Conversations and Meditations

In this episode, Virgil goes over the fundamentals of Jungian psychology. This discussion is a very basic introduction to Carl Jung and his ideas. In particular, this conversation will focus on a few main themes of Carl Jung's analysis of Archetypes and the Self, including the Ego, Persona, Shadow, and Anima/Animus. The episode then focuses on the concept of the Shadow and its importance in our culture, art, and within ourselves as an aspect to our personality. With this understanding of this dark side of ourselves,  we can learn to confront our Shadow and learn to integrate it healthy into our personality. As Jung said, "No tree, it is said, can grow to heaven unless its roots reach down to hell." We can't become better individuals until we understand and integrate all aspects of our Self.

In this episode, Virgil goes in the fundamentals of basic economics and its function within our society. Economics is broadly the study of causes and effects. This episode will try to convey the message that economic policies are essential to judge by their consequences and incentives, rather than their goals and motivations. This episode describes how a market economy works and how it leads to human flourishing.  We hope this episode can explain what economics is and what it isn't. 

In this episode, Virgil goes into the various ideas of what justice is and how it relates to our everyday lives and the government that rules us. When talking about justice, we are really talking about two interconnected categories: the personal and political. Justice brings up questions of how should we treat one another? What should the law be? How should society be organized? How should we distribute the things we value? These questions will be answered using the tools these philosophers have given us and we will take a look at the different ideas that comprise the concept of justice. Virgil primarily focuses on two 20th century political philosophers, John Rawls, and Robert Nozick. Virgil goes into detail about the differences between Rawls's book, A Theory of Justice and Nozick's book, Anarchy, State, and Utopia. Through looking at these differences perhaps we can come to a better understanding of what justice actually is and what it isn't.

In this episode, Virgil goes over the philosophy of Stoicism from past to present. In this episode, Virgil goes into the history of stoicism and some of the major philosophers within the tradition and their contributions to the philosophy. Virgil then goes into the basic fundamentals of stoicism and its application for life and how it can be used as a modern day guide to living a good life. The episode concludes with a look into how stoicism has influenced other people in history to use the fundamentals of stoicism to create something that can help all types of people. As Seneca said, "It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it." What are you waiting for? Now is the time to examine your life and change for the better!

In this episode, Virgil has an intriguing discussion with his friend Awkward Hermet about the importance of art and its place in our society. Awkward Hermet has done all of the artwork for Conversations and Meditations and continues to add value to our brand. In this discussion, they talk about what interested her in creating art as well as some of her major influences. Later on, they cover the significance of art to the individual and how art can increase your overall enjoyment of life. 

In this episode, Virgil and his friend D debunk common myths about economics, capitalism, and socialism. They both discuss the facts and fallacies of the economics and the history of how we got here today.

In this episode, Virgil and his friend and former guest, Pseudo, get into the concept of self-love. They discuss their personal difficulties and doubt concerning love for one's self and its importance in self- actualization on the world. Join them while they discuss their continuing journey on the road too self-love. 

In this episode, Virgil discusses cognitive dissonance and its effect on our everyday lives. Cognitive dissonance is the state of having inconsistent thoughts, actions, beliefs, or attitudes, most importantly relating to behavior and attitude. Virgil talks about his experience with cognitive dissonance, how it manifests in our lives, and how it can be a catalyst for a change in our worldview when confronted with new evidence. With the chaos of our world today, we should expect to feel the discomfort of cognitive dissonance, but always to remember that it's our choice of what to do with it.

In this episode, Virgil goes into detail about the conspiracy theorist worldview and the dangers of viewing everything through a conspiratorial lens. Virgil details his prior history with conspiracy theories and his motivations for being a conspiracy theorist in the past. Virgil discusses the turn from the more harmless conspiracy theories to the more pernicious, bigoted, and hate-filled theories about the state of the world and the people responsible for the ills of the society. In this talk, we hope we can address the reasons why someone would turn to conspiracy theories in a time of chaos and uncivility and how conspiracy theories are ultimately false, manipulating, bigoted, and toxic for everyone involved. 

In this episode, Virgil goes over the psychotherapists Nathaniel Branden book, The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem. Nathaniel Branden has been the leading authority on the science of self-esteem and his book has been a significant influence on Virgil and his worldview. Virgil goes into detail what is self-esteem, why its vital, and gives an overview of the six pillars that Branden described in his book. This overview discusses why we all have issues with self-esteem and the work needed in order to become better people who have a better relationships with themselves.

In this episode, Virgil goes over the Thomas Sowell book A Conflict of Visions and its main themes on why we as a society have major disagreements on politics and philosophies. He goes over the Sowell's concepts of the "Constrained"(Tragic) Vision and the "Unconstrained" (Utopian) Vision of humanity and our nature. Virgil also covers civility and its importance in todays inflammatory political climate and the things we all can do to reintroduce a little civility back into our lives. 

In this episode, Virgil goes into detail on his statement from the last episode, in where he stated that Capitalism has been the greatest tool to help alleviate poverty and suffering in the world so far. Virgil goes into detail on why and how capitalism is allowing people from all over the world to escape extreme poverty and move into the middle class and pursue a better life for themselves and their families.

In this episode, Virgil interviews his friend and former guest Mischa about his political standings and his new membership to the Democratic Socialist of America and what that means to him. They both discuss what Democratic Socialism is and what it isn't. Virgil asks questions and they both get into some principles and policies of Democratic Socialism. As you know, we want to make sure that on the show we can have conversations with people with whom we disagree with respectfully and with the intention to learn from them.

In this episode, Virgil has an interesting conversation with his good friend Auguste on the issues of race, identity, culture, and ethnicity in America. They both utilize their own experiences and identity to speak on the issues we face as a society. They also discuss mental health, suicide its impact on identity and society.

In this episode, Virgil gives a more detailed breakdown of nihilism its effects on our lives and the damage it can do to society. Virgil decided to further unpack the concepts he discussed in the last episode on Anxiety and Depression. This is a critical examination on nihilism its connection to pessimism, resentment, and how it causes suffering in our everyday lives. Virgil ends the podcast with some antidotes to nihilism and gives his take on how we can find meaning in the darkest moments in our lives.

In this episode, Virgil and his two friends Mischa and Pseudo have a conversation about anxiety and depression. This conversation is deeply rooted in all of their personal experiences and some foundational ideas that connect us all. Each guest gave a detailed view of their experiences and the mindset that they have in relation to anxiety and depression. They discuss the prevalence of mental health issues and whether or not there is an increase in these issues. They also discuss the effects of social media on mental health and many other import things that are relevant to todays issues with mental health. 

In this episode, Virgil goes over the concepts of Individualism and Collectivism. This episode explores the historical, sociological, and psychological effects of Individualism and Collectivism.This episode also explores the cost and benefits on of both the principles. Virgil gives his personal outlook on what it means to be an Individualist or Collectivist in todays world. 

In this episode, Virgil goes over Socratic Questioning and its relationship with critical thinking. Virgil explores the origins of the Socratic Method and how it was used and its purpose in finding truth. He also goes over modern applications of First Principles and the Socratic Method that are used.

In this episode, Virgil goes over an Article by British entrepreneur Paul Graham called "How to Disagree" and explains the hierarchy of disagreement that Graham came up with. Virgil also goes over American psychologist Marshall Rosenberg and his creation of Nonviolent Communication and its importance in our world today. Through this conversation, we hope to have helped provide meaningful tools that we can all use in our disagreements on little and/or big issues that we face as a society.

Virgil sits down with an old friend to discuss new and old problems that we are facing as a society.