'I think we often don’t know what has been most formative in our own lives, sometimes until the very end.'
This is such an important insight in a world in which life hacks and convenience are over-valued, and what's new is often fetishized at the expense of the old (often to generate profit/likes/innovation/engagement - all four of which deserve inverted commas).
I also like the idea of 're-enchantment' - it was hard enough to maintain enchantment when we spent more time in nature than in a death-scroll. The thing is now urgent.
Thank you for making the effort to record and post this interview, Joel. It came at a good time for me.
Thanks for reading, Christopher. I agree regarding re-enchantment. We’ve engineered the mystery out of life and are poorer for it—not to mention increasingly incapable of dealing with it.
Agreed, this is a thrilling vision. The humanities were not primarily lodged in an academic setting even 100 years ago. There’s no reason they should be in the future. The universities have been poor custodians of the humanities, and liberating them would be a huge step forward.
Yes, absolutely. What we have now is the moral, intellectual, and spiritual foundations of our civilization are captive to a bunch of vicious imbeciles, who hold university positions, and devote their lives to destroying the minds, heart and souls of our young people, and stripping out the foundations of our civilization. I just read a terrific book by Francine Prose, she mentions starting out in a graduate humanities program and quickly understanding that the people there were not interested in the things that she’d love about literature. she escaped in time. Many people aren’t so lucky.
Can’t wait for Burgis’ next book! Also love the three city paradigm; yet I’ve often wondered about a fourth city - where the lens is entirely driven by power over other men/women in service to re-engineering society/ even humanity ie., from DC to CCP in varying degrees… haven’t thought it through though…
Wink's trilogy Naming, Unmasking, and Engaging the Powers is where he spells it all out. JR Woodwards recent book The Scandal of Leadership is a good place to start bc he weaves together Girard and Wink.
Grateful for this interview.Please ask him to publish the paper he wrote about till we have faces. I too am reading it again. Perhaps the One book I have read multiple times
I’m almost done with “Wanting” and have loved the book. So rich with insight, so compelling and helpful. And this interview was a wonderful compliment to that experience. Thanks for hosting it! 👌👌👌
Silicon Valley feels like an accidental entity in modern California- anomaly even. The values couldn’t be more at odds. And in modern times especially, the entrepreneur whose sole focus is building, often feels compelled to pay lip service to the wokerrati/left (that runs CA) so they’ll leave him/her alone. Unfortunately the SV entrepreneur abandons the battlefield of moral/ethical dilemmas and conversations at his peril …
'I think we often don’t know what has been most formative in our own lives, sometimes until the very end.'
This is such an important insight in a world in which life hacks and convenience are over-valued, and what's new is often fetishized at the expense of the old (often to generate profit/likes/innovation/engagement - all four of which deserve inverted commas).
I also like the idea of 're-enchantment' - it was hard enough to maintain enchantment when we spent more time in nature than in a death-scroll. The thing is now urgent.
Thank you for making the effort to record and post this interview, Joel. It came at a good time for me.
Thanks for reading, Christopher. I agree regarding re-enchantment. We’ve engineered the mystery out of life and are poorer for it—not to mention increasingly incapable of dealing with it.
I read this book many years ago, and you might find it, well... enchanting:
The Uses of Enchantment https://www.nytimes.com/1976/05/23/archives/the-uses-of-enchantment.html?smid=nytcore-android-share
The reviewer is Updike..
Excellent. Thanks for sharing!
Can you send to Luke Burgis? It might be useful to him also. Best wishes, Chris
Yes!
The most interesting thing he talked about was liberating the humanities from higher education. If that happens, it would be revolutionary.
Yes, I find that line of thinking fascinating as well.
Agreed, this is a thrilling vision. The humanities were not primarily lodged in an academic setting even 100 years ago. There’s no reason they should be in the future. The universities have been poor custodians of the humanities, and liberating them would be a huge step forward.
Contarini, huge step forward?
Yes, absolutely. What we have now is the moral, intellectual, and spiritual foundations of our civilization are captive to a bunch of vicious imbeciles, who hold university positions, and devote their lives to destroying the minds, heart and souls of our young people, and stripping out the foundations of our civilization. I just read a terrific book by Francine Prose, she mentions starting out in a graduate humanities program and quickly understanding that the people there were not interested in the things that she’d love about literature. she escaped in time. Many people aren’t so lucky.
Agree.
Academia is propaganda.
This was thought-provoking. Thank you!
My pleasure!
This photo looks dangerous
We’re all teetering between one thing or another :)
Heh, dangerous?
Can’t wait for Burgis’ next book! Also love the three city paradigm; yet I’ve often wondered about a fourth city - where the lens is entirely driven by power over other men/women in service to re-engineering society/ even humanity ie., from DC to CCP in varying degrees… haven’t thought it through though…
Please do. The best thing we can do with ideas is add to them.
I wonder if Walter Wink's "Domination System" is germaine to your idea?
I don’t know about it. Post a link?
Wink's trilogy Naming, Unmasking, and Engaging the Powers is where he spells it all out. JR Woodwards recent book The Scandal of Leadership is a good place to start bc he weaves together Girard and Wink.
Grateful for this interview.Please ask him to publish the paper he wrote about till we have faces. I too am reading it again. Perhaps the One book I have read multiple times
Yes! I want to read that too!
I’m almost done with “Wanting” and have loved the book. So rich with insight, so compelling and helpful. And this interview was a wonderful compliment to that experience. Thanks for hosting it! 👌👌👌
My pleasure! I found Wanting so rich and thoughtful.
Another fascinating interview. Thanks.
Thanks, Russell!
Fascinating
Thanks! Agreed!
This is an exceptional interview. I wasn’t expecting to be so swept up. A very pleasant surprise. Thank you.
Silicon Valley is a product of California, which has its own worldview. I talk about that here: https://www.millersbookreview.com/p/joan-didion-california-dream?utm_source=publication-search
I’m glad you noticed the humility. I think that’s right about Burgis. I get the sense that he’s always learning. He’s an inspiration that way.
Silicon Valley feels like an accidental entity in modern California- anomaly even. The values couldn’t be more at odds. And in modern times especially, the entrepreneur whose sole focus is building, often feels compelled to pay lip service to the wokerrati/left (that runs CA) so they’ll leave him/her alone. Unfortunately the SV entrepreneur abandons the battlefield of moral/ethical dilemmas and conversations at his peril …
I agree. It's why I am listening to Burgis. But staying cautious of mimetic rivalry 😜
Thanks, George! I found that compelling too. It’ll be interesting to see what comes of it.