldly.  The episode is a sustained, sometimes contentious dialogue about whether that claim holds up: whether perception can ever be "raw," whether the minimal self really persists through ego dissolution, whether all traditions point at the same truth or differ in ways that matter ontologically, and whether psychedelic experience tells us about consciousness or about reality itself.  TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Start 0:37 - Introduction: Danny Forde & Phenomenology of Psychedelic Experiences 1:55 - Danny's Background: Cork, UCC, and the Accidental Academic 4:15 - Wonder, Curiosity & Psychedelics as Fuel for Philosophy 6:29 - The First Trip: Vondelpark, Copelandia & The Great Shark Hunt 7:57 - Philosophy of Psychedelics in Academia: From Fringe to Legitimate 14:00 - Naturalism, Anti-Psychologism & the Limits of Science 27:50 - Realist Phenomenology: Sober Platonism & the Munich-Gottingen Circle 36:32 - Representationalism, Affordances & the Richness of Perception 47:03 - Ego-Free Seeing: Raw Perception vs. Sense-Making 55:15 - Language, Art & the Insufficiency of Words 58:23 - The Self in Psychedelic Experience: A Tripartite Model 71:03 - The Ground of Being, Noetic Conviction & Psychedelic Realism 82:08 - Essentialism: Defending Platonic Essences Against the Mainstream 91:50 - Perennialism, Tradition & the Problem of Religious Pluralism 108:00 - Semiotics of the Therapy Space & Future Work Correction (28:12): The epistemic/non-epistemic seeing distinction is from Fred Dretske, not Kripke. FOLLOW DANNY FORDE https://x.com/dannytheforde https://dannytheforde.substack.com/ READ & LISTEN Key insights and the full transcript here: https://tiagovf.com/posts/podcast-psychedelic-realism-platonism-the-ground-of-being-with-danny-forde FOLLOW https://substack.com/@tiagovf https://www.instagram.com/tiagobooks/ MUSIC CREDIT Intro song by Lief Sjostrom, titled Peril, from the album 'Impossible Parade' Website: https://liefsjostrom.com/ Album: https://liefsjostrom.bandcamp.com/album/impossible-parade

Can technology save us? That question has been asked since the Industrial Revolution, and Heidi Campbell has spent 30 years studying how religious communities keep answering it. In this conversation, she walks through her Religious Social Shaping of Technology framework, showing that even the most conservative groups do not reject technology outright but filter it through their core values and authority structures. From the kosher cell phone in Israel to Zoom communion during the pandemic, the research reveals a consistent pattern that most popular narratives get wrong. The conversation then turns to AI, where Campbell draws a sharp line between knowledge and wisdom. GPTs can organize information; they cannot interpret or embody it. She explains why religious AI chatbots inherit hidden biases from their construction, why the field's failure to distinguish between predictive, generative, and agentic systems is its biggest blind spot, and why the internet has shifted from a supplement to a substitute for religious life, especially among Gen Z. She closes with the recalibration that has redefined her own career: for a growing number of people, the first port of call for religion is no longer a physical community but a screen. TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Start 1:29 How a 1996 Essay on Virtual Church Launched a Career 3:40 The Religious Social Shaping of Technology: Theory & Examples 7:32 Kosher Cell Phones, Chabad, and Evangelical Christians: Unlikely Parallels 8:45 Agency vs. Technological Determinism: Can We Still Choose? 11:42 Heidegger, Neutrality & the Market Forces Behind Technology 14:32 The Inherent Conflict Between Tech Values and Human Values 16:31 How Churches Responded to the Pandemic: Theology or Sociology? 19:11 The Communion-on-Screen Debate: Transubstantiation vs. Symbolic Practice 22:48 European Studies: CONTOC, RECOVERA & the Rise of Hybrid Worship 24:21 Four Models of the God-Technology Relationship 33:10 AI Chatbots, Jesus Bots & the Heidi Bot 35:02 Why GPTs Give Knowledge But Not Wisdom 39:10 The Blind Spot: AI Literacy in Theology & Religious Studies 42:36 From Supplement to Substitute: How the Internet Became the First Port of Call 45:06 Upcoming Books: Agentic AI, AI Slop & Religious Brain Rot   READ & LISTEN Read key insights and the full transcript here: https://tiagovf.com/posts/podcast-god-and-technology-with-heidi-campbell FOLLOW https://substack.com/@tiagovf https://www.instagram.com/tiagobooks/ MUSIC CREDIT Intro song by Lief Sjostrom, titled Peril, from the album 'Impossible Parade' Website: https://liefsjostrom.com/ Album: https://liefsjostrom.bandcamp.com/album/impossible-parade

Timothy Patitsas argues that Western ethics has the order of the transcendentals backwards. Truth and goodness come first in most traditions. But Patitsas, drawing from Greek Orthodox theology, argues that beauty must come first. Not beauty as aesthetics, but beauty as the force that draws you toward God, toward wholeness, and toward a life worth living. In this conversation, we work through what that actually means: how liturgy functions as a structuring force analogous to high-reliability organizations like aircraft carriers, why asceticism follows naturally from eros rather than opposing it, and how trauma healing must proceed through concentric stages: stabilizing the animal first, then the relational human, then the deeper archaeological work. Patitsas draws on Christopher Alexander, Jane Jacobs, Roy Rappaport, and Jonathan Shay to connect the Orthodox vision to secular frameworks, while insisting that certain realities can only be known by crossing a threshold, not by argument. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Teaser 00:49 Background & The Ethics of Beauty 04:08 Growing Up Greek-American 11:41 Liturgical Knowing vs. Book Knowledge 18:10 Explaining Liturgy to Secular People 24:41 Why Religious Ritual Needs More Structure 28:12 The Aircraft Carrier Study: Three Systems of Order 36:41 Asceticism as a Consequence of Eros 42:41 Eros Unfolding into Agape 49:37 Jane Jacobs & The Secular Person 56:42 Meeting a Saint Changes Everything 1:04:37 Psychedelics, Faith & Threshold Experiences 1:12:38 The Berserk Mode & Dark Initiation 1:20:43 Talk Therapy, CBT & Trauma Healing 1:32:33 Beauty First vs. Truth First 1:39:36 Christ Crucified as Beauty TRANSCRIPT AND KEY INSIGHTS Read here: https://tiagovf.com/posts/podcast-the-orthodox-vision-of-beauty-with-timothy-patitasas FOLLOW https://substack.com/@tiagovf https://www.instagram.com/tiagobooks/ MUSIC CREDIT Intro song by Lief Sjostrom, titled Peril, from the album 'Impossible Parade' Website: https://liefsjostrom.com/

How much of what you read are you actually missing? In this in person conversation recorded in Rome (full video on YouTube), comparative literature scholar Piero Boitani makes the case that most of us are functionally illiterate when it comes to the Western canon, not because we lack access to the texts, but because we lack the layered knowledge required to read them. He demonstrates this with a single word in Tolstoy that links The Death of Ivan Ilyich to Christ's crucifixion through Tolstoy's own Gospel translation, a connection invisible without Russian, Greek, and biblical literacy working simultaneously. From there, the conversation expands into the thin border between philosophy and poetry, why both originate in Aristotelian wonder, and what exactly poetry can reach that philosophy cannot. Boitani traces how every major Western intellectual revival has been an attempt to recover antiquity, and argues that modern culture's refusal to look backward is not progress but a form of blindness. He closes with an unexpectedly blunt reflection on dying, fame, and whether literature offers any real defense against either. 00:00 Start 00:33 Introducing Piero Boitani and a 50 Year Career  04:21 Astronomy and the Necessity of Original Languages  09:43 Wonder as the Root of Philosophy and Poetry  18:47 The Ineffable in Dante and Modern Literature  27:19 Rejecting the Bifurcation of Science and Art  38:40 Plato and the Paradox of Poetic Truth  46:27 The Death of the Past and Historical Stratification  59:45 The Collapse of Antiquity and Medieval Renaissances  1:07:51 Translating the Timaeus Through the Ages  1:24:25 World Literature versus Universal History  1:35:56 Confronting Finitude and the Defense Against Death  1:49:10 The Illusion of Literary Immortality and Final Thoughts --- Read key insights and the full transcript here: https://tiagovf.com/posts/the-timaeus-beauty-and-tradition-anagoge-podcast Follow me to get updates on the podcast and my work:  https://substack.com/@tiagovf https://www.instagram.com/tiagobooks/ The intro song is by Lief Sjostrom, titled Peril, from the album 'Impossible Parade'. Website: https://liefsjostrom.com/ Album: https://liefsjostrom.bandcamp.com/album/impossible-parade

This is a in-person recorded podcast. The video is available on YouTube. Michiel van Elk is an Associate Professor of Cognitive Psychology at Leiden University and head of the PRiSM Lab, where he studies the cognitive neuroscience of religion and psychedelic experiences. In this episode, we take a sober look at the current state of psychedelic science, moving beyond the cultural evangelism and media hype. Michiel critiques the biomedical model of psychedelic therapy, discusses the disappointing effect sizes in recent clinical trials, and highlights methodological issues like "breaking blind" and selection bias. We explore why psychedelics are not a "reset" button for the brain but rather amplifiers of meaning, potentially functioning as "super placebos." The conversation covers the theoretical gaps in the field, contrasting the popular "entropic brain" hypotheses with the lack of solid empirical data. Michiel also outlines his vision for the future of the field: a move toward "sober science" that separates the study of these substances from the spiritual fervor that often surrounds them. 00:00 - Meet Michiel van Elk: Academic Background & The PRISM Lab 02:34 - The Role of Philosophy in Psychedelic Science 07:34 - Critiquing "Narrative Theories" in Psychology 11:09 - From Pentecostalism to Atheism: Michiel's Personal Journey 17:59 - Critiquing the Cognitive Science of Religion (CSR) 30:36 - "Absorption" & The Process of "Real-Making" 39:59 - The "More Real Than Real" Debate: Perception vs. Meaning 51:14 - The Flaws of the Biomedical Model & 4E Cognition 1:02:18 - Misconceptions & The Hype Bubble in Psychedelic Science 1:15:39 - The "Super Placebo" & The Meaning Response 1:19:09 - Can We Cultivate Transformation? Personality & Openness 1:22:39 - The "Einstein Effect" & Notable Research 1:28:59 - The Future: Toward a More "Sober" Psychedelic Science 1:33:44 - New Research: Magic Truffles & Natural Compounds --- Transcript: https://tiagovf.com/posts/the-science-spirituality-of-psychedelics-with-michiel-van-elk-anagoge-podcast --- Follow me to get updates on the podcast and my work: https://substack.com/@tiagovf https://www.instagram.com/tiagobooks/ --- The intro song is by Lief Sjostrom, titled Peril, from the album 'Impossible Parade'. Website: https://liefsjostrom.com/ Album: https://liefsjostrom.bandcamp.com/album/impossible-parade

Arthur Versluis is the author of Platonic Mysticism: Contemplative Science, Philosophy, Literature, and Art and a Professor of Religious Studies at Michigan State University. His work bridges the gap between rigorous scholarship and the experiential reality of spiritual traditions. We examine the transformative power of art and its ability to mediate between the material and the transcendent. Versluis highlights the Hudson River School and the concept of "Luminism," explaining how the visual representation of light in nature mirrors the internal experience of mystical illumination. The discussion navigates the complex relationship between the "forms" of Plato and the direct experience of the divine, moving beyond the common accusations of dualism often leveled at the Platonic tradition. We explore the "apophatic" or negative theological tradition, comparing the insights of Western mystics like Meister Eckhart with the emptiness found in the Heart Sutra. Finally, Versluis shares how his background in agriculture informs his work ethic and how Western philosophy can be complemented by the precise "maps" of consciousness found in Vajrayana Buddhism. 0:00 - Introduction: Teaching Plato & The Allegory of the Cave 4:45 - The Eclipse of Platonism & The Dominance of Materialism 10:19 - Reframing the "Forms": Angels, Hierarchy & Non-Duality 16:11 - Gnosticism, The Heart Sutra, and the Apophatic Lineage 24:10 - Luminism: The Hudson River School & The Metaphysics of Art 33:59 - Kant vs. Schelling: Who Opens the Door to Mysticism? 40:21 - The Descent into Darkness & The Ancient Mysteries 50:38 - What is Perennial Philosophy? (Truth vs. Relativism) 58:52 - American Gurus & The Problem with New Age Spirituality 69:17 - Breaking Through the Materialistic Deception 75:23 - Farming, Buddhist Maps of Consciousness & Recovering the West   Follow me to get updates on the podcast and my work:  https://substack.com/@tiagovf https://www.instagram.com/tiagobooks/   The intro song is by Lief Sjostrom, titled Peril, from the album 'Impossible Parade'. Website: https://liefsjostrom.com/ Album: https://liefsjostrom.bandcamp.com/album/impossible-parade

This conversation explores the depths of Object-Oriented Ontology (OOO) and its radical departure from both analytic and continental philosophy traditions. Graham Harman explains the limitations of "literalism" in science and how great philosophy relies on intuition and rhetoric rather than just rational justification. We discuss the influence of Martin Heidegger's tool analysis and the difference between "real" and "sensual" objects. We also cover the role of architecture in philosophy and why art may be the only way to touch the reality of things.   00:00 - Introduction to Object-Oriented Ontology  05:00 - Heidegger, Husserl, and Tool Analysis 09:00 - The Critique of Literalism 15:00 - Aesthetics and Metaphor 17:50 - Defining "Objects" vs. Materialism 25:00 - Sacredness and Ethical Imperatives 37:50 - Object-Object Interaction 51:19 - Flat Ontology & Human Exceptionalism 55:00 - Animal Intelligence 1:07:50 - Intuition, Truth, and Justification 1:17:50 - Theology, Mysticism, and Essence 1:31:00 - Philosophy and Architecture www.anagogepodast.com   Follow me to get updates on the podcast and my work:  https://substack.com/@tiagovf https://www.instagram.com/tiagobooks/   The intro song is by Lief Sjostrom, titled Peril, from the album 'Impossible Parade'. Website: https://liefsjostrom.com/ Album: https://liefsjostrom.bandcamp.com/album/impossible-parade

This was the first real-life episode of the Anagoge Podcast, recorded in Portugal. The video of the conversation is available on YouTube. James Cooke is a neuroscientist, writer, and contemplative practitioner whose work bridges neuroscience, philosophy, and spirituality. In his recent book The Dawn of Mind, he proposes a bold reframing of consciousness—placing it not in the brain alone, but within the deeper relational dynamics of life itself.   In this episode, we explore James' formative mystical experience as a teenager and how it set him on a lifelong journey to understand consciousness through science rather than in opposition to it. We unpack his core thesis of non-dual naturalism, the idea that reality is fundamentally relational, not made up of separate objects, and that consciousness itself may be best understood as an embodied epistemic relation between organism and world.   We discuss the illusion of the self, the role of suffering in revealing the nature of reality, and how insights from contemplative practice intersect with recent developments in neuroscience and quantum physics. Along the way, we grapple with the philosophical implications of groundlessness, the nature of ethics in a world without selves, and the limits of scientific explanation. 0:00 Start 0:45 James Cooke's Background  2:29 Why a Mystical Experience Led to a Scientific Path 5:53 A Broad Overview of the Book's Thesis: Non-Dual Naturalism 9:52 The Epistemic Weight of Mystical Experiences 17:02 The "No-Self" Claim and the Groundlessness of Reality 23:48 How the Infinite Nature of Reality is Relevant to Everyday Life 29:32 The Link Between "No-Self" and Ethics 39:03 The Nuances of Reducing Suffering: Utilitarianism vs. Values 45:57 Defining Life and Consciousness 50:49 How This Perspective Addresses the Hard Problem of Consciousness 1:06:15 Comparing Model-Building in Life vs. AI (LLMs) 1:09:19 The Influence of Kant and the Problem of Anti-Realism 1:15:52 The Power of Stories, Symbols, and Conventional Reality 1:23:35 The Role of Value Systems vs. Survival in Predictive Processing 1:33:41 The Problem of The One and the Many 1:45:13 Exploring Duality 1:48:56 James Future Work Transcript article: https://tiagovf.medium.com/the-self-consciousness-relationality-54a037bb60a1 My new book, In Search of the Infinite – A Psychedelic Memoir, is a personal and philosophical account written over seven years, tracing my journey through over a dozen psychedelic experiences. It explores the depths of human experience: suffering, beauty, doubt, and wonder, through the lens of altered states and introspection, gradually moving from a strictly rational worldview toward a renewed engagement with religion. Blending memoir with philosophical reflection, it explores a sincere, evolving search for truth and meaning.   Paperback/Amazon: https://amzn.eu/d/8MM0JhE Free Digital Version: https://psychedelicmemoir.com/   If you would like to connect with me on Instagram, you can do so at @tiagobooks: https://www.instagram.com/tiagobooks/   The intro song is by Lief Sjostrom, titled Peril, from the album 'Impossible Parade'. Website: https://liefsjostrom.com/ Album: https://liefsjostrom.bandcamp.com/album/impossible-parade  

Alexander Jech is the Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Philosophy Department and a Faculty Affiliate at the Nanovic Institute for European Studies at the University of Notre Dame. His work often explores political philosophy, ethics, and the limits of language. In 2024, he published a new translation of Søren Kierkegaard's influential work, Fear and Trembling. We explore Alexander's fascinating and serendipitous journey into studying Kierkegaard, which began somewhat reluctantly but blossomed into his main philosophical passion. We dive deep into the inseparable link between Kierkegaard's tumultuous personal life—marked by his complex relationship with his father and his famously broken engagement to Regina Olsen—and the development of his core philosophical ideas. Alexander unpacks the intricate concept of indirect communication and the use of pseudonyms in works like "Either/Or". A significant portion of our conversation is dedicated to "Fear and Trembling," where we discuss the paradox of Abraham and Isaac, the nuances of translating the text, and the profound concept of the teleological suspension of the ethical, clarifying common misinterpretations along the way. Finally, we connect Kierkegaard's thought to the modern day, exploring the "leap of faith" as a model for identity transformation. We discuss how this applies to overcoming addiction, the role of transformative or mystical experiences in creating new possibilities for the self, and the mysterious power of love and the sacred in grounding this leap.   0:00 - Introduction & Alexander's Background 3:26 - What Drew Alexander to Kierkegaard? 6:24 - The Serendipitous Path to Becoming a Kierkegaard Scholar 10:07 - Kierkegaard's Relevance for Students 10:38 - Teaching Kierkegaard & The Human Heart 15:20 - How Student Needs Led to a New "Fear and Trembling" Translation 18:12 - Kierkegaard's Historical & Philosophical Context (vs. Hegel & Romantics) 25:54 - The Link Between Kierkegaard's Personal Suffering & His Philosophy 28:05 - Factor 1: The Relationship with His Father 33:03 - Factor 2: The Relationship with Regina Olsen 38:31 - Factor 3: The Art of Indirect Communication 43:26 - How "Either/Or" Was a Tool to Repel Regina 48:14 - The Leap of Faith: Kierkegaard's Personal Failure with Regina 53:28 - Unpacking "Fear and Trembling": The Story of Abraham 58:02 - The Teleological Suspension of the Ethical 1:00:38 - The Correct Interpretation: Kierkegaard's Lack of Faith 1:05:22 - The Paradox of the Teleological Suspension of the Ethical 1:10:06 - Translating the Paradox: The Importance of "Intend" vs. "Want" 1:22:22 - Is Faith a Rejection of Practical Reason? 1:38:00 - The Role of the Revolutionary: Justifying Horrible Acts for a Greater Good? 1:47:17 - Applying Kierkegaard: The Leap, Identity & Transformative Experience 1:58:28 - The Sacred, Possibility, and Bridging the Gap 2:05:28 - Kierkegaard's Answer to the Addict: How to Make the Leap? 2:16:47 - Conclusion   This podcast is available in article format: https://tiagovf.medium.com/the-life-of-kierkegaards-life-the-leap-of-faith-41df3231981f My new book, In Search of the Infinite – A Psychedelic Memoir, is a personal and philosophical account written over seven years, tracing my journey through over a dozen psychedelic experiences. It explores the depths of human experience: suffering, beauty, doubt, and wonder, through the lens of altered states and introspection, gradually moving from a strictly rational worldview toward a renewed engagement with religion. Blending memoir with philosophical reflection, it explores a sincere, evolving search for truth and meaning. Paperback/Amazon: https://amzn.eu/d/8MM0JhE Free Digital Version: https://psychedelicmemoir.com/ If you would like to connect with me on Instagram, you can do so at @tiagobooks: https://www.instagram.com/tiagobooks/ The intro song is by Lief Sjostrom, titled Peril, from the album 'Impossible Parade'. Website: https://liefsjostrom.com/ Album: https://liefsjostrom.bandcamp.com/album/impossible-parade