"Reason" - Rocco Jarman

"Stable mutual actualization" -- that is what my guest, Rocco, is after. He believes with the use of true reason (mature, sophisticated, objective reason) we as humans, have the ability to achieve a stable state, where mutually all of us, can self actualize into what we want to be. Contrast that with the world he sees today, where most people actualize at the expense of someone else. We mostly just follow our base instincts to try to live the best life we can imagine, without acknowledging the fact that our instincts and our imagination are fallible. If that sounds heavy, I agree. This was a heavy conversation. But I wouldn't say it was abstract or theoretical. In a very logical and pragmatic way, he is trying to figure out how humanity can save itself from itself. As way of background, Rocco is an Australian philosopher, poet, and podcaster (https://eyeswideopenlife.org/). In his words, he has "an unorthodox and autodidactic mastery of human psychology which provides cutting and insightful observations." If I had to put it simply, Rocco believes he sees things that others don't see. He believes he has a gift to understand humans and the things that plague us, the things that cause unnecessary suffering in the world. He also believes he has a heart that is committed to trying to make the world a better place and an ego that can submit itself to logic and reason (rather than his own personal comfort or happiness). That all sounds amazing, but as they say "that is why they play the game"-- or that is why we do this show. It was truly thought provoking to probe and challenge Rocco's views to understand what they were made of. We explored a host of assumptions and implications, as well as tried to understand tactically what we can do to try to improve. How do we actually make the world a better place? A big thanks to Rocco for being on and the work he is doing. Something tells me this won't be the last conversation we have about humanity and our path forward.