Renaissance: Recent Episodes
Richard Emerson
Reflections and Book Talks on tradition, current debates, philosophy, theology, science, Greek Myth and Dante's Divine Comedy - and how this can be generative and inspire us today.
Brief reflection on two interesting podcast episodes with Canadian Orthodox Theologian Jonathan Pageau, where they talk about where the Scientific vs. Religious descriptions of Immaterial Reality differ, where they might meet - and how to build bridges between them.
With Bret Weinstein:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/7a5MM41NXft8FMfWcmLl75
With John Vervaeke:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6PIy7ChAtW0EhcSQL9Q6RV
Thanks for listening!
A brief reflection on McGilchrist's latest book, and some inspiration from the visual beauty of the opening of Dante's Purgatory.
Thanks for listening!
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A special thanks goes out to our very generous Patrons: Caldazar, Seán Eckmann, Laura Daligan, Michael Leighty, Claudia, Aidan Chavasse, Mitchel V and Santheep on patreon.com/ancientworld - thank you!
Welcome to the RENAISSANCE Sunday Edition!
Tommaso's new video with Brandon is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3loW6vA94Ak
The Book Talk about Ulysses with Seán from Mythos & Logos is here: https://awpodcast.com/renaissance/ulysses-with-sean-eckmann-from-mythos-logos
And we'll be reading an excerpt from the Odyssey Book 12, with the preparation for sailing past the Sirens.
Happy Sunday!
In this episode we'll look at James Joyce's masterpiece "Ulysses", and his life in Dublin and on travels around Europe in Zürich, Paris and Trieste. We'll also talk about Sean's favorite parts of the book, and what it might give to us as readers today.
Sean's Mythology Channel is here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtaVPKsU8LLv7ZvXgGez4XQ
with the new video “The Saint on a Fallen Angel’s Throne: A Mystic Vision of Francis of Assisi” premiering tomorrow Jan 9th at 7pm CET.
Thanks for listening!
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A special thanks goes out to our very generous Patrons: Caldazar, Seán Eckmann, Laura Daligan, Michael Leighty, Claudia, Aidan Chavasse, Mitchel V and Santheep on patreon.com/ancientworld - thank you!!
In this episode we'll be talking about the great literary epic of J.R.R. Tolkien: "The Lord of the Rings" with podcaster and student of linguistics in Missouri, Adam Bishop. The focus of the conversation is his favorite parts of the books, and the impact they've had on his life and outlook on the world.
Adam's Philosophy and Mythology Podcast "Unlimited Opinions" is here:
https://open.spotify.com/show/4J1YVPSzSINtmNZJn5HAvl
Thanks for listening!
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A special thanks goes out to our very generous Patrons: Caldazar, Seán Eckmann, Laura Daligan, Michael Leighty, Claudia, Aidan Chavasse, Mitchel V and Santheep on patreon.com/ancientworld - thank you!!
Music credits:
"Our Story Begins" by Kevin MacLeod, Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4181-our-story-begins
"Long Road Ahead B" by Kevin MacLeod, Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3995-long-road-ahead-b
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
James Willis is a retired GP and Family Doctor from Hampshire in the South of England, and he is with us in this episode to talk about his favorite discoveries and insights from Iain McGilchrist's new book: "The Matter with Things".
You can find more of James' work on his website here: http://www.friendsinlowplaces.co.uk, and on his new blog "Generally Speaking" here: https://jarwillis.com
Thanks for listening!
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A special thanks goes out to our very generous Patrons: Caldazar, Seán Eckmann, Laura Daligan, Michael Leighty, Claudia, Aidan Chavasse, Mitchel V and Santheep on patreon.com/ancientworld - thank you!!
Exploratory talk about how the idea of Unifying Unity & Division is reflected in brain science, orthodox theology and Dante's Divine Comedy. Plus musings on science and Daoism!
In this episode we'll look at one of the key topics from a conversation between Jonathan Pageau and John Vervaeke, and look at how this was debated in the Scholastic Tradition in the 11 and 12 hundreds, but with deeper roots back to when the Hellenistic and Hebrew cultures first met and started to blend over 2,000 years ago.
And, a plug for our newest episode with Dr. Phil Cary about Dante's Paradiso, the structure of his cosmology, and the 24 wise people in the Sphere of the Sun:https://richardemerson.awpodcast.com/News/Interview-Dr-Phil-Cary-on-Dantes-Cosmology-and-the-24-Wise-People-in-the-Sun
Thanks for listening!
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A special thanks goes out to our generous Patrons: Caldazar, Seán Eckmann, Laura Daligan, Michael Leighty, Claudia, Aidan Chavasse and Santheep on patreon.com/ancientworld - thank you!
In this episode we'll look at chapter 4 in Book I of "The Matter with Things", about "Judgment" and the left and right hemispheres. We'll also see how some of these dynamics have been beautifully expressed in early Renaissance literature - implicitly embedded in a poetic form and narrative.
Thanks for listening!
A special thanks goes out to our very generous Patrons: Caldazar, Seán Eckmann, Laura Daligan, Michael Leighty, Claudia, Aidan Chavasse and Santheep on patreon.com/ancientworld - thank you!
The new Two-Volume Book "The Matter with Things" from Dr. Iain McGilchrist was published just last week (November 9th), and in this episode will look at the introduction, the overall scope of the book, and some thoughts on the main points from the opening.
Thanks for listening!
A special thanks goes out to our very generous Patrons: Caldazar, Seán Eckmann, Laura Daligan, Michael Leighty, Claudia, Aidan Chavasse and Santheep on patreon.com/ancientworld - thank you!
A reflection on the excellent documentary "Dangerous Knowledge", from BBC Channel 4 (2007).
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xdoe8u
We'll look at the presentaion of four great thinkers and mathematicians: Georg Cantor, Ludwig Boltzmann, Kurt Gödel and Alan Turing - and then view the changes in both Science and the Viennese culture and society of the early 19 hundreds in light of the nature of the brain hemispheres, and the cosmology of Dante's Divine Comedy.
Thanks for listening!
An introduction to 10 key insights from McGilchrist's "The Master & His Emissary", and 3 (or 7) practical tips for how to become more aware and rebalance the brain.
10 key insights
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We have "Two brains". One can even split them, by cutting off the Corpus Callosum, and the person still functions largely fully normal.
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One brain is for focus and manipulation, and one brain is for the overview, letting it all flow in.
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The focused and systematic brain is supposed to be embedded in the more overall brain, over time.
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When the systematic brain rules, it cuts off the other brain.
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The focused brain (Left Hemisphere) is blind to everything it doesn't know, and often reacts with aggression and anger.
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Relationships to people, to nature, and to the Divine is all in the Right Hemisphere.
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The differences of the brain hemispheres are largely found through studies of strokes and brain damage.
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Reason is great, but, it tends to tilt towards LH dominance over time, thus dismissing everything it doesn't now.
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The tilt of the brain is a very slippery slope, and self-reinforcing through culture, architecture, and habits.
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We can rebalance the brain actively through good habits and awareness, which gives a richer experience of life, and a better ability to apprehend the world, understand the world and human nature, and make good choices long term. And for building better personal relationships, too.
The 50 video clips are here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI1xsHRB2M4&list=PLqBHk3itxyPDKFnwj8-SmlwHra64cCrky
Thanks for listening!
Book review and analysis of the recent book:
"Jordan Peterson, God, and Christianity: The Search for a Meaningful Life" by Christopher Kaczor and Matthew Petrusek, published July 22nd, 2021.
We'll look at the book itself, and how Peterson's Theology is gradually and slowly moving towards that of the big Catholic and Orthodox Traditions, including the discovery that Science and Reason were an integral and unified part within them.
A highly recommended book as food for thought, inspiration for more published books on this topic, and for widening conversations about Tradition and our current moment, in Time.
Thanks for listening!
Commentary on an interesting conversation with Dr. Jordan Peterson, Dr. James Orr and Dr. Nigel Biggar titled: "Searching for God within Oxford and Cambridge".
Main points standing out were the relationship and unity of the Spiritual and Material, and reflections on the higher-level structure of the spiritual forces (or Angelic Beings in the language of St. Dionysius), with examples of how they can be manifested.
The full conversation is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsmSBJMSRQk
Thanks for listening!
Reflections on Pope Innocent III's treatise "On the Misery of Man" (c.1200 AD), and the later counter-reactions to the dark and negative theology from the New Papacy after the Great Schism - with the celebration of positivity and incredible beauty in the Florentine Renaissance!
This could also serve as a reminder of the contrast between the Papal pessimism vs. the more positive, glowing and life-affirming view of the Earthly Life in the Eastern Tradition.
Historian Fr. John Strickland's books are here:
The Age of Paradise: Christendom from Pentecost to the First Millennium
https://amzn.com/B07W89XLNC
The Age of Division: Christendom from the Great Schism to the Protestant Reformation
https://amzn.com/B08N2KZ138
And his latest episode "Subverting a Sacramental Culture" is here:
https://spoti.fi/3iLuCVr
Thanks for listening!
Commentary on a splendid and inspiring talk between Tommaso Todesca and Fr. Paul Pearson, about Fr. Paul's books called "Spirtual Direction from Dante."
Fr. Paul's books:
"Spiritual Direction from Dante: Avoiding the Inferno":
https://www.amazon.com/Spiritual-Dire...
"Spiritual Direction from Dante: Ascending Mount Purgatory":
https://www.amazon.com/Spiritual-Dire...
And Tom's Youtube Channel with an ongoing Dante Series:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKVGwJVK1dM
Enjoy!
In the latest episode on the Lord of Spirits podcast, the topic was the uncovering (Greek: Apocalypse) of the spiritual reality through the material, and in our everyday lives:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6WF294k9OKNiF1YlnVjUEu
This also ties into the ideas in Dante's Comedy and the Medieval Cosmology of Angelic Beings/Forces being manifested everywhere around us, every day:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2ego1kwlSADdOIHbzmVwls
Enjoy!
Commentary on the "Siren Song" of the Left Hemisphere, and the differing views on morality in the two hemispheres.
And a BIG thank you to one of our listeners, Aidan, who sponsored us a year's membership on McGilchrist's member platform! ChannelMcGilchrist.com.
Reasons why thoughtful, rational, secular intellectuals might be drawn to the Christian Tradition.
Douglas Murray's surprise at this development is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8oHTKMsze4
About two different thinkers discussing the nature of reality and our experience of the mind - and the hidden "tug of war" of which territory from which to deliberate these topics.
Great watch - highly recommended!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Zld-MX11lA