Bryan Kam on Neither/Nor (second session)

We live in two worlds: one of language, logic, concepts, and abstractions — and another, of sensations, experience, and intuition. They’re inseparable and enrich one another, but each world has its own native tongue, native practices, and natural inclinations.

Bryan is an Interintellect fellow who is writing a book called Neither/Nor, which provides a methodology for recognizing and pragmatically applying philosophical frameworks. The methodology helps its practitioners understand, at a meta-level, how to think about philosophical and scientific approaches, when and how to apply them, how to recognize when they are failing, and how to switch strategies skillfully.

In short, it provides a methodology for healthy inquiry and intervention, which avoids the twin pitfalls of too much abstraction and too much experience.

In this special Interintellect event, Bryan will speak publicly on the progress of this book and the underlying methodology. He will give a brief overview of the journey and its results so far, as well as answer questions about where the process will lead.

Background

For the past three years, Bryan has delved deeply into Eastern philosophy, especially the doctrine of dependent origination in early Buddhism — which promises to end suffering for individuals — and the anti-dogmatic Taoism of Zhuangzi. At the same time, he immersed himself in the ancient Greek philosophies: first Stoicism, then Epicureanism, with brief forays into Platonism and Aristotelianism, and most recently culminating in the practice of Pyrrho’s ancient scepticism. Finally, he became conversant in the more recent Western philosophical debates (starting in the 16th century), especially centering on questions of truth, science, and progress, taking place from the early modern period to the 20th century, including Montaigne, Pascal, Spinoza, Hume, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Peirce, Wittgenstein, and Kuhn.

Neither/Nor will look at three millennia of thinking across cultures to provide a practical understanding of when to use a map, and when to explore the territory. It is grounded in experience, meditative practices, and experimentation.

Bryan is developing his ideas in conversation with the public, to create living philosophy, and — eventually — literature and art. He records podcasts, and discusses problems in the history of philosophy and of science on Twitter and Mastodon. You’re welcome to come join him in these conversations and provide feedback. No background reading is necessary, but your interest and experience will be invaluable as he continues to make his work accessible and useful to the public.

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