Silk Road Seminar: John Vervaeke with Edward Slingerland

About this episode

John Vervaeke engages in a live dialogue with Edward Slingerland about wisdom, cognition, and the interplay between ancient traditions and modern scientific understanding.

Thank you for joining us for this Silk Road Seminar from The Lectern. John Vervaeke is joined by Edward Slingerland for a live, unscripted dialogue exploring wisdom, cognition, spontaneity, ritual, and the relationship between ancient traditions and modern scientific understanding. Edward Slingerland is a professor of Philosophy at the University of British Columbia and a leading scholar of early Chinese thought, cognitive science, and embodied wisdom traditions. He is the author of Trying Not to Try , which explores the paradox of spontaneity and the Daoist concept of wu-wei through both classical philosophy and contemporary psychology. Silk Road Seminars are live, exploratory dialogues where John engages leading thinkers across philosophy, theology, cognitive science, and contemplative traditions. These conversations unfold in real time through dia-logos, inviting participants into deeper reflection on meaning, wisdom, transformation, and the cultivation of an ecology of practices. To join future live sessions and gain access to exclusive Q&As, sign up at the Gamma Tier or above on The Lectern: https://lectern.teachable.com/p/lectern-lounge University students, including…

People in this episode

Host: John Vervaeke

Guest: Edward Slingerland

Topics covered

• wisdom
• cognition
• spontaneity
• ritual
• ancient traditions
• modern science

Keywords

• wisdom
• cognition
• spontaneity
• ritual
• Daoism
• embodied wisdom
• philosophy
• cognitive science

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of British Columbia

Books & works: Trying Not to Try

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