81. Universal Selection Theory (w/ Gary Cziko)

I'm joined by professor Gary Cziko, author of Without Miracles: Universal Selection Theory and the Second Darwinian Revolution, to discuss the universal learning process driving adaptive complexification across cosmic scales. We get into the issue of "puzzles of fit" and how they've tended to be accounted for, the scope and power of selectionist theories for understanding evolution and knowledge generation, and relationships of the theory to a number of important topics, including how we make meaning in life. 0:00 Introduction2:22 Puzzles of Fit and Universal Selection Theory8:55 A Metatheory for Meaningful Knowledge Generation16:23 The Universe Learning, & Learning How It Learns23:02 Transcending Constraints of Knowledge Structures31:22 History of the Theory40:31 Adjusting Experience for Meaning47:17 Piaget and Universal Selection Theory55:52 Hegel?57:08 The Miracle 'Without Miracles'59:44 The Existential Basis of Purpose1:06:27 Conclusion Get full access to Brendan Graham Dempsey at brendangrahamdempsey.substack.com/subscribe

Oliver Griebel joins me to discuss the topic of the anthology he edited on the metaphysical relationship between the one and the many. Get full access to Brendan Graham Dempsey at brendangrahamdempsey.substack.com/subscribe

Evolutionary spirituality writer Tim Freke joins me for a live Limicon event to discuss his take on the new form of spirituality emerging in metamodern culture. We explore a few topics together, then open the conversation up for Q&A from the rest of the attendees. Evolution, consciousness, death, mysticism--it's a good ride! Get full access to Brendan Graham Dempsey at brendangrahamdempsey.substack.com/subscribe

Tony Wolf joins me to discuss his new book out from Sky Meadow Press: 'Poetic Faiths: New Religions and Rituals as Works of Living Art, Vol I.' First we tackle the idea of "Poetic Faiths" and what they are before going over what's in this new anthology of interviews with creators of such Poetic Faiths. Tony shares part of his story that led him to this work as well as some of the specifics of his own Poetic Faith, The Mysterium. Finally, we consider the significance and future of this form of spirituality. 0:00 Introduction2:02 What is a "Poetic Faith"?15:13 The Anthology18:53 Poetic Faiths and Metamodern Religion23:04 Tony's Story: The First of The Three Moments31:09 Tony's Poetic Faith: The Mysterium38:51 Mindful Ritual and Serious Symbols44:02 A Mycelial Network of New Faiths54:42 The Roles for Creators1:10:39 Conclusion Get full access to Brendan Graham Dempsey at brendangrahamdempsey.substack.com/subscribe

Cheryl Armon joins me to talk about her work in the field of developmental psychology. After discussing how she developed a passion for moral philosophy, entered the field, and met Lawrence Kohlberg, as well as the important theoretical distinctions between "hard" stages and "soft" stage models which they published about, we dive into the data Armon has amassed over her career on how people's conceptions of "The Good" complexify across the lifespan. 0:00 Introduction3:07 Cheryl's Path to Developmental Studies11:30 Studying Complexification of the True, the Good, and the Beautiful17:15 Meeting Kohlberg22:16 The "Right" vs. the "Good"28:07 Asking People about the Good30:57 Hard Stage Models vs. Other Kinds38:24 Are There Domain-General Stages?Stages of the Good43:16 Stage 1. Egoistic Hedonism47:36 Stage 2. Instrumental Hedonism50:11 Stage 3. Altruistic Mutuality59:17 Stage 4. Individuality 1:10:07 Stage 5. Autonomy/Interdependence1:17:42 The Complexification of Value1:19:47 Doing the Work Right1:23:50 Taking Adult Developmental Reasoning Seriously1:30:37 ConclusionSOURCESCheryl Armon, "Ideals of the Good Life: A Longitudinal/Cross-Sectional Study of Evaluative Reasoning in Children and Adults." PhD Dissertation, Harvard University, 1984.Cheryl Armon, "Ideals of the Good Life and Moral Judgment: Ethical Reasoning across the Lifespan," in Beyond Formal Operations, ed. Michael L. Commons, Francis A. Richards, and Cheryl Armon (New York: Praeger, 1984), 357–380.Cheryl Armon and Theo Linda Dawson, "The Good Life: A Longitudinal Study of Adult Reasoning," in Handbook of Adult Development, ed. Jack Demick and Carrie Andreoletti (New York: Kluwer Academic, 2003), 271–300. Get full access to Brendan Graham Dempsey at brendangrahamdempsey.substack.com/subscribe

Zak Stein joins me in a constructive discussion about our respective projects to reconstruct value after postmodernism. Having talked to Zak about his work with David J Temple, this time he responds to my work in the first volume of the Evolution of Meaning Series. Here we explore in greater detail his concerns about projects that would situate human cultural evolution within the broader cosmic evolutionary process more generally. How do we avoid reducing the human in the process? How do we properly understand what uniquely delineates human cultural processes from animal ones? What is the proper role of science in all of this?0:00 Introduction2:24 Irreducible Humanity: Continuity and Discontinuity15:34 The Role of the Philosopher: Translating the Sciences for Human Meaning20:34 Situating the Insights of Modern Science: Integrating Postmodern Critiques35:46 Interior vs. Exterior Accounts29:37 Metaphysics and Methodology: Religion or Radical Empiricism?41:58 Intersubjectivity and Universal Pragmatics1:04:30 Science after Postmodernism Get full access to Brendan Graham Dempsey at brendangrahamdempsey.substack.com/subscribe

Layman joins me for further jamming on the human/biosphere relationship. We explore the idea of entropy reduction (negentropy) as a natural trajectory and its relationship to the evolution of consciousness. Folding in Nietzsche, we consider the "will to power" in terms of a natural drive related to such processes before turning to the "mereological question": Is humanity (the noosphere) part of the biosphere or is the biosphere part of the noosphere? This leads to further considerations of the unique human contribution to biospheric dynamics, and the question of anthropocentrism in how we frame such relationships. 0:00 Introduction1:28 Nature and Negentropy14:44 Towards a Qualitative Typology of Negentropic Systems25:00 A Natural Direction: The Role of Consciousness and Care35:41 Decentration and Ecologization 41:16 Negentropy and the Will to Power57:35 Mereology and Mutual Transformation 1:11:29 Art and Nature1:21:16 An Appetition for Noospheric Mapping1:39:44 Anthropocentrism and the Human Perspective1:57:43 Conclusion Get full access to Brendan Graham Dempsey at brendangrahamdempsey.substack.com/subscribe

Cognitive scientist Anna Riedl helps me get a sense of the emerging paradigm in cogsci and beyond dedicated to understanding how we make meaning in an uncertain and entropic world. After that, we tackle ideas Anna is working on informed by her experience with and critique of effective altruism: a framework she provisionally calls "autopoiethics," which relates to the normative decision-making processes of autopoetic systems.0:00 IntroductionI. State of the Art in Meaning Studies1:22 Meaning, Relevance, and Rationality 11:28 Synthesizing Abstract and Particular 21:56 Metarationality and the Transjective Frame30:03 A New Paradigm?40:41 Related Fields and ThinkersII. Autopoethics52:11 Normativity and Collective Welfare57:06 Autopoietic Normativity vs. Effective Altruism1:15:05 Perspectival Values1:26:50 Function vs. Process1:31:44 Conclusion Get full access to Brendan Graham Dempsey at brendangrahamdempsey.substack.com/subscribe

Here, Lene Rachel Andersen joins us to talk about her piece Polymodern Economics. Following the publication of the first issue of Metamodern Theory & Praxis, a new, anti-disciplinary journal dedicated to movements in metamodern thought, we will be inviting the various contributors for some discussion about their work.You can read this and the other works in issue 1 here: https://sts.williams.edu/metamodern/v1i1/ Get full access to Brendan Graham Dempsey at brendangrahamdempsey.substack.com/subscribe

On Saturday, January 18, Sky Meadow Institute hosted a virtual meet-up and open Q&A with Tim Freke, author of Soul Story and a leading thinker in the emergent spirituality space. For more upcoming events, check out skymeadowinstitute.org Get full access to Brendan Graham Dempsey at brendangrahamdempsey.substack.com/subscribe