Dr. John Vervaeke

Can reclaiming poetry spark a second renaissance and wake us from our digital slumber?
John welcomes Adam Walker to the Lectern dialogue series, praising his balanced critique of higher education and his work on poetry as a spiritual practice and the possibility of a second renaissance. Adam, an English PhD from Harvard, explains he developed a critical vocabulary for "spiritual poetics" (using Wordsworth) and now teaches public literature courses outside the academy to bridge the widening gap between universities and the public. They discuss causes of the chasm: humanities shifting from teaching to research, insular theory-driven discourse, rising college costs, and market pressures that displace a "hermeneutics of beauty." They argue imagination has been reduced to entertainment, digital media erodes attention, and art is evolutionarily vital. Adam describes his dialogic, analytic-spiritual-creative classes (e.g., Eliot's Four Quartets) and concludes with hope that cultural "turns" and renaissances can emerge from dark periods through renewed engagement with beauty and art.
 
Adam Walker is a public scholar and recent Harvard PhD graduate who specializes in the spiritual dimensions of poetry. After stepping away from the traditional academy , he founded the Versed community, a platform dedicated to making university-level literature accessible to everyday readers. Through his teaching and growing YouTube channel , Adam advocates for the close reading of poetry as a transformative spiritual practice. He believes that engaging with art and beauty is essential to awakening from our modern "materialist slumber" and actively champions the arrival of a "Second Renaissance".
Website
Substack
YouTube
Versed

Resources:


Rainer Maria Rilke
Abigail Adams Institute
William Wordsworth



Timecodes:
00:00 Welcome to the Lectern
02:30 Adam's background and mission
05:30 Why the chasm exists 
13:30 Hermeneutics of beauty 
16:00 Imagination and spirituality 
21:30 Digital age attention crisis 
23:30 Art is not optional 
33:30 Inside the Verse classroom 
38:30 Dialogue and Platonic loop 
41:30 Poets as presence 
42:30 War poems and culture 
43:30 Credibility and imitation 
46:00 Translucent language 
48:00 Theosis and greatness 
49:40 "The encounter with the angel doesn't leave you the same. You walk away with a limp for the rest of your life, and you have to be okay with that".
51:30 Spinoza aspect shift 
54:00 Poetry as transformation 
55:30 Embodied confirmation 
57:00 Returning to the cave 
01:04:00 Wordsworth awakens spirit
01:07:30 Next talk questions 
01:09:30 Hope and renaissance
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Can the meaning crisis be addressed by transforming how we perceive reality rather than what we believe about it?
In this episode, John Vervaeke and Ethan Hsieh introduce the course Between East and West, which explores Zen Neoplatonism as a dialogical framework integrating Eastern and Western traditions. The course is designed not as a system of belief but as a training in perception, participation, and understanding.
Zen offers a path of intimacy, presence, and immanence, while Neoplatonism provides intelligibility, transcendence, and coherence. Together, they form a stereoscopic vision that allows for a renewed encounter with meaning and the sacred.
The discussion reframes mysticism, philosophy, religion, and spirituality, while confronting the meaning crisis and the limitations of modern categories. It proposes a shift beyond theism and atheism toward a participatory understanding of reality grounded in insight and practice.
Ethan Hsieh is a writer, educator, and dialogue facilitator working across philosophy, cognitive science, and contemplative practice, helping to bridge theory and lived experience.
Guest Links Ethan Hsieh: https://sg.linkedin.com/in/ethan-hsieh-828a63240
Join the full course Between East and West https://lectern.johnvervaeke.com/courses/between-east-and-west
Explore more courses and teachings from The Lectern https://lectern.johnvervaeke.com/
Support the Lectern and join a growing community of wisdom seekers https://www.patreon.com/johnvervaeke
00:00 Welcome to the Lectern 01:00 What is Zen Neoplatonism 05:00 Silk Road origins and Pyrrho 07:00 Mysticism, philosophy, and religion 11:30 Religion as dynamic ecology 12:21 Christianity as a family resemblance network 16:30 Spirituality and the meaning crisis 21:00 Religious philosophy gray zone 26:30 Synergy not syncretism 30:30 Course overview and proposal 32:00 Zen and Neoplatonism stereoscopic vision 38:30 Aporia, koans, and Socrates 44:30 Accessibility beyond East and West 50:30 Sacredness demands accountability 51:00 Singapore religious caution 51:30 Religion and war myths 52:30 Pluralism without conversion 53:30 Attachment theory and faith 57:00 Self versus others in religion 01:00:00 From substance to community 01:05:00 Do I even need this 01:08:30 Fear of losing meaning 01:12:30 Beyond theism and atheism 01:18:00 Meaning beyond morality 01:21:30 Goodness and self transcendence 01:26:00 Neoplatonic ladder 01:27:00 Logos and agape 01:30:00 Practice, way, and identity
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Is reality fully captured by science or are we missing its most essential dimension?
In this dialogue, John Vervaeke joins William Desmond and Guy Sengstock to explore the philosophical foundations of meaning, being, and knowing. Their exchange reveals a shared concern that modern frameworks have narrowed our understanding of reality by excluding participatory and relational dimensions.
Desmond's "between" metaphysics and Vervaeke's relevance realization converge to illuminate how meaning arises through engagement rather than detached observation. The discussion moves through cognitive science, phenomenology, and ontology while confronting the existential weight of the meaning crisis.
Nihilism is reframed not as a final collapse, but as a transitional space that may allow for a renewed encounter with the sacred and the real. The result is a vision of reality that is deeper, more participatory, and more demanding than modern assumptions allow.
William Desmond is a philosopher known for his work on the "between" and the nature of being and meaning. His writing integrates Greek philosophy, Christian thought, and Eastern traditions.
Guy Sengstock is the co founder of Circling and founder of The Circling Institute. His work focuses on relational awareness and the transformative power of dialogue.
Guest Links William Desmond: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Desmond_(philosopher) Guy Sengstock: https://x.com/guystocks/status/1936455794452774946
Support the Lectern and join a growing community of wisdom seekers https://www.patreon.com/johnvervaeke
Explore practices and programs through Awaken to Meaning https://awakentomeaning.com/
00:00 Welcome to the Lectern 02:00 William Desmond's philosophical journey 08:00 Guy Sengstock and circling practice 13:00 Relevance realization and cognition 18:00 What is relevance 25:00 Being, meaning, and dialogue 41:00 Projection and philosophical pilgrimage 51:00 Daoist perspectives 52:00 Sacred pilgrimage in ancient Greece 54:09 Going away as a way of going home 54:30 Wayfaring and cognition 56:00 Reformation and pilgrimage 56:30 Pilgrimage versus tourism 57:30 The meaning crisis and nihilism 01:01:30 Nihilism as creative opening 01:07:00 Zen and nothingness 01:26:00 Vertical and horizontal nihilism
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Why does the modern pursuit of happiness so often leave people feeling lost?
In this episode of The Lectern, John Vervaeke speaks with cognitive scientist Mark Miller about the emerging science of happiness and the deeper architecture of the human mind. Drawing from predictive processing theory, the conversation explores how human beings function as epistemic agents who constantly construct models of the world and themselves.
The discussion examines why common cultural narratives about happiness are often misleading and why genuine flourishing requires understanding the underlying cognitive processes that shape perception, motivation, and meaning. Mark introduces the framework behind his Lectern course Generations of Joy, which integrates cognitive science, philosophy, contemplative practice, and modern neuroscience.
Mark Miller is a cognitive scientist specializing in predictive processing, wellbeing, and the cognitive science of happiness. He teaches in the psychology and cognitive science programs at the University of Toronto and conducts research with the Center for Consciousness and Contemplative Studies at Monash University. He is also affiliated with Hokkaido University where he contributes to interdisciplinary work on artificial intelligence, neuroscience, and human nature.
Mark Miller
Website https://www.markdmiller.live/
Cognitive Science https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/cognitive-science/
Philosophical Psychology https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/cphp20/current
Socrates https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/socrates/
Support the Lectern community on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/johnvervaeke
Explore the course Generations of Joy on The Lectern https://lectern.johnvervaeke.com/courses/generations-of-joy
00:00 Welcome to the Lectern 03:30 Mark's background and research homes 04:30 Course preview Generations of Joy 06:00 Cutting edge meditation science 08:00 Ancient philosophy meets cognitive science 10:30 Defining happiness beyond media narratives 12:30 First principles cognitive framework 15:30 Humans as epistemic agents 17:45 Knowing your owner's manual 18:00 Meaning wisdom and insight 27:00 Addiction despair and course roadmap 28:00 Flexibility and reframing 29:00 Week one the predictive mind 31:00 Dogen on ignorance 33:00 Neuroscience of emptiness 35:00 Weeks two through eight overview 40:00 Why the course matters 43:00 Interlocking crises and relevance 47:30 Doomscrolling drugs and misinformation 50:00 Discernment versus spiritual buffet 51:00 Meditation risks ethics and education 53:30 Off the shelf spirituality critique
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Lectern Q&As are monthly live sessions where members of the Lectern community explore the practical application of cognitive science, philosophy, and contemplative practice in everyday life.
These conversations typically feature John Vervaeke and Ethan Hsieh responding to questions from the community. In this session, Ethan is joined by Mark Miller to discuss Mark's upcoming course Generations of Joy, and to explore how philosophical practice and developmental insight can deepen meaning across generations.
Participants can submit questions in advance or ask them live on camera during the session. Past recordings are available for members who want to revisit ideas or follow the ongoing thread of conversation within the Lectern community.
Join the Lectern community and access past sessions here: https://lectern.johnvervaeke.com/membership
Generations of Joy is now open for registration on The Lectern: https://lectern.johnvervaeke.com/courses/generations-of-joy