From: jimruttshow8596
The podcast introduces Brendan Graham Dempsey, author of “A Universal Learning Process: The Evolution of Meaning (Book One)” [01:12:00]. This new work is a departure from his previous book, “Emergentism: A Religion of Complexity for the Metamodern World” [01:01:00], which mentioned “religion” 124 times [00:08:35]. In contrast, “A Universal Learning Process” only mentions the word “religion” twice in passing, with the first instance not appearing until page 73 [00:08:29].
Dempsey clarifies that the “Emergentism” book was intended for a popular audience and offered a broad take on similar ideas without extensive academic referencing [00:08:49]. His new work, however, is in a different register, aiming to thoroughly assemble scientific and academic literature [00:09:20].
Religion’s Place in the Evolution of Meaning
While the current book doesn’t focus on it, Dempsey affirms that future volumes of “The Evolution of Meaning” series will delve into questions of religion, as it is an essential part of assessing human meaning-making throughout the cultural record [00:09:59]. He intends to descriptively discuss religious evolution and later engage with it philosophically [00:10:11]. Religion has been a significant force in human cultural evolution for as long as historical records exist [01:11:05].
At the human cultural level, individuals engage in religious justification systems [00:50:51]. The series will also touch upon traditional philosophical, existential, and wisdom-oriented information processing related to spirituality and theological concepts [01:13:10] [01:26:35].
The Concept of the Sacred
Dempsey elaborates on the concept of the sacred, particularly at the human level [01:43:03]:
- Repositories of Understanding The sacred refers to repositories of tried-and-true, established, and successful forms of understanding the world [01:43:44]. These are the deep informing aspects of collective ways of being that have historically fostered flourishing [01:44:03].
- Cultural Function These collective representations and modes of being (which can include beliefs, rituals, or other enshrined practices) are given special reverence, appreciation, and protection because they have proven successful in sustaining the collective [01:44:15] [01:44:26].
- World-Building The sacred contributes to “world-building” and the construction of “Sacred Space,” which are world-sustaining concepts that cohere groups through time [01:45:20].
- Functional Similarity Different societies may deem very different things sacred (e.g., a sacred pole in a forager society vs. the “sacred institutions of democracy” in a modern state), but their function in societal cohesion and flourishing is deeply similar [01:44:47] [01:46:05]. Without these sacred elements, societies risk entropic breakdown and a collapse of their complex structures [01:46:37].
- Thermodynamic Theory of the Sacred Dempsey proposes a “thermodynamic theory of the Sacred,” suggesting that the sacred itself can be seen as a complexifying structure [01:47:40]. It uses human collective social configurations as a substrate, expressing itself through linguistic justification systems [01:47:46]. This requires energy to maintain, and as social organizations complexify, they demand more energy, which the sacred helps to buttress [01:48:01]. Thus, the sacred acts as a dissipative structure that is complexifying over time [01:48:15].
The Evolution of the Sacred
The podcast delves into the idea that the sacred evolves [01:51:20]:
- Past vs. Present Historically, various practices and concepts (e.g., slavery, patriarchy, dominance through violence) were held as sacred [01:49:52]. While these might have been adaptive in their specific contexts, they are no longer considered so [01:49:44]. The shift in what is considered sacred has accelerated in recent centuries [01:50:17].
- Balancing Stability and Change There’s a tension between preserving the sacred for stability and modifying it to remain adaptive in changing environments [01:50:52]. Changing too rapidly risks societal collapse, while failing to change at all leads to non-adaptiveness [01:50:30].
- Contemporary Challenges Current societal turbulence, including the “meaning crisis,” stems from a breakdown of collective meaning and value structures [01:54:02]. There is a sense of instability and chaos as societies grapple with finding new cohesive structures [01:54:03].
- Towards a More Complex Sacred Dempsey argues against a false dichotomy between traditional religion and science [01:54:41]. He believes that science has its own notions of the sacred and that a more complex, adaptable notion of the sacred is needed to meet the challenges of a rapidly complexifying world driven by untapped energy resources [01:54:52] [01:55:06]. The goal is to articulate a notion of the sacred that is real and valuable without falling into old, absolutist, or essentialist positions that are not complex enough for the current moment [01:55:32].