The Four Quadrants: A Map of All Knowledge and Human Experience

The Living Philosophy
6 Mar 202213:49

Summary

TLDRThis video explores Ken Wilbur's integral philosophy and his four quadrants model, which maps the entirety of human experience and knowledge. It explains how this model can be used to understand contrasting perspectives like Jordan Peterson's and Michel Foucault's, and situates various schools of thought, from materialist atheism to traditional Buddhism, within a unified holistic framework.

Takeaways

  • 🧠 The Four Quadrants model by Ken Wilber is a comprehensive framework for understanding different dimensions of human experience and knowledge domains.
  • 🌐 It serves as a tool to contrast different thinkers, such as Jordan Peterson and Michel Foucault, and to situate various schools of thought on a unified map.
  • 📊 The model is structured along two axes: the individual vs. collective (X-axis) and internal vs. external (Y-axis), creating four quadrants.
  • 🤔 Quadrant 1 (Q1) represents the internal and individual, encompassing thoughts, feelings, and logic, and is associated with phenomenology and Freud's psychoanalysis.
  • 🔬 Quadrant 2 (Q2) is the external and individual, focusing on the physical manifestations of internal experiences, such as brain activity and hormonal responses.
  • 🌿 Quadrant 3 (Q3) is the internal and collective, representing the intangible cultural, linguistic, and value systems that shape personal experiences.
  • 🏙️ Quadrant 4 (Q4) is the external and collective, concerning the empirical aspects of social structures, technologies, and physical infrastructures.
  • 🌱 The model illustrates how personal experiences (Q1 and Q2) are grounded and contextualized by collective dimensions (Q3 and Q4).
  • 🤝 It provides a balanced appraisal of intellectual conflicts by recognizing the validity of each quadrant's perspective without reductionism.
  • 📚 Wilbur's 'A Theory of Everything' and 'Sex, Ecology, Spirituality' are recommended for a deeper dive into the Four Quadrants model.
  • 🌟 The Four Quadrants model is a valuable tool for diffusing intellectual conflicts and understanding the underlying dynamics of different cultural and philosophical debates.

Q & A

  • What is the four quadrants model by Ken Wilber?

    -The four quadrants model by Ken Wilber is a theoretical framework designed to map and integrate all human knowledge and experience. It divides the human experience and knowledge into four domains based on two axes: individual vs. collective (X-axis) and internal vs. external (Y-axis), resulting in four quadrants: internal individual (Q1), external individual (Q2), internal collective (Q3), and external collective (Q4).

  • How does the four quadrants model relate to the human experience?

    -The model provides a comprehensive way to understand the different dimensions of human experience. Q1 represents internal individual experiences like thoughts and feelings. Q2 is the external individual, focusing on the physical manifestations of internal states. Q3 encompasses the internal collective, including language, culture, and value systems. Q4 represents the external collective, such as social structures and technologies.

  • What is an example of a Q1 thinker according to the script?

    -An example of a Q1 thinker is Searle, who is focused on phenomenology, the study of human experience without reference to anything outside of the mind, emphasizing pure personal experience.

  • How does the script describe the relationship between Q1 and Q2?

    -The script describes the relationship between Q1 (internal individual) and Q2 (external individual) as two sides of the same coin. Every thought and emotion in Q1 has a physical counterpart in Q2, such as brain activity and hormonal responses.

  • Can you explain the concept of Q3 using the script's analogy?

    -Q3, the internal collective, is likened to an 'ocean' in which we swim. It represents the intangible aspects like language, culture, and value systems that shape our personal experiences. The analogy suggests that our individual thoughts and ideas are influenced by this 'ocean' of collective internal factors.

  • What does Q4 represent in the four quadrants model?

    -Q4 represents the external collective aspects of human experience. It includes the empirical side of social interactions, such as production methods, technological infrastructure, and physical structures like buildings and transportation systems.

  • How does the script use the four quadrants model to differentiate between culture and society?

    -The script differentiates between culture (Q3) and society (Q4) by using the example of visiting a foreign country. Q4 is the observable societal structures and technologies, while Q3 involves the internal cultural understanding, values, and worldviews that are not immediately apparent to an outsider.

  • What is the significance of the four quadrants model in understanding intellectual conflicts?

    -The model helps in diffusing intellectual conflicts by allowing individuals to step back and objectively assess different perspectives. It provides a balanced appraisal of various viewpoints by considering the unique contributions and limitations of each quadrant.

  • How does the script relate the four quadrants model to the debate between Jordan Peterson and the social justice movement?

    -The script presents the debate as a conflict between Peterson's Q1 emphasis on individual responsibility and change versus the social justice movement's Q3 and Q4 focus on collective change by addressing systemic issues like oppression and cultural bias.

  • What are some examples of thinkers associated with Q3 according to the script?

    -Examples of thinkers associated with Q3, as mentioned in the script, include Nietzsche, who explored the revaluation of values and the distinction between master and slave morality, and Foucault, known for his work on power dynamics.

  • How does the script describe the reductionist tendencies within each quadrant?

    -The script describes reductionist tendencies as each quadrant's way of emphasizing its domain as the most important, such as materialists focusing solely on the physical (Q2), or spiritualists claiming that the mind is all that exists (Q1), thereby reducing all phenomena to their respective quadrants.

Outlines

00:00

🧠 The Four Quadrants Model: Unifying Human Experience and Knowledge

This paragraph introduces Ken Wilber's integral philosophy and its central concept, the Four Quadrants Model. It's described as a comprehensive tool for understanding various dimensions of human experience and domains of knowledge. The model is used to contrast different thinkers like Jordan Peterson and Michel Foucault, and to situate diverse perspectives on topics such as materialism, social justice, and human behavior. The Four Quadrants are outlined as follows: the internal and individual (Q1), the external and individual (Q2), the internal and collective (Q3), and the external and collective (Q4). The paragraph emphasizes the model's utility in framing human existence and knowledge, suggesting it offers a holistic view of reality that integrates personal experience with collective cultural and societal structures.

05:02

🌐 Internal and External Realms: Exploring Individual and Collective Dimensions

This paragraph delves deeper into the specifics of each quadrant within the Four Quadrants Model. It discusses Q1 as the internal and individual realm, encompassing thoughts, feelings, and logic, with reference to Freud, Stoicism, and Buddhism. Q2, the external and individual, is the physical manifestation of internal experiences, such as brain activity and hormonal responses. The paragraph then transitions to the collective dimensions, Q3 being the internal and collective, described as the intangible yet pervasive influence of language, culture, and values that shape personal experiences. It uses Nietzsche's aphorism to illustrate the guiding force of Q3 on individual thought. Q4, the external and collective, includes the empirical aspects of society, such as technology, infrastructure, and social structures. The paragraph concludes by highlighting the interplay between the individual and collective realms, and how they give meaning and context to human experiences.

10:03

🌟 The Four Quadrants in Cultural and Intellectual Context

The final paragraph discusses how the Four Quadrants Model can be applied to understand ongoing cultural and intellectual debates. It contrasts thinkers and theories associated with each quadrant, such as Freud and spiritual thinkers in Q1, empirical scientists like John Locke and B.F. Skinner in Q2, cultural theorists and philosophers in Q3, and social scientists and economists in Q4. The paragraph also uses the model to analyze conflicts between different perspectives, such as the debate between Jordan Peterson and the social justice movement, and the reductionist tendencies of each quadrant. It concludes by emphasizing the model's value in providing a balanced appraisal of intellectual conflicts and a more objective understanding of the underlying dynamics of these debates.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Integral Philosophy

Integral Philosophy is a comprehensive approach to understanding human experience and knowledge that integrates multiple perspectives. In the video, it is highlighted as the central theme, with Ken Wilber's model of the four quadrants being a key tool within this philosophy. The model is used to map different dimensions of human experience and knowledge, offering a unified view of reality.

💡Four Quadrants Model

The Four Quadrants Model is a theoretical framework developed by Ken Wilber to map the entirety of reality. It divides the human experience into four quadrants based on two axes: individual vs. collective and internal vs. external. The video uses this model to analyze various thinkers and theories, positioning them within the quadrants to illustrate their focus areas.

💡Internal Experience

Internal Experience refers to the personal and subjective aspects of an individual's life, such as thoughts, feelings, and moods. In the script, it is associated with Quadrant 1 (Q1), where the focus is on the individual's internal life, as exemplified by the work of Freud and phenomenology, which seeks to understand human experience without external reference.

💡External Individual

External Individual pertains to the physical manifestations of an individual's internal states, such as brain activity and hormonal responses. The video script mentions Quadrant 2 (Q2) as the space where these external manifestations are observed, like the brain's reaction to thoughts and emotions.

💡Internal Collective

Internal Collective represents the shared cultural, linguistic, and value systems that influence an individual's internal life. The script discusses Quadrant 3 (Q3) as the quadrant of language, culture, and worldviews, which shape personal experiences and are referenced in Nietzsche's aphorism about the guiding force of instincts behind conscious thought.

💡External Collective

External Collective involves the observable social structures and systems that make up the collective human experience. In the video, Quadrant 4 (Q4) is described as encompassing the empirical aspects of human interaction, including production methods, technology, and infrastructure.

💡Reductionism

Reductionism is the approach of simplifying complex phenomena by reducing them to their fundamental components. The video script discusses how each quadrant can lead to a form of reductionism, with materialists focusing solely on the physical, and spiritualists or others emphasizing only one aspect of reality, such as power or interpretation.

💡Empiricism

Empiricism is a philosophical stance that asserts knowledge comes primarily from sensory experience and observation. The script places thinkers like John Locke and B.F. Skinner in Quadrant 2, emphasizing the empirical study of individual phenomena through observation and measurement.

💡Cultural Context

Cultural Context refers to the background of shared beliefs, practices, and values that influence an individual's understanding and behavior. The video uses the concept to explain how the same personal experience, like hunger, can have vastly different meanings and responses depending on the cultural context, as represented by Quadrant 3.

💡Personal Responsibility

Personal Responsibility is the belief that individuals should be accountable for their actions and the changes they wish to see in the world. The video contrasts this concept, associated with Jordan Peterson's Q1 vision, with the social justice movement's focus on collective change, illustrating a conflict between individual and collective perspectives.

💡Objectivity

Objectivity is the ability to assess a situation without personal bias or influence. The Four Quadrants Model is presented in the video as a tool for achieving a more balanced and objective appraisal of intellectual conflicts by providing a framework to view each perspective with distance.

Highlights

Ken Wilbur's four quadrants model is the centerpiece of integral philosophy and a useful tool for understanding different dimensions of human experience and knowledge domains.

The model helps to contrast the voices of Jordan Peterson and Michel Foucault, as well as situate the social justice movement within a broader framework of thought.

The four quadrants integrate all human knowledge and experience to find a unified, holistic cosmos, avoiding the need to choose a single school of thought.

The model maps everything from internal experiences to the Gaia hypothesis, the Big Bang, language, and power dynamics.

The four quadrants are divided by two axes: the x-axis for individual vs. collective, and the y-axis for internal vs. external.

Quadrant 1 (Q1) represents the internal and individual aspects, such as thoughts, feelings, and logic.

Quadrant 2 (Q2) is the external and individual dimension, including physical manifestations of thoughts and emotions.

Quadrant 3 (Q3) is the internal and collective quadrant, encompassing language, culture, value systems, and worldviews.

Quadrant 4 (Q4) is the external and collective quadrant, including social aspects, production, and techno-economic modes.

The model provides a framework for understanding the different arguments in culture, such as the conflict between individual responsibility and collective change.

The four quadrants offer a balanced appraisal of intellectual conflicts and help in unpacking underlying issues.

The model allows for a more objective view of silos of thought by providing a step back from reductionist perspectives.

Wilbur's 'A Theory of Everything' and 'Sex, Ecology, Spirituality' are recommended for a deeper dive into the four quadrants model.

The model is a tool for diffusing intellectual conflicts and understanding the different domains of human existence and knowledge.

The four quadrants represent the simultaneous existence in personal thoughts, physical bodies, collective value systems, and the external world.

The model is useful for framing the domains of human existence and knowledge, offering insights from four different angles.

Transcripts

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ken wilbur's model of the four quadrants

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is the centerpiece of the integral

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philosophy and it is one of the most

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useful tools you'll ever come across for

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conceptualizing the different dimensions

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of the human experience and the

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different domains of knowledge

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with relevance to what we've been

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talking about recently on the channel

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it's a way of understanding the voice of

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jordan peterson in contrast to that of

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michel foucault and the social justice

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movement it's also a good way of

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situating a lot of the material we have

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looked at in the past from the fault

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line between materialist atheists and

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traditional buddhists to the perspective

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that humanity isn't a cancer but more

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relatable to the behavior of bacteria we

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see where marx and freud's work fits in

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where nietzsche is operating from and

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where schools like semiotics empiricism

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and phenomenology fit on the map in

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wilbur's work this four quadrants model

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is a map of the entirety of reality

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it's the central point of his attempt to

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integrate all human knowledge and

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experience together so that we can find

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ourselves in a unified holistic cosmos

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again rather than having to choose which

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school of thought we align with it's a

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really interesting theory that maps

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everything from the internal experience

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of bacteria to the gaia hypothesis the

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big bang language and power dynamics

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there's a lot of moving parts and some

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parts of it i'm not a hundred percent

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sold on but in this episode we're going

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to focus in on the human element and

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look at why this model is such a useful

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way to frame the domains of human

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existence and knowledge this tickles

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your mind and you want to dive deeper

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i'd highly recommend wilbur's book a

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theory of everything and if you really

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want to give it a deeper dive then i

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would highly recommend his book sex

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ecology spirituality with that out of

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the way let's talk about the four

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quadrant map so the first thing to note

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is that these quadrants are mapped out

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over two axes the x-axis separates the

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individual quadrants on the top from the

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collective quadrants on the bottom while

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the y-axis separates the internal

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quadrants on the left-hand side from the

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external quadrant on the right-hand side

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this leaves us with four different

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quadrants the first quadrant q1 in the

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upper left is the quadrant of the

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internal and individual the second

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quadrant q2 in the upper right is the

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space of the external and individual the

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bottom left quadrant q3 is the internal

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and collective and finally the bottom

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right q4 is the external and collective

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another way of talking about them is the

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i the it the we and the its now we have

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them divided up let's explore what each

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of these quadrants actually contain in

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the first quadrant we have the internal

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individual aspect of our lives here

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you'll find our thoughts our feelings

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our moods as well as our logic all the

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wonderful things that happen in your

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little noggin happen right up here in q1

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so you can think of the work of freud

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here who's focused on the individual's

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internal life or of the stoics or

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buddhists who are focused on our

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relationship to our internal world but

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the purest example i think of q1 is

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searle's phenomenology which seeks to

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understand human experience without any

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reference to anything outside of the

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mind it's about pure personal experience

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and everything that happens in this

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first quadrant has a correlate in q2 the

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quadrant of the external individual

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dimension of our being

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whenever you have one of your

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hair-brained thoughts it doesn't happen

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in some disentangled mental sphere if we

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shove you in an fmri machine having

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juice you up with dye we'll be able to

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see your brain light up when you have

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this thought and when we call it a

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stupid thought we see your amygdala

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light up in defensive anger but then as

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you tell yourself you're better than

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that you remember to breathe we'll see

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your prefrontal cortex light up as it

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tries to get your little tantrum under

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control and of course it's not just

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about what's going on in the brain

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there's the release of hormones the

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depth or shallowness of your breathing

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your heart rate all of all these things

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mirror the psychological experience that

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you're having

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everything that happens internally

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happens externally every thought has a

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physical side and a mental side same

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goes for your emotions so that's q1 and

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q2 this is the nature of your individual

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mind body system but the individual

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element is only one half of the human

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experience none of this makes sense

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without understanding what grounds it

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and contextualizes it and for that we

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need to look at q3 and q4 the collective

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sides of the human experience q3 is the

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most intangible of the quadrants the

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internal and individual is easy to grasp

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because it's the thoughts and ideas

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you're having in your own head but q3 is

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a little trickier to point out at first

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but it's everywhere as ever nietzsche

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hits the nail on the head in the third

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aphorism of beyond good and evil he

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writes that most of the conscious

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thinking of a philosopher is secretly

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guided and forced into certain channels

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by his instincts behind all logic and

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its seeming sovereignty of movement too

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there stand valuations or more clearly

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physiological demands for the

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preservation of a certain type of life

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q3 is the internal ocean that we swim in

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this is the quadrant of language culture

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value systems and world views the

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personal q1 experience is completely

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shaped by the q3 ocean in the episode on

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cesura semiotics we talked about the

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difference between long and prol which

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you can think of in terms of a game of

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chess so you have the long chess which

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is the hidden rules of the game and then

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you have the parole which is the million

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and one instantiations of those rules

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it's the individual games of chess that

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happen within the context of that set of

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rules language has a similar hidden

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structure that gives meaning to every

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instance of speech and writing

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linguists have unearthed the structure

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of language nouns tenses articles word

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order but the structure pre-existed the

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archaeological work of the linguist the

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same goes for culture and for value

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systems they are intangibles that we

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don't directly touch but would shape our

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experience of the world there the

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riverbanks that unbeknownst to the river

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are guiding and steering its course

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this is a good analogy because the

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billion drops of water in the river

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shaped the riverbank which in turn

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redirects the river there's an active

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relationship between the bank which

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steers the river and the movement of the

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water through this guided path changing

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the path to give a concrete example you

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can think of the experience of hunger

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the q1 q2 experience of hunger is very

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different for hunter-gatherer and

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western middle class individual there's

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a similar physiological experience but

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the meaning that this experience is

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given and the actions it inspires are

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completely different and that is because

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of the different q3 oceans that these

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individuals are swimming in the

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hunter-gatherer will reach for the bow

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and arrow where the westerner grabs

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their wallet or their phone the

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individual experience is in some senses

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very similar i am hungry i want not to

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be hungry i'm going to go do something

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about that but the reality couldn't be

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more different one thinks about going

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out to hunt the other things about going

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to the shop or opening an app on their

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phone this reaction to the personal

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experience of hunger is shaped by the

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cultural q3 backdrop as wickenstein once

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wrote the limits of my language mean the

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limits of my world q4 is the outside of

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this collective experience it is the

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empirical side of the collective

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equation in q3 we have the internal

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experience of collectivity there's

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language and culture there's our values

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and worldviews and just as the

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individual thoughts feelings and ideas

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have their empirical correlates in the

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brain and body so these components of

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the internal collectivity have their own

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empirical correlates in sex ecology

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spirituality wilbur summarizes the

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contents of q4 as follows

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this quadrant includes the exterior of

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any of the social aspects of human

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interaction including forms of

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production and techno-economic modes bow

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and arrow horticultural tools agrarian

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implements industrial machinery

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computers and so on architectural

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structures transportation systems

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physical infrastructure even written

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material forms of books legal codes

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linguistic structures verbal signifiers

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and so forth one great way of explaining

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the difference between the q3 culture

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and the q4 society is wilbur's example

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of going to a foreign country so let's

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say you go to a country where you don't

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speak the language and that it's

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completely different to your culture

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when you first arrive you are in the q4

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society but you're not in the q3 culture

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you can observe the architecture the

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population density the relative wealth

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and poverty the demographics you can see

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what technologies they have and how

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their society is structured this is all

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q4 you are surrounded by this q4 society

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but until you learn the language and

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learn to talk to the people you don't

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have access to the q3 culture you don't

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know what the world view of the people

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is you don't know what they value or why

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they do what they do you don't know the

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power structures you're seeing the

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outside of their collectivity you're

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seeing the q4 but you haven't looked

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into the inside of the collectivity you

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haven't seen into their collective value

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system without language and interaction

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this isn't possible so these are the

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four quadrants then of the human

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experience we exist in four domains all

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at once it's not just our personal

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thoughts but our physical bodies that

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are the outside of these thoughts and

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feelings there's the collective value

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system that contextualizes and makes

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parts of this individual experience more

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salient than others finally there's the

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outside of this collectivity everything

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from the architecture of your local shop

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to the supply chain of trucks to keep it

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stocked and all the technologies that

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make this supply chain work and the

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construct this architecture our lives at

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any moment can be viewed from these four

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angles which give very different

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insights so now that we have briefly

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sketched out these four dimensions of

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the human experience let's play around

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with it a little bit as an intellectual

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map

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so as you've already seen in q1 we have

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thinkers like freud the stokes and the

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spiritual thinkers like buddha jesus

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anthony demello jed mckenna all these

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thinkers are focused on the internal

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individual dimension of existence moving

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over to q2 we'll find thinkers like john

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locke and b.f skinner this is the realm

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of the hard sciences like physics

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chemistry and biology is the quadrant of

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empiricism and of studying individual

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things through observation and

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measurement you isolate the individual

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being to be studied and you experiment

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to understand its qualities and its

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nature coming down to q3 we find

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nietzsche's work on the revaluation of

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all values on the dionysian versus the

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apollonian and on the distinction

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between master and slave morality we

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have kuhn's work on paradigms as being

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the grounding culture that the science

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exists in at any moment in time we have

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the structuralists and their search for

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the underlying structures of human life

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we have foucault's work on power and

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scissors work on semiotics we also have

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adam smith's invisible hand of the

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market and finally then we have q4 where

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we have the study of the external

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collective down here we have fields like

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ecology and chaos theory we have marx's

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economic theories and statistical

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studies of human societies jordan

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peterson has published a lot of papers

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on the q4 findings of the ocean

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personality model and how for example it

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is more common for people with high

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politeness to be right leaning while

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those with higher compassion are more

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likely to be left leaning this is also

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where a lot of steven pinker's work with

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the better angels of our nature is

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focused this is the philosophy of

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utilitarianism august counts theories of

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social evolution and the science of

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climate change all of these theories and

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systems are directed at studying the

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outsides of the collective experience

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the four quadrants model is also a great

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way of understanding the different

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arguments that are going on in the

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culture at any one point in time

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a recent exploration of jordan peterson

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and the social justice movement can be

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understood as a conflict between

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peterson's q1 vision of personal

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responsibility and creating change in

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the individual realm coming into

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conflict with the social justice

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movement's belief that change lies in

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the collective sphere by tackling

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oppression bigotry and bias in the

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culture peterson says be the change you

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wish to see in the world well the social

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justice movement says let's make the

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world fair for everyone they both want

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to make the world a better place but get

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frustrated with each other over how to

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do that when you look at richard

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dawkins's attacks on religion as a

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delusion or as a virus you're seeing a

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q2 conflict with q1 dawkins is a

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rationalist materialist matter is the

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fundamental thing the externals are the

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fundamental thing this religious stuff

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doesn't fit the mold of empirical

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science and so it belongs in the trashy

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we can see how each quadrant can reduce

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the world to their little section of

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reality it's not just the material is

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saying that matter is all there is and

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reducing all internal phenomena to

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firearms in the brain there's plenty of

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spiritual folk out there who say that

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the mind is all that there is there's

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the claim associated with darada that

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everything is interpretation or the idea

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associated with foucault that power is

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all that there is all of these are

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distinct forms of reductionism coming

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from the different corners of the map

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everyone has their way of seeing things

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and they have to explain why that way is

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the most important way the four

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quadrants model allows us to take a step

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back and to give a more balanced

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appraisal of the situation gives us a

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way of looking at each silo with a

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little more distance and objectivity

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like any model it's imperfect but it's

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extremely useful as a way of diffusing

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intellectual conflicts and unpacking

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what is actually going on beneath the

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surface that's everything for this

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episode of the living philosophy if

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you've enjoyed it please give the video

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a thumbs up down below and as ever i'd

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like to thank shane and all the other

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patrons of the channel for their support

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in keeping this thing going if you want

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to support the channel you can head over

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to patreon you can get your name in the

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credits as well as early access to

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scripts videos and and a few other

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things as well if you have any thoughts

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insights or feedback i would love to

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hear from you down in the comments

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otherwise i shall see you next time

play13:47

thank you for watching

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Related Tags
Integral PhilosophyFour QuadrantsHuman ExperienceKnowledge DomainsKen WilberCultural ContextIndividual MindsetCollective BehaviorSocial JusticePersonal ResponsibilityPhilosophical AnalysisCognitive SciencePsychological InsightsSocietal StructuresEcological PerspectiveSpiritual GrowthIntellectual ConflictsValue SystemsWorldviewsEmpirical Science