Episode · The Tim Ferriss Show · 2023-02-23
Books mentioned on #657: Professor John Vervaeke — How to Build a Life of Wisdom, Flow, and Contemplation
Brought to you by Wealthfront high-yield savings account, Basecamp refreshingly simple project management, and Eight Sleep’s Pod Cover sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating. John Vervaeke (@vervaeke_john) is a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto.
Tim Ferriss recommended Awakening From the Meaning Crisis by Christopher Mastropietro and others. John Vervaeke recommended What is Ancient Philosophy? by Pierre Hadot, The Enneads, Cognition in the Wild by Edwin Hutchins, and Descartes' Error by Antonio Damasio, and discussed Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny, Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, Fifth Business by Robertson Davies, Educating Intuition by Robin M. Hogarth, The Republic, and The Symposium.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Awakening From the Meaning Crisis
Awakening From the Meaning Crisis is a comprehensive exploration of the historical, psychological, and philosophical roots of modern existential disconnection, co-authored by Christopher Mastropietro and John Vervaeke.
Recommended“He is the author and presenter of the outstanding — that's what I'm adding — YouTube series — I highly recommend — Awakening from the Meaning Crisis and his brand new series, After Socrates.”
Where to get it
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Lord of Light
Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny is a science fiction masterpiece that explores themes of religion, technology, and self-transcendence within a richly imagined secondary world.
Discussed“And so when I was 15, I read a couple of books, The Lord of Light and Siddhartha, Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny, Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, Fifth Business by Robertson Davies, and it really blew me open.”
Where to get it
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Siddhartha
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse is a philosophical novel that follows a young man's spiritual journey of self-discovery in ancient India.
Discussed“And so when I was 15, I read a couple of books, The Lord of Light and Siddhartha, Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny, Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, Fifth Business by Robertson Davies, and it really blew me open.”
Where to get it
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Fifth Business
Fifth Business by Robertson Davies is a celebrated novel that forms the first installment of the author's acclaimed Deptford Trilogy.
Discussed“And so when I was 15, I read a couple of books, The Lord of Light and Siddhartha, Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny, Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, Fifth Business by Robertson Davies, and it really blew me open.”
Where to get it
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Educating Intuition
Educating Intuition by Robin M.
Discussed“So I'm deeply influenced by two things: Csikszentmihalyi's work on Flow and Hogarth's work, Educating Intuition, and he makes a proposal, and I think this is the best proposal I've heard.”
Where to get it
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What is Ancient Philosophy?
What is Ancient Philosophy? by Pierre Hadot is an influential exploration of ancient Greco-Roman philosophy, framing it not merely as a set of abstract theories, but as a concrete way of life and a spiritual practice.
Recommended“No, it's Jules Evans on Rebel Wisdom, the book that changed my life. I picked What Is Ancient Philosophy? by Pierre Hadot.”
Where to get it
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The Republic
Plato's foundational classical text "The Republic" explores justice, political structures, and the nature of reality.
Discussed“That opens me up. I now go out into — and that just keeps happening. And it's been happening since I first read The Republic, since I first read The Symposium.”
Where to get it
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The Symposium
The Symposium by Plato is a foundational philosophical text consisting of a dramatic dinner party dialogue centered on the nature, origin, and various manifestations of love.
Discussed“That opens me up. I now go out into — and that just keeps happening. And it's been happening since I first read The Republic, since I first read The Symposium.”
Where to get it
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The Enneads
The Enneads by Plotinus is a foundational collection of ancient philosophical writings that form the basis of Neoplatonism, exploring themes of beauty, the soul, and the nature of the One.
Recommended“I read Plotinus' Ennead on the nature of beauty or on the nature of One and contemplation, on dialect, any of these great Enneads.”
Where to get it
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Cognition in the Wild
Cognition in the Wild by Edwin Hutchins is a seminal classic in cognitive science that explores how human thinking and problem-solving are distributed across social groups, tools, and environments rather than confined solely to individual brains.
Recommended“I guess the classic book by this is Cognition In the Wild by Ed Hutchins, where he talks about the fact that nobody, no person, navigates a ship.”
Where to get it
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Descartes' Error
Descartes' Error by Antonio Damasio is a foundational work in neuroscience that examines how emotions are deeply intertwined with human reasoning and decision-making.
Recommended“And I mean, a good place to point people about this is Damásio's Descartes' Error. Right?”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (3) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“He was the basis for Searching for Bobby Fischer, the book and the movie, of course, very, very high-level chess player.”
“You'll have to the pardon maybe the way that this question is couched, but I just read Lonesome Dove, which is 950 or 980 pages, and then, now I'm watching the three-part television series with Robert Duvall and so on, which is very good.”
“So you have this very popular YouTube series, Awakening from the Meaning Crisis. Why create After Socrates?”