Ep 38 | UTOKing with Zak Stein #2 | Making Consilient Choices

In Episode 38, Gregg welcomes back Dr. Zak Stein (see Episode 8). Well-known in the metamodern space, Zak is educational philosopher and author of many well-known articles and essays, and the book Education in a Time Between Worlds: Essays on the Future of Schools, Technology, and Society. He is also a contributor to the Consilience Project, where among other things he has taken a lead role on a powerful four-part series of essays on propaganda and the current social media environment (see here, here, here, and here). This conversation reviews Zak's analysis of education, propaganda and the concept of undue influence, and syncs it up with UTOK's frame, especially regarding the dynamics of justification, investment, influence and the nature of thought control.

--- 📘 Resources mentioned in this episode 📘 ---

The 4 part Series on Propaganda:
📃 Part 1: It's a MAD Information War: https://consilienceproject.org/its-a-mad-information-war/
📃 Part 2: WE DON'T MAKE PROPAGANDA! THEY DO!: https://consilienceproject.org/we-dont-make-propaganda-they-do/
📃 Part 3: The End of Propaganda: https://consilienceproject.org/the_end_of_propaganda/
📃 Part 4: Social Media Enables Undue Influence: https://consilienceproject.org/social-media-enables-undue-influence/

📘 Dark Persuasion: A History of Brainwashing from Pavlov to Social Media by Joel E. Dimsdale: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57220251-dark-persuasion
📘 Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism: A Study of 'brainwashing' in China by Robert Jay Lifton: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/549257.Thought_Reform_and_the_Psychology_of_Totalism
📃 Taiwan's Digital Democracy: https://consilienceproject.org/taiwans-digital-democracy/
📘 The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power
by Shoshana Zuboff: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26195941-the-age-of-surveillance-capitalism

--- ℹ️ Find out more about Zak Stein ℹ️ ---
Education in a Time Between Worlds: Essays on the Future of Schools, Technology, and Society: https://www.amazon.com/Education-Time-Between-Worlds-Technology/dp/0986282677
Zak's Homepage: http://www.zakstein.org/
Zak's LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachary-stein-757b528

--- ℹ️ Find out more about Gregg Henriques ℹ️ ---
Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/contributors/gregg-henriques-phd
Medium: https://gregghenriques.medium.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/henriqgx

--- 🌳 The Unified Theory of Knowledge 🌳 ---
Homepage: https://www.unifiedtheoryofknowledge.org/
Medium: https://medium.com/unified-theory-of-knowledge
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_of_knowledge_system

--- 🕰️ Timestamps 🕰️ ---
00:00:00 Intro
00:00:25 Recapping "Towards a Metapsychology that is true to Transformation"
00:04:48 The Consilience Project
00:19:03 Renting Time With the Brainwashing Machine
00:27:31 The Undue Influence of Social Media
00:39:13 The Problem With Regulating the Brainwashing Machine
00:55:59 Differentiating Between Propaganda and Education
01:17:40 The Race Between Heaven and Hell
01:27:57 The Critical Path