The Arkonology talk was great. Really helped me with developing my own sometimes paranoid intuitions that have resulted from spiritual seeking combined with a deep dive into geopolitics and modern power structures, into something more tangible. I've had this sense of our institutions having a sort of emergent, agent-like behavior (or as you put, a "spiritual quality") for some time. It's a hard thing to juxtapose with a skeptical, rational understanding of reality. It's especially difficult to not be frightened by the implications. As someone who was raised Catholic and abandoned it in my teens, I am uncomfortable with the implication that I might find some of the answers to my searching in theology, but the ideas resonated strongly with me. Perhaps it's time to read some Walter Wink.
Thanks Brian, glad it could be of some use. And I agree with your ambivalence--both the frightening implications of this more "spiritual"/animist view of institutions and corporations, and in the theological underpinnings. That said, it is important to recognize that important social critics on propaganda and technological power, like Jacques Ellul, were also deeply influenced by theological arguments. I think you should take a look at Wink (not necessarily the first volume) and see how he handles both the critique and the refusal to utterly demonize the "powers" in the Manichaean/gnostic way popular today. (David Dark is also an interesting Christian thinker here.) While the theological lens can help us see things more easily, I don't believe it is required--a certain capacious understanding of "systems" and posthuman agency is enough to allow us to glimpse this disturbing order of non-human decision making (and we havent even talked about AI...akk!)
Hi Erik! I really enjoyed the Carlos Castaneda podcast documentary. Do you have any info as to where we can hear Part 2? It's nowhere on the site with the six chapters of Part 1. Thanks!
I'll reply to my own question, therefore saving Erik the effort. Part 2 is expected in August 2021 and can be accessed on most platforms (Apple, Spotify, Audible as well as the page Erik linked to). By the way, Erik, I have to tell you how much I dug this (and all) post(s). The arkonology talk was the shit!
Thanks for doing the legwork! I actually poked around for that info before my post and couldn't find it anywhere. Good to know (although sad that it will take so long). And thanks for the kind words...
Yeah, there's a separate subreddit associated with each of the extant chapters. No comments at all. So, on the one associated with Chapter 5, I asked and the dude replied with the info. He really should have put it on the page that you linked to. At the end you're kind of left hanging.... I'll try to continue breathing until August 2021,... and maybe even after that!
The Arkonology talk was great. Really helped me with developing my own sometimes paranoid intuitions that have resulted from spiritual seeking combined with a deep dive into geopolitics and modern power structures, into something more tangible. I've had this sense of our institutions having a sort of emergent, agent-like behavior (or as you put, a "spiritual quality") for some time. It's a hard thing to juxtapose with a skeptical, rational understanding of reality. It's especially difficult to not be frightened by the implications. As someone who was raised Catholic and abandoned it in my teens, I am uncomfortable with the implication that I might find some of the answers to my searching in theology, but the ideas resonated strongly with me. Perhaps it's time to read some Walter Wink.
Thanks Brian, glad it could be of some use. And I agree with your ambivalence--both the frightening implications of this more "spiritual"/animist view of institutions and corporations, and in the theological underpinnings. That said, it is important to recognize that important social critics on propaganda and technological power, like Jacques Ellul, were also deeply influenced by theological arguments. I think you should take a look at Wink (not necessarily the first volume) and see how he handles both the critique and the refusal to utterly demonize the "powers" in the Manichaean/gnostic way popular today. (David Dark is also an interesting Christian thinker here.) While the theological lens can help us see things more easily, I don't believe it is required--a certain capacious understanding of "systems" and posthuman agency is enough to allow us to glimpse this disturbing order of non-human decision making (and we havent even talked about AI...akk!)
Hi Erik! I really enjoyed the Carlos Castaneda podcast documentary. Do you have any info as to where we can hear Part 2? It's nowhere on the site with the six chapters of Part 1. Thanks!
I'll reply to my own question, therefore saving Erik the effort. Part 2 is expected in August 2021 and can be accessed on most platforms (Apple, Spotify, Audible as well as the page Erik linked to). By the way, Erik, I have to tell you how much I dug this (and all) post(s). The arkonology talk was the shit!
Thanks for doing the legwork! I actually poked around for that info before my post and couldn't find it anywhere. Good to know (although sad that it will take so long). And thanks for the kind words...
Yeah, there's a separate subreddit associated with each of the extant chapters. No comments at all. So, on the one associated with Chapter 5, I asked and the dude replied with the info. He really should have put it on the page that you linked to. At the end you're kind of left hanging.... I'll try to continue breathing until August 2021,... and maybe even after that!