John Vervaeke, PhD: Wrestling with the Meaning Crisis & Our Eternal Quest for Wisdom

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Do you know what your meaning in life is? What about your meaning OF life?

In this episode of the Align podcast, John Vervaeke, Ph.D. and I share a profoundly striking dialogue on our collective starvation for meaning. Plus, we tackle why we experience a gnawing disconnection from ourselves, from each other, and from nature. As he sheds light on the difference between meaning “in” life vs. meaning “of” life, we also touch on cancel culture, addiction, the power of a flow state of mind in meaning-making, and how to cultivate wisdom in the Age of Disinformation.

John Vervaeke, Ph.D., is an author of several books, and he’s been a professor of cognitive science at the University of Toronto since 1994. His award-winning 50-part lecture series on Youtube titled "Awakening from the Meaning Crisis” has garnered 500k+ views worlwide.

What we discuss:

0:00 - Introduction to John Vervaeke

3:00 - Culture, Grammar, and the Creation of Meaning

6:00 - What is the Meaning Crisis?

9:00 - The roots of our alienation + how to harness our power to self-correct

16:00 - Cancel culture as a symptom of the meaning crisis

23:30 - What exactly is cognition?

27:00 - Love, psychedelics, and the flow state of mind

36:00 - The definition of meaning-making & the different kinds of knowing

41:30 - Addiction: A learned behavior or a disease?

44:50 - Why we should never stop looking for meaning & seeking wisdom

56:00 - Actionable Tips to cultivate wisdom & live a fulfilled life