Welcome to the Jordan, be Petersen Podcast. You can support these points, Ass by donating to Doktor Peterson's Patria, on the link to it We found him description, Doktor Peterson self development programmes, self authoring be found itself authoring, dot, com. all right! So the last time I was here, many of you were as well. We got half way through the story of Jacob and I've been digging underneath the story sporadically since then try to find out whether the themes are being developed and I've got some things that I think are really interesting to talk about

so so we'll get right into it. So I'm going to reveal a little bit first, so we were talking about Jacob and all we up date, his biography, a little bit so that we can place ourselves in the proper context before we go on so his mother, Rebecca gave birth to twins and the twins even in her womb were struggling for, although they were struggling and, of course the story is that they were struggling for dominance that older or the younger against the older, really because Jacob Jacob means Usurper and Rebecca Hadda. What would you call a vision from God that said that Jacob would supplant Esau, and so even before her twins were born.

They were in a state of competition and that's a recapitulation of the motif of the hostile brothers right. It's a very, very, very common, mythological motif, and we we already saw that really well developed in the story of cane, enable right and cane enable were essentially the first two human beings, the first two natural born human beings and their instantly locked in a state of enmity, which is symbolic of first, the enmity that exists within people's psyche between the part of them. You might say, that's aiming at the light and the part of them that's aiming at the darkness and I think that's a reasonable way of portraying it. Obviously, it's away it's sort of rife with symbolism, but my experiences

people, especially when you get to know them seriously or when there dealing with serious issues, is that there is quite clearly a part of them that striving to do well in the world or even to do good and another part. That's deeply cynical and embittered that it says to Hell with it and is self destructive and laughed He's out and really aims at making things worse, and so that seems to be a natural part of the human psyche and that's also reflected in the The idea of the fall in so those ideas are not easily cast away their associated with them.

Of self consciousness right and in the story of the garden of Eden, and I think that's right, because I do think that our self consciousness produces that division within us, because more than any other creature were intensely aware of our affinity and suffering, and that tends to turn us at least to some degree against being itself. You know I was watching A bunch of protesters in the! U S! Last week, scream at the sky about tromp. You know- and It was interesting like it, I thought it was an extraordinarily narcissistic display, but but despite that, there's something symbolically appropriate about it I also a movie. I really like, sadly enough called FU bar, how many of you have seen that here

that movie. I take it it's about the people. I grew up with self here. That's true man, I'm Tellin, you that's true, so the the guy, the main actor in food bar, whose quite bright but completely uncivilized, gets testicular cancer and there's one great scene where he gets far too drunk unease stumbling around the street. You know in virtually comatose state, and course he's not very thrilled with what's happened to him and he's shaking his fist at the sky. Its pouring reign in these cursing God and you know it's like well, you can kinda understand his position, so that kind of reminded me of these people who were yelling at the sky. They were basically they are our drama. Causing the idea of in rate they were enraged at well. You could say God, of course, most them wouldn't say that, but but they were the ones yelling at the damn sky, I mean so you gotta

what they're doing rather than what they say, and they were outraged that being was constructed such that Trump could have arisen as president, and so Well so this idea, you know that we can be easily turned against being and work for its destruction is a really it's a really com and calm and common theme. It never goes away. You see it echoed in stories like with the new Marvel Series. For example, you see the enmity between Thorun Loki, that's a good example of the same thing or between Batman and the Joker there's, there's or Superman's Lex Luther. These irritated there's these pairs of here. Against villain, that's really dramatic and easily what everyone can understand that dynamic right. It's a basic plot and the reason it's a basic plot is because it's true,

battle within our spirits, our own individual spirits, it's true within families, because sibling rivalry can be unbelievably brutal. It's true between human beings who are strangers. It's true between groups of people like it's true at every level of analysis and then in some sense it's it's architecturally, true, at least with rigour it's too deep religious symbolism, because you see that echoed in many stories as well. So I think the clearest representation is probably Christ and Satan. That's the closest to appear archetype, although there is in the old egyptian stories, there's o Cyrus and South or Horace and South and south is a precursor to Satan,

Eta Malagigi, so it's a very, very common or teeth, and so that's what happens again in Rebecca as womb. Is that this thing this ideas played out right away and the two to twins are actually what would you call it there? They have a super ordinance destiny because one of them is destined to become the father of Israel and, of course, that a pinnacle moment in the old testament, obviously, and arguably a pinnacle moment in human history. Now you know degree to which the stories in the old testament actually constitute what we would consider. Empirical history is a matter of debate, but it doesn't matter in some sense because, as I have mentioned, I think before

Lecture Series. No, there are. There are forms of fiction that are met her true, which means that they are not necessarily about a specific individual, all the white, a generally think they are based on the life of specific individuals, its simplest theory. But who knows right, but there are more real than reality itself, because they abstract out the most relevant elements of reality and present them to you. That's why you watch fiction. You know you, don't you want. You want your fiction boiled right. You want to boil down to the essence: that's what makes good fiction and that essence is something that's truer than than plain old truth if its handled well- and so you know, if you watch Shakespeare play Half a lifetime of events can go by in Shakespeare, play and covers. You know why

range of scenes and so on, and so it's it's caught and attitude and compressed all at once, but because of that blasts you with with a kind of emotional and ethical force just the mirror, video taping of someone's daily life. It wouldn't even wouldn't even come close to approximating so I miss motif of the hostile brothers. That's a that's a deep, deep, archetypical truth and. God says to Rachel to nations, are in thy womb into manner of people should be separated from the bowels, and one people shall be stronger than the other and the elder shall serve the younger and so there is a inversion there right because, as we discussed shortly speaking in traditionally speaking, it's the elder son that to whom the disproportion

blessings flow Truth and now to even more. What would you say more empirically Ike tends to decrease as the number of children in the family increase the younger this is the smartest, generally speaking, clear why that is, but it might be that they get more attention and who knows those of you. Her younger can be very unhappy about that now Jacob Kay, so there's another. There is another. Law line here too, because Abraham End and Rebecca. Are at odds. It's Isaac and Rebecca are at odds about the children. Right. So there's a there's an eatable twist, the two because well

Isaac is allied with Esau, who turns out to be the hunter type, so he's your basic rough and tumble. Character. You known he's kind of a wild looking guy Harry and to be outside he lives? Intense he likes to hunt is a man Man, that's one way of thinking about it, whereas Jacob dwells tents, you know he doesn't go outside much he's more well, he's more introverted buddy. Certainly this sort of kid less and say who hangs around home and it there's some intimation that he's a month while he's clearly as mothers, favourite and with all the advantages and I suppose, disadvantage this go along with that and Isaac, Rebecca dont see I'd I about who should of predominance among the sons and Rebecca, is quite complicit with Jacob in inverting the social order. So the first thing that happens, that's crooked is that. ISA comes in

from hunting and he's. You know. Maybe he's been out for a number of days and he's ravenous and he's kind of an import of guy doesn't really seem think about the long term very much and Jake is cooking. Some lentil stew and you I want some of it and Jacob refuses and and then says that he'll trade, his his birthright for it and you saw agrees which is a bad deal right. It's a bad deal and so you you could say that ISA actually deserves. What's coming to him, although He at minimum you'd have to think of them, both as being equally culpable. It's a nest, the trick, and so that Jacobs First trick and then. The second trick is that its later it, is old and blind and in close to death and

Time for him to bestow a blessing on his sons, which is very important apparently among these ancient people and you saw again is out hunting and Rachel dressed justice. Jacob up Harry Potter. Note skin on his arm, so he's kind of Harry like ISA. Dresses are many so closely smells like ie. Seven Isaac tells Esau to go out and content Venison, I think it is And which is a favourite of his and Rebecca, has Jacob took up a couple of goat kids and serve that two eyes: and play the role of sl, and so he does that it's pretty. Damn nasty, really, all things considered in order to play a trick like that both on your brother and on your blog father and

collusion with your mother. It's not the sort of thing, that's really designed to promote lot of familial harmony and so especially because you ve already screwed em over in a big way. Once you know, you think you think Would be sufficient, so anyways, he successful end ISA loses his father's blessing and so that job ends up really in the position of the first born, and it's quite interesting because God tell Rachel that Jake It's going to be the dominant, twin and you'd. Think again, with gods I sing, or at least the prophecy. The Jacob would end up being a good guy. But he said you're not presented that way to begin with, which is also quite interesting, given that he's the eventual founder of Israel and its another into vision of the realism of these old stories. You know, and it's amazing to me. It's always been quite amazing to me how on prettify, these stories have remained in because you'd think that

fewer even the least bit cynical, especially if you had the kind of marxist religion is the opposite of the masses kind of viewpoint which, which a credible viewpoint. You know- wrong, but it's pretty. Well, I think it's a shallow. I think it's a shallow interpretation part of the reason. I think it's a shallow interpretation is because the story would be a lot prettier. If that was the case, these characters Wouldn't have this strange real stick moral ambiguity about them. You, if you're going feed people, a fantasy than you. But to be like a Harlequin novel or or our greeting card, or something like that, you don't want to be a story, that's full of betrayal in deceit and murder and mayhem and genocide, and all of that about just doesn't seem all that. What would you a calming I guess would be. The right right answer So anyways It gets away with this, but ISA.

Not happy and an Jacob is quite convinced that he might and I think that was a reasonable fear, because he saw was a tough guy. Eddie was used to being outside and he knew how to hunt and he knew how to kill You actually wasn't very happy about getting seriously screwed over by his. You know stay at home, younger brother twice and soldiers It runs off and go to visit his uncle and on the way- and this is a very interesting part of the story he said ops and to sleep, and he takes a stone for a pillow and then he has this vision. It's called a dream, but the text makes it look like a vision a ladder reaching up to Heaven and with angels. Moving up and down the ladder. Let's say and. Some representations of that. I showed you some of them time we met, but already

Two. First, he lighted upon a certain place and tarried there all night, because the sun was set any talk of the stones of that place and put them pillows and lay down in that place to sleep. Dreamed and beheld a ladder set upon the earth and the top of it to Heaven and behold, the angels of God, ascending and descending on it. And behold the Lord stood above it and said I am the Lord God of Abraham Thy Father, and the God of Isaac, the land, we're on the alliance to the I will give an anti thy seed. In I see will as the dust of the earth and now shalt spread abroad to the west into the east into the north and the south. That lays the canonical directions, rates or now there's a centre with the canonical corrections like the thing that you see. You know that little symbol you see on maps, it's the same thing that symbolically placed upon them. So a centre has been established radiating well with with what with Direction lines radiating from it, so it establishes as as a place.

And in the nice each shall all the families of the earth be blessed. So that's pretty good news for Jacob and it's not self evident why. God is rewarding him for running away after screwing over his brother, but that seems to be what happens and so here's a couple of representation classic representations, the one right is William Blake S when I particularly like, Blake assimilates, with the sun when with light right. So that's quite in common Mythological idea that God is associated with light and the day. Behold I am with the and will keep the in all places, whether thou Knowest and will bring the again into this land, for I will not leave the until I've done that which I have spoken to the of and Jacob away. Out of his sleep and he said surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not and he was afraid which is actually, the right response and

how dreadful is this place? It is not in the House of God- and this is the gate of Heaven- and Jacob rose up early in the morning and took the stone that he had put for his pillows and set it up for a pillar import oil on the top of it and that's that's a more important thing than you think and what will go into that of a bit more deeply, because up to this point this story, There isn't anything really there, Anything that's really emerged to mark a sacred space right. There's, no there's no cathedral! There's no church! There's nothing like that, but here's this, idea that emerges that you can make the centre of something that in that port and any market with a stone and a good way to mark things that that are important, because a stone is permanent right and we, things, with stones now like we mark graves with stones, for example, because we want to make a memory and carve something into stone, to carve a stone and then to carve something into stone, is to make a memory and to use stone is too memory because stone is permanent and to set

operators to to indicate a centre, and so that's what once in pour oil on the top of it, which is kind of offering, and he called that place Bethel, but the name of the city was called laws at the first and Jacob avow saying it I will be with me and will keep me in this way- that I go and will give me bread to eat and Raymond to put on then a tenth, what I earn. I will give him on this. That. That's interesting to because now there's a transformation of sacrifice right, because until that point sacrifices have had been pretty, concretize. It was the burning of something, whereas Here, all of a sudden, it's the offering of of of of

active labour per se like a ties, because time is a form of sacrifice, and so there's an abstraction of the idea of sacrifice to sacrifice its really important that the idea of sacrifice its abstracted right, because it be abstracted to the point where it's it's used. That we use it today, which is you don't? We make sacrifices to get ahead and everyone understands what that means, but the or faces are generally some combination of psychological and and and practical, so we're not acting them out where precisely we're not dramatizing them are rich, realising that we actually act them out in our in the covenant that we make with the future, and we do that well less, were extraordinarily impulsive, an aimless in our lives and have really no conception whatsoever of the future and all equally to sacrifice the future for the present, which is what he saw it does right, then, make sacrifices, and you gotta think like

idea of making sacrifices to make this you're better is an extraordinarily difficult lesson to learn. It took people God only knows how long to learn that in our life, We have no idea, it's not something that animals too easily champion, He's don't store left over meet. You know they just and neither the wolf say just Wolf need about thirty pounds of meat in one sitting That's where the idea of wolfing it down comes from you're, not hiding it saving it for later. You know they can't do that, so they can sacrifice the present for the future A big deal that this that this happened now want to tell you a little bit about the idea of the pillar because its it's an unbelievably d. Idea and it orients us in ways that we still don't. Still orients and us in ways that we don't understand in it. It's actually the Can by which were oriented- or

and if its lacking, then we become disoriented and so I'll- show you some pictures and described them first. Okay, so, first of all there is a world city. So let me tell you that you can about that as an architectural human habitation. Maybe it's a reflection of something like a fire in the middle of the plane the forest or the jungle. That matter of those kind of hard to get a fire going, their national fire ring round with logs and perhaps ringed around with dwellings, rights or the fires in the centre and the fire defines the centre and then, as you, move away from the fire, you move out into the darkness right. So the fire is light and communion and safety and, as you move away from the fire, you move out into the darkness and what's terrifying out beyond the perimeter. So what's beyond the perimeters terrify, you can feel that if you go camping somewhere, that's wild, you know you damn happy, especially the wolves or howling you Damn happy to be

by the fire, because you can see there, the fire keeps the animals away, and you know you do wandering The Bush into the darkness, then you're on alert, and you know, Predator detection systems are on alert and so Think about the classical human station as two places one where your predator detection system isn't on alert and another where you're, predator text detection system is alert on alert, and you can think about that flee as the distinction between explored territory and unexplored territory and really the the founding of a place is precisely. This is a lot of this. I got from reading. Virtually Ellie out of the founding of a place is precisely the definition of a exploit. Centre set. Since the unexplored periphery and What's interesting about that? So you can kind of think about that. With regards to the World City right, everything in the wall is Cosmos,

we think outside the wall is chaos and but you know, but it also extends to the conceptual round, because now that you're the master of a field of study and so that's an interesting metaphor is a field. Is it a geographical metaphor right and in the center of the field. Are those things that everyone knows really well the axioms that everyone abides by in the and then, as you move towards the fringes, you get to work towards the unknown towards the frontier of the discipline and you become expert, you move from the centre to the frontier and so then you're on the border when you're, when you're when you're a scholar economy skull you're on the border between the unexplored or sport and unexplored and you're, trying to further that borders, so even if you just doing this abstractly, it's the same think and it's a refund of the fact that every human environment?

concrete or abstract. It makes no difference ray capitulated the Cosmos, chaos, economy or the or chaos, dichotomy and that's. Why Taoism, for example its the union of CHAOS in order that constitutes being itself and that, stand on the border between chaos in order? Because that's the replace to be too orderly too much in the explored you not learning anything too much there were the predators lurk. Then you frozen with terror. And neither of those positions are desirable. So and that's what you know, and so you think, and this is a concrete reality obviously, as well as a psychological reality, there were reasons for those walls right because inside the walls, were all the people like us, and so that begs question. What does it mean for people to be like us, and then outside the walls. The rose, all those people

they were? The worst forms of predators these people are actually the worst forms of predators who aren't like us, and the wall is there to draw a distinction between law, Gus and not like us, and so and that was a matter of life and death. If you can tell that, because I mean look at walls. They had to build by hand- and you know you do see walled cities that have three rings of walls. So these people- terrified, but not so as far as the people who built freeway They were really terrified and they had their reasons so Ok, so now There's an idea. That's that's referred, did in the Jacobs Louder story that the centre, where you put the pill- It is also the place where Heaven and earth touch, and so that's that's it

complicated idea. I think that you can either one I'm trying to look at these from a psychological perspective and so on. You could say that that's it. Symbolic place where the lowest in the highest come together, and so it's a place were earthly b stretches up to the highest possible ethical abstraction and that's the centre because we the things that defines us say as most of them we're all united within a certain ethic. That's what Since the same, this is complicated line of reasoning and but go back to it after I show you some more pictures, but so that's that's. The first idea is that the centre is. The plan where the law, stand the highest touch simultaneously and so You could say that in some sense it specifies the aim of a group of people. That's another way. You know

you get together with people to make a group even at work, group yourself around a project. Unites you and it unites you, because you all have the same AIM euro, pointing to the same thing and that do the same in some ways, because if Europe for the same thing, I am done, the same things are going to be important to you that are important to me and the same things are going to be negative to you that are negative to me. Cuz our emotions work out that way and that I can instantly predict. You know. You're going to behave, and so our aim, which is basically are ethical limits because we're aiming at something better, at least in principle, wearing It's something better sore Michael aim that unites our perceptions and that's what aligns our emotions and so that It begs the question: if you're going to build a community around, what aim should the community congregate? Okay, so The idea here is that the to the centre of the community is the pillar that unites heaven and earth, so unites the lowest with the highest. So there's some intimation of the idea that its

highest, that unites the community. Ok and so keep that in mind and that's a very old ideas. Well, that's that of the access Monday, which is the centre, pull that unites heaven and earth. It's an unbelievably old idea, cans thousands of years old, it might even stretch back to whatever our archaic, memories was I memories. I don't know what you would describe them, architectural memories of our Excessively old ancestry and trees when the tree itself was in fact, the centre of the world and that it will ringed by snakes and chaos and so while we have no idea hold these ideas, are by their very very old and evolution conservative business once it builds gadget, then new things on top of that gadgets like a medieval town right, the center of the town, is really old and new. Newer.

Areas of the town get built around it, but the centre is still really old and that's what we're like you know: r r r platforms like r r sick physiological structure- this this scale the body is some. Tens of millions of years older older than that, if you think about vertebrates, it's much older than that and that's conserved. So. Everything's built on top of everything else, all right, so that there's a convict classic town. Then there is the idea I showed you. This is scandinavian. World tree same idea unites heaven and earth and around the roots of that tree are snakes that eat this tree constantly. So that's the idea that their stability but there's constant transformation around stability and same time, the snakes are known and the routes theirs streams that are nourishing it. So it's sort of it sort of for the idea that life depends on Death and renewal constantly because you're

cells are dying and being renewed constantly right. If they are just proliferating. Then you have cancer. If they're just dying, then you die. If you have to get the bell between death and life, exactly right, so that you can actually live it is also very strange think so and that tree as something that reaches the bottom layers of being, maybe the microcosm all the way to the Macrocosm. That's the idea anyways. So then, there's? Okay, so there's there's Jacob. Is in his pillar. He's got this idea that you can mark the centre with this stone like it's sort of symbolizes what he was laying on when he dreamt, but now he's got this idea. You put something erect and more the centre. Symbolizes. His vision of the highest good, something like that and the problem let's be made to him and then this the egyptian Arbalist, the pier on top of it. That's in

It was taken from Luxor and put in Paris, and so that's a much more sophisticated distance of the same idea, ok and the stone age, cultures across Eurasia, these huge all ballistics everywhere. These hued, like the Stonehenge, is a good example of that, although its very sophisticated and they are also markers of places, we don't know exact with their function is, but they are very much a kid to this some permanent marker of place. There is a good one, so that's insane peters- and I really like this one, because you can see the echoes of Jacobs Vision, for the establishment of a territory there right. You ve got the arbalist in the middle and then you ve got to erections radiating from the centre and, of course, save Peters. This is the same Peters.

Rome, which is an absolutely unbelievable place. It's just jawdropping and there's the cathedral at the back of it and then there's this circle of pillars that surrounds it? You can just see them a little bit on on the middle left there that- goes all the way around- that entire enclosure and in a very large number of people, can gather there and then so that pillar marks the centre and not be the centre of Catholicism. Essentially, that's what that represents right. The December like centre of Catholicism. Although you take the case that the cathedral is the centre. It doesn't really matter there very close together and it's it's half doesn't have one in six of the other here's another representation of the same idea. Right is that this is why people don't like the flag to be burned in old his conservative people, see the flag as the sea good thing that binds people together and

They are not happy when that sacred thing is destroyed, even if its straight in the name of protest, whereas the people who burn flags think while there are times to dry what is the idea that the centre has been corrupt and demonstrate that by putting it to the torch as a representation that that this that the corrupt- center now has to be burned and transformed and the thing is there both right they're, both right all the time, because the centre is absolutely necessary and is sacred and is almost always also corrupt and in need of reparation. That's also, architectural idea and that's a useful thing to know, because you know it's easy for young people in particular to think that, while the worlds going to Hell, hand basket and it's the pot. Out of the last generation they ve left us this terrible mass, and you know we ve feeling.

He betrayed about that. Now we have to clean it up. It's like a young people have been thinking that for like thirty five thousand years, it's not new and then the reason it's not news, because it's always true, you know what you're handed is sacred centre with flaws, always always as party it's the creation of the dead right in the dead, can't see and they can communicate and so do not in touch with the present and so what they bequeath to you apart from the get it might actually be corrupt, which is a slightly different thing. Is it Lee blind in dead and so what the hell you expect from something that's blind and dead. You're lucky Just doesn't stomp you out of existence, so So that's a lovely photograph. Obviously, and that's it- stab judgment of a new centre, men. The centre can be a cathedral to, and often is, of course in in classic counts european towns in particular, although

it's not only european towns that are like this, the there's a centre. It's made out a stone, so that would be the cathedral and it's got the high. Tower, on top of the tower this often across cross the symbolic centre, so people are our drawn together around whatever the cross Represent now that the cross obviously represents a centre, because it's an x right ex marks the spot, so the center of the cross is the centre and then the cathedrals, often in a cross shape, which also marks the centre and then in the They there's a dome, often and that's that guy and that's that ladder that reaches from earth to have it? So it's a recapitulation of the same idea, so unpeopled people, are drawn to that. Center and the centre is the symbol of what unites them and what unites them is the faith that the cathedral is the embodiment of, and you think what

does. The faith mean and again were approaching this psychologically, and what it means is that we everyone who is a member of that group accepts the transcendent ideal of the group. The thing is, if you're, the member of a group, you accept the transcendent ideal of the group that It means to be a member of a group fear and a work team and you're all working on a project. What you ve, essentially done is decided that you're going to make the goal questionable right. I mean you might argue about the details, but if your past with something here, job for you, ten people, organise yourself around the job. You cannot. About how you are going to do the job. But you can't argue about the job, then the falls apart, and so there is an active. Faith. In some sense. The reason that the to face is necessary is because it's very very difficult to specify without error, what that central aim should be given there is any number of aims right

very, very difficult thing to figure out- and this is something we're gonna do a little bit tonight is like What should the aim be around? Which group would congregate in order so so that specially a large group and its alarm group that has to stay together across very large swaths of time, and the group is an incredibly diverse. What possible kind of ideal could unite a large group of diverse people across a very large stretch of time. That's Really really hard question and I think part of the way, The question has been answered. Is it's been answered symbolically and ending the images because it so damn complicated that it's almost impossible to articulate but obviously you need to have a centre around which everyone can unite, because if you don't, then everyone's at odds with one another like. If I don't know what you're up to and you don't know what he's up too, we have no we're just strangers and we no, that our ethics match at all. Then the

mobility that we're going to be able to exist harmoniously decreases rapidly to zero And that's obviously, just no good. That's a state of total chaos can't have that it's not possible to exist. Without a central ideal, it's not possible, and it is deeper than that. Deeper than that, partly because its I'll try to get this right. This is the sort of thing that I was arguing with SAM Harris about you see. Your category system is a product of your aims. That's the thing! like if you have a set of facts at hand, the facts don't tell you how to categorize the fact, because there's too damn many fat there's a trillion fact. And there's no way without imposing some a priority order on them of determining how it is that you should order them. So how do you order them? Well, that's easy! You decide what you aiming at now

you do that? Well, I'm not answering that question at the moment. I'm just saying that in all To organise those facts, you needed aim and then the aim instantly organizes the facts into those things relevant to the aim tools let's say those things get in the way and a very large number of things that you don't have to pay attention to it all right splits Vert like it working on an engineering problem. You don't the worry about practicing medicine in your neighborhood. You don't there's a bunch of very like if you're focusing on a particular. What would you say? Any job any and he said Skills implies that you're good at a small set of things and then not good at and credibly large number of other skills. It seems vice things, and so you can use your aim as the basis

the category structure- and so you also I'll keep that in mind, because what it means is as far as can tell that what it means is that. You're category system itself, which is what structures you're perceptions is actually dependent on the ethics of your aim, its directly. It's a moral thing. It's who do Actually dependent on your aim standing idea. If it happens to be true, it's not how people think about thinking. We don't think that way we like, we think that we think deterministic, let's say or that we think empiric or that we think rationally, and none of that appears to be the case. What we do is we positive valid aim, and then we organise the world around the aim and theirs plenty of evidence from that in in in sight, Japan studies of perception right that that does not like how the sexual systems work mostly, they ignore the world's too complicated go on a small set of phenomena deemed

relevant to whatever the aim is, and then The aim is problematic again its complex, because the aim. I have has to be an aim that some of you share or at least told object to, because otherwise, I'm not going to get any worth my damn aim. It has to actually be implemented in the world. It has to be sustainable across at least some amount of time. Kill me like it's really hedged in this aim, its it isn't any old thing. There is hardly any things that it can be so Jacobs AIM, for example, in. Undermining. Esau almost gets him killed and you can stand. Why that's? The other thing you think was that there was a nasty bit of work you can understand. He sells rage, it's even know were separated from the people in these stories by what for thousand years three thousand years. Something like that. You know in immediately

why everyone feels the way they do at least once you understand the context of the story that none of that's mysterious in the least so so there is the church and the churches underneath the cross. Right so that Saint Petersburg Basilica and so there, the cross on the globe. On top the basilica and then there's the cross on me. Risk as well and so What that means is that in this things get insanely complicated. Is that the centre is defined by whatever the cross represent. Now the cross represents a crossing. Geographically, it's certainly that the cross problem, Represents the body to some degree cross also represents the place of suffering. Obviously, and More importantly, it represents the place of voluntary suffering, transcended, I'm speak.

Psychologically writer, not theological, that's what it represents. And so you might say so- here's the idea behind putting down the arbalist with the cross and saying that that's the centre, that's the thing that everyone's aiming at and so the the idea would be well. If you're going to be a member of the group defined by this arbalist than what you do is except Your position at the centre of suffering voluntarily and therefore transcended that's idea and that one hell of an idea. It really man. That is a killer idea, because it's actually a signal. It's a real clear signal of psychological health. You know, because one of the things you do if you're a clinical psychologist and someone is paralyzed by fear- is why you do. Is you break their fears down into relatively manageable bets

and then you have them voluntarily confront their fears, and it might also be things that they're disgusted by it say if they have obsessive compulsive disorder, but it produces very strong, negative emotion whatever it is, and then you voluntarily confront whatever it is that produces that overwhelming negative emotion, and makes them stronger. That's what happens it does Make them less afraid. It makes them more, courageous and stronger, and that is not the same thing it seriously. Not doesn't decrease the fear, it increases, the courage and so that's a mind, boggling idea and its deeper in all one of the things that really interesting about these architectural ideas, is that maybe it's because of the hyperlink nature of the Bible. That's part of it, but it's The whole thing is that no matter how deep you dig into them, you'll need get to the bottom. You know you

bottom, you think, God that's so unbelievably profound, and then, if you excavate little, underneath that you find something else, that's even more profound and you think wow, that's gotta be the bottom. And then you dig under that's like there's no bottom, you can just keep digging gown well, as far as I can tell you can keep digging down layer after layer and what a little bit about more little more about what the cross signifies, as the centre, because you see people were trying to figure out is what that that we need to unite under right. What's the point poor thing to unite under. I can give you another example. So in the mess but societies, the emperor you know who is more lesson and an absolute monarch here, lived inside what was essentially a walled city and the if the Mesopotamians was Marduk and Marduk was figure who

It is all the way around his head and he spoke magic words who is very attentive and very articulate, and it was Marduk who went out and confront. The goddess of chaos, the dragon of chaos and cut into pieces and made up the world. Ok, so You can kind understand what that means, so Marduk beyond the frontier into the place of credit. Worry chaos and encounters the thing, that's terrifying and then make something productive out of it. So it's a hero, myth and and Marduk is elected to the position of pre, eminent God by all the other mesopotamian gods, because he manages that so the The Marduk idea emerges up the holy. Dominance, hierarchy and hits the pinnacle soda, and God only knows how long that took. It would be the amalgamation of many tribes and then the what the

the distillation of all the tribal myth to produce this emerging story of what constitutes top God. And then the job of the emperor was to act out Marduk what gave him sovereignty so the reason that he the centre around which people organise themselves wasn't because he was when he was being a proper I wasn't because there was something super special about him. Like the power. Exactly reside in him, which really useful thing to separate right. You want the power just why kind of nice to have a sin Like monarch, you get the symbol, like power, separated from personality power right, because otherwise they get conflated. That's what happened in Rome, it's a very if you can see attending to happen now and then in the U S like with the Kennedy Dynasties and that sort of thing so the idea was the emperor had sovereignty as long as he was acting out market properly and going out to the chaos and cutting it,

to pieces and making order. That was his jobs. They used to take about side the city on the new year's festival and of all his emperor garments and humiliate them, and then force two to Caen ass, all the ways that year he hadn't been a good Marduk, so we and a good ruler, and so that was was too clever man and wake him up right and then they would richly reenact the battle of Marduk against tie about that os monster using statues, and then, if that went well, then the emperor would go back in the city would be renewed for another year, and we still have echoes of that in our new year's celebration rights. The same idea, that's echoed down all those of centuries thousands of years, So it's such a staggeringly brilliant idea right, because so part of the ideas that thing that sovereign. So that's the pillar at the centre that that everyone gathers around is at least in part,

thing that courageously goes out into the unknown and makes than useful or out of it for the community? So. That's very, very smart. It's very smart. So. This is another example of a centre, so these this is the flag. This is the union jack, and so it's of a bunch of crosses right and so the first cross, the English cry. That's the flag of Saint George, that's the flag of England and say what is Saint George. Do. Please to drag it exactly same idea right. So Saint George, Patron Saint of England, goes out and slaves the dragon and freeze the virgin from the grip of the dragon same idea right, so that's the centre and then the second cross is called a saltier, but it's another crucifix. So we- the cross on which Saint Andrew was crucified, says, It's the same ideas that the centre is the center of suffering

all entirely undertaken to Saint Andrew was a martyr and then say Africa is the third cross. What its Patrick do in Ireland. Chased out all the snakes rights, it's the same thing right, and so this of great Britain is the combination of all of these three crosses that defines the centre and that's what the flag is so symbolizes. All of that. So that's. You know completely mind boggling. So ended, there's more about Saint Patrick too. So he banishes the snakes after forty day fast, and so that's an allusion to the forty years that Moses spends in the desert and also the

today's. The Christ fast in the new testament and his walking stick when he plants it grows into a tree. So that echoes all of this ideas about the centre that we just described, and he also speaks with the ancient irish ancestors which, if you remember, is a characteristic of the shah Manic rituals, where we're so typical somatic ritual, which seems to be elicited by psychedelic use the Sherman dissolve down past their bones, and then they go up into Heaven and speak with the ancestors and then their interests into the heavenly kingdom, and then the flesh is put Back on their bones and they come back and tell everybody what happened and that's a repeatable, experience. Writer, Schumann, extradition, is unbelievably widespread, so all over Europe Angel Europe and Asia, and perhaps far down South America right its highly conserve and it's out

Tradition in all, likelihood did. Our religious affiliation emerged so, and you can see echoes of that here. So. So back to the story of Jacob and his latter, so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then, shall the Lord B, my God in this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be gods house and of all that that thou shall give me. I will surely give the tenth unto tee so That's that's also an echo I would say of the hour, geishas of those who play The power hark hierarchy to attend to those who are at the bottom right, because if you about the timing as a form of wealth. Tribulation, which is essentially what it is, the part of the ethic that defines the proper moral endeavour. That's related that centre is not too advance yourself at the expense of the entire community, so if you're

we are fortunate enough so that you can rise in in authority. In power in competence within the fines of a community You'll have an obligation to me in the structure maintain and further the structure of the community within which you rose That's obvious right, because if people you do that, after a couple of generations, the whole thing would fall apart. So you know you you you it's it's not reasonable to destroy the game that your winning it's real to strengthen the game that your winning and so another thing, because that also describes the ethic that should allow you to be an act member of the community around which that that gathers around that centre. So so so one of the things I ve learned about the hero, mythology that I really really like is so you see it pretty clearly in the figure of Christ, but because two things, our conjoined in that story, but Christ is also the here

two kinds of heroes. They there's the hero that goes out into chaos and confront the dragon of chaos and gathers the the treasure as a consequence and then shares with the community. That's that's. That's the other form of heroes, the hero who stands up against the corrupt state and raw. The foundation of the state has collapse and then reconstruct right. So because the two great dangers to human beings are and protected expire here too, the catastrophes of the natural world and so irrigation to tyranny, right those the two major dangerous, and so a hero is ultimate heroes, the person who reconstruction The structure of the state are using the information that he gathered by going out into the unknown that you know them both and so what means here the tears the rub I can tell so a structure centre has to read.

Associated with it one is that it will degenerate into chaos and the others it will redefine into tyranny and. It'll degenerate into chaos, even if it Stays doing what its doing so, if it just does exactly what its doing and it doesn't change, it will degenerate because things change, and if it change to keep up. Then it gets far And farther away from the environment and it'll precipitously collapse and so and then if it just changes Willy nilly, so that nobody can establish a stable centralize a game that degenerates into chaos immediately and no one can get along so there's, a rule for being longing to the community, and the rule has to be that you have to act in a manner that so stains and that sustains the community and increases its competence, that Fundamental moral location for belonging and well

obviously so right, because why would belonged to her. Why would you walk into a club hosts that was on fire, like that, It's not smart right if you're gonna part of the game decided that being part of the game is worthwhile. You have also taken on the moral, you ve also decided, even if you didn't notice it, that you have to work to support that game. Because by deciding to play that game, you said that its valuable its valuable, then obviously you should work too Spain and expanded, because that's the definition of having a relationship with something that's valuable, and so that's the criteria for membership in community- and that's partly why? If you regard cross say The symbol of voluntary suffering, take you know, suffering accepted voluntarily, something like that, This means that

there's another element of that too. That's worth thinking about. So you know the reason that Kane gets so out of hand is because he suffering and he won't accept it. Certainly won't accept responsibility for he's angry and bitter about it? No wonder right, I mean we have to be realistic about these sorts of things. Don't you all of you. People are going to suffer at some point in your life to the where you're, angry and bitter about it, I mean there's just absolutely no doubt about that and you're even going to think. Well, it's no bloody wonder that I am angry and bitter about it. Everyone would be, and things are so God awful. There is no excuse for them to even exist and like so powerful army although I think it's admittedly self defeating well, that's kind of the story of cane enable that's kind of The story of can enable what would you say that moral of the story of can enable essentially.

So what that means instead is that, even under those conditions of relatively intense suffering, you have to accept it voluntarily, because otherwise it turns you against being and then you start to act in this terrible manner. That makes everything worse and its to me that there is a contradiction in that. If, the reason you are complaining is that things are bad. Then it isn't right. Reasonable for you to act in a manner that makes them worse right. I mean I even if it's no wonder that people do that, but it's it's a degenerating game. And so that's so the the idea is part of the idea of the cross and the suffering that it represents. Is that if you, except that voluntarily, godless of its intensity. Then you won't become embittered and resentful and vengeful to the point where you pose a danger to the stability of the community. So or to your own stability. For that matter, cause it's. You know it

but your own stability, the stability of your family, the stability of the community and the stability of the world, it might all of that increasingly. I think it is all of that. So ok, so. Now Jacob. We get the second part of Jacob story, he goes to meet his uncle La Ban, and He meets Rachel there again by a well He falls in love and goes to live with the van There are two daughters, their Leah S was Rachel valea- is a particularly attractive person. It isn't exactly clear why. But the story makes it quite clear: she's, definitely the least desirable of the two daughters and The story makes reference to her eyes and it isn't clear if there's something wrong with her physiologically or if there is something wrong with her attitude it's not obvious, but doesn't really matter. The point is

she's the older daughter but she's the less desirable one cops days a month. The limit of hospitality and in that time If you stayed for a month, you were can, but you had to work for your keep. I think, after about three days, something like that, which seems rather reasonable, and so He stays a month and then he has it With LA ban- and he says it- he's He'S- fall in love with Rachel by this time and he says. I'll stay with you and work for seven years and then we had Rachel lives and the balances it's fine deal, and then this. Seven years passes and there's a wedding ceremonies quite along thing and brightest veiled in. The bride goes into the tent with with Jacob and if I remember the story correctly haven't looked at it for a month or so. Rachel is out

the tent speaking but Leah, is inside the tent and saw Jacob. He's getting married to Rachel buddies, actually getting married to leah- and this is it's an inversion because he's in the door like Isaac, was winning fooled Isaac. So now it's cubs turned to be in the dark and he gets Betrayed by his uncle and his I d be Rachel and her sister in a manner that broad parallel to the trick that he pulled on. You sound so there's a karma. Notion there, which I, which I'd like you know, I mean you might think of karma as a. Superstitious idea but ended There are ways of interpreting it. That might make it the case, but I dont think that's what it is. It's that no better! did goes unpunished. It's something like that. It's like.

You know, maybe you ve done something bad to someone and therefore there is part of you, feels quite guilty about that. Hopefully, and that part is looking for punishment to set stage right, and you might well, no, but things are Yes, unless you're psychopath, that's how things work if you're interested in that kind of thing, you should read dostoevsky crime and punishment, because it's the definitive study of that sort of phenomena like us in that book in protagonists Raskolnikov gets away with murder like he. Does it successfully? No one suspects him and he drives himself so crazy with guilt that he basically falls into the hands of the police. He drives himself into the hands of the police because he cannot tolerate what he did to me. It's amazing! It's amazing book, but anyways. The point is here: Jake, false prey to the same sort of crooked, that he used to

ouch himself up the ladder and that happens far more often in life than people think, and it's really not like he can complain about it right now. If he has any sense, it's like he does. He brings Leah. Out to see the ban, and he says what we with this sister. You know and labelling basically says to him. In our culture, its the cost. To marry the eldest the first, which is exact- right, and he said well, it would bring. You know, rationalizing. Obviously, because he's just screwed over in a major way, but it's a little late to take it back. The mirror has been consummated, and this ceremony has been complete and all hell would break out if there was any attempt to. Sever, the relationship, so that's how it is so Lears Married and Jacob has the wrong wife. So then,

So this is Jacob there you see on the left. He's got the little flowery hat, pointing to Leah and he sing like what what's up here behind. And love of the ban in the band is tough, old, goat and he's, not really all that sad about. In fact, you can imagine that he's gonna go so. So ok, then he asked to work another seven years. Any gains Rachel, but because God is it, Ricky character. Another twist in this story, Rachel turns out not to be very good at having children or Rachel Jacob turned out not to be very good and having children, but Leah She's really good at having kids, so she provides

Jacob with Reuben Simeon leave. I leave, I believe and Judah names of those meetings of those names or their Reuben mean see. Son Simeon means. Hearing, though I think that was the Lord heard, my prayer, I think that's what that was leave I mean joined Judah, means praise to ya Its Judah, from whose tribe Christ arises, Judah is essentially promoted to the status of first born later in this story, this is important because Reuben Seeming Levy all do something reprehensible and Judah gets gets two first born and that's partly why, in the logic of this narrative that its from the top of Judah. The Christ arises so so now, while this is going on, Rachel is like suicidally, desperate for children, she's jealous of her older sister, whose rather

favoured, as we pointed out, but who seems to be damn good at producing sons and she's really not happy with Jacob, so she choose him out and Jacob basically says like what do you want me to do about it? I'm not God, which is a reasonable response, I would say, and so her desperation. She gives Jake Abyla, whose her maid servant. We ve seen that thing happened before and to build up produces two children Dan enough telly. The reason I'm detaining out all these sons. It's important because Jake the founder of Israel and His sons are the founder of the twelve tribes, so it's a pivotal moment in the story right, it's it's because he's that he's the The mental patriarch of those who wrestle with God because, as was That's what the name Israel means he gets the name. Israel you'll see why in a while, but but it's

You need to know these genealogies in this situation because they play. Important role in everything that happens afterwards. So. Naturally, as the second and her or his name means with Wrestlings, I've wrestled with my sister right contended with her and have prevailed. So that gives you some indication of the tension in the household now Lee is now past bearing children. She gives Jake Jacob her maid, and two zero to keep up with her sister, I guess and now Mozilla. There's two children fur Jacob. So he's piling up, the kids left center here, One of them is named GAD good fortune and the other is named Asher happier blessed. So. There's more rivalry going on between the sisters. This is quite interesting.

Story so Reuben, whose Lee Daughter goes out looks for man Drakes now men, ex have aphrodisiac property. So that's a little odd to begin with, but it doesn't matter, that's what happens and Rachel is. Written Rachel wants the mandrake because she still interested in having some children, and so she bargains with Leah give her a night with Jacob in Extra for the man, drakes and more sons emerge as a consequence of that. So. When Rachel finally gives birth, Joseph of plays a key role in the last story and genesis which I hope will get. In the next lecture, and then we can close off genesis that the plan anyways so now Jacob isn't. Really very happy about the whole arrangement, because he he's been there

fourteen years and he's got two wives, it's not too bad, but you know he got the bargain wasn't exactly clean. He doesn't They trust Lebanon and there's no reason for him to do so. LA ban was poor before Jacob came. Jacob turns out to be a very useful, person to have around, and so he tells nobody wants to leave and go back to his home country and that he'll take the speckled and spotted cattle, the brown sheep and the spot Maiden speckled votes from the flock and therein the minority. So that's the idea, and so La Ban or latin takes all those animals out of his flock so There is an idea that the speckled, goats and the brown sheep will breed true. So if you have to male goat and a female goat and thereby speckled they'll have speckled kids, that's the theory and the same with Brown, and so what LA does is he takes all the speckled animals? The flocks gives

to his son and they go three days away with them so that Jacob has left with the flock, but with no. But none of these animals now the idea. Is that all the what newborns we're gonna be his and so what lobby is basically done is set up so that in principle Jacob is going to get nothing for his work so that's another time when Jacob experiences betrayal you know it's almost as if God isn't done with reminding him of them knitted of what he did in the past, that that's the moral the story in some sense now there's a way. Little twist in the story here so what Jacob does is some sympathetic. Jack, and so, when the animals are rotting. He puts back old objects in front of them, speckled branches and so forth: to remind them about what they're supposed to be producing something like that and it works, and so all these animals that labelling laughter are and spotted animals like mad, and so that I guess gods cheap

just mind and let Jacob the hook slightly here. So. Soon. He was very wealthy. Cattle maid servants, men, servants, camels and ass, the ban, son sons Jealous and labelling is outraged. Well, you know, obviously there's some competition there between Jacob in the sun's, which is hardly surprising, and the band played this trick to Strip Jacob vote. Property and instead he got far more than he was gonna get to begin with. So you can imagine that spit a bit annoying, so Jacob thinks he better get out of there. So we tells Rachel and Leah and said unto them. I see your father's countenance that it's not word me as before, but the gun My father has been with me, and you know, with all in my power I have served. Your father and you're fired deceived me and changed my way just ten times, but God far has suffered him not to hurt me if he said. Thus, this called shall be thy. Wages then cattle bore speckled and if he said

The ring straight shall be thy higher than all the cattle bore ring, strict, thus goddess taken away, the cattle of your father and given to me and they decide to sneak away, and there are unhappy with the inheritance lack of inheritance from labelling so as they sneak away Rachel steals the idols that her father has in his house, and it's not exactly obvious. Why there's a lot of contention about why she's doing that? Some of them is to punish him too ring with her the images of ran sisters. You know maybe she's lonesome moving away from home, just out of spite too on that. The idols were actually powerless for protection to stop her either from dividing the route of their escape. That last one is the strangest one, because the idea would be labelling would have used some sort of sure with the idols that would help him infer their escape route and then could chased them. So anyway, that's the range of speculation about that. I think it sounds, mostly like a little act

revenge, maybe with a bit of. Loneliness mixed in LA ban for use them not comes in a dream to tell him to leave Jacob unharmed catch up with them and reproaches Jacob saying that he would have thrown away party, if he would have known that they were going to leave, you know we want them to sneak away in the night and idiotic tell from the story whether that's true or not- and you know, these people were pretty an impulsive I would say- and maybe there is a fifty percent chance of slaughter and a fifty percent chance of a party who knows I've been to parties like that. Actually so Lebaron Complains- that is God's, are gone says that whoever has them he will have them killed Rachel whose really quite a sneaky character off, consider basically claims that she's having a period and she sitting on the carpet

with all the idols underneath and she can't move, and so they searched everywhere can't find them and she's like laughing way behind her hand about that sneaky. Maneuver, but she d, doesn't die, so that's probably a good thing. So LA ban checks, everything out, checks the camp out and you can't find anything so they reconcile. And so that's the first reconciliation that J, engages in it, sort of like the what. You say, the karmic dad is being paid. That's one way of thinking about it. That's so I'd punished for his wrong doing he's learned his lesson perhaps, and it's it's Good enough, as far as he is concerned, you know he got away good enough and they make peace so. Then, the next thing that happens

their travelling is the Jacob was left alone and their wrestled a man, man, your God. It's not clear, we'll go with angel with him until the breaking of the day or God, and when he saw that he prevailed not against him. He touched the hall of his thigh in the hollow of Jacob's. Thigh was out of joint as he wrestled with him, and he said. Let me go for the day. Breaks come said, I will not let you go unless you bless me. And the angel said unto him. What is thy name and Jacob said Jacob. And the angel said Diana name shall no more be called Jacob, so the supplant her right, the the overthrow or with that kind of intonation of or implication of crookedness. But Israel

which means we who wrestles or strive successfully with God for as a prince, has done power with guarded with men and has prevailed. That's quite a story like it's. I don't I don't know exactly what to make of it. There is obviously a symbolic level of meaning, which is that that is what human beings do in some senses, they they wrestle, I would say they wrestle with the divine, even with concept of the divine for that matter, and. But the question is: do they prevail, like it's odd thing that Jake actually seems to win this battle right, or at least he wins it enough, so that whoever he's wrestling, this divine figure that he's wrestling is willing to bestow a blessing autumn. I guess maybe that's it. Testament to his courage. It something like that. Maybe it's an indication that here paid for his sins sufficiently, so that he sort of back on the moral high ground but

but I think it's really telling that the transformation of the name from Jacob to Israel and that what is real means is he who wrestles with God, struggles with God and perhaps successfully. But it is also interesting that he actually emerges victorious you. Don't you wouldn't necessarily think that that would be a possibility, especially given in oh God, rather hot headed nature in the old testament. Don't mess with him too much, but but Jacob it successfully but Even more importantly, as the idea that whatever Israel constitutes, which would be to say the land. Jacob phones is actually composed of those who wrestle with God. That's an amazing idea, because it also seems to me to shed some light on Perhaps what was meant by belief in those days you know like I've,

and thought of red of marriage as a wrestling match rate, if you're lucky the person that you marry someone you contend with, it's not exactly. I dont think exactly it's not trained More precisely You might have noticed that some of you and but but the thing is, if you have something to contend against than that, strengthens you and and that's actually better than having nothing to contend against and so Jacob. Is the person whose also strengthened by the necessity of this contending and that that seems to be the proper relationship with God or the angel? Is that contending the battling right? Rather than some sort of kind of loose weak, statement of belief, I mean I'm not trying to denigrate that to integrate degree. It just doesn't seem like the right motive. Conceptualisation right, because human beings are aren't like that were were.

Contentious creatures and that's actually seems to be something that meets with gods, favour in this situation, so personally, given that that's actually what names the wilder the kingdom of the chosen peoples! The ideas that that's composed of those who contend with God So that's that's a hell of an idea that that's for sure. Jacob ask and said. Tell me, I pray thy name, any said, wherefore thou dost, ask after my name. So there's no that's not happening, and he blessed him there and Jacob called the place of the name of the place. Pennell fry or perennial for us God face to face in my life is preserved and passed over. Now the sun rose upon many halted upon his thigh. Now Jacob does walk away. From this right, as a permanent limp after that and That's also an indication of just

dangerous that contention. Actually it's like he gets back, he wins, but he doesn't get away Scot free and so now so Jacob goes back to Ie South, He's terrified, even though it's been fourteen years, he thinks maybe his hot headed brother hasn't calm down, yet good reason. To think that I would say. So he sends messengers ISA within sets out with four hundred men, and so Jake is not very happy with this whole idea. Only breaks is people into to ban so that maybe half of them cannot be killed and then he takes from his large flocks a bunch of animals and a bunch of servants and he sends them out to meet. You saw to say look I'm I'm a jerk and sorry bout, the whole birthright thing and and here's some animals- and you know, maybe maybe

that's the beginnings of of an apology. It's something like that, and so bodies not very convey that's actually going to work, but he saw who actually turns out to perhaps have matured in the interim, perhaps that's one way of thinking about it Jacob and says that just seeing him is enough, insists that he takes the gift and ISA accepts, and which is probably a wise thing because even if you saw, is now Five percent convinced that just seeing his brother is enough, it's probably five percent of them. That still really not all that happy, and so you have. Be careful. You know when you say that you forgive someone because they're my a part of you that really doesn't that really need something else before you can actually say. Ok, look fine you know when you don't want wanna for yourself about that, because that five percent that hasn't

Completely convinced will find its voice at some point and then maybe undermine the whole reconciliation process. We you don't want to think that you're any better than you are any nicer than you are, it's not helpful, and so You saw a smart, I think so, while Jacob Smart say no, no like face a lot, but take the damn, goats and Jacob, and he saw a smart enough to accept that, and he might do that. Maybe too you know to please Jacob but also, I think so, that there really is the possibility of establishing peace, because, hypothetically the its being offered, is of sufficient magnitude to erase the of the loss of the birthright, had something like that right. It's it's it's it's! It's the payment of the real debt and. He saw what meanest thou by all this drove, which I met and Jacob

these are two fine grace in the sight of my Lord and he saw says I have enough Their keep thou. Keep that asked unto thyself. And Jacob said this is interesting statement. I think no Pray you with. If I have now found grace in thy sight, take the press at my hand for Therefore, I have seen thy face as though I had seen the face of God and now was please With me, So that's so he's he's. Making the orange bull judgment of his brother, because it is honourable because he saw did get betrayed, so he has a right to be standing in judgment and he equate that judgment with with what would say with the highest of virtues, its appropriate judgment, and so he wants to make

complete a man's to isa as if you saw as a representative of the divine element of justice and. I guess that's convincing to you. So it's quite a thing to say: you know that I knew to be reconciled to you, because that would simultaneously reconcile me with God. It's like its crucial. This is between us, its does a higher principle at stake, its vital and I that is the case with betrayal, that's very frequently the case, because if you betray someone, you really violated ably violated. What can only be called a sacred trust? It's there terminology for that. Take it. I pray, my blessing. That is brought to bear. Because God has dealt graciously with me and because I have enough- and he urged him and he took it. So you know the story seems to be something like all Jacob was I have an arrogant crooked deceitful character, the over impressed with his own ability. He thought

pretty amusing to pull a faster Or two on his brother then he ran off, which is not all that brave and then he Wall adaptable lot and perhaps learn something and then went, came back. You know he was a different person. And so that sir. That's a reasonable story. You know he has repent completely of about what he did before he can rectify the situation properly. It is willing to do that. So. That's an interesting idea too, because it's it's a reflection of the idea that it is, if you do something wrong in the past, eight you can learn from it right. You're, actually capable of learning and be You can set the once right in the present knows are very optimistic ideas. You know because say well once you ve, added some sort of crime that

there's no hope for you, but that's pretty rough because the probability you ve done on earth what things at some point your life is a hundred percent, and so, if there is no way of Setting the balance right after that and everybody would be doomed so. So then the story gets rough again. Jacob settles ensure Lamb, Shell em his daughter goes looking around for France. Second, the son of Hamley lays with her and then once or for his wife. He actually has the order reversed their. That turns out to be a problem. Jacob hears of this before talk and so they make an agreement. The agreement is that if all of hammers men in including hammer and his son are

come sized so that proper, offering. I guess that brings them into the familiar fold and indicates that their willing to make a sacrifice to do so, especially after you know, Schekem put before the horse. Let's say the men of hammer circumcised. They agree to do so now it turns out a big mistakes, a welder laying around the next day suffering madly from the circumcision- Simeon and leave I come in, they sneak in and kill all of them. Their wealth and their women and children. That's rough it's rough yeah, I guess you guys noticed daddy. So it their honour societies, right, industrial lots of honor societies in the world, and so they don't take kindly to what happened to there too there MR, although they kill her. So now it

doubt that yeah says, as it came to pass on the third day when they were sore Two of the sense of Jacob Simeon and leave I Dinas bread took each man his sword and came upon the city boldly and slew, all the males and they slew hammer and Schekem his son with the edge of the sword and Dinah out of sheer, comes house and went out the sons, Jacob, came upon the slain and spoil the city because they had defiled their sister and took the sheep. When the oxen and the asses, and that which was in the city and that with which it was in the field and all their wealth and all their little ones and their wives took the cape captain. And spoiled everything else that was in the house. And Jacob actually turns out not to be very happy about that, because he'd met with hammer and they'd like hammered out a deal and that and that's where they were living. And so he figured well that here, making the best of a bad law. Let's say, and his sons went behind his back and.

Jacob says to Simeon and leave. You have troubled me to make me mid to make me stink among the inhabitants of the land. Among the kid it's in the parasites and I being few in number they gather themselves now together against me and slay me, and I shall be destroyed. I at my house, and they said she deal with our sister as with a harlot. And God said unto Jacob, and this is where we get, back to the idea of the centre, God says to Jacob arise: go to Bethel. And dwell there. So Bethel was where Jacob originally put that pillar. So now it's back so hit it. It's it's a real heroes, journey right! There's, there's the place that He has set place. He goes has these adventures and It goes a moral transformation reconciles and then he can. Back to the same place right as it transformed person. So that's a full hero cycle arise Go to Bethel, dwell there and make thou and therein alter, unto God

appeared to be, would now flattest from the face of ISA, thy brother and Jake said to his household and to all that were with him put away the strange gods that are among you and be clean and change your garments and let us arise and go up to battle, and I make their an altar. Unto God who answered me in the day of my distress and was with me, in the way which I went. And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which we're in their hand and all their earrings, which were in their ears, hid them under the oak, which was by Schekem, and they journeyed Air of God was upon the cities that were round about them and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob. So Jake came to laws which is in the land of cane, and that is Bethel. So that's the place where he put up the pillar to begin with. He and all people that were there with him and he their an altar and called the place. L Bethel because their god appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother, and God appeared

Jacob again when he came out of paddling around and blessed him godsend unto him. Their name is Jacob. Thy name shall not be called anymore Jacob, which you remember means usurper, but Israel shall be thy name. He who restless with God. And he called his name, Israel and God said to him. I m god Almighty, be fruitful and multiply a nation and no nation should be of the king, Come out of the loans and the like which I gave Abraham and Isaac TV. I will give it and develop seed after the. Will. I give the land and gone and up from him in the place where he talked with him, God setup Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with them. Or of stone and reported drink. Offering thereon and import oil thereon can do called the name of the place where God speak with him. Ethel.

So he reached his return to the central place which had been given to him as his territory Rachel dies and labour. In the process giving birth to then only son of my sorrow, whose name then change to Benjamin son of the right hand. Now Ruben. I sincerely believe I have already done something unforgivable now Reuben its rubens term. He sleeps Bill ha, whose Jacob real concubine Oh he's! A third of the sons to make an unforgivable error and Jacob Slash Israel gets wind of it. So Reuben is no longer here, in the premier son, given that the two older sons were put out of the running so to speak because of their disobedience and impulsive. Vengeful cruelty, and then Reuben can't keepers. What do they say

where'd. You get the idea here seems to be something that still Surprisingly, common. So then we have the story that basically With this establishment of the twelve tribes of Israel. From Leah, there's Reuben Simeon leave. I Judah car and Zambia from Fathers Garden Asher from Villa there's, Dan Telly. From Rachel, there's Joseph who figures extraordinarily importantly, in the night story that we're going to cover, which hopefully will wrap up Genesis, german, and so now. Israel itself is established. And so then we turn to. Actually going to end this early tonight, that's quite bloody miracle. So

The story then turn to Joseph and. The story begins. Essentially now Israel love Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age and they made him of many colours and sewed That seems to me to indicate Co. In dreams very often seems to be taking early true of women streams. That's that's been MIKE Mike clinical observation clothing footwear and, in particular, symbolizes a rule that makes sense right because you dress for the rules. It's not that big, a mystery, but So then you might say well what does a coat of many colors indicate and if, if you think of them, The publicity there is something like that ass, three of multiple domains, right or or maybe something like plural, potentiality and so Jacob is is Israel's are Joseph, his Israel, favourite and- because he sees in this access

possibility- and he based We tells his other sons that Jake is going to be the head sun, which they are not happy with right cause he's just this young punk. Fundamentally, these clearly his father's favourite, and he gets this code- that sort of indicative of this higher status and saw Israel inadvertently set a tremendous amount of sibling rivalry in the household again, and that that's the the under structure of the last. Story and genesis, and so in last of this lecture series for two thousand and seventeen will, over the story of Joseph and code of many colours and what happens as a consequence of his of defeat criticism shown it to him by his father and we'll track. What happens as a consequence of that

I'm going to stop there because I'm finished so hello, Pearson. This is an idea. I've been wrestling with for quite some time now. This idea of a lot of them, the greatest sources. It wasn't that Eve received through him history, either through tax experiences or Scriptures seems always come from people. Went isolation and then coming back, so I've had a hard time trying to figure out from a scientific point of view, revolutionary point of view. What will compel

An organism to that is that is centred around its behaviors behaviour, centred around surviving in especially for him as a social groups as well as reproducing to want to go into isolation, and then not only that, but obtain sums level of information that actually helps the group in coming back. That's a really good question. Ok, so. There's this neuroscientist Euro psychologist named L, Conan, Goldberg and bird was a student of Alexander Luria and Alexander Luria was a russian neuro. Psychologist perhaps the foremost neural psychologist of the mid late twentieth century. And he had students sokolov in vinegar, Dover, who discovered,

The oriental reflex, for example, the Orange Reflexes, the reflects that orients you when something anomalous interferes with your goal, directed behaviour, so major discovery like one of them the four or five most important discoveries that I've ever be maiden in, in psychology, I would say certainly a neuroscience. So Luria was a big deal and he was the first person who really established a functional role of the prefrontal cortex as well, so had it very nice. Overall view of how the brain function. His book was written in nineteen eighty and it's still still lots in it. That's really useful, it's pretty strange for science, that's advanced that quickly, anyways so Gilbert came from a great pedigree. I believe lawyers. Teacher was Pavlov if I remain correctly, so anyways.

Gothenburg in all new here some of you may have heard the idea that the left hemisphere. Is more or linguistic than the right hemisphere. Is that left hemisphere specialised for language and the right here fear specialised for non verbal images to communication, the left hemisphere has a pretty Well, organised micro structure and the right hemisphere is more diffuse as well and. That's true in left handed males in particular, so the circuitry can be switched around a bit, but it's the modules are basically the same, although they can be moved a little bit, but Goldberg thought that it isn't language versus non language. Its team versus novelty, and so the left hemisphere and theirs a psychologist, physician named Roma children who has done some very interesting work. That's

Pertinent to this, maybe I'll tell you a story about him: anyways Goldberg believed that the right hemisphere, So you are very old systems, underneath both both cortical hemispheres. That do things like Respond to a normally to the thing that doesn't fit to the predator in the distance some of that extraordinarily fast, so that would be like a snake reflex. It can move you away from a snake in less time than it takes the snake to bite, and it's really a reflex. It doesn't even hit your brain, it's really super fast and then there is a defensive crouch. That's that's! Instantiated, higher up the nervous system, but that still remarkably fast and then there's fear as an emotion and and the orientation of attention and then there's the cognitive processing and that all streams out across the time span right and maybe that time span is half a second. So

it's real long time, if something is attacking you, so you got it. Those initial responses are quite primitive, but there are extraordinarily fast, all right. There's some cortical structures that or you towards novelty and prepare you for freezing or for attending, and the right hemisphere seems to be dominated by those systems. So imagine that what happens is that Something threatens you: U Orient towards it. The right hemisphere produces a bunch of images about what it might be. So imagine that's what happens when a child is afraid of the dark, the child. The bed they're afraid of the dark there. Crouched doesn't frozen like a prey. Animal and their right hemisphere is producing monsters to inhabit the the darkness better the child's hypotheses about what might be out there. Ok, Because that's what you want to know right. You want to know. What's out there, and then you want to know what to do about it. I can tell you too,

kids dreams that are sort of relevant to that, so when my daughter was about three. She came into the bedroom that my wife and I had, and she crying. She too had a nightmare, and she said that She saw a stream garbage all over the stream. And she didn't like that, and so I sat down. I said: ok, so imagine the stream. The garbage unit. Now imagine that you are taking the garbage out, throwing it in the garbage. She, and I got her too, like visualize that, because that kind of puts her back in the semi dream state and then she clean the mass and then she could go off to sleep now, you you could tell them don't worry about. The dream is real. That's not. That's true, because it's not real, like other data. Things are, but it's not like it's. Real. It's a dream like dream is real. It's just not the same kind of real and so what I with her was to indicate to her practically

If she saw something a normal US, something that was out of place right, something that was a mess that it within her capacity to set it right. Ok, ok. So now, you're right hemisphere tells you what monsters might inhabit the darkness. What you have to do is figure out. There's two things: you have to figure out what is. What to do about given monster and out to do? What about is to figure what to do about the class of all possible monsters, right, that's a whole different thing: that's something that only human beings are capable of that level of abstraction right, and so what you might do about a particular monster, is hide or go out and get rid of it. It was just an actual animal right, that doesn't help because this all the other potential predators that are still there and so You can go hunting them down, but that does I'll be there because you can't hunt them all doubt it's not

not very likely anyways. So instead, what you have to do is figure out how to configure yourself so that you are in the best possible position to fight off the monsters when they come. That's your best bet so now people are trying to figure this out forever. You're trying to figure out. What's that, to the problem of the of all possible monsters. Part of that sacrifice. So there are routines, for example, in Hinduism with the goddess Kelly, you make offerings to Kelly who's, this devouring goddess and then she turns into a benevolent counterpart and so Sir, her face is actually one way that you can take the monsters if, if you Both the monster has the set of all negative future. Potentiality you make them, opera sacrifices those monsters stay at bay. Then there's heroism as an alternative to which, which means

the active confrontation of the class of all possible monsters in the building of yourself up into the sort of courageous person that can do that. It took a tremendous amount of meditation too. Transform those images say of the monsters into into in order to solve the problem of the class of those monsters. So now I ll tell you another child street, so so you ve probably heard this before, but it's such a great dream that it's worth its worth telling so Those are my sister in law. S house, once in her son was running around is about four very precocious, very verbal, very intelligent running around with a night had on and the sword, so engaged in this pretty intense play world and when was too sleepy, puts the night hat on his pillow and the sword by his pillow and at the same time he's having

night. Terror, so is waking up and it had been for a number of weeks neat waking up screaming and then, but he doesn't know wife, theirs some things that aren't going so well in the household and the parents get course shortly afterwards. Okay, so that's that's that's going on underneath right he's, also gonna go to kindergarten and so he's about to go into the world, and so we hoping with this. You know so I'm watching them zoom around as this night and think and that's pretty cool and That night, he wore and had a error was screaming and so we're all at birth. The next morning. And I said. Did you dream anything and he got really intense and these Yes, I had a dream and I said well, what was the dream and he said well, I was out on this field and all these

like dwarfs, came up to me their only about as high as my knees and they didn't have any arms powerful legs and they were covered with like Harry Feathers in Greece and there is cross carved in the top of their head and they had beaks and when whenever he moved anywhere, they would jump out and with his with their beaks, and there were lots of them and everyone like just said nothing at breakfast like cousin. He was right into this story and so we're all like yeah well in her there that accounts for all the screaming and so and then he said yeah, then in the background there was a dragon and every time the dragon puffed out. Smoke? It would turn into these dwarfs it's like. Oh man, kid you really gotta problem. There you got, you got, beat things that are biting you, and kill them, and that's fine, but

there's the dragon just puffin out new ones. So it's like a hydra problem right, the old Hydras, the serpent you cut off one had seven more grow snorted thing and if such a cool dream- because if it really portrayed this class of all possible monsters problem, so you ve got the specific monsters and that's problems you gotta get rid of them, but that's not the problem. The problem is that there is a there's. Something in the background is just generating monsters like mad, and so I said to him do you think you could do about that? And that's that's a loaded question right. That's like leading the witness in a trial. You don't get to ask a question like that, because it implies that it implies, the answer. What could you do about that is not any different than saying you could do something about that right. So so I. Hinted out that as a possibility in his eyes lit up now, you remember he's already running around as nighty

can already knew what to do because he had the whole sword and the hat, and with that you know you can go after the dragon, he kind of got that and he said my dad and then I go up on top of the dragon and I'd Pope, both of its eyes with my sword- and then you go right down its throat to the fire, box where the fire comes out and I carve out a piece of the fire box. And then I use that as a shield, and I thought yes right right, man is so small tat because he got to think instantly. He knew that he knew so I should first of all he thought. Okay, I have to go to the heart of the problem right and really to the hard not to the dragon, but right down the damn, thing's gullet right place where the fire was actually being was actually being created because there it was there you can find the shield and that he this thing that was fireproof and make a shield out of it, and so that

just get bloody. Fact it was so cool and you think well. How could a kid come up with that and there's a bunch of answers I mean one is we know fear is innate. We know that now, there's been recent research, Derek that that that that has demonstrated that ok so and we ve been preyed on and been predators for a very long period of time. So the idea that if I found something else, also interesting about the brain out that broke out about the brain recently to a book. I was reading by Re Kurtz called how to build a mind, I think that's what it was called was quite a good book. So I think it was in that or it was in a narrow signs paper. I was reading doesnt matter, but it was one of those two places. So you know that scanning technology has got more and more high resolution over the last few years right. It just gets more and more high resolution all the time, and so people are now able to look at the micro structures of the brain in a way. It hasn't been possible before, and so the old idea with the cortex basically was the cortex was full of above

Neurons and then, when one neuron in another fired at the same time, they would wire together and that's kind of how your brain learn to make connections? It's a bit more complicated than that, but that will do and then it was found that wasn't quite that SAM because what Cortex is made out of these columns of neurons that are due located sort of like a like centipedes legs, it don't a simple genetic code dad another leg, Ceta legs to a centipede sort. That with your brain is made out of all these columns and the columns are basically already wired up, and as you learn the columns wire together ok so there's some pre existing structure there, but there's more pre existing structure than what that was fought. So it's its basic, that there are already tracts that link column, together that are indeed parts of the brain and the call can the columns themselves can send out the Andrea to these

four highways which. Really there and then the superhighway is there and then it can generate connections to columns at the end of the super highway. So what that means is that there is a tremendous amount of cortical structure already in place, but there's plasticity around that and when I read that I thought oh well, that's part of the source of the archetypes there's already and architectural structure there that as well as the sub cortical structures. So you could say that, like the kid already had within him, not The capacity to represent not only the monster but the class of all possible monsters in the fact that the problem wasn't monsters. The problem was that monsters could continually be generated, the way worse problem, and then answered about, isn't to kill and individual monster the answer to that. Go to the source of the monstrous itself and defeat it. So it's absolutely staggering and you could imagine that it would take a tremendous amount of meditative effort for people

have come up with that solution over a very long period of time, so now The point of the representation is to formulate picture of what it is. That's the threat so that you can then formulate a general purpose solution, and so There's this image of Kelly, which I really like Kelly is sort of the goddess of the darkness. Let's say and destruction, and so Kelly is she has a head dress of fire. Her hair on fire and she has a headdress of skulls and she has hands cut off all around her neck and she has a belt. That's all the snakes, but sometimes see sometimes eating the intestines of this guy that she's just given birth to and that she sitting on she has eight legs like a spider and she's in a web fire and so she's a monster in some sense. That represents everything that my terrifying devour you and the question is so you

I'm up with that representation as an image to represent the class of all terrifying things, and then you have to generate a solution in the face of that class, and sacrifice is one of the solutions, but that here, like encounter is another one of the solutions, and that's the one that he catalyzed He'd been read: lots of books, he'd watch lots of Disney movies. You know an empty he'd, seen the heroic pattern portrayed many many places and his little brain was workin like mad to extract out the essence of that and body it, and when I, that question it just went snap. And all those things lined up in his tears, went away that was it and I hold up with his mom, because it was really quite remarkable. The whole set of occurrences He didn't have night tears that night, even though he'd been having the nightly. That was the end of the Kazi solved this problem. I can to be. The courageous night that window to the dragon, and so that is what

will need to be solved. Think when we go into solitude. We shut off the external stimulation and we at the dreaming part of our mind, emerge, and that's this nonverbal pattern, detector, that thinks in images and it's it's the thing that mediate between what we don't understand and what we do understand like. If you understand it completely, you can say it and you can acted out If you don't understand it, you represented in images and there it's like It's the emotion, fear withdrew. All paralysis, and then that manifest itself in an image of what that might be. And that image is the basis for the story and it's the basis for further development of the idea and to go into isolation is to let those images emergent, dream a little bit and then moves. You.

That moves you ahead into the future soldier use your language that use before it was not enough just to map out the danger that is imminent in front of you, but all the potential dangers that you could come up, In abstract form, yeah, well, remember what happens when. God throws Adam and Eve out of out of Paradise. They become aware that they're going to die right. The future becomes a problem, you could say the future is the place of all potential monsters right and so just the monster that you have right in front of you. It's like yeah. Well, you get rid of that, but that doesn't solve your problem. Does it the problem is, how do you exist in a world full of monsters and part of that answer is well. You become a monster yourself, that's part of the answer, but it's the complete answer, because if you're just a monster, then you're just as bad as the monsters, so you

Two trance. You have to be a monstrous enough to contend with the monsters, but then you have to be civilised enough, so that you're not a monster yourself and that's more or less equivalent to the union into integration of the shadow. So They have hitherto Petersen bemoaning dusky this for a while. Now, since I saw Watching your lectures after I started reading Nietzsche's beyond good and evil, I came upon a paragraph in his chapter.

Installers that really really bothered mean it's actually bothers me to this day. He he talked about this kind of person like they were a just a mirror. I like they stretched. He said every part of their skin, basically to allow every new piece of information that they took on and then all they ever world is just an instrument. They were just a mirror, reflecting what they had learned, never actually having generated anything on their own, and it's is bothering me because I feel like in the way it sort of. Its impact might entity a lot because I don't know how are you supposed to create something you know so? Ok? Well, that's! Ok, that that's a good question! Remede nature is often classed with the existentialist right, and so one the tenants of existentialist there's two real tenants of existentialist there's more? obviously we're oversimplifying, but one is that life is a problem. Because there's something wrong with you: it's that lie is a problem

in so that so often contrasted with the Friday in view which is If you have a problem, because something, wrong during your development there, potentially said known, her psych It is a problem, make no mistake about it and that the purpose of The purpose of scholarship is, in some sense to solve that problem and self or nature like he said. All truths are bloody truths to me and what by that was that if an idea didn't incarnates itself in you and trade, form your perceptions and your actions, then you were merely possessed by the idea. Your merely a spokesperson for the idea or You could say that the idea possessed you Europe but for the idea, it's what you it's the ideas in new and it has you you have

taken the idea and incorporated it with you and made it part of your life, and so, There's a romanticism that's associated with that right. That's the passionate scholar that person for whom ideas are not merely. They're, not merely what would you call ab active representations that can be tossed about as if their commodities there there there- are more like put their more like personalities that might be another way of thinking about it, and so, if you're, if, if those ideas are compelling than you don't. Like one thing, I learned a long time ago and I think this probably relevant was a kid I like to argue- and I like to arguments or or or lose although I like bidding them a lot better, but I didn't really mine so much what the content of the argument was. You know why I could engage in it like a sparring.

March, and it was in some sense to establish dominance right to establish intellectual dominance, doing that. When I was in my mid twenties, because I thought that that was two shallow and approach to the ideas they they're not commodities that sort there there they have. Tendrils that reach down into the living. That's the right way to think about it, and so natures criticism of scholars, and he did this a lot. Was that the? we're bloodless. You know they didn't. They were of performative contradictions. That's another way of thinking about they'd, say one thing and do another, because their intellect was completely dissociated from their from their actions and Heath. He thought that was a very bad idea, and I think that that's a good kid. I think it is a bad idea also think it makes for an extraordinarily boring lecturer. You know. You can tell if you're listening to some one, whether the

ideas that your hearing, our merely being passed through the person as if their being memorized say or whether their part of the dynamic core of the person and if their part of the dynamic core of the person, then there almost always engaging in gripping and so Wasn't a fan of bloodless scholars and I think that's correct, because one of the things that I see. It's not a good idea to have ideas possess. You. Unless you know what the ideas are up to and lots people are possess. By ideas, rather than possessing them that what that means is they haven't taken the ideas and integrated them into their own being they haven't it's like in carnation. In a sense, they haven't incarnates the ideas in embodied form, and And so there incomplete you, don't need

also in thus baked zarathustra when zero through strict comes down the mountain, he sees a bunch of people gathered round a famous individual, I think maybe a scholar but doesn't really matter and when there are faced or goes and looks at the personally sees a little tiny midget with a gigantic ear and so he's a hyper specialist right and so The pretty impressive ear, but he's only this big, and there was niches in majestic commentary on the danger of hyper specialization and also, the danger of adulation for hyper specialization and Does he thought about it as a kind of deformity? Now It was a pretty harsh guy, but. But he did addressed the issue of the relationship between into actual knowledge and an action, because for me Those things are not to be separated in some sense, so So maybe I don't know why it maybe, bothered. You.

Like it's hard to say why bother dude might bother you because it sort of undermine the idea of scholar, but the other possibility in this isn't an accusation, because, obviously I don't know anything about you, but it might also be that it struck a chord. You know Maybe you were doubtful or questioning how tightly associated you're in lecture. Endeavour was fear actual care during your practice. That's another possibility. I mean that's a really good thing to think about, because, generally speaking, that integration is, it is very much lacking. Laura Lot smarter and fluid with their ideas than they are ethical and consistent and character. By integrity so. Hey

So last week you talked about how you hated people, ask you if you believe in God, arguably miracles. Are you dislike those questions? At least we also talk about how and I want but where's your map, I think, is its opinion. The idea of an empirical evidence for religious experiences or spiritual experiences, and I wonder how those ideas can, Virgil existing? Can a spiritual experience exist without God or how I had reckoned, who knows who knows you know no. What I dont know what to make of that. I mean you. Could it depends on what you are willing to accept as proof? I suppose that's where things Tricky if you have to demonstrate the existence of God objectively than subjective. Experiences of the transcendent are irrelevant right, but an and they that's a perfectly reasonable standpoint. If your initial presupposition is the old thing that has actual existence is those things that can be demonstrated objectively and

putting down like that powerful methodology. Our technology is basically dependent on the acceptance the partial acceptance of those axioms but I also think that its difficult for me to, deny the existence of these patterns of thinking that seem to exist. Cross culturally, like these, distance of the representation of the dragon, for example, especially give? that I can see and evolutionary rationale for the emergence of these representations so And then there is also the in sputum fact that religious Experiences are accessible to people. Through a number of different avenues now, and one of the things I mentioned when I discuss before as well, you could say where those are no different than Sperience is of psychopath ology, but they are different, because the experiences of psychopathology damage people

the evidence is that the transcending experiences actually help people. So unless you can, unless you're willing to say, while there are some forms of cycle, pathological experience that actually facilitate health, which is a possibility, but you know I think you're, Pushing year hyper yearly hypothesis at that point it hurt to define what a religious experiences in this case, and I feel it the semantics like. I am not sure if you what you're saying by religious experience, is what I'm understanding. Well generally, a religious experience is something like experience of the of the renewal of the world. That might be one way of thinking about it, so that everything sort of leaps forward as key. To lean and perfect as if you had been viewing it from behind a mask before another could be a sense of the union of everything,

so, you're a singular being a new rights later than in a religious experiences. So, for example, there is a book written recently by a neuroscientist mice. Drug of. What's it called. My stroke of insight, yeah, that's right and I believe she had a lot hemisphere, stroke, if I remember correctly- and she was efficiently well developed, scientists to understand what was happening ass. She had the stroke and- and she had a Intense religious experience, as a consequence of that and she spirits there's as a dissolution of the ego into this state of union, with everything in this transcendent experience of awe and and the open. I don't remember the rest of it. I mean there are other elements of religious experience that are quite common. The idea of the opening of the Heavens, that's one, the committee

and with the ancestors, that's another, the reduction of the body to a skeleton. That's another, the movement up into Heaven. Their. These are well documented phenomena and lot of them are associated well A fair number of them are associated with psychedelic use, but that's not the only avenue to experience is like that and epilepsy can produce experiences like that too, and then people usually report near death experiences. Well, you know, but usually report that those experiences have life altering significance now That, in and of itself, proves that people are capable of having subjective religious experiences right, it doesn't definitively. Prove that there is anything outside of that. So you Karl Young, for example, most of the time he didn't talk about God. He talked about the God image which The same thing, because you could have got the image that was even evolution, airily instantiated without necessarily being Rep, relate

to any. Transcendent being beyond the image right so who Those who knows again think it depends what you're willing to accept as proof now the proved the this be, on question that could people can have life changing religious experience is another example of that is that the best treatment for alcoholism is religious conversion. It's well documented in the lecture. I studied alcoholism for a long time. So one of the cures that stuff is religious conversion and the twelve step programmes essentially attempt to instantiated religious conversion and the document their success because they succeed for people who stick with it. But that's not a very good man. You're right, it's sort, it sort of so evident that they work for the people who stick with it,

I'm not cynical about about alcoholics, anonymous or anything. But we don't have good data on on outcome, but really good data showing that religious transformation is a good cure for four alcoholism. So and that's an interesting phenomena to too complicated, I probably can't. Ok out for I'll try this for a second. So here's how I think are religious conversion might work. So imagine you ve got the left hemisphere, it's it's the place where bitch habitual interpretations reside so. Can give you a quick example of this. So this guy ram shown whose neurophysiologist think that's is. That's- is field of study. I think he's out you see allay. He said, People had neglect neglect, is a very, very bizarre phenomena. So if you have a stroke, the damages you're right, pride, lobe.

You'll lose the last part of your being not just your body, it's really weird, it's like so, for example, if you have a right price, stroke and you look at a clock. You only see you only only half the clock exists for you, it's not like you when we see half the clock its weirder than that. It's that there's only the right side of the clock. There's only the right side of you, there's only the right side of my body. I dont know that this exists, and so sometimes people with right, bridle damage will wake up after this oak and grab the left arm and throw it out of bed and or their leg and throw it out of bed, because it's not theirs. And then, of course, fall out of bed, which is quite a shock to them. So, and so the only half the food on the plate. Nobody can really understand this phenomenon, logically right because we can match but that must be like. I think it must be like you know how you know Behind you but you don't not see them they're. Just now,

there. It's not like it's black or anything or there's a space, it's just not there and so on. Think what happens? Is that not their extent to three quarters of the field. Instead of half the field, that's a guess anyway so romish? the funny thing about people with neglect. Is that if you tell them, if you point, you say, while I noticed that you're not moving your left foot today they'll say. Well, it's it's our threat, it can. I can't move it and say: well. What are you just? Try to moods are no look doctor editorial its into much pain to move. It was working fine this morning that can be months after the the accident. So it's a denial and and people thought actually that that was trauma induce denial for a long time before they figured it out, was actually a consequence of the neuro physiological damage, romish yonder and found that if you irrigated the Contra, lateral, ear, say now. If you poor, cold water in someone's ear it up,

their vestibule or system in their eyes. Above back and forth like this, you can try that at a party, if you want an anyways, Romish Andrea, was testing vestibule or function on these patients and the arrogance of the right ear. Cold water and they woke up- It and maybe what happened was that that was walking enough. So imagine the networks in the right hemisphere, would the grated, but not completely gone, and they needed a really high threshold of activation to snap into function. So here is an example of that. If you have Parkinson's disease, imagine your frozen there. Ok I throw a ball at you. You'll go like this and catch it, but you can't throw it back So you can the stimulus is enough. That's enough to put Pass threshold, but you can't do involuntarily now, if you have Parkinson's like right to that Nth degree, we ve been catch it, but there's a stage where you could still do that. There is a great case study where this grandpa

was in a wheelchair, had Parkinson's and his young grandson Playing out on the dark and fell in the water and started to drown, and he got out of his wheelchair- Went into the ocean rescued him brought him onto the beach sat back down in this wheelchair, paralyzed again. So that was enough, so you can imagine there is enough network left, so if the emotional can- became high enough that the degraded circuits could still function. So, ok, so back to Roma children. So you, your gate, the ear of a sudden, the right hemisphere, connections for ass, the remainders manage to connect and the person goes. Oh, my god. I've had a terrible stroke. I've lost the left side of my body there crying there click completely catastrophically overwhelmed by it and then twenty minutes later the day Ex, where often they snapped back in and now the You ve lost your left side again, they remember it, and so what seems to happen is that the right hemisphere is.

Letting anomalous information. That's what it does. That's what it does when you're dreaming it's it's it's it's presenting that anomalous information in image form and sort of slowly passing it to the left hemisphere, so it doesn't overwhelm it and maybe it gets overwhelming you, wake up and you're afraid and new. Tell someone about the dream that helps you figure out what it was but anyways so, the right hemisphere is always trying to tap the left hemisphere into information rights So now imagine that. It can happen a little bit or a lot. Maybe you're just ignoring a little bit of anomalous information, you just have some mildly frightening dreams, or maybe you ve just stacked up a whole bunch of things that your ignoring in there's some major league monsters that you haven't contended with. Maybe there's situations where the right hemisphere is stored up enough count

enough of a counter hypothesis. Let's say about how the world works out, make making sense out of all those things that you have ignored, that one day, just go snap and you new personality and maybe the new personality isn't addicted, It's something like it. Something like that. I think so. Yeah, take joke morning. Citizen Peterson. Are you not? I have prepared a real doozy for you, you're, no good. It's a good thing. You ve got extra time to handle this one I'd even say it's rehearsed little. It's gonna be altered, ineffective, ok,.

Now I understand that a lecture on the psychological significance of anything really is going to induce audibly wander off into an anthropocentric worldview, but as a practitioner of the hard science I wanted to dig a little bit deeper. You know so I sought out, I guess, a religious interpretation of both creative freedom and. I guess the very nature of time itself and founded. Obviously, that's why I'm here and if Thank. You haven't anthropocentric worldview. It's nothing compared to Joseph Cardinal rats. Fingers Now I like to think that you know this microphone here, though, that you keep musing out on me. This my profound is an object,

exists outside of our individual perception. That's just the way I like to look at it, but then I think but the concept beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Certainly I mean when you're talking about are the appreciation are there, has to be some sort of subjective element integrated into the. But there are also must be a limit as well. I mean certain works of art. We appreciate as absolute masterpieces like a Michelangelo's piazza, for example, what you bring up frequently as it really is that good, but there's other things which are just by comparison, Vandalism now, there's always a temptation right to invoke the principle of. Non overlapping, majesty area. But that seems like a sort of a copper

So I formulated, I guess for myself, for standards of measures tell me separate: what's the difference between art and mediocrity and here's a for number one education number two time come in you gotta put in the time of year and artists, it's probably gonna become your full time. Occupation is that you have to be that passionate about numbers, Free public display art isn't something that you own for yourself, you hide it in your basement. Then it's not art, it's something. What you have to express. You know something with you got to share and number four, and I think this is the most important one. Efficacy of vision. If you're an artist you ve gotta have a vision and we talk about the dream state here, a lot you go into the dream:

did. You have inspiration, but it's not enough to just have the inspiration cuz. That's totally subjective for you, the art, the art part about it is having the techniques in the skill and the intent, and I guess the capacity to turn that into something real. You know that you can then the express or share. So can you read Cardinal Ratzinger explanation for the night Of time and then addressed the concept of beauty in the eye of the beholder with specific reference to the body positive Movement, how she's innocent.

I don't think I can. I think I think I think that's her. I think I think that you tangled together. So many things- and this is also a tangle of things- not that's a criticism that I can't pull them. Together with sufficient it need not to bore the audience to death. So I'm gonna, I'm gonna, wait. Right, ok disappears! I'm fascinated by the idea of faith. What faith means Jacob listens to a voice and believes it

he probably heard other voices. Why did he believed this one why? What there must have been an a priori sort of functional? sassiety for him to believe the voice. I told him that one thing or another an era, That's a string that runs through the Bible and into the new testament we are expected is well, I confess I'm a Christian. I act like believe God is real and and so there is this khalifate and also that in every heroes story we we see now there is always a moment in that story where the hero must believe something be. The evidence that is before them, which is to say they must take a leap of faith so I'm morning, if you can just cut unpack that experience of faith in the understanding of how Being makes the choice to bully one thing or another gardner the great question I mean

still on. Is this still working? Ok, ok, good eye I dont precisely know the answer that it's a very peculiar thing, because we think many things or you could say many voices appear in our minds because we need- took their cards? I think, therefore I am apart and he said well. It isn't so obvious that there is an I first of all. That its unity. I can not our trail a unity transparent unto itself, which, of course, the psychoanalysts picked up in a big way, and then he wasn't sure that it was the I who thought in some causal manner. He said well know it's more like thoughts, it's something, Thoughts appear in the phenomenal field, and maybe you choose between them, or maybe they possess you like there's lots of other ways of thinking about. It isn't exactly obvious to me why we choose to take one. Way rather than another when so many of them

offer themselves to us. You know people tend to talk about that as something like conscience right and Maybe it's that. It's gotta have something to do. I think it's an endless regress, because you can always ask why this why any assumption became primary, but put that aside for a moment, it seems to me to have something to do with your aims. You know that you're more likely to listen to a voice. That is in keeping with your most fundamental aims and then, question is: where do your most fundamental aims come from and from what I have been able to determine and all speak psychologically again. Is that too big

with your concatenation of rather primitive sub personalities, hungry ones, tired ones, upset ones laughing. Once you can see that in babies, you know they cycle through those states very rapidly. There's a frontal unity above all that, but it doesnt have control right, and so then developing individual has to figure out how to integrate those present sub personalities into a unified personality at the same time, the integrate the unified personality into a social unity, so its power, The individual in integration fed by social forces mean even when you watch her infant breastfeed. Its established a relationship with its mother and there's a reciprocity- that's already play there. So then, underline multiplicity, starts to form itself into a unity

the question, and I would say that something like Something like the emergence of the the individual out of out of the the titan that's a reasonable way of thinking about it. Like a sovereign out of the titans. It's something like that But then there is another division which seems too to paralyse parallel that Cain enable division is that that integration can be oriented towards something that's positive, but it can also be oriented towards something. That's negative, and that's this of the world into good and evil, I think and then it looks your navigating between those- and I can only account for that with something like choice like I think, the free choice, even though I don't understand it I'm unwilling to deny the existence of free choice merely because I dont understand it back, it looks to me like that, People are that's how they expect to be treated and that societies who that's

structure themselves in accordance with the idea that people have free choice, actually work? prove that there is free choice, but people have been arguing about that forever. So, but it looks to me so those are two possible means of integration, and then I think what you're doing is. Feeding one or the other, constantly thank you probably choose which one to feed, I think That's an I mean, that's how it feels that way to me as well like when I look at my own. You know Maybe you're really aggravated with something, maybe your aggravated with your wife, you know, or or or your child, or something like that. You know, and feel kind of nasty and maybe even know that you are in the wrong and an idea comes into your head. You think I could say that. And you know you could say it and you know what it would do. But then Pause and you think that make it better worse and then maybe go to Hell with it, which is

Quite the thing to say, I've got a little story about that in a minute, and then you say it, but you knew you knew You took the low wrote right and in what and then you're guilty about our defensive and that makes the fight way works because then there's no damn way. You can admit that you actually did that and so he's, do go to hell and so so. Here's use an ugly little idea. So that's that's. That's right! to the question so margin year, round with cocaine. Now, I'm using cocaine because it's very addictive, but it's a very interesting chemical, because it's a dope, I'm allergic agonists and what dopamine does is two things it makes. You feel like what you're doing is worthwhile, but it also imagined There's a bunch of neural circuits that are active and then they get here. Doping meat or you do in those neural circuits get a little bit more powerful, okay, so It has a rewarding

property, which is that it makes you feel like what you're doing is important. And it has a reinforcing property, which is it makes neurosis its growth. So What that means is that. Whatever you were doing just before you took cocaine, grows. Ok. So now imagine there's a bunch of different things that you do just before you take cocaine, but there's a string of decisions and at one decision point is the same for all of those difference or curses, and that decision point is because you know you're in trouble and that decision point is well to hell with it. Ok, so then you think each of the two hundred times that you take cocaine, even though you do in different places, but that one thought is there all the time and that thing grows because you're reinforcing and a growth in gross and grows, and so now that's any. Let's that's part of the EU and its thing that says to Hell with it Ok, so now

and maybe that's not such a good thing- to grow inside your brain. So then you I and they take you to a cocaine treatment centre and after a week you no longer physically physiologically addicted you not craving. You don't have a problem. As long as you're there, but then they too, You back to your normal environment and you see, like Cain Joe your friend and as soon as you see him up that thing comes and bang your back on your back. On the to hell with the track and that's why you're and will you where you will end up too, if you reinforce that particular perspective long enough, so that's a kin in a sense to the decision making process. You know if you, if you take the low road then that wins, and it gets a little stronger because We think that wins. Neurologically gets a little stronger. It's like a darwinian competition, so.

One rule is don't practice what you don't wanna become because you really do become that it built. It builds itself right into your neural architecture and that's one of the terrifying things about addiction. You know cause you think. Well, it's kind of a it's like. You are kind of also kind of neural physiological, and you build a one, eyed cocaine monster in your head. If you hit you of enough with something that reinforcing so The last question I guess Elliot just a really simple question then take that long suffering so when it one things, though, is noticing from the stories of Jacob and a lot of these biblical narratives is do have this all powerful God who is able to kind of assent? maybe the hidden protagonist in the narrative, but then the fur.

The thing is that he's kind of revealing some of his qualities toward the course of the story. So you are talking about the weird paradox of act that God somehow alive, was Jacob Israel to win the fight. Any government with Abraham to get so Michael Didn't is relating to pants Epps thing about the rats that you told like three or four times and the number of occasions I saw when a negro recent videos. You talked about it where the bigger red, That's the smaller rat win, because then the other smaller rat would engage in the game. So the question is is twofold: for me, one God allowing humanity to win periodically so as to allow us to actually engage in dialogue through these stories and two is much more primitive version of the virtue of humility, which you wouldn't normally characterize, of an oven of an avenue of inevitable, impotent deity.

While those are excellent questions that I really like the second one, in particular that that God, the decision to allow human Victory from time to time is actually a manifestation of something approximating humility, or mercy humility is an interesting one. Take on it will it's also connected to pause. Image of Christ handed and hands himself over and allows himself to be defeated by men and therefore conquer sin which is man's enemy. It's a weird! It's this paradox where God enters into that dynamic with people and loses, and willingly loses. Yeah well, that's her. Ok. So the first thing I would say is that that's a really interesting analogy. I I I can't it's complicated enough question so that I can't

gobio! I don't think I can go beyond the question actually because it so complicated that I don't think I can formulate it any better than you already did. Like it's an interesting string of ideas. I'd have to play with it a while to see it does interesting light on why God is amenable to negotiation in there harassment which is really a strange. The. As you pointed out, it's really a strange thing. It's like this is and God, who obviously can do it every wants, and yet he allowed he can be bargained with, and that also opens up the question of why, like your hypothesis, is well, if you don't let the little rat win now and then and they get dejected and quit playing? And that's I mean that's, that's a pretty good observation. If people don't get to win now and then you know that that's kind of what happens to Kane God says: why did you not playing a straight game? That's why you're not winning but. I don't want to die.

There is an intimation in the old testament and I think it's more developed in the new testament, maybe not that the stranger the game. You play the more likely your to win and so. Maybe part of the reason that God, let's Abraham bargaining and even Jacob, is because started to play very straight games, and so maybe you do when you wrestling with God. If you play a street game, I mean I think that's? I actually think that I think the reason that's true is because that's actually why we would define it as a street game. Now, then we could speak psychologically again. I think that what we ve come to recognise as a straight game is the game that in broadest number of situations across the. Why, strange of time. Spans is most likely to produce a positive outcome that's actually the grounds for our sense of ethics. It's really practical not to it too much, because there is,

there was an interesting insight from Chesterton the man who was Thursday, we're God. That's himself up as the benevolent antagonist so to accelerate the game. Yeah. Well, I think that's really interesting idea mean there is there is hence I would say throughout biblical stories that the reason that God too, rate Satan, let's say, is because out an adversary, you're soft and that's may not tied in with the notion that life is something like a moral struggle. You know that the fundamental essence of being a moral struggle. Now it that that's phenomena logically, a reasonable observation. Maybe it's maybe. People don't experience it that way, but it seems to me like, within my own experience, that that's accurate Now I dont know what, then I don't know what that says about the fundamental nature of reality, but

I had a vision at one point that I was in a ring with Satan, actually believe it or not and it was like a Roman Colosseum and no I was rather up. To find myself there, but I won I asked God afterwards why he would do such a thing and his answer was he Why could win that's interesting. You know because, like I don't What to make of that leave me? I have no idea what to make of that, but the idea was that you're, trying to encourage some one rather than per day. Because those are really different things right to protect someone isn't to make them strong to encourage them is to make them strong. Then you set them a series of challenges right right at the point where they may win, and me

The EU could make a case that that's what you do if you really care for someone now, I know that's it saying that that interpretation is correct, I'm not, but but there's something mean you definitely with your children. You know when you wrestling with them say when you're playing with them. You use. You push them till the limit of their ability. Because otherwise they dont transcend their current abilities. So. Get so we'll see some of you perhaps most of you in December, and I think, will finish of genesis at that point and then in the new year, probably not till the spring out,

start with exodus, which I am really looking forward to cause. I really like the exodus story. It's an amazing story, and unbelievably deep, not the ones we have covered so far been pretty good as well, but so thank you all for coming and will perhaps see and about a month.