Ep. 34 - Awakening from the Meaning Crisis - Sacredness: Horror, Music, and the Symbol

In this episode of "Awakening from the Meaning Crisis," Dr. John Vervaeke delves into the concept of sacredness, distinguishing it from spirituality and focusing on its psycho-existential machinery rather than metaphysical origins. He explores Otto's idea of the numinous, highlighting its transgressive nature and components of mystery, fascination, and horror, differentiating genuine horror from mere startle or fear. Vervaeke connects horror to the challenge of one's sense of reality and the intercategorical, using examples from movies and Mary Douglas's work on purity codes. He further discusses how the numinous, experienced through awe and wonder, borders on horror, pushing individuals to confront their limitations and prompting profound change. The episode transitions to the role of symbols in experiencing sacredness, defining symbols as participatory and exemplifying, contrasting them with mere signs, and examining how metaphors within symbols activate cognitive machinery for deeper understanding, using the symbol of justice as an example.