The question is:
Is it just the ultimate thing at the top that's real? Or is it just all these individual things at the bottom?
It turns out both those answers are really inadequate. The complexity of the question of The One and the Many is that somehow the One is in all the individual things, but also the Many individual things are participating in the One!
So what's the relationship between that Oneness of Being and all the many beings?
Why it’s so important:
The degree to which the relationship between the One and the Many is unrealized and disconnected, is the degree to which we are profoundly prey to various kinds of nihilism in us (either acknowledged or just running unconsciously) and a pervasive, corrosive anxiety or sense of meaninglessness.
If we don't re-inhabit the full spectrum of our ability to make sense, things will be increasingly meaningless and nonsensical to us…and that will drive the meaning crisis in powerful ways.
This course addresses that tension by asking a bold question:
What might emerge if the deepest spiritual backbones of East and West entered into genuine dialogue with one another?
Neoplatonism tends to emphasize propositions and inference and argument, but it also has contemplative practices.
Zen tends to emphasize meditative, contemplative practices, but it also has reflection.
They have complementary strengths and weaknesses…and I propose that although they share a common ground, they're also different enough that they can enter into dialogos with each other.
So in Zen-Neoplatonism you get a deep reintegration of these two dimensions.
You get a tremendous improvement and enhancement of your capacity to keep all of this integrated in a way that is mutually corrective.
It's about:
How could I get my inference machinery running as deeply as possible (Neoplatonism)?
How can I get my insight machinery, running as deeply as possible (Zen)?
How can I get my reflection, my abstraction, my deep experiential depth…all of those mutually coordinated so they're as mutually self-correcting as possible?
And what that means is you start to reduce comprehensive ways in which you're being self- deceptive and imprisoning or hamstringing your agency in the world.
That's what we need.
We need something that has opponent processing at its very core…so it's always self-correcting.
Course Curriculum
1. Zen and the Unspeakable God
This week we will focus on the methodology of affording East-West dialogical semiotic symbiosis.
2. Zen and the Unspeakable God Continued
Introduction to Neoplatonism: Pagan, Islamic, and Christian. Neoplatonism allows us to look into the heart of science and religion: it is the quest for ultimate intelligibility.
3. The Philosophy of Zen Buddhism
Zen is looking into the heart of life; it is seeking ultimate intimacy. Intimacy and intelligibility as the two sides of religio (existential-aspirational meaning). Intimacy-intelligibility dances around the primordiality of truth-relevance.
4. Isothenia
Setting up isothenia between Zen and Neoplatonism. Pyrrho and the first time Buddhism was brought into Greek philosophy. Historical lesson to go with our methodological dialogical tonos (creative tension within opponent processing.)
5. Taoism, Ch’an and Original Zen
We will by tracing out the semiotic symbiosis with Zen.
6. Intimacy, Flow and Sensed Presence
Bringing out the Taoism and Shinto within Zen increases the sense of intimacy as flow and being faced by a sensed presence.
7. Neoplatonism and Science
We'll draw fundamental connections between science and religion, exploring how they are deeply intertwined.
8. Neoplatonism and Science Continued
Living spiritually within an inescapable scientific-technological worldview. Zen Neoplatonism as the affordance of the advent of the sacred as the local-global response to the meaning crisis of modernity.
FAQ
Are these courses like other online philosophy or spirituality courses?
Not exactly. These courses are not designed as content dumps or self-help programs. They are structured learning journeys that integrate philosophy, cognitive science, history, and spirituality to cultivate deeper understanding, clearer sense-making, and existential relevance, not hacks or techniques.
Do I need prior background in philosophy, cognitive science, or religion?
No formal background is required. The courses are carefully scaffolded and assume curiosity rather than expertise. If you’re willing to read attentively, reflect seriously, and sit with difficult questions, you’ll be able to engage the material meaningfully.
Are these courses practical, or purely theoretical?
They are intellectually rigorous, but never merely abstract. Each course is oriented toward how ideas shape perception, meaning, identity, and lived experience. While these are not “how-to” programs, they are a conceptual foundation for practice, transformation, and orientation in life.
Is this therapy or spiritual direction?
No. These courses are educational and philosophical in nature. They may be personally challenging and transformative, but they are not therapy, pastoral counseling, or clinical intervention. Growth here comes through understanding, dialogue, and reflection.
How much time should I expect to commit?
Most courses are designed to be manageable alongside work or study. Expect time for watching lectures, doing assigned readings (where applicable), and reflective integration. The depth you get out of the course will largely reflect the care you bring to it.
Are these courses connected to one another, or can I take them independently?
Each course stands on its own, but they are also part of a larger, coherent intellectual and pedagogical arc across The Lectern. Many learners find that taking multiple courses deepens understanding as ideas recur, evolve, and interconnect across contexts.
Will this challenge my beliefs?
Possibly. These courses do not aim to persuade you toward a particular ideology or worldview, but they do invite you to examine assumptions, inherited frameworks, and habitual ways of making meaning. Challenge here is a feature, not a flaw.