Podcast · 50 episodes
Dr. John Vervaeke, page 2
by Upfire Digital LLC · English
The Official John Vervaeke Podcast Feed
All episodes, page 2
The Cognitive Science of Happiness with Mark MillerCognitive science of happiness and human flourishing, framed as a “predictive mind” that fabricates experience and is prone to self-deception; happiness/meaning require epistemic clarity,…13 Mar 2026 · 55 min · 17 chapters
Lectern Live Q&A with Mark Miller (02.28.26)Lectern Live Q&A with Mark Miller about his course Generations of Joy (cognitive science of happiness/joy, well-being, and how feelings function as information).6 Mar 2026 · 1 h 32 min · 30 chapters
Deep Calls to Deep | Poetry, Prophecy, Philosophy in Ibn Gabirol with Zevi SlavinHow Ibn Gabirol (Ibn Gabirol) exemplifies a “philosophical Silk Road” relationship among poetry, prophecy, and philosophy—especially their shared work of “relevance realization,” holding together…27 Feb 2026 · 1 h 23 min · 31 chapters
Is Matter Alive? The Metaphysics of Divine DesireA public episode (part of a Lectern series) with Zevi Slavin and John discussing Ibn Gabirol (Avicebron), focusing on his metaphysics of divine desire (irada) and his reformulation of matter as…20 Feb 2026 · 1 h 18 min · 27 chapters
Finding Faith: A Conversation on Therapy, Trust, and TransformationFaith as transformation through “voluntary necessity,” liminality, and trust—grounded in living fully in life’s duties and suffering (Bonhoeffer), and in awakening “spiritual senses” via resonance…13 Feb 2026 · 1 h 45 min · 47 chapters
Lectern Live Q&A (2.4.26) — The "Underground Man" Problem, Dissociation, and Prayer as Re-centering“Underground Man problem” (Vellman/Dostoevsky) as a cycle of abstraction, indecision, nihilism, arrogance, and collapse; how dissociation can be volitional (adaptive) vs pathological; and how…4 Feb 2026 · 1 h 22 min · 22 chapters
Exploring Predictive Processing and the Science of Happiness with Mark MillerPredictive processing as the basis of perception, selfhood, and well-being; how “model divergence” from reality underlies depression/anxiety; and how honesty, humility, meditation, and “controlled…31 Jan 2026 · 1 h 27 min · 31 chapters
Silk Road Seminar: Jung, Meaning, and Cognitive TransformationThe cognitive science of Jung—how Jung’s ideas about psyche, complexes, archetypes, and meaning can be reframed using 4E cognitive science (embodied, embedded, enacted, extended cognition) and…20 Jan 2026 · 2 h 5 min · 52 chapters
Dante, Blake, and the Power of the ImaginationA conversation about Mark Vernon’s books on Dante’s Divine Comedy and William Blake, using “pilgrimage” and the “imaginal” (the in-between) to explain how poetry and spiritual texts transform…31 Dec 2025 · 1 h 4 min · 23 chapters
Silk Road Seminar with J.P. Marceau“Silk Road Seminar” discussion on post-reductionist Christianity and how to bridge academic philosophy with lived practice, using symbolism, cognitive science (4E/predictive processing), and Eastern…23 Dec 2025 · 1 h 19 min · 25 chapters
Cultivating Virtue in Educational Practice with Ethan HsiehEthan Hsieh and co-hosts discuss “Tiamat,” an ecology of educational practices aimed at scaffolding transformation—culminating in “cultivating virtue” as a responsibility to virtue and an adverbial…17 Dec 2025 · 1 h 15 min · 26 chapters
Silk Road Seminar - Nicole BadenZen neoplatonism and how Zen practice can dialogue with Neoplatonic (and broader Western/Eastern) philosophical themes, especially around pluralism, embodied perception, non-propositional knowing,…29 Nov 2025 · 1 h 17 min · 28 chapters
LIVE TIAMAT X Q&A with Ethan HsiehLIVE TIAMAT X Q&A with Ethan Hsieh. The episode explains what “Tiamat” is (an ecology of practices) and how “TiamatX” translates lectern/course theory into live practice to build existential…26 Nov 2025 · 1 h 56 min · 43 chapters
Cultivating Virtuosity: Integrating Philosophy into Everyday LifeHow to cultivate “virtuosity” by turning philosophical understanding into everyday practice, using Ethan Hsieh’s Tiamat process (a three-tier pedagogical container).22 Nov 2025 · 1 h 16 min · 29 chapters
Lectern Live Launch Event — Reflections, Updates, and a Major AnnouncementLectern Live Launch Event for next year’s “Lectern” slate. Hosts reflect on the first year’s courses and student impact, then announce membership tier changes, new public access to monthly Q&As,…22 Nov 2025 · 1 h 57 min · 42 chapters
A Thorough Critique of Popular and Psychological Accounts of Meaning of LifeA co-authored video essay critiquing “popular” and “psychological” accounts of meaning in life.7 Nov 2025 · 1 h 49 min · 36 chapters
Silk Road Seminar - Jonathan PageauA dialogue on the “centrality of goodness” within a Christian-Platonic view of reality, arguing that modern “fact/value” and other dichotomies (truth/ethics/beauty) distort how goodness works.23 Oct 2025 · 1 h 5 min · 26 chapters
Virtuosity as a Way of Life | Ethan Hsieh and the Tiamat ProcessEthan Hsieh’s Tiamat process (“Integrative Approach and Methodology of Active Transformation”) and how “virtuosity” (reliable flow/skill in action) should be coupled with “virtue” (wisdom, agency,…17 Oct 2025 · 1 h 14 min · 25 chapters
Silk Road Seminar - Elizabeth OldfieldElizabeth Oldfield and John (host) discuss “philosophical Silk Road” themes: pilgrimage as metanoetic recovery, interreligious dialogue grounded in secure attachment to one’s home religion, and a…30 Sep 2025 · 1 h 24 min · 26 chapters
Exploring Jewish Neoplatonism: The Life and Philosophy of Solomon Ibn GabirolJewish Neoplatonism in the 11th-century Andalusian philosopher-poet Solomon ibn Gabirol (c.19 Sep 2025 · 1 h 24 min · 20 chapters
Why Reason Needs Spirit | John VervaekeDr. John Vervaeke argues that rationality requires “spirit” understood as voluntary necessity arising from porous participation.5 Sep 2025 · 52 min · 15 chapters
Silk Road Seminar - Rick RepettiA “Silk Road Seminar” conversation between John (host) and Rick Repetti on integrating Zen/Buddhist practice with Platonism/Neoplatonism via “dialogos” and “opponent processing.” They argue Plato’s…27 Aug 2025 · 1 h 17 min · 28 chapters
Navigating the Trust Apocalypse: Examining Collective Agency and Distributed CognitioThe “trust apocalypse” as the upstream cause of society’s “meaning crisis,” and how to respond via collective agency, distributed cognition, and “catalytic communities” bound by a shared…13 Aug 2025 · 1 h 31 min · 35 chapters
Silk Road Seminar - Bishop MaximusBishop Maximus presents Clement of Alexandria’s theory of epistemology: all knowledge depends on faith as a presupposition, not on demonstrative proof.31 Jul 2025 · 1 h 4 min · 23 chapters