How can we transhumanise? And why we need to

An audio version of this talk is at my podcast, Talks and Thoughts, available via podcast feeds. Dante coined the word “transhumanise” in the Divine Comedy, 700 years ago. “Trasumanar” is the transformation he will undergo in order to share in the life of paradise. Today, the word has associations that are strikingly related to… Continue reading How can we transhumanise? And why we need to

Where is heaven? A response to Sam Harris & Jonathan Pageau

An audio version of this talk is at my podcast, Talks and Thoughts, available via podcast feeds. Sam Harris raised the question of the location of heaven, not least in the space age, when “up there” is not straightforwardly a good answer. Jonathan Pageau responded eloquently, noting that up is, of course, an analogy that… Continue reading Where is heaven? A response to Sam Harris & Jonathan Pageau

Nature, politics, humanity. Three hard sayings of William Blake

An audio version of this talk is at my podcast, Talks and Thoughts, available via podcast feeds. William Blake saw himself as a prophet, which means that his writings challenge, even repulse, on occasion. However, Blake’s harding sayings are the moments when his greatest vision stands before us. They are worth wrestling with, if he… Continue reading Nature, politics, humanity. Three hard sayings of William Blake

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Of Selfhood and Awakening. William Blake and the Book of Job

An audio version of this talk is at my podcast, Talks and Thoughts, available via podcast feeds. The Book of Job has been used to retell the Christian story, as with Carl Jung’s Answer to Job. It can also be sought for what it says about suffering. The Hebrew tale inspired William Blake in a… Continue reading Of Selfhood and Awakening. William Blake and the Book of Job

Spinoza’s Nondualism. Clare Carlisle talks with Mark Vernon about her book, Spinoza’s Religion

An audio version of this conversation is on my podcast, Talks and Thoughts, available via podcast feeds. Baruch Spinoza is widely regarded as either a God-forsaking atheist or a God-intoxicated pantheist, but Clare Carlisle says that he was neither. In her latest book, Spinoza’s Religion, she reads his masterpiece, the Ethics, to show that being-in-God… Continue reading Spinoza’s Nondualism. Clare Carlisle talks with Mark Vernon about her book, Spinoza’s Religion

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A Path Through Suffering

An audio version of this talk is on my podcast, Talks and Thoughts, available via podcast feeds. The labyrinth at Penpont offers a chance to reflect on suffering, with thanks too to William Blake.

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William Blake and the Future of Christianity

An audio version of this talk is on my podcast, Talks and Thoughts, available via podcast feeds. A talk give at St Matthew’s Church, Wimbledon, London on 12th July 2022.

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