Hello everyone! School has kept me busy lately but I have just recorded a new podcast episode for patrons that will be available to everyone else soon. But I am most glad to share with you my latest essay, which Crisis Magazine has just published, “Jordan Peterson and the Apocalypse.” In it, I detail my experience at the “Symbolic World Summit” and my thoughts on the work of icon maker turned YouTube sensation Jonathan Pageau. Here is a snippet:
In his videos, Pageau comments on the symbolic patterns in popular culture, such as memes—one of his first “viral” videos was about “Pepe the Frog,” something an audience member asked him about during the summit—but also in the Bible. His main contention, throughout all of his various endeavors, is that one can understand reality by grasping symbolic patterns that are not arbitrary but are inherent in the world itself and that we can discover by becoming attentive to these patterns.
Pageau is a Christian and believes the Bible to be the privileged source for understanding reality, but he also insists that one can find such patterns throughout all human cultures—so his conception of “symbolism” is a universal one. This understanding of “symbolism” has antecedents, as he readily admits, and he makes no claim to originality. But Pageau insists that understanding the world this way, which some critics might dismiss as vague or subjective, is a basic way of approaching reality that is both legitimate and necessary in a world still dominated by a rationalism that believes it can dispense with such concerns. Pageau is an important cultural figure with a growing movement, and I was eager to hear him in person.
Please visit Crisis and read the rest. Cheers!
