Episode · Lex Fridman Podcast · 2022-09-04
Books mentioned on #317 – John Vervaeke: Meaning Crisis, Atheism, Religion & the Search for Wisdom
John Vervaeke is a psychologist and cognitive scientist at University of Toronto. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors: – Mizzen+Main: https://mizzenandmain.
Lex Fridman recommended Siddhartha by Herman Hesse, and discussed On Bullshit by Harry G. Frankfurt, Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes, and The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker. John Vervaeke discussed Will to Power, Nietzsche's Last Idol by Jean-Etienne Joullié and Educating Intuition by Robin M. Hogarth.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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On Bullshit
On Bullshit by Harry G.
Discussed“You have an excellent 50-part lecture series online on the meaning crisis, and I think you describe in modern times an increase in depression, loneliness, cynicism, and, wait for it, the term used technically by Harry Frankfurt and adopted by you.”
Where to get it
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Leviathan
Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes is a foundational 1651 political treatise arguing that human life in a state of nature is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short, and that peace requires absolute submission to a strong central authority.
Discussed“The Book of Ecclesiastes states that 'it's all vanity; it's all meaningless.'”
Where to get it
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The Denial of Death
The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker is a Pulitzer Prize-winning philosophical and psychological study that argues human behavior is fundamentally driven by an unconscious terror of mortality and the subsequent cultural mechanisms created to deny it.
Discussed“you know Ernest Becker talked about the in his book denial of death about the fear of death and being an important motivator in our life”
Where to get it
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Will to Power, Nietzsche's Last Idol
Discussed“Nietzsche's 'Will to Power', Freud's thoughts about wanting to have sex with your mother – all these different explanations are what truly motivate human beings.”
Where to get it
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Educating Intuition
Educating Intuition by Robin M.
Discussed“This is Hogarth's proposal in 'Educating Intuition.'”
Where to get it
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Siddhartha
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse is a classic philosophical novel that follows a young man's spiritual journey of self-discovery, asceticism, and ultimate enlightenment along the banks of a river in ancient India.
Recommended“and now let me leave you with some words from Herman Hesse and Siddhartha I've always believed and I still believe that whatever good or bad fortune may come our way we can always give it meaning and transform it into something of value”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (1) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“checks out my high I admire him very much”