Ep. 20 - Awakening from the Meaning Crisis - Death of the Universe

Dr. Vervaeke discusses the historical threats to the Axial Revolution's legacy, focusing on the shift in reading practices and the rediscovery of Aristotelian science. He explains how Aquinas addressed the challenge of incorporating Aristotle by reconfiguring the two-world mythology into natural and supernatural realms, which led to a separation of love from reason. The lecture then covers Meister Eckhart and William of Ockham's responses to Aquinas, highlighting the Rhineland Mystics' transformation of human spirituality and Ockham's nominalism. The Black Death and subsequent social disruptions, including labor shortages and the rise of commercialism, further undermined the existing worldview. The lecture concludes with an analysis of the Copernican Revolution and Galileo's scientific method, which led to a sense of disconnection from the world and a crisis of meaning, setting the stage for the Protestant Reformation.