https://youtubetranscript.com/?v=aBecOcz15lc
Way before the internet linked computers together to release the power of distributed computation, we had dialogue that linked minds together to produce the power of distributed cognition. This collective intelligence we have is our most powerful adaptation for being on the planet. You and I are speaking English, neither one of us invented English, neither one of us are maintaining all of this technology, neither one of us are individually running all the science, all the philosophy that’s making all of this possible, all the psychology. What happens in these practices, the circling, the philosophical fellowship, the dia logos, people get a sense of the presence of this collective intelligence. The ancients had a word for it, logos, that’s what’s called dia logos, dialogue, the way of the logos, and how that could guide them into a process of deep existential meaning, transformation, and a guide for the cultivation of wisdom that all human beings ultimately need. I know that for me, and so I look back on my life, and I think about what flashes to me, are these people in my life in which I would have profound conversations with. I was in high school, and I had this friend, Steve Menard, and he was this guy that was going to college, and just the domains that he opened up, not only did I not think about, but there was nothing to not think about until we spoke, and he started to open these domains, and I remember distinctively, it was like in the air, there was like, you know, like little doorknobs that were opening, and I had no idea there was a door there. Every time we really face another human being, it is possible that those kinds of doors are there to be opened, right? Yes. And in some sense, the dialogos, right, encircling, and the philosophical fellowship, these things are ways of, are practices that one, acknowledge that potential, I think, and are different ways of practicing, opening those doors, you know, and realizing a world that you then, the realization are things that you actually then live inside of. We used to do this, you know, in religious gatherings, and they provided the cultural community a fellowship whereby we did this, and that guided people in their individual cultivation for wisdom, but for many people, this is no longer viable. Both people who have left organized religion and even people who are still within organized religion find that there’s something, something of the spirit is lacking, and we need this kind of actual dialog because we are suffering from idle talk and bullshit, and it’s overwhelming us, and what we’re offering here is a mind sword that can cut through all of that and get people back together and back in touch with themselves and the world. You and I, in July the 24th, the 25th, we’re going to be running a joint course together where we’re going to be linking practices on circling, philosophical scholarship, and then dialogos. So I’m very excited about this, I’m really looking forward to it. We’re at a turning point right now in the culture, and I think the best thing we can do in these very uncertain times is to cultivate individual, collective, wise, meaningful connections, because that is what is going to see us through. Yeah, absolutely. I’m glad we’re doing this, John. Me too.