108 min listen
Civilization: is it worth it?
FromBrainforest Café
ratings:
Length:
66 minutes
Released:
Dec 31, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
Dr. Ryan is an astute observer, commentator and fellow experiencer of the human condition. Unlike most of us, his insights into the existential human situation undermine conventional wisdom, and are often profoundly unsettling. This approach is reflected in his best selling book, “Sex at Dawn” (2010) which calls into question nearly everything we think we understand about human sexuality. His latest book, “Civilized to Death: the Price of Progress”, takes on the very notion of Civilization and what he terms the Narrative of Perpetual Progress. From the book’s description: Most of us can feel that something’s off—balmy December days, face-to-face conversation replaced with screen-to-screen zomboidism, a world at constant war, a political system in disarray. We hear some lies so frequently that they begin to feel like facts: Civilization is humankind’s greatest accomplishment. Progress is undeniable. We’re lucky to be alive here and now. Well, maybe we are and maybe we aren’t. Civilized to Death counters the idea that “progress” is inherently good, arguing that the progress defining our age may be analogous to an advancing disease. The ideas Chris Ryan unpacks in this book have reframed much of what I assumed to be true about civilization and the evolution of our species. It has been a most unsettling experience, as much as it has been edifying, stimulating, and enlightening.
Released:
Dec 31, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (11)
Ancient Egyptian Alchemy: From Acacia to Zosimos: P. D. Newman specializes in the historical and current use of entheogenic compounds, mystical, magical, and initiatory context. He is the author of the groundbreaking work Angels in Vermilion, the philosopher Stone from D to DMT, and the forthcoming titles Theurgy In Theory and Practice, Myster Mysteries of the Ascent to the Divine, and Tripping the Path of Souls. Native American Shamanism in the Mississippi Valley, both a keen researcher and a dedicated practitioner, Newman, has been immersed in the study and practice of alchemy, theurgy and Shamanism for over two decades. by Brainforest Café