Emergentism: A Philosophy of Complexity and Meaning with Brendan Graham Dempsey
Channel: Life Itself
Date: 2023-06-15

This conversation is a part of a series of discussions within the Life Itself community. You can join the community here: https://chat.whatsapp.com/JNJCTZugNQn1fq89xbHtfA 

This discussion, lead by author and thought leader Brendan Graham Dempsey, is about the meaning crisis and two ways of thinking about it: reductionism and relativism. Brendan describes the meaning crisis as a collective existential crisis related to the issue of purpose and meaning. The prevalence of nihilism and the reactionary fundamentalism that follows are seen as part of this crisis.

Reductionism is the belief that everything can be broken down into its parts, with the fundamental understanding that everything is made up of matter in space. Reductionism has influenced the way people make sense of their experiences and reality, particularly in the context of mechanistic science and industrialization.

Relativism, on the other hand, is the belief that everything is socially constructed and conditioned, leading to a disorientation where people's sensemaking is solely based on subjective stories without any connection to reality. This perspective emerged from the postmodern turn and the recognition of the influence of social contexts on ideas and language.

The meaning crisis is a result of both reductionism and relativism. These ways of thinking about reality and meaning have had a negative impact on how people make sense of the world. 

Brendan proposes two responses to the meaning crisis: relationality and reconstruction.

Relationality emphasizes the reality of relationships between entities and their environment. It challenges the reductionistic view by acknowledging that relations are real and have a significant impact on how things behave in the world. This perspective requires a shift in thinking away from purely objective or subjective views of meaning and recognizes the transjective nature of meaning, where meaning emerges from the contextual relationships between entities and their environment.

Brendan suggests that understanding the drive towards complexity and the unfolding directionality of increasing complexity allows for the reconstruction of a new grand narrative or framing of existence. This new perspective can contextualize various forms of knowledge within a larger picture and help address the meaning crisis.

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Brendan Graham Dempsey is a writer who delves into topics such as the meaning crisis and the essence of spirituality within the context of metamodernity. He pursued his undergraduate studies at the University of Vermont, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Religious Studies. Furthering his academic pursuits, he went on to obtain a Master of Arts degree in Religion and the Arts from Yale University.

He is the author of a number of publications including his recent book: Emergentism: A Religion of Complexity for the Metamodern World. The book explores how the new sciences of complexity have transformed our understanding of the universe and our position within it. In a time when many individuals struggle with nihilism and a sense of meaninglessness, Brendan presents a compelling argument that the story of complexification offers a profound revelation.

Currently residing in Greensboro Bend, Vermont, Brendan Graham Dempsey is actively involved in managing a holistic retreat center known as Sky Meadow. The retreat center serves as a space for individuals seeking spiritual growth and personal development.

You can learn more about Brendan and his work at www.brendangrahamdempsey.com
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Life Itself is a a community of people seeking a wiser world.

Looking around us we can see that neither our society nor our planet are as well as they should be. Greater wisdom is needed both in diagnosis and in finding antidotes.

We emphasize wisdom because we believe this is about more than finding a quick-fix in technology or politics — it is about finding something deeper within ourselves and our societies.

Chapters
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:53 - What is the meaning crisis?
00:03:51 - What is reductionism? 
00:05:00 - What is relativism? 
00:06:40 - A worldview for navigating the meaning crisis and the aspects of relationality and regeneration
00:28:50 - Q&A