Author: Mark Vernon

This piece was written for The Idler. The modern world swears by science. If your intervention or idea is not evidence-based, you risk instant dismissal. So it’s odd when the same mindset refuses to acknowledge phenomena supported by way more evidence than, say, intergalactic dark matter or the chemical soup theory for the origins of… Continue reading Psi and the Limits of Science

Mark Vernon chronicles a revolution in consciousness, published in Philosophy Now. (Dust in the Wind, kenlaidlaw.com) Why do we think of philosophy originating with the ancient Greeks? After all, it’s clear that the ancient Egyptians, who preceded Pythagoras and Plato, Parmenides and Aristotle, by 2,500 years, practiced wisdom too: “The power of Truth and Justice… Continue reading Philosophy & The Creation of the Individual

This is the second half of a talk given to The Integral Stage as part of its series, The Future Faces of Spirit. The complete talk, along with links to others, is online here. What paths lie ahead for religion and spirituality in the 21st Century? How might the insights of modernity and post-modernity impact… Continue reading From Ulro to Eternity: William Blake’s fourfold vision

An Introduction to Plato’s Dialogues with Mark Vernon and Tom Hodgkinson We’ve all heard of Plato, Socrates and the dialogues, particularly the Republic. But who exactly were these brilliant Greeks? How did they live and what did they teach? What was each dialogue about? In this thorough course, Idler editor Tom Hodgkinson quizzes Plato expert… Continue reading An introduction to Plato’s dialogues – online course

What did he do? He’d treat it not only as a problem to solve but as an experience to understand. And what might be understood? “Modern people are attempting to live knowing only a fraction of what it is to be human.” A piece at The Idler, launching our new Introduction to Plato’s Dialogues. How… Continue reading What would Plato do in a pandemic?

What paths lie ahead for religion and spirituality in the 21st Century? This is my contribution to a conversation hosted by The Integral Stage. My sense is that we need to feel next steps, rather than design new systems that will inevitably be limited by current perceptions, and that William Blake offers imaginative tools for… Continue reading Our spiritual future, a talk featuring William Blake

This article appears in the May/June 2020 edition of the Idler magazine. Order a copy or subscribe here. I’m going to talk about death. There are two reasons why you shouldn’t stop reading. First, death is the ultimate idling. “Rest in peace” we say. It’s one moment in life when we actually mean it. Second,… Continue reading How Socrates can teach us to die

On Friday 1st May, I presented at an online gathering of the Cambridge Centre for the Study of Platonism, with Douglas Hedley, Malcolm Guite, Jacob Sherman, Owen A. Barfield, Gareth Polmeer, Jacob Sherman, Maria Shaskolskaya and Jake Grefenstette. The discussion is now online.

This year, 2020, marks the 700-year anniversary of the completion of the great Divine Comedy. The final part of Dante’s masterpiece, Paradiso, appeared the year before he died, in 1321. The poem is many things: a celebration of human qualities; a warning that this life matters; a path of awakening; an odyssey; a diatribe against… Continue reading Dante, Erotic Love, And The Path To God

Rupert Sheldrake and I have published the latest in our conversations, this time examining sacred spaces. Cathedrals are increasingly welcoming novel explorations of their tremendous interiors. They offer powerful experiences that come with feeling free in sacred spaces. The conversation looks at how to access the sense of presence they hold, from lying on the… Continue reading Sacred spaces, with Rupert Sheldrake