Robert Wright: A Meta-Cognitive Revolution

Sounds True: Insights at the Edge

Tami Simon

Religion, Religion & Spirituality

4.6 • 1.8K Ratings

🗓️ 30 January 2018

⏱️ 76 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Robert Wright is a scholar, journalist, and the author of books such as Why Buddhism Is True, Nonzero, and The Evolution of God. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Robert and Tami Simon examine meditation from a slightly different perspective, discussing the practice as both a tool of discovery and a kind of rebellion against the hardwired instincts of natural selection. They speak on whether there is a secret order to the universe and what truly fuels moral action. Robert and Tami also talk about different ways to conceive of the arising of thought and of "enlightenment" itself. Finally, Robert comments on how stepping back from our mental processes comprises a "metacognitive revolution" that is key to the survival of the human race. (76 minutes)

Transcript

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0:00.0	This program is brought to you by sounds true.com.
0:04.0	At sounds true.com you can find hundreds of downloadable audio
0:08.0	learning programs, plus books, music, videos, and online courses, and events.
0:14.3	At sounds true.com, we think of ourselves
0:17.2	as a trusted partner on the spiritual journey,
0:20.2	offering diverse, in-depth, and life-changing wisdom.
0:24.0	Sounds True.com, many voices, one journey. You're listening to insights at the edge. Today my guest is Robert Wright.
0:45.1	Robert is a journalist scholar and award-winning author of several books spanning several topics
0:51.6	including science, history, religion, evolutionary psychology, and game theory.
0:59.2	His first book, The Evolution of God, was a New York Times bestseller and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for general non-fiction.
1:08.0	His other titles, Non Zero, Rem moral animal, and three scientists and their gods have also received significant
1:18.4	critical acclaim.
1:20.2	His most recent book, Why Buddhism is True, was published in August of 2017.
1:27.4	Robert is also the co-founder and editor-in-chief of bloggingheads. TV, a current events, diavlog, where a diverse
1:36.8	cast of contributors discuss politics and ideas. A primary mission of
1:42.1	blogging Heads is to help people see things from
1:45.3	perspectives other than their own and in particular from perspectives that for
1:50.8	whatever reason they aren't normally able to appreciate.
1:55.0	In this episode of Insights at the Edge,
1:57.0	Robert and I spoke about how mindfulness meditation
2:01.0	can be understood as a rebellion against natural selection.
2:07.5	We also talked about the discovery in meditation and in contemporary psychology that we actually don't think our thoughts as much as thoughts
	...

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