Becoming Human: Recent Episodes
Samuel Loncar, Ph.D.
Becoming Human with the philosopher and religious atheist Samuel Loncar is a show for a species in crisis.
Series 1: Origins, tells the story of the atheistic revolution, beginning with Socrates and Jesus, that made the modern world. Series 2: Apocalypse, explores the embers and ashes of the posthuman present in search of a new world. Between these long-form, solo series, enjoy Explorations: journeys into time, culture, art, and history, encountering the mystery of the Human in conversations and free-standing episodes.
In 2019, The New Yorker profiled writer and professor of English Literature, Dr. Karen Swallow Prior. Reporter Eliza Griswold, director of the Program in Journalism at Princeton University, highlights Prior's distinctive academic background and literary interests alongside her evangelical faith. The profile positions Prior as a leader and intellectual voice thoughtfully navigating the political and social tensions within evangelicalism. Samuel Loncar, Yale-trained philosopher and scholar of science and religion, who has written in depth about evangelical culture and the Protestant Reformation as a metaphysical revolution, sits down with Prior to discuss the cultural crisis in literacy and reading. In this Becoming Human Conversations episode, they explore how literature shapes our understanding of ourselves and the divine, emphasizing that the virtues cultivated through deep reading are connected to what makes us human. 🎤 Guest: Karen Swallow Prior, PhD | writer, reader, and speaker, and most recently the author of You Have a Calling: Finding Your Vocation in the True, Good, and Beautiful 🎤 Host: Samuel Loncar, PhD | philosopher, Yale-trained scholar of science and religion, writer, and consultant Resources for Learning More:
In this Explorations episode, Yale-trained philosopher and scholar of religion and science, Samuel Loncar, explores the profound philosophical and cultural significance of Mary Magdalene, her role as a symbol of love, wisdom, and transformation, and her enduring influence across history and tradition.
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Spirit News: A Hegelian Perspective on Current Affairs | | Most people see America as a divided nation struggling to live up to its founding ideals, but what if America's distinct flaws reveal its greatest philosophical potential?
In this episode, Yale-trained philosopher and scholar of religion and science Samuel Loncar challenges us to see America not only as a political project, but as the ultimate embodiment of modern philosophy centered on freedom and equality. He argues that America's imperfections are actually signs of its ongoing evolution and the proof that its ideals are becoming more real with each passing generation. Political division, far from being destructive, is a necessary tension that fosters ongoing reform, making America a living philosophical experiment. A specialist in German Idealist philosophy and Christian history, Loncar shows how America's founding texts, like the Declaration of Independence, are philosophical blueprints rooted in German Idealism and medieval Christian thought about freedom. Loncar explores the paradox of American progress: despite deep systemic failures like slavery and inequality, the nation's legal and cultural systems continually strive toward justice, pushing ideals into tangible reality.
Learn More: www.samuelloncar.com www.marginaliareviewofbooks.com
Spirit News: A Hegalian Perspective on Current Affairs| Ep. 3 | A philosopher's take on the news with Yale-trained philosopher, Dr. Samuel Loncar.
In this episode, I explore the transformative impact of social media on traditional news, the foundational theories of social structure by classical theorists like Elias, Marx, Durkheim, and Weber, and the implications of these theories on contemporary society.
I discuss the evolution of societal norms, the dynamics of geopolitics and imperialism, and the role of America in European defense, culminating in an analysis of the emerging global order and the interconnectedness of civilizations.
Spirit News: A Hegelian Perspective on Current Affairs Philosopher Dr. Samuel Loncar explores the intersection of philosophy and modern news, emphasizing the relevance of Hegelian thought in understanding contemporary society. In the latest episode of Spirit News, he dives into the changing landscape of media and the rise of new platforms. Legacy news networks are losing viewers, and it's time to rethink what we consider "newsworthy."
Course: The Existential Enlightenment: An Introduction to Søren Kierkegaard https://www.samuelloncar.com/courses/p/the-existential-enlightenment-an-introduction-to-sren-kierkegaard
Time & Eternity: Poetry and Philosophy in Dialogue with Dr. Samuel Loncar and Alexandra Barylski. | A Becoming Human Media Podcast
In this inaugural episode, we delve into the intricate relationship between poetry, philosophy, and the human experience. We explore the crisis of literacy in modern education, the role of AI, and the enduring legacy of poet Richard Wilbur.
LEARN MORE
www.samuelloncar.com www.alexandrabarylski.com
Samuel Loncar, Ph.D. (Yale University) and Alexandra Barylski, M.A. (Yale University) are the Editors of Marginalia Review of Books, philosophers, poets, and writers.
Spirit News: A Hegelian Perspective on Current Affairs Philosopher
Dr. Samuel Loncar explores the intersection of philosophy and modern news, emphasizing the relevance of Hegelian thought in understanding contemporary society. He discusses the paradox of news prioritizing timeliness over true relevance, the contradictions inherent in political ideologies, and the legacy of Thomas Aquinas in shaping modern thought. The conversation culminates in a Nietzschean analysis of the World Economic Forum at Davos, highlighting the complexities of globalism, AI, and the role of the European Union.
www.samuelloncar.com
Do we have to choose between mind and matter, or are they somehow one?
We live today in a battle between two rival streams of ancient wisdom, one that demonized matter as evil and one that divinized it. The great Syrian Neoplatonist, Iamblichus, was the descendant of priest-kings, and wrote one of the most difficult and important texts of late antique philosophy: On the Mysteries.
This conversation with Dr. Gregory Shaw, one of the world's leading experts on the Neoplatonism of Iamblichus, provides powerful insights into non-dualist Platonism and how ancient philosophy helps us bring scientific rigor to the spiritual life, uncovering the deep relevance of the ancient practice known as theurgy, divine work. Gregory Shaw, PhD is Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies at Stonehill College, Massachusetts and the author of Theurgy and the Soul: The Neoplatonism of Iamblichus and Hellenic Tantra: The Theurgic Platonism of Iamblichus.
Chapters 7-8 are two of the most dramatic chapters in The Scarlet Letter. In this episode of The Poetry Peddler, Alexandra Barylski provides the plot essentials before diving into why Hester Prynne is an image of Courage itself.
What if what Hawthorne called the supernatural is actually a profound way of showing in literature what modern psychology has proven to be the case?
In episode five of The Scarlet Letter series, Alexandra Barylski discusses the mental health crisis, why Hawthorne might have understood our moden moment better than us, and how Hester Prynne can help us see that choice is the key to our spiritual freedom.
Who really was John the Baptist? A prophet? An antiestablishment rebel and activist? Jesus' teacher? In this Becoming Human Conversation, philosopher and scholar of religion Samuel Loncar interviews the scholar James F. McGrath about his groundbreaking research on John the Baptist.
James F. McGrath, author of "Christmaker: A Life of John the Baptist" and "John of History, Baptist of Faith: The Quest for the Historical Baptizer," and the Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University, shows how John is a fascinating religious figure in his own right.
Aside from his influence on Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, John is also revered by the Mandaeans, the last extant gnostic sect, who revere John the Baptist and see themselves as part of his prophetic tradition.
ABOUT James F. McGrath Dr. James F. McGrath is the Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University. His PhD is from the University of Durham in England. His interests include early Christianity, John the Baptist and the Mandaeans, science fiction, and the intersection of religion and science. He blogs at ReligionProf on the Patheos web site.
This public work is made possible by the support of Becoming Human Members. Become a Member of Becomging Human today: https://www.samuelloncar.com/join-becoming-human-project-1
ABOUT Samuel Loncar Born in Athens, Greece, Samuel's ancestors' give him global roots: in Okinawa, Japan, among the Chippewa (or Ojibwe) people, and in Eastern Europe. Samuel's diverse background motivated his search for a truth that would respect his upbringing but answer his hardest questions, leading him to discover, at age 14, an ancient philosophy text that converted him to philosophy as a way of life.
He received his Ph.D. from Yale University in 2019 and specializes in philosophy and its connection to religion, science, and the growth and preservation of knowledge in the digital age. Samuel is the founder and creator of the Becoming Human Project, a multi-media project to bring philosophy as a way of life to everyone and build a community of creators seeking a more meaningful life. Samuel Loncar, Ph.D. (Yale) is a philosopher, scholar of religion and science, poet, and Editor of the Marginalia Review of Books.
In this episode of The Poetry Peddler Scarlet Letter series, poet, writer, and editor Alexandra and discusses why the path to self-knowledge begins with aknowledging our fear.
Public shaming is central to The Scarlet Letter, and it's one of the reasons that the story of Hester Pryne feels so relatable to our world today.
In this episode of The Poetry Peddler series on Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, Alexandra Barylski - the show's host, a poet, and long time English teacher - explores the psychological effects of public shaming and how women must learn to navigate their public and private lives while learning to avoid (or carry) archetypal female labels.
In this episode, Alexandra Barylski, host of The Poetry Peddler, introduces Nathanial Hawthorne and The Scarlet Letter through a discussion of the often skimmed (or totally skipped) introductory chapter, "The Custom House" before her discussion of "Chapter One: The Prison." She reads some ghostly passages from introduction directly, which are perfect for Halloween, so you'll get a taste of Hawthorne's own language through her audio.
You may not think that The Scarlet Letter, a novel set in Puritan America, has much to say about our contemporary crisis around what it means to human, and therefore what it means to be a woman, the plummeting literacy rates, and the ongoing debates about feminism. But, I think, it does. And I will prove it to you in these series.
As part of the project, I am recording every chapter of the book with my commentary. As English teacher of many years, this is one the primary ways that I taught my students how to read deeply and think philosophically. So, this series is also very much about the act of reading itself, the act of interpretation, which is a major theme of Nathaniel Hathorne's The Scarlet Letter. The full audio book, released chapter by chapter, will be available for my paid Substack subscribers.
The project is not only about great literature, it is about literacy: What is reading? Why does it matter? And how is the act of reading—or we might say, the act of making a meaningful judgement based on what we see, hear, or read—essential to the human experience. Women have been texts long misunderstood, and Hawthorne knew it and is trying to atone for it.
I am also thrilled to announce that my second collection of poetry, the Necessities of Mending, released today, and at the end of this episode I read two of my poems from the collection. One is about what Eve said to Adam and very much related to the themes of this novel.
Thank you so much for joining me and Samuel Loncar, the creator and host of Becoming Human in our conversation about The Scarlet Letter, Puritan America, the surprising connections between fashion and philosophy, and how flaming A's may become the hottest trend.
Ignorance, humanity's greatest enemy, yet also the secret source of wisdom according to Greece's greatest influencer, Socrates, whose ideas went viral, caused a cultural crisis, and led to his prosecution for impiety, disturbing the peace of a social order that refused to ask: what is real knowledge?
Shortly before his trial, Socrates encountered an expert in piety, Euthryphro, and asked: what is piety? What is justice? How do we know what something really is? Euthyphro's answer might shock you.
Presented by Samuel Loncar, Ph.D. (Yale University), Becoming Human Project Founder Plato Project,
Episode 1, Key quote from the Euthyphro: [Socrates to Euthyphro] "Tell me then, what this form itself is, so that i may lok upon it and, using it as a model, say that any action of yours or another's that is of that kind is pious, and if it is not that it is not."
Learn More About the Project ~ https://substack.com/@samuelloncar/p-175027592 Support the Project ~ https://www.samuelloncar.com/plato-parsha-project
Born in Athens, Greece, Samuel's ancestors' give him global roots: in Okinawa, Japan, among the Chippewa (or Ojibwe) people, and in Eastern Europe.
Samuel's diverse background motivated his search for a truth that would respect his upbringing but answer his hardest questions, leading him to discover, at age 14, an ancient philosophy text that converted him to philosophy as a way of life. He received his Ph.D. from Yale University in 2019 and specializes in philosophy and its connection to religion, science, and the growth and preservation of knowledge in the digital age.
Samuel is the founder and creator of the Becoming Human Project, a multi-media project to bring philosophy as a way of life to everyone and build a community of creators seeking a more meaningful life. Samuel Loncar, Ph.D. (Yale) is a philosopher, scholar of religion and science, poet, and Editor of the Marginalia Review of Books.
The Poetry Peddler podcast is a show celebrating living language as an expression of the human spirit.
The show explores poetry’s crucial role in resisting the global language crisis. Each episode invites listeners into a world where language is a vital force of human spirit, freedom, and creativity, featuring original poems, and conversations on the transformative magic of words.
This episode features part two of my conversation with Christian Wiman who is the author, editor, or translator of fourteen books, most recently, Zero at the Bone, Fifty Entries Against Despair. From 2003-2013 he was the editor of Poetry magazine, and he is a former Guggenheim Fellow and the Clement-Muehl Professor of Communication Arts at Yale Divinity School and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, where I had the privilege of studying with him.
Support the Peddler!
https://www.thepoetrypeddler.com
The Poetry Peddler podcast is a call to revive the living power of language through poetry as a way of life. Hosted by poet and editor Alexandra Barylski, this show explores poetry’s crucial role in resisting the global language crisis. Each episode invites listeners into a world where language is a vital force of human spirit, freedom, and creativity, featuring original poems, and conversations on the transformative magic of words.
This inaugural episode features part one of her conversation with Christian Wiman who is the author, editor, or translator of fourteen books, most recently, Zero at the Bone, Fifty Entries Against Despair. From 2003-2013 he was the editor of Poetry, and he is a former Guggenheim Fellow and the Clement-Muehl Professor of Communication Arts at Yale Divinity School and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, where she had the privilege of studying with him.
Why bother becoming human? In difficult times, it's easy to lose hope. After 5 years since launching this show with Becoming Human: Origins, I decided it's time for an update. This episode shares some of the impact of the work, its relevance today, and how you can access Becoming Human Origins right now.
Who is the Poetry Peddler, and why is poetry so important today?
Alexandra Barylski is an award winning poet, editor, and entrepreneur, and longtime producer for the Becoming Human Project. She is launching the Poetry Peddler Podcast, journal, and press, and sat down with me to discuss why editing is a critical skill today, how poetry touches the uncanny dimension of existence, how poetry and philosophy connect, and how practicing poetry as a way of life deepens our receptivity and openness to Living Language, the spiritual wellspring of consolation and joy.
Join the Peddler!
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This is a fifteen minute excerpt from my live Becoming Human Academy course, "The Sacred World: An introduction to Religion."
In the lecture, I explain why the academic study of religion is important, how it gives us a deep understanding of inclusiveness and ways of interpreting difference that give us compassion, sympathy, and insight. These are some of the great values of the academic study of religion, especially the way it gives us a new scientific approach to context. We need different understandings of the human, particularly of human context and meaning, which is what the scholarly study of religion provides.
In this excerpt, I give the example of a great scholar of religion, Diana Pasulka, who uses the unique skills of the scholarly study of religion to approach the big issue of technology and religion today, particularly in the case of UFOs. I also discuss how a book by a UFO experiencer, whom Pasulka writes about, gives examples of how the history of religion helps us understand contemporary phenomena in an exciting new way.
You are welcome to join the "The Sacred World: An introduction to Religion." You can register now, get the Zoom link, and you will have access to all the past lectures.
https://www.samuelloncar.com/courses/p/the-sacred-world-an-introduction-to-religion
What are rituals, and what makes something sacred? Mircea Eliade was a historian of religion, philosopher, and author widely regarded as one of the most influential scholars of religion in the 20th century.
His book, The Sacred and the Profane, is a classic introduction to religion that answers these questions. Eliade is known for his scholarly work on Yoga, comparative religion, initiation rituals, hierophanies (sacred appearences), and the sacred logic manifest in our experience of space and time.
In this Explorations episode, I explain how we can make time sacred by introducing Eliade's ideas and discussing my new Becoming Human Academy course (www.samuelloncar.com/shop), and share my understanding of sacred time, which is the divine time of creation, experienced through rituals that connect us to the origin of the world itself.
How did the most famous philosopher of his time, a darling of the Parisian salons and an internationally renowned philosopher of science, disappear from memory?
Dr. Emily Herring, author of Herald of a Restless World: How Henri Bergson Brought Philosophy to the People, explains the brilliant insights and legacy of Bergson in this wide-ranging Becoming Human Conversation with Samuel Loncar.
The French philosopher Henri Bergson wrote brilliantly about the brain, biology, memory, time, and creativity, exploring the relationship of science, philosophy, and mysticism, yet he has been largely neglected and forgotten. As Herring explores why this is happened, and how much we have to learn from Bergson today, she opens a path to a new, more creative and hopeful vision of philosophy and science.
Rabbi Adam Yitzchak Polinovskiy is a well-established coach, specializing in the art of personal and professional transformation. His expertise spans a wide range of areas, including mindset mastery, Kabbalistic wisdom, alignment strategies, and leadership development.
In our conversation, we discuss the Kabbalistic background to the modern self-help and personal coaching movement, including figures like Tony Robbins, Reb Adam's personal journey of spiritual transformation, and how to overcome blocks in your business and personal life.
Learn more about Reb Adam and join the latest Tree of Life cohort at rebadam.com
According to Rabbi Simon Jacobson of The Meaningful Life Center, technology is catalyzing a spiritual awakening, making spiritual knowledge the “key commodity of the future.”
Rabbi Jacobson is a best-selling author of Towards a More Meaningful Life and reaches hundreds of thousands daily through his YouTube channel.
In this far-reaching Becoming Human Conversation, we explore anxiety and “healthy angst,” why religion is declining and spirituality is growing, what the spirit is, why the “messianic age” is about the elevation of human consciousness, and how he would respond if he was representing humanity to a delegation of ethically advanced aliens, and they asked, “What is the matter with humanity?”
Support the Becoming Human Project Conversations by becoming a Project member, subscribing to the Becoming Human Project’s Substack, and supporting on Patreon.
MISSION ➤https://www.samuelloncar.com/mission
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🎧 LISTEN to BECOMING HUMAN ORIGINS Ep. 1-2 for FREE How Philosophy Remade Science and Religion
➤https://www.samuelloncar.com/podcast Becoming Human: Origins tells the story of how an atheistic revolution in philosophy, beginning with Socrates and Jesus, remade religion and science, and set the stage for our post-human age. It argues that the dominant story of reason, science, and religion is a modern myth, and must be replaced if we are to make real progress.
BIO
Samuel Loncar, Ph.D. (Yale) is a philosopher of science and religion, poet, and Editor of the Marginalia Review of Books. ➤ MRB https://marginaliareviewofbooks.com
Has AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) already arrived?
As the race for Superintelligent machines changes the world, how can humans prepare to thrive? Ancient spiritual traditions reveal surprising insights into how philosophy as a spiritual technology can teach us where AI is heading, and what to do about it.
Instructor: Dr. Samuel Loncar | Yale University
How do we reimagine education for a world of AI? What skills do people need, and why? How can philosophy as a way of life create a shared vision of human flourishing?
Instructor: Samuel Loncar, Ph.D. | Yale University
Fate is the power of the unchosen to determine your life. It is real and we all know it, or we would never be frustrated. The key question is: can we overcome our fate? Is fate compatible with freedom? An existential strategy is the only way to overcome the power of fate and avoid being a pawn of your environment and history. To conquer fate, we must pursue a scientific understanding of reality, and overcome our limitations. The result is a life ready for immortality.
Long-term planning in short-sighted Western corporations is 10 years, 30 at most. China has a 100 year + strategy for its space program. The Vatican, the oldest continuous city-state with the greatest intelligence network and treasury of any modern country, has been around for at least 1600 years. It thinks in terms all of human history.
AI proponents and transhumanist tell us we may soon live to be 200, or even being as deathless as the Homeric gods. Clearly, we are not ready for such time scales. Most individuals, corporations, and governments lack the most important thing: a strategy for existence itself, the very thing required to “plan for immortality.” This demands a clear vision do what humans truly are and can become, and a vision and plan for living a life beyond current time scales. How do we prepare to live among the stars? We need to know how to exist here on earth.
Instructor: Samuel Loncar, Ph.D. | Yale University
What happens when AGI, Artificial General Intelligence, appears and solves all the problems in science? Can we know the future of science? Thomas Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Chapter 6, suggests we can predict future scientific developments based on a deep understanding of the current anomalies in our ideas. Our philosophical ideas of nature can provide an orientation towards future research, giving us a window into the future. What do we see if we look?
Series: Notes on Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Ep. 7.
Instructor: Samuel Loncar, Ph.D | Yale University
Three Theses about the Future of Science
- We are living through the greatest scientific revolution in over two millennia.
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- A new revolution in biology connects to the AI revolution, and a scientific theory of consciousness may finally be on the horizon as a result.
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- Real philosophy should be scientific and thus able to make predictions. I make three predictions about the next 10 years of science.
Together, these point towards a new theory of consciousness that is philosophically profound, scientifically productive, and existentially significant.
Apocalypse: A Philosophy of Angels, Ep.6
Instructor: Dr. Samuel Loncar | Yale University
The Tao Te Ching teaches that the Way offers infinite utility, seeming to promise unending energy and life. Is this possible and what, scientifically, might it mean?
Exploring Chapter 4 of the Tao Te Ching, I show how the human senses point towards hidden paths of refinement and mysteriously deep sources of energy and insight, all found within the physical body.
Tao Te Ching, Ep. 4 Instructor: Samuel Loncar, Ph.D. | Yale University
The simulation theory is all around us, putting somehow the meaning of our very existence into question. Do we really exist?
What does it mean that we question our own existence? A true philosophy of existence must answer these questions, and explain why we ask them, guiding us towards a more conscious, free, and scientific way of life. This is the purpose of the Becoming Human Project: to realize human Existence.
Instructor: Dr. Samuel Loncar | Yale University
If you can get one thing you want, what is the one thing that will give you everything else? Is it power, wealth, or wisdom?
Philosophy as a spiritual way of life teaches us how to develop our human potential, leading to a radical vision of human enhancement. The idea of number is the first step to understanding the coded Messengers of spiritual traditions and how they guide us to a more scientific and positive way of life.
🙏This video is dedicated to Namagiri with gratitude.
Instructor: Dr. Samuel Loncar | Yale University
We all want to do good, but we rarely think about how we can know what the good is.
In this video, I discuss Verse 8 of the Tao and its highly logical and practical insights into what is good in any situation and how we can know that we are doing what is good for ourselves and others.
SERIES: Tao Te Ching Instructor: Samuel Loncar, Ph.D. | Yale University Episode 3, Tao Te Ching
Tolkien’s works have sold over 100 Million copies worldwide because they address the deepest questions humans can ask: Why is there evil and death in the world?
Would Immorality be a good thing? Where did the world come from, and where is it going? Tolkien reveals a new and deeper way to engage humanity’s search for meaning and hope.
SERIES
Apocalypse: A Philosophy of Angels, Ep. 4
The topic of UAP (UFOs) is important yet difficult to discuss coherently. Why?
Because the topic requires the best tools of science and scholarship but does not agree on what those are or how they should be applied.
My philosophy of science and religion provides clues to navigating profound changes in human’s cosmic understanding, including the UAP phenomenon.
The rise of the concept of agency in biology and AI connect to Carl Jung’s psychological interpretation of the phenomenon as a manifestation of global psychic unrest and a major alteration of human consciousness.
SERIES Apocalypse: A Philosophy of Angels Ep. 3
Did you know Hanukkah and Christmas encode deep philosophical ideas about Enlightenment, becoming Superhuman, and the Future of Humanity?
The stars and the gods once governed the night sky and the dreams humans had of themselves.
The Human story was thus told as a mystery of light, the evolution of the universe, and the fate of the stars.
Apocalypse: A Philosophy of Angels, Ep. 2
Can yielding and flowing really be the Way to attain the good?
Bruce Lee thought so. “Be Water,” he famously said, channeling a central insight of the Tao Te Ching, one of great works of Chinese Philosophy.
The idea of Angels, whether we believe in them or not, reveals secrets about human consciousness and how to transform it.
In this episode, I use the German poet Rilke to connect deep patterns across Judaism, Islam, and Christianity and other traditions, found in their shared understanding of angels as messengers that lead to revolutionary transformations of human consciousness.
Ultimately, we discover that humans across all time, cultures, and traditions all believe in some idea of what angels are, and that idea is connected to accessing inspiration and higher states of consciousness.
Series: Apocalypse: A Philosophy of Angels
What is the Way? The Way, or Tao, is the central mystery of life, according to the Tao Te Ching, one of the greatest works of Chinese philosophy.
So how do we find the Tao? What does the Way look like? This video answers that question by introducing the Tao Te Ching, and the mystery of Return... Join me at the Becoming Human Project today!
Is life a momentary fragment, a meaningless event? Or Is life an eternal and glorious process and event?
These two different ideas of life—life as intrinsically meaningless or life as intrinsically meaningful—are connected to our emotional reactions and ultimately our idea of time and our world.
Chef Arturo Franco Camacho is the Culinary Director and Executive Chef of three of New Haven’s best restaurants: Geronimo’s Southwestern Kitchen, Shell & Bones Oyster Bar, and Camacho Garage. His restaurants are not only a destination for great food but fantastic atmosphere.
Trained at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), the world’s premiere culinary college, he has worked as a chef at restaurants in Spain, France, and London, and spent five years as chef aboard the world’s top cruise ship, the Queen Elizabeth II.
In this conversation, Chef Franco talks about his love of cooking with his mom and grandmother in Mexico at an early age, his brief time in dentist’s school, his travels around the world, and how, despite training and working in top kitchens, he was denied work in Hew Haven as a chef, which lead him to create New Haven’s first taco cart on Yale’s campus.
Science is the only tradition that actively admits its own errors, gaining deeper knowledge by overcoming its tendency to orthodoxy. This happens when scientific revolutions shatter existing paradigms. The process begins with anomalies, potential facts that do not fit the paradigm. The physicist Sabine Hossenfelder sees many anomalies in current physics, and argues that physics today has lost its way because physics has followed the wrong rules, rules of beauty rather than rules proper to science. Hossenfelder’s intervention in physics illustrates the profound relevance of Thomas Kuhn’s discussion of rules and facts in science.
Kuhn explores how scientific facts grow and change, how fact and theory are finally inseparable, and how debates about the rules of science emerge in revolutionary periods, like our own. I use Hossenfelder in conversation with Kuhn’s “The Priority of Paradigms” in Ep. 6 of my series to show facts are far more complex than we realize, and this is why today our partisanship manifests as a world of no shared facts. Science shows the way forward.
Episode 6, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions: An Introduction
According to Thomas Kuhn, the most mature sciences have only a limited tolerance for novelty. Contrary to the common image of scientific progress as a continuous series of discoveries, Kuhn shows it’s actually the progress of paradigms towards ever greater precision. Progress in normal science thus does not aim at novelty but the enrichment of the depth and concreteness of the theory.
Drawing on the the insights of Edward Witten’s defense of string theory, Episode 5 of Kuhn: The Structure of Scientific Revolutions explores the concept of novelty and discovery in Section IV: “The Nature of Normal Science.”
The longing for a complete science is one of the great dreams of modernity. Is such a complete science possible, and can Kuhn’s idea of a paradigm help us realize it? This episode explores the origins and power of the search for completeness and unity in Western science, and reveals the unexpected spiritual origins of this ideal.
Ep. 4, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions: An Introduction
Thomas Kuhn coined the concept of a paradigm to describe the unique achievement of science. Since Kuhn, the terms “paradigm” and “paradigm shift” have entered into popular culture, but what really is a paradigm? How does it connect to normal science? And can it help us distinguish real science from pseudo-science? All these questions, and more, are explored in this episode of my series on Kuhn.
Episode 3, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions: An Introduction
Thomas Kuhn argued that history would change our image of science, causing a revolution we are still unprepared to face. This Kuhnian revolution challenges traditional epistemology by arguing we must look to science itself to understand how knowledge develops, and looking to science demands facing history. This episode of my course on Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions explores these issues, and more.
What is Science? What happened in the Scientific Revolution? How does Science progress? Thomas Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions is the most influential book in the history and philosophy of science, addressing these and other key questions. This public series offers an introduction to this major work and includes a discussion of Kuhn's core ideas: paradigm shifts, normal and revolutionary science, and more.
On Nov. 11, 1855, after an astoundingly rich yet brief life, Søren Aabye Kierkegaard died. He requested his epitaph read simply: “That Individual.” The “single individual” is the soul of Kierkegaard’s work, but what does it mean to become an individual? This final episode of Kierkegaard: The Poet of Existence, explores the mystery of freedom and true individuality, and how they relate to the Eternal.
COURSE RELEASE 8pm EST 10.27.2023
Course Link: www.samuelloncar.com/courses
Course Code: BECOMINGHUMANWITHSK
Series Description
Søren Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher and religious thinker, created one of the most consequential bodies of writing in human history. One of the greatest literary writers, he is also widely regarded as the most important philosophers and theologians to create much of the 20th century: movements like existentialism, modern theology, and even forms of modern nihilism can be traced back to the work of Kierkegaard.
Kierkegaard is known as a delightful and difficult figure; like Socrates, he is ironic and hard to understand. He is also my first great teacher, so to honor his personal and historical influence, I am doing an 8 episode series on Søren Kierkegaard: The Poet of Existence.
As a philosopher and scholar who writes about Christian-Jewish relations and modern German thought, I offer in this lecture an analysis of antisemitism as a philosophical problem, show its global scope, and explore its historical and existential significance as a threat to any vision of universal human flourishing.
Referenced Materials
Becoming Human: Origins
Christianity's Shadow Founder: Marcion, Anti-Judaism, and The Birth of Protestant Liberalism
Why Antisemitism is Our Problem
Kierkegaard's theory of the three stages of life, the aesthetic, ethical, and religious offers profound insight into the existential realities of human life. Building on the prior two episodes on the aesthetic and ethical stages, this episode explores the meaning of the religious phase by exhibiting existential ontology in relationship to sexual and erotic desire, consumer capitalism, and humans' habit of turning people, including themselves, into mere things.
Purchase Code: BECOMINGHUMAN | https://www.samuelloncar.com/courses
Series Description
Søren Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher and religious thinker, created one of the most consequential bodies of writing in human history. One of the greatest literary writers, he is also widely regarded as the most important philosophers and theologians to create much of the 20th century: movements like existentialism, modern theology, and even forms of modern nihilism can be traced back to the work of Kierkegaard.
Kierkegaard is known as a delightful and difficult figure; like Socrates, he is ironic and hard to understand. He is also my first great teacher, so to honor his personal and historical influence, I am doing an 8 episode series on Søren Kierkegaard: The Poet of Existence.
Fear and Trembling is the most famous book by Kierkegaard, but to understand it we have to understand his theory of stages. This episode explores the ethical stage and illustrates it through Fear and Trembling and Judge Wilhelm of Either /Or. Additional topics covered include esotericism in philosophy, romantic marriage, the erotic sphere, the religious stage, and Kierkegaard’s concept of the Self as an achievement.
Series Description
Søren Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher and religious thinker, created one of the most consequential bodies of writing in human history. One of the greatest literary writers, he is also widely regarded as the most important philosophers and theologians to create much of the 20th century: movements like existentialism, modern theology, and even forms of modern nihilism can be traced back to the work of Kierkegaard.
Kierkegaard is known as a delightful and difficult figure; like Socrates, he is ironic and hard to understand. He is also my first great teacher, so to honor his personal and historical influence, I am doing an 8 episode series on Søren Kierkegaard: The Poet of Existence.
Kierkegaard is famous for his theory of the three stages on life's way, the aesthetic, the ethical, and the religious. Though much discussed, the stages are enigmatic and confusing to many readers. This episode outlines the nature of the theory of stages in its profound significance, and it introduces the aesthetic phase and its emphasis on possibility and seduction.
Series Description
Søren Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher and religious thinker, created one of the most consequential bodies of writing in human history. One of the greatest literary writers, he is also widely regarded as the most important philosophers and theologians to create much of the 20th century: movements like existentialism, modern theology, and even forms of modern nihilism can be traced back to the work of Kierkegaard.Â
Kierkegaard is known as a delightful and difficult figure; like Socrates, he is ironic and hard to understand. He is also my first great teacher, so to honor his personal and historical influence, I am doing an 8 episode series on Søren Kierkegaard: The Poet of Existence. Â
On Sept 29 1841, Søren Kierkegaard defended a genre-bending dissertation at the University of Copenhagen. Both rigorous scholarship and dazzling literary genius, Kierkegaard’s The Concept of Irony, with Continual Reference to Socrates is the first major work in Kierkegaard’s authorship.
Laying the foundation for his future pseudonymous works, the dissertation explores the importance of irony in his time, and the lecture shows how the importance of Kierkegaard’s work on irony is connected to existentialism, modernism, and the challenge of human existence today.
Series Description Søren Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher and religious thinker, created one of the most consequential bodies of writing in human history.Â
One of the greatest literary writers, he is also widely regarded as the most important philosopher and theologian to create much of the 20th century: movements like existentialism, modern theology, and even forms of modern nihilism can be traced back to the work of Kierkegaard.Â
Kierkegaard is known as a delightful and difficult figure; like Socrates, he is ironic and hard to understand. He is also my first great teacher, so to honor his personal and historical influence, I am doing an 8 episode series, Soren Kierkegaard: The Poet of Existence.Â
Welcome to Episode Three:Â Kierkegaard and Existentialism: A Spiritual Revolution, where I explore the complex character of Existentialism as a spiritual revolution connected to ancient philosophy.
Often called the "Father of Existentialism," Kierkegaard is essential for understanding the rise of Existentialism, its nature, and why it has so deeply shaped our culture. Our culture has accepted Existentialism intellectually, but rejected it existentially. The episode shows how Kierkegaard illuminates the meaning of our own time.
Series Description Søren Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher and religious thinker, created one of the most consequential bodies of writing in human history.Â
One of the greatest literary writers, he is also widely regarded as the most important philosopher and theologian to create much of the 20th century: movements like existentialism, modern theology, and even forms of modern nihilism can be traced back to the work of Kierkegaard.Â
Kierkegaard is known as a delightful and difficult figure; like Socrates, he is ironic and hard to understand. He is also my first great teacher, so to honor his personal and historical influence, I am doing an 8 episode series, Soren Kierkegaard: The Poet of Existence.Â
Søren Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher and religious thinker, created one of the most consequential bodies of writing in human history.
One of the greatest literary writers, he is also widely regarded as the most important philosopher and theologian to create much of the 20th century: movements like existentialism, modern theology, and even forms of modern nihilism can be traced back to the work of Kierkegaard.
Kierkegaard is known as a delightful and difficult figure; like Socrates, he is ironic and hard to understand. He is also my first great teacher, so to honor his personal and historical influence, I am doing an 8 episode series on Soren Kierkegaard: The Poet of Existence.
Welcome to Episode Two: The Genius of Kierkegaard, where I explore the idea of genius, our discomfort and fascination with it, and why genius is important for understanding Kierkegaard.
Søren Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher and religious thinker, created one of the most consequential bodies of writing in human history.
One of the greatest literary writers, he is also widely regarded as the most important philosophers and theologians to create much of the 20th century: movements like existentialism, modern theology, and even forms of modern nihilism can be traced back to the work of Kierkegaard.
Kierkegaard is known as a delightful and difficult figure; like Socrates, he is ironic and hard to understand. He is also my first great teacher, so to honor his personal and historical influence, I am doing an 8 episode series on Soren Kierkegaard: The Poet of Existence.
Welcome to Episode One: Why Does Kierkegaard Matter?
Makoto Fujimura is an internationally recognized artist who has developed a unique fusion of traditional Japanese painting, Nihonga, with abstract expressionism. A leading writer, speaker, and thinker on the intersection of art, faith, and culture, Fujimura published Art and Faith: A Theology of Making, with Yale University Press in 2021. In this conversation, Fujimura shares his story and his wisdom on how art is a way of becoming human, how it can help us live with suffering, and even reveal the divine world in everyday life. Topics covered include Miyazaki's vision of a post-atomic Japan, how William Blake's Jerusalem transformed the young Fujimura's life, and why the Western separation of nature and culture is foreign to Japan.
Harvard Astrophysicist Avi Loeb discusses his book, Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth, which lays out his scientific hypothesis that 'Oomuamua, the first interstellar object detected in our solar system, is likely equipment from an Extraterrestrial civilization.
We discuss the state of science, why it has been closed-minded about extraterrestrial life, and what the future of science, and humanity, might be.Â
Freedom without choice is an illusion, but choice is not freedom. This episode features the first part of my series on how modernity traps us by increasing meaningless choices while destroying our freedom. Learning why we have so many choices is the first step towards accepting out situation, then transforming it with philosophy as a way of life.Â
Since the modern age is over and modernity is a myth, what comes next? This episode offers a history of the current revolution in our greatest knowledge technology: the decline of literary and the rise of a new Aural Age. To respond to the end of reading, we need a new vision of philosophy and education. Welcome to the Becoming Human Project.
The world we think we live in has come to an end. At the end of the journey of Series 1: Origins, we come to the beginning of something new: the future.
After the Enlightenment, Science emerges as humanity's last, best hope for salvation. But can Science save us, and if so, at what cost?
Protestantism gave birth to profound skepticism across Europe, leading to a search for certainty and a new authority that could rule in the place of Scripture or the Church. The new authority? Reason, and reason alone.
At the root of modernity is a revolution in Christianity itself, one that renews and deepens its atheism and begins to destroy the medieval Christian world, preparing the ground for a new world: the modern. Another name for modernity? Protestantism.
Two great atheist revolutions have transformed the world. The second, and most recent, was Marxism. But the first was an ancient philosophy that destroyed the gods of the ancient world, and has been a god-killing movement ever since.
As antisemitic attacks increase across the world, it's important to understand why antisemitism is so pervasive. Far from being simply an issue of prejudice and injustice, antisemitism is a major philosophical problem that lies at the roots of Christianity, and thus Western culture.
Exploring a scarcely known tradition of philosopher-magicians, this episode puts magic and truth at the center of ancient philosophy.
No single person has shaped history more than an obscure Jewish teacher who was executed by the Roman empire. Today, we know him as a god, a myth, a savior. In fact, he was the greatest philosopher of his time: Jesus of Nazareth.
Socrates is perhaps our most famous philosopher. But his life and death defy our dominant ideas of reason and religion. By paying the ultimate price for his philosophy, Socrates became the West's first great religious martyr, changing his world, and ours.
This episode exposes modern myths about philosophy, religion, and science. To see the truth about ourselves and our culture, we need to recognize Socrates for who he really was: a religious revolutionary.