This channel specializes in close readings of philosophical texts.
Ph.D. in Religion from Claremont Graduate University. M.A. in Poetry/Creative Writing from University of Cincinnati. B.A. in English Writing (2nd major: Psychology) from Oklahoma Christian University.
Working toward a 2nd Ph.D. in Philosophy.
Areas of interest: Phenomenology, Existentialism, Heidegger, Byung-Chul Han, Medieval Mystics, Women Philosophers.
I certainly agree that an esoteric interpretation is truer than an exoteric one when dealing with the righteous verses the wicked. As to whether or not it's possible to have enlightenment without a dark night of the soul, there is something to be said for the typical way redemption is generally understood in Christianity in that there almost seems to be a necessary fall from grace before salvation can be achieved, but I think this is a cultural limitation predicated on the way in which salvation is believed to happen according to the dominant interpretation of the work of Christ, and isn't necessitated by the scriptures themselves. Perhaps enlightenment can be taught without necessitating suffering in order to achieve it, but I think there's something to the notion that life necessarily leads to sorrow and suffering sooner or later, and what Simone Weil said I think is pertinent to the issue, that the significance of religion isn't that it finds a cure for suffering but a use for it.
Thanks for your thoughtful reply and wisdom. Yes, life as we have known it thus far has suffering as an inevitable experience for sure. But many religions and spiritualities envision a "new earth" or a different dimension where suffering is highly mitigated or completely done away with. I think it is compelling to imagine how growth and evolution will happen in that realm since we are so used to having it happen through a life of duality, contrast and suffering.
@@philosophy_schilling some imagery from the book of Revelations comes to mind, how the new heaven and earth will have no night or darkness and no sea, both of which are symbols for the unconscious... hard to imagine but interesting food for thought.
Have you read any of the Kabbalistic literature available to us? If not, what religious scripture/concept, etc. would you like to see an esoteric interpretation of?
What did you read in the hour while studying with this video? Good job regardless of how many pages you got through. I had to read a book in my Honors undergrad program called "How to Read Slowly." So if you didn't get through many, well done.
Have you read Jung's "Answer to Job"? What do you think of his psychological profiling of both Job and the Hebrew god? Does god/source, etc. go through a process of individuation as well? I didn't think of it before, but I guess it might have some connection to process theology/Whitehead.
I did in fact finish book #6 (after stopping the video, while cooking lunch/dinner). I think the wind might have died down, now that it is 6:15 pm, so I am going out on my balcony. :) I have about 50 pages of Jung's "Answer to Job" left. What are you currently reading?
Thanks so much to everyone who joined! I was so happy to get through more of the King, Warrior, Magician, Lover book as well as delve more into Jung's "Answer to Job," which is proving to be quite suspenseful. What did you get finished in the time?
That’s really interesting. I had a dream a week ago where I was in a gigantic barn that was in the early stages of development. I was walking up some stairs when I started to notice that some of the stairs were missing. The higher I climbed the more stairs were missing and the entire frame of the structure looked rickety. Perhaps Jung would suggest that my dream is telling me that what I want to achieve isn’t possible or that it’s not what I should be aiming for in the first place. A lofty goal indeed, pun intended.
Sharing dreams is so cool! I might have to do a video on mine at some point. Jung says that our dreams can also give us an idea of where we are on the road to individuation, how much the unconscious is being accepted and integrated in to the conscious self, so such a stair case might show that you are certainly on your way! I love that. I would love to have such a dream. Feels so mythological.
@@philosophy_schilling Have you been journaling your dreams consistently? I only ask because after a few years of doing it I was having trouble with false memories and at one point a character from a dream made an appearance when I was awake so I stopped recording them. Just curious if you have had any experiences like that?
Jung in "On Synchronicity" says that dreams can definitely foreshadow happenings/events because our psyches can transcend space and time (so it isn't really predicting the future because everything already exists and has - so not truly a "future'). I definitely am starting to write them down or video record them just so I don't forget, but I'm pretty unorganized and chaotic about it. I should be more scientific and systematic about it, but I'm not sure that is my personality. I def. think it takes intentionality when open to all of this to stay grounded.
I used to journal my dreams and I noticed that the frequency of my dreams became more than I could keep up with and they very extremely vivid. The most interesting thing I discovered was that my dreams were not standalone, when I read them one after the other it was a narrative and themes and items kept repeating. I dream a lot about weapons, but they don’t work. A gun in my dream will look deadly but on closer examination it’s useless, I pick up an axe and the handle will be rotted. The deadly looking weapons in my dreams represent the way I try to appear to others. The fact the only I know represents my insecurity in my own ability. I’m a paper tiger.
That is so interesting. Thank you for sharing. I would love to be more knowledgable in this area, but I think any dream that can help us identify false beliefs is a really great opportunity to counter them in waking life with affirmations. My life coach gave the example of starting positive statements with "What if. . . " For instance, "What if I were completely capable of succeeding in this venture?" And then "Why is it true. . ." For instance, "Why is it true that I am completely capable of succeeding in this venture?" And so on. I wonder if we take the guidance from our dreams and then do the re-wiring, clearning, etc. in waking life, that our dreams will respond?
What did you read during this session? I read pp. 160-197 in Jung's Dreams. SO interesting. It is also in the Portable Jung, if you have that. Or in Vol. 12 of the collected works.
You yourself have clarity but it seems like some of your followers never check their spelling before sending - not good if you want to appear intelligent as I assume you do on this site -. Invigilators of old would have instantly given a Fail - perhaps I am being a little sever as I have always written my papers by hand in the past at school before the age of computers when every essay had to be perfect. I expect a little flak and to be called an old fogey!
I think YT takes awhile for the chat to be replayed after videos get uploaded, if that is what you mean. But if you mean comments under videos, you should be able to see your comments when you post them now. Thanks!
At 44:59 - your question on types of communication make me think... Is it that Byung-Chul Han is saying that the relentless, restless, pursuit of the 'new' is itself an empty illusion? Chasing an emotion, not something real. For example, with a TV series that reworks tropes with emotional hooks and cliffhangers tricking one into ...just one more episode... when Shakespeare said so much in 2 or 3 hours total! The series feeds a compulsion, does not in any way deepen understanding but dulls the mind. So, your question on communication is very interesting, but perhaps a red herring? As you say in your video earlier, it's not the how but the what. Communication is a 'how' - which itself is neutral - can be used for good, and I'll give an example later, or ill. Is it that manipulative communication taps into emotion and 'hooks' to keep us addicted? Whereas true communication deepens connection, may be troubling or disturbing. May make us think, or reflect. Opening up the possibility of a journey into a deeper understanding of self and others. I recently saw, at the cinema in my City, a live cast of the National Theatre Live production of the stage play 'Nye'. The play based on the life of Nye Bevan, who created the National Health Service in the UK. This three hour experience was profound. At a time when our politics is so banal and at times corrupt, here was a story of real vision that made a huge difference to the lives of so many by providing free health care at the point of need for the whole population. And yet the story was not without its darkness, and struggle. But I walked away challenged and inspired. I had hope that things can change... Does this make sense in connection to your question?
Absolutely! You put this really well. I think it is really helpful to look at the effects of how one feels after encountering potentially manipulative content or conversations that are agenda or just ego-driven vs. ones that are reflective, authentic, and run on a different temporality. I'm quite a proponent of taking an account of energy, so I think your example of content with nuance and depth and perhaps paradox is wonderfully apt here. Thank you for sharing.
‘Does anyone else read books and struggle over things?’ YES! I really appreciate your slow reading of this text. Your insights and connections. Your amplification of what you think the author means. Your humility in admitting when you don’t know, or are confused or stuck. Inspiring and refreshing. Just discovered your channel via the algorithms. And tho I’m highly ambivalent about them, on occasion, they make a great link. And your channel to me is a grace gift. Be encouraged in your work! - @joelafferty from Dundee Scotland
Thank you so much! I definitely consider myself a student on the path of knowledge and wisdom for any subject. I appreciate your kind words. What is Dundee Scotland like?
@@philosophy_schilling I'll just internally sense and or perceive things spontaneously, not all the time but at somewhat critical times... Sometimes they turn out to be true. If astrology holds any water in informing one's typology, I might be an introvert (more feminine) with an equal distribution of sensation, feeling and intuition, with my inferior type being extroverted-thinking. Which is funny because I'm a little at a loss sometimes (most of the time 😂) when it comes to mechanical tasks or projects in the outer world.
I live Eros in your perfect beauty, in the sweetness of your voice, in the clarity of your thought, in the impossibility of closeness, in the eroticism of your countenance.
I’m introverted thinking. I confess, I don’t like being an INTP. I feel things so deeply but cannot express it, and know things intuitively but can’t explain them. We INTP’s suffer from something I call the Cassandra effect. Incredibly, We can predict the future, but no one believes us.
Jung quite thought the introverts would save the world. Jung's theory is quite interesting as well because he felt we had all the categories and tendencies within us more or less, just some are repressed or in the foreground/unconcious. I like the way you describe the INTP. It sounds fascinating to me. I haven't taken the Myers-Briggs since college, so I don't know what I am there.
@@philosophy_schilling I have always had a strange intuition about things all my life. I can feel ideas, it’s hard to explain. We don’t have a word for it in English but the Germans have something close to what I feel, gestalt. An idea will come to me fully formed seemingly from nowhere and I have to reverse engineer it in order to explain it. It’s like I can see the statue of David in the marble clearly, I can almost feel the body beneath it and I need to chisel it away for others to see it but the problem is, I’m no craftsman.
You describe this so beautifully! Yes, Jung says that introverts are often misunderstood because of just this, that they see and feel, etc. beyond and into, through past and future, and it is hard to communicate to extraverts who do not feel the need to go beyond the object, what is externally and universally obvious.
