Ep. 22 - Awakening from the Meaning Crisis - Descartes vs. Hobbes

In this episode of "Awakening From The Meaning Crisis," Dr. John Vervaeke analyzes the philosophical responses to the cultural shifts following the Protestant Reformation, focusing on the tension between Lutheran faith and Cartesian certainty. He explores Descartes' psychotechnology and its impact on the concept of the individual mind, contrasting it with Hobbes' proposal of artificial intelligence. Vervaeke discusses Descartes' arguments against Hobbes, highlighting the conflict between scientific materialism and the essential aspects of reasoning like purpose, meaning, and normativity. He further examines the implications of Descartes' philosophy on the mind-body problem, the problem of other minds, and the unstable grammar of realness it creates, ultimately leading to a sense of isolation and disconnection. The episode concludes with an introduction to Pascal's concept of the "spirit of finesse" as a counterpoint to the purely computational view of knowledge, setting the stage for a discussion on Kant and the search for transformation in the face of a meaning crisis.