From: jimruttshow8596
Alexander Bard, an author, lecturer, artist, songwriter, music producer, TV personality, and religious and political activist, is one of the founders of a synthe religious movement [00:00:35]. This article discusses concepts from his book Process and Event, co-authored with Jan Söderqvist [00:01:39], which explores metaphysics and narratology in depth [00:03:02].
Bard’s Metaphysics: Meta-Storytelling
Alexander Bard defines metaphysics as the “ultimate form of storytelling about storytelling,” or “meta-storytelling” [00:06:13]. This perspective, described as narratological, explores the different types of stories human beings tell about themselves and each other, and their purposes [00:06:22].
Inspired by Hegel, this model suggests that human beings constantly encounter dialectical deadlocks because language inherently contains contradictions [00:06:36]. These narrative approaches are categorized into three types: Logos, Mythos, and Pathos [00:06:52].
The Narratological Triad: Logos, Mythos, Pathos
This triad directly correlates with the human brain’s structure, which Bard describes as three distinct brains: the rational, emotional, and mimetic brains [00:06:58] [01:04:18].
- Logos: Represents the rational brain, focused on factual truth and making sense of the world through calculations [01:04:24].
- Pathos: Corresponds to the emotional brain, dealing with feelings, desires, and the raw, unfiltered experience of reality [01:04:36].
- Mythos: Connects to the mimetic or social brain, serving as the unifying narrative that brings Logos and Pathos together [01:04:56]. It’s the “social glue” for society [00:07:58]. The mimetic brain is particularly crucial for social animals like humans, driving social relations and likely driving the evolution of the large human brain [01:05:40] [01:05:51].
The Problem with Mythos
Bard emphasizes the danger when people believe their Mythos as literal truth rather than recognizing it as a unifying narrative [01:10:11]. This can lead to conflicts and dogmatism [01:10:27]. Historically, religion served as an initial Mythos, providing a temporary solution to societal bloodshed by offering a shared narrative, even if it wasn’t historically factual [01:13:49]. However, when this myth becomes dogma, problems arise [01:14:19]. Bard advocates for recognizing Mythos as a form of fiction that can be pragmatically useful without being literally believed [01:14:27].
Transcendental Emergentism: Bard’s Metaphysics
Bard’s metaphysics is termed transcendental emergentism [01:21:19]. It seeks to overcome the trap of reductionism in traditional metaphysics, which often tries to reduce everything to a single explanation like fundamental atoms (atomism) or consciousness (panpsychism) [01:42:30]. It also rejects the “Creator God syndrome” or a “prime mover” that pre-conditions existence [01:43:52] [01:49:33].
Instead, transcendental emergentism starts from the premise that “happening” is the fundamental aspect of philosophy [01:45:17]. It recognizes that the world consists of processes and events in a dialectical relationship, where both are correct and allow for human choice and creativity [01:44:37].
Emergence Vectors
Within this framework, “emergence” refers to the birth of something novel that never happened before in history [01:48:21]. Once something emerges, it tends to behave in predictable patterns, forming “habits” or “laws” [01:48:31]. An “emergence vector” describes a distinct domain of study that operates on its own terms, even if composed of elements from lower-level emergence vectors [01:51:57]. For example, biology is an emergence vector because life operates differently from physics, even though it consists of physical and chemical compounds [01:52:34].
The “transcendental” aspect means that a new emergence can be so dramatic that it might require a complete shift in the model for understanding emergence vectors, ensuring no pre-conditioned “Creator God” is snuck in [01:49:50].
Time: Four Faces of a God
The book Process and Event dedicates its first chapter to dissecting time, proposing that “Time is a god with four faces” [02:26:29]. This stems from Hegel’s shift in Western philosophy from space to time as the primary category [02:28:28]. The four categories of time are:
- Hyper Time: Pure time, separate from space, which can exist before or after the Big Bang [02:44:45] [03:27:27].
- Space Time: Time as understood in physics, tied to mass and space, and characterized by a linear direction (e.g., the expansion of the universe) [02:57:07] [03:32:57].
- Circular Time (Nomadology): A subjective interpretation where everything returns to the same point, characteristic of nomadic societies experiencing recurring seasons and life cycles [02:22:15] [02:26:29]. This is contrasted with Nietzsche’s Eternal Recurrence, which is a Western discovery of Eastern process philosophy [02:51:00].
- Linear Time (Phallic Linear Time / Eventology): A subjective interpretation where progress and change are possible, associated with the concept of the “event” [02:26:29]. The term “phallic” is used to represent the outward, goal-oriented direction of life, distinct from the “matrix” (mother/birth/death) which represents the cyclical [03:51:17]. This is embodied in narratives like the Exodus, where a goal is set in the future and pulled towards [04:08:42].
The book Process and Event argues that a complete metaphysics must contain both process and event, acknowledging that the world consists of both repetitions and differences [02:33:53] [02:36:31]. Historically, the East became stuck with the dominance of nomadology (process), while the West became stuck with the event without process, leading to dogmatism and stagnation [02:42:58].
The Socium and Human Organization
The Socium and Dividuality
A core concept in Bard’s philosophy is the “socium,” an archetypal form of human organization that appears in any human population [01:01:17]. It exists on two levels: the clan (around 150 individuals, akin to Dunbar’s number) and the tribe (1200-1500 individuals) [01:02:18]. Within these sizes, social loyalty is so strong that external police forces are not needed [01:05:07] [01:09:50].
This concept leads to the rejection of the traditional “individual” (as a fixed, isolated entity) in favor of the “dividual” [01:15:39]. Borrowed from Deleuze and Guattari, “dividual” recognizes that humans are “many people in one body,” plural, and constantly changing, interacting successfully in various social spheres [01:16:11] [01:38:39]. The focus shifts from the dichotomy of individual vs. collective to understanding humans as fundamentally “sotic” within the socium [01:18:09].
Tribopoiesis
To better describe self-organization in social systems, Bard introduces “tribopoiesis” [01:27:55]. This term is preferred over “autopoiesis” (self-organization) because “auto” implies a magical or inherent self-organizing property [01:28:40]. Tribopoiesis emphasizes that the collective or “tribe” is what organizes itself, highlighting the social and emergent nature of these processes [01:29:01]. It provides a useful ethical principle: whatever serves the socium’s expansion and well-being is tribopoetic [01:31:05].
Membranics
A crucial element for understanding how systems, particularly social ones, interact with their environment is “membranics” [01:36:09]. This philosophical discipline focuses on the “membrane” of a system, which intelligently separates itself from the outside [01:36:11]. Membranes are semi-permeable, allowing certain things in and out based on their “lawfulness” [01:36:51].
Membranics applies across various domains:
- Biology: Cell walls regulate what enters and exits cells [01:36:57].
- Economics: Nation-states with their borders and tariffs [01:37:24].
- Social Systems: Communities, including Game B communities, establish rules and boundaries for their internal cohesion and external interaction [01:31:33] [01:41:09].
The “code inside the membrane” can dynamically change its permeability based on experience, demonstrating a dialectical process that optimizes for the system’s self-interest [01:42:00]. Membranes enable “coherent pluralism,” allowing diverse and “radically strong sauce” communities to exist side-by-side, each with its own internal rules, as long as they adhere to shared protocols [01:43:21].
The Barred Absolute
The “barred absolute” (from Lacan’s “barred subject”) refers to aspects that are fundamentally inaccessible or not ready to be understood [01:59:59]. It is one’s own blind spot, meaning self-understanding can only be fully achieved through interactions with others [02:20:10].
This concept implies that certain truths or realities might be “barred” from individuals until they are prepared for them, or even permanently [02:22:30]. It’s distinct from a “noble lie” or manipulation by an elite [02:23:44] [02:26:12]. Instead, it justifies setting boundaries (like preventing children from accessing harmful content) [02:32:55]. It also provides a philosophical basis for asserting that certain arguments are flawed or based on a lack of fundamental understanding [02:37:19].
Conclusion
Bard’s immanent metaphysics, centered on narratology, provides a comprehensive framework for understanding human existence. It integrates concepts of time, social organization, and the nature of reality through the lens of emergentism, ultimately advocating for decentralization and the empowerment of diverse, self-organizing communities in the digital age [01:50:08].