Edward Slingerland: Trying Not to Try (EP.131)
Infinite Loops
English - November 03, 2022 08:00 - 1 hour - 48.8 MBInvesting Business Entrepreneurship Homepage Download Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Previous Episode: Jeremiah Lowin — Make Original Mistakes (EP.130)
Next Episode: Tinkered Thinking: White Mirror (EP.132)
Edward Slingerland is a University Scholar and Professor of Philosophy at the University of British Columbia. He has authored a number of books, including ‘Trying Not to Try’ and ‘Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization’. He joins the show to discuss the paradox of effortless action, the history of Chinese philosophy, the benefits of alcohol, and a whole lot more.
Important Links:
Edward’s Website
Drunk
Trying Not to Try
Show Notes:
Western equivalents to wu-wei
The difference between wu-wei and flow
How to cultivate wu-wei
How technology makes it harder to find wu-wei
Why were Confucianism and Daoism so successful?
Utilitarianism, China and the panopticon
The right amount of rationality, choking
Shutting down the prefrontal cortext
The evolutionary origins of our love of alcohol
The power of psychedelics
Ecological niches, cooperation, creativity and honesty
An alternative model of honesty
Stop pushing so hard, go walk in the woods
Books Mentioned:
Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization; by Edward Slingerland
The Dao De Jing; by Laozi
The Status Game: On Human Life and How to Play It; by Will Storr
The Science of Storytelling: Why Stories Make Us Human and How to Tell Them Better; by Will Storr
The Master and His Emissary; by Iain McGilchrist
Choke: What the Secrets of the Brain Reveal About Getting It Right When You Have To; by Sian Beilock
The Immortality Key: The Secret History of the Religion with No Name; by Brian C. Muraresku