Universities and the Future of Civilization: In Conversation with Iain McGilchrist

Описание: Ralston College Dr President Stephen Blackwood speaks with newly appointed Chancellor Dr Iain McGilchrist about the fate of the universities and their role in the future of civilization. Reflecting on education, tradition, and the conditions necessary for genuine understanding, Dr McGilchrist shares his hope that we can restore places of truth, beauty, and wisdom despite the pressures of reductionism, instrumentality, and mechanistic thought. The conversation also traces prevailing academic narratives such as reduction and computation, which risk a flattening of human life into utility, data, and procedure. McGilchrist distinguishes information, knowledge, understanding, and wisdom, arguing that wisdom depends on lived experience, sustained attention, and a cultivated disposition toward reality itself.

Applications for Ralston College’s MA in the Humanities are now open. Learn more and apply today at www.ralston.ac/apply

Authors and Works Mentioned in this Episode:

Plato’s Seventh Letter
Aristotle’s Politics
Johann Sebastian Bach
Isaac Newton
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
Simon Conway Morris
The Matter with Things
The Cathedral Builders of the Middle Ages - Alain Erlande-Brandenburg
Margaret Mead

-chapters-

00:00:11 - Introduction
00:03:17 – Greetings
00:05:35 – Universities and the Future of Civilization
00:10:30 – Traditions and New Life
00:16:45 – The Relationship between Effort and Meaning
00:24:00 – The Consequence of Asking the Right Questions
00:29:30 – Intellectual Formation and Human Culture
00:40:01 – The Primacy of Non-instrumental Cognition
00:54:50 – The Enduring Drive toward Meaning and Wisdom
00:59:31 – The Circumstances upon which Cultural Revival Depends
01:04:20 – Q&A: Can We Call Artificial Intelligence Intelligent?
01:08:58 - The Risks of Machine Metaphors
01:13:34 – Making an Impact in the World
01:15:45 – What Is It We Are Failing to See?
01:17:50 – Deciding to Become the Chancellor
01:20:40 – Closing