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Conspirituality

Bonus Sample: Cats and the Meaning of Life

Conspirituality

Derek Beres, Matthew Remski, Julian Walker

Spirituality, Social Sciences, Religion & Spirituality, Science, Philosophy, Society & Culture

4.22K Ratings

🗓️ 8 March 2021

⏱️ 9 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Humans will never be cats. In his new book, Feline Philosophy: Cats and the Meaning of Life, the philosopher John Gray argues that we can learn a lot about how to live from them—namely, how to calm our anxiety around existential distress. In this sample of a Patreon bonus episode, Derek shares what he’s learned from his three cats, as well as how Gray’s advice applies to the conspiratorial-minded (i.e. metacognition gone awry). -- -- --Support us on PatreonPre-order Conspirituality: How New Age Conspiracy Theories Became a Health Threat: America | Canada Follow us on Instagram | Twitter: Derek | Matthew | JulianOriginal music by EarthRise SoundSystem Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

This is a Glassbox Media Podcast.

0:08.5

Hello, Matthew here from the Conspirituality Podcast team.

0:12.5

The following is a sample of the bonus episode we produce every week for our Patreon subscribers.

0:18.8

You can support our work and have full access to bonus episodes and other premium content

0:23.7

by subscribing for as little as $5 a month at patreon.com slash Conspirituality.

0:31.1

Thanks for listening and your support which keeps us ad-free and editorially independent.

0:37.9

There she lies, basking in the sunlight sliver that creeps through the kitchen window every morning

0:43.5

around this time. What thoughts must run through her feline brain as she curls to lick a paw,

0:50.2

or turn an ear toward the garbage truck barreling down the street.

0:54.6

The complexities of karma, her pending mortality, the Bitcoin downturn,

1:01.6

rubbish, all of it. Time, karma, mortality, and definitely Bitcoin do not enter her consciousness.

1:09.4

Or so claims English political philosopher John Gray. The former London School of Economics and

1:15.7

Political Science professor has written influential books on global capitalism, bad, and atheism.

1:23.0

Good. Now he trains his site on our most profound teachers.

1:28.2

So profound, they have no concern over whether we learn a thing from them or not.

1:33.3

In feline philosophy, cats and the meaning of life,

1:37.4

Gray writes, humans cannot become cats. You left the set aside any notion of being superior beings.

1:45.4

They may come to understand how cats can thrive without anxiously inquiring how to live.

1:52.8

The bulk of Gray's fantastic book does not concern cats. They offer an aspirational model certainly,

2:00.2

yet Gray focuses on humanity's insatiable and predominantly fruitless attempts at happiness

2:07.2

and are inability to reckon with the illusion of morality. Unlike the modern rebranding of

2:13.1

Eastern practices as a solve for suffering, he points out that Taoism in particular has always been

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