Footnotes2Plato @footnotes2plato.substack.com

Cosmology, Democracy, and the Spirit of the Earth: Talking Process-Relational Political Theology with Tripp Fuller and Aaron Simmons I joined Tripp and Aaron to discuss the changing role of religion in public life in our tumultuous political moment. We were discussing my lecture offering a Whiteheadian process cosmological response to Carl Schmitt’s critique of liberalism. "Between Earth and Empire: Cosmopolitical Democracy Beyond the Liberal Horizon" When Tripp asked how a process philosopher might begin thinking about something that Whitehead doesn’t explicitly spend much time on—democracy—I found myself both challenged and energized.

Cosmology, Democracy, and the Spirit of the Earth: Talking Process-Relational Political Theology with Tripp Fuller and Aaron Simmons

I joined Tripp and Aaron to discuss the changing role of religion in public life in our tumultuous political moment. We were discussing my lecture offering a…

02.08.2025 15:51 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Creativity and the Cross: Martinus, Bergson, and Whitehead in Dialogue A conversation with Pedro Brea and Karsten Jensen. Transcript below. Matt Segall: Hey, Karsten. Pedro Brea: Hey! Karsten Jensen: Hi, Matt! Hi, Pedro! I’m so happy you both agreed to have this conversation with me, and I really look forward to it. Matt Segall: Likewise. My exposure to Martinus was through you, Karsten, and I really appreciated what you shared, probably a year ago at this point.

Creativity and the Cross: Martinus, Bergson, and Whitehead in Dialogue

A conversation with Pedro Brea and Karsten Jensen. Transcript below. Matt Segall: Hey, Karsten. Pedro Brea: Hey! Karsten Jensen: Hi, Matt! Hi, Pedro! I’m so happy you both agreed to have this conversation with me, and I really…

01.08.2025 19:56 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Sancta Maria Magdalena Last Tuesday, on Mary Magdalene’s Feast Day, I walked as a pilgrim with about a dozen others from Lewes train station to St. Peter’s Church in Firle along part of a historic route called the Old Way in the south of England that stretches from Winchester in Hampshire to Canterbury in Kent. I slept in St. Peter’s that night. The vicar Peter Owen Jones delivered the following sermon for us.

Sancta Maria Magdalena

Last Tuesday, on Mary Magdalene’s Feast Day, I walked as a pilgrim with about a dozen others from Lewes train station to St. Peter’s Church in Firle along part of a historic route called the Old Way in the south of England that stretches from Winchester in Hampshire to…

29.07.2025 17:35 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Enjoyed being part of a *packed* final session of @ishpssb2025.bsky.social where we all witnessed @asmeincke.bsky.social make a compelling case to @kevinlala.bsky.social (in the room!) as to why he should explicitly adopt a process ontology for the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis! 🌱🐋

25.07.2025 16:52 — 👍 12 🔁 4 💬 0 📌 0

Romanticizing Evolution: Whitehead’s Organic Realism and the Return of Organic Science Other contributors at the Cognizing Life conference include: Benjamin Bembé (Witten), Bohang Chen (Zhejiang), Luke Fischer (Sydney), Andrea Gambarotto (Wien), Levi Haeck(Ghent), Craig Holdrege (Ghent, NY), Christoph Hueck (Tübingen), Philippe Huneman(Paris), Jan Kerkmann (Freiburg), Dalia Nassar (Sydney), Daniel Nicholson (Fairfax), Gregory Rupik (Toronto), Ulrich Schlösser (Tübingen), Matthew Segall (San Francisco), Joan Steigerwald (Toronto), Georg Toepfer (Berlin), Gertrudis Van de Vijver…

Romanticizing Evolution: Whitehead’s Organic Realism and the Return of Organic Science

Other contributors at the Cognizing Life conference include: Benjamin Bembé (Witten), Bohang Chen (Zhejiang), Luke Fischer (Sydney), Andrea Gambarotto (Wien), Levi Haeck(Ghent), Craig Holdrege (Ghent, NY),…

27.07.2025 06:47 — 👍 3 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0

Ever-Living Fire: Process Philosophy and Plasma Cosmology Below is a transcript of my talk at the Process Philosophy, Plasma Cosmology, and Transpersonal Psychology meeting in Exeter, UK, which took place July 24-27, 2025. Other attendees include Robert Temple, Timothy E. Eastman, Barnard Carr, Steve Odin, Andrew M. Davis, Nick Cook, Ashton Arnoldy, John Priestland, Massimo Teodorani (virtual), Jeffery Kripal (virtual), Kelly Chase, Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes, Dana Kippel, and Jude Currivan.

Ever-Living Fire: Process Philosophy and Plasma Cosmology

Below is a transcript of my talk at the Process Philosophy, Plasma Cosmology, and Transpersonal Psychology meeting in Exeter, UK, which took place July 24-27, 2025. Other attendees include Robert Temple, Timothy E. Eastman, Barnard Carr,…

26.07.2025 16:09 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

My Biophilosophy Conference Talk: Romanticizing Evolution with Schelling, Peirce, and Whitehead Below is my talk at the "Revitalizing Biophilosophy" conference I co-hosted earlier this week. It is based on a long paper I am working on both for this conference and for "Cognizing Life," another conference that I'll present at next week in Tübingen, Germany (there is a free livestream option if you'd like to tune in). Transcript: …

My Biophilosophy Conference Talk: Romanticizing Evolution with Schelling, Peirce, and Whitehead

Below is my talk at the "Revitalizing Biophilosophy" conference I co-hosted earlier this week. It is based on a long paper I am working on both for this conference and for "Cognizing Life," another…

12.07.2025 14:34 — 👍 5 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

A Biophilosophical Dialogue: Conversations at the Evolutionary Edge of the Life Sciences The conversation above occurred earlier today at the end of a two-day conference I cohosted with Spyridon Koutroufinis focused on the revitalization of biophilosophy. You can learn more about it at the Center for Process Studieswebsite. You can find a YouTube playlist of all the talks at this link. Two days of phenomenal presentations of ideas that push at the paradigmatic edges of the life sciences left me feeling nourished.

A Biophilosophical Dialogue: Conversations at the Evolutionary Edge of the Life Sciences

The conversation above occurred earlier today at the end of a two-day conference I cohosted with Spyridon Koutroufinis focused on the revitalization of biophilosophy. You can learn more about it at the Center…

12.07.2025 04:51 — 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

Thinking the Holocaust with Schelling Originally written in 2013, I decided to slightly revise and repost the following reflections in light of current events. Schelling’s Philosophical Investigations into the Essence of Human Freedom (1809) is a text I have returned to time and again over the years. Short, salty, and bittersweet, its alchemical depths continue to nourish my love of wisdom. Schelling’s core claim is that freedom is not a choice between prescribed options, but a primordial de-cision; it is not about choosing what to do, but deciding whether and how to exist at all.

Thinking the Holocaust with Schelling

Originally written in 2013, I decided to slightly revise and repost the following reflections in light of current events. Schelling’s Philosophical Investigations into the Essence of Human Freedom (1809) is a text I have returned to time and again over the…

05.07.2025 17:06 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Three Academic Philosophers Sitting In A Tree: S-M-I-L-I-N-G Just came across this fun reply to my conversation with Pedro and Jack. Gentlemen, your enriching dialogue was as music to my ears and a Dionysian feast of the senses. By Zeus a lot has been covered in this interview, and… Three Academic Philosophers Sitting In A Tree: S-M-I-L-I-N-G

Three Academic Philosophers Sitting In A Tree: S-M-I-L-I-N-G

Just came across this fun reply to my conversation with Pedro and Jack. Gentlemen, your enriching dialogue was as music to my ears and a Dionysian feast of the senses. By Zeus a lot has been covered in this interview, and… Three Academic…

20.06.2025 23:05 — 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Infinite Intimate: Dialoguing with Marc Gafni and Zak Stein Matt Segall: Hi Marc, pleasure to meet you. Marc Gafni: Good to meet you, Matt. Matt Segall: Really, as I said in my email, it's an honor and it's humbling to get to talk to you and Zak. I've had a chance to spend a little time with Zak. But yeah, great to connect with you. Where are you right now?

Infinite Intimate: Dialoguing with Marc Gafni and Zak Stein

Matt Segall: Hi Marc, pleasure to meet you. Marc Gafni: Good to meet you, Matt. Matt Segall: Really, as I said in my email, it's an honor and it's humbling to get to talk to you and Zak. I've had a chance to spend a little time with Zak.…

19.06.2025 00:14 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

LIVE SOON: Truth and the World Soul with Matt Segall Starting Jun 13 at 2:00 PM EDT

Going live on Substack in 10 minutes

open.substack.com/live-stream/...?

13.06.2025 17:51 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Whitehead’s Evolutionary Theology: Reflections on Process-Relational Panentheism Below is a lightly edited, somewhat abridged transcript derived from a conversation I had earlier today with Jack Roycroft-Sherry. The podcast should be posted on YouTube and elsewhere in about a month. The Polysemic Nature of God What do we learn about God from Whitehead’s metaphysics? This is a difficult question because the term “God” is polysemic. Whitehead has a concept of God as a metaphysician, and he draws upon the history of religious experience to justify the use of the term in his metaphysical scheme.

Whitehead’s Evolutionary Theology: Reflections on Process-Relational Panentheism

Below is a lightly edited, somewhat abridged transcript derived from a conversation I had earlier today with Jack Roycroft-Sherry. The podcast should be posted on YouTube and elsewhere in about a month. The Polysemic…

11.06.2025 19:15 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

Well said!

06.06.2025 05:55 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

In Defense of Participatory Platonism: Dialoging with Tim Jackson about Dan McQuillan’s Critique of Data Science as Machinic Neoplatonism Tim and I read McQuillan, Dan. Data Science as Machinic Neoplatonism. Philos. Technol. 31, 253–272 (2018). Key themes discussed: The critique of vulgar vs. authentic Platonism in data science Process-relational philosophy and constructive realism Evolutionary biology's relevance to understanding AI/machine learning The political and ethical dangers of algorithmic decision-making The relationship between technology, magic, and science Alienation in digital technologies and the concept of "digital twins"

In Defense of Participatory Platonism: Dialoging with Tim Jackson about Dan McQuillan’s Critique of Data Science as Machinic Neoplatonism

Tim and I read McQuillan, Dan. Data Science as Machinic Neoplatonism. Philos. Technol. 31, 253–272 (2018). Key themes discussed: The critique of vulgar vs.…

04.06.2025 03:22 — 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 1

Cast of One: Non-Dual Spirituality and the Diversity of Divinity (dialogue with Sami Chhapra) Sami Chhapra: Hi, Matt! Matt Segall: Hello, my friend. Sami Chhapra: Hello! Matt Segall: How are you doing this morning? Sami Chhapra: Good, thanks. How are you? Are you feeling better? Matt Segall: Yeah. I slept in. Philo allowed me to sleep in, which is very nice of him. Sami Chhapra: You look nice and rested. Matt Segall: Good.

Cast of One: Non-Dual Spirituality and the Diversity of Divinity (dialogue with Sami Chhapra)

Sami Chhapra: Hi, Matt! Matt Segall: Hello, my friend. Sami Chhapra: Hello! Matt Segall: How are you doing this morning? Sami Chhapra: Good, thanks. How are you? Are you feeling better? Matt Segall: Yeah.…

02.06.2025 02:46 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

It from Bit from Chit: Philosophizing at the Threshold of Artificial Intelligence (dialogue with Robert Prentner) Summary of my dialogue with Robert Prentner: I apologize for the sound quality, but there is a full transcript below! Robert began by explaining his shift from skepticism to engagement with AI. Early versions of ChatGPT struck him as underwhelming, but newer models like GPT-4 and Claude impressed him with their linguistic and problem-solving fluency. This sparked his deeper interest—not in whether AIs are conscious in a human sense, but in how they might open new relational or epistemic access to what he sees as a fundamental field of consciousness.

It from Bit from Chit: Philosophizing at the Threshold of Artificial Intelligence (dialogue with Robert Prentner)

Summary of my dialogue with Robert Prentner: I apologize for the sound quality, but there is a full transcript below! Robert began by explaining his shift from skepticism to engagement…

30.05.2025 08:18 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

Alchemy, Technology, and Individuation in Novalis, Simondon, and Jung (dialogue with Tim Jackson) Timothy Jackson: I really do think Simondon is becoming a very timely figure, and I think it's probably underappreciated that his stated goal is to refound—have a novel axiomatic for the humanities, basically, or the human sciences. Like, to really break—I mean, like Whitehead, obviously—but to really break down that boundary between the two cultures. Matt Segall: Well, let's just dive in then.

Alchemy, Technology, and Individuation in Novalis, Simondon, and Jung (dialogue with Tim Jackson)

Timothy Jackson: I really do think Simondon is becoming a very timely figure, and I think it's probably underappreciated that his stated goal is to refound—have a novel axiomatic for the humanities,…

28.05.2025 05:35 — 👍 3 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

Imago Machinae: Made in the Image of Our Machines, Rethinking God, Technology, and Consciousness at Edge Esmeralda Introduction by Janine: All right, we've got two more talks this evening for the next hour. I'm really excited to welcome Matt Segall. He is a transdisciplinary philosopher, associate professor in the Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness department at the California Institute of Integral Studies. And I first came across some of Matt's work both online, and now in person last night, and both experiences that I have had have just been ones where I'm like, wow, this guy is so humble and the ideas that he has are so interesting, and he distills his philosophy in an incredible way.

Imago Machinae: Made in the Image of Our Machines, Rethinking God, Technology, and Consciousness at Edge Esmeralda

Introduction by Janine: All right, we've got two more talks this evening for the next hour. I'm really excited to welcome Matt Segall. He is a transdisciplinary philosopher, associate…

27.05.2025 17:49 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

“Philosophy in the Age of Technoscience: Why We Need the Humanities to Navigate AI and Consciousness” I ended up giving a brief (10 minute) impromptu talk at Edge Esmeralda today, and this is a transcript of what came out: Hey, everyone, can you hear me okay if I speak at this level? Great. So, yeah, I'm Matt Segall and I am a philosopher. I teach in this wonderful graduate program in San Francisco at the California Institute of Integral Studies in the Philosophy, Cosmology and Consciousness Program.

“Philosophy in the Age of Technoscience: Why We Need the Humanities to Navigate AI and Consciousness”

I ended up giving a brief (10 minute) impromptu talk at Edge Esmeralda today, and this is a transcript of what came out: Hey, everyone, can you hear me okay if I speak at this level? Great. So,…

27.05.2025 04:17 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Human Consciousness and Machine Intelligence I sat down with my friend Kent Bye earlier today to discuss the intensifying entanglement of human consciousness with machine intelligences. He read my recent chapter on the philosophical implications of AI and asked some great questions that elicited fresh thoughts. The podcast should be posted soon, but for now below is a preview of some of what we discussed (based on my own extensive editing of the transcript).

Human Consciousness and Machine Intelligence

I sat down with my friend Kent Bye earlier today to discuss the intensifying entanglement of human consciousness with machine intelligences. He read my recent chapter on the philosophical implications of AI and asked some great questions that elicited…

23.05.2025 23:32 — 👍 4 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

The Mind is Not the Brain, and the Brain is Not a Computer (Dialogue with Victoria Trumbull) Matt: Hi, Victoria! How are you doing this morning? Victoria: Good. Well, it’s evening for me here in England. Matt: Right. Well, really lovely to connect with you. Victoria: Yes! Matt: I wish I had had more time before our chat to finish reading your entire dissertation, but the chapter I did read is the favorite thing I’ve read in a while.

The Mind is Not the Brain, and the Brain is Not a Computer (Dialogue with Victoria Trumbull)

Matt: Hi, Victoria! How are you doing this morning? Victoria: Good. Well, it’s evening for me here in England. Matt: Right. Well, really lovely to connect with you. Victoria: Yes! Matt: I wish I had had…

20.05.2025 18:59 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Rhythms of the One: Bergson on Plotinus (Dialogue with Pedro Brea and Jack Bagby) Our conversation felt like an improvised rhythm of tangents. But as I joked to Pedro, a perfect circle is made of infinitely many tangents. What might appear like digression is often an expression of the deeper topology of thought, where every seeming sidetrack curves back toward the center. Plotinus’ νοῦς (nous) floats above space and the bodily senses, while Bergson roots intellect in spatialization.

Rhythms of the One: Bergson on Plotinus (Dialogue with Pedro Brea and Jack Bagby)

Our conversation felt like an improvised rhythm of tangents. But as I joked to Pedro, a perfect circle is made of infinitely many tangents. What might appear like digression is often an expression of the deeper…

19.05.2025 23:32 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

The Invariance of Variation: Or Why Metaphysics Must Become Ungrounded (Dialogue with Tim Jackson) Tim Jackson and I dialogue about a number of conversations we watched, including: Full Transcript of my dialogue with Tim: MATT SEGALL We didn't read anything, but we did listen to a whole bunch of conversations. I guess three. Okay, four: I threw another one in there. So there's the Levin and Deacon dialogue about evolutionary biology, and there's the Bernardo Kastrup and Jay Garfield dialogue.

The Invariance of Variation: Or Why Metaphysics Must Become Ungrounded (Dialogue with Tim Jackson)

Tim Jackson and I dialogue about a number of conversations we watched, including: Full Transcript of my dialogue with Tim: MATT SEGALL We didn't read anything, but we did listen to a whole bunch of…

16.05.2025 18:23 — 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

Goals Go All the Way Down: Responding to the Deacon-Levin Dialogue I’m grateful to Tevin Naidu for getting Deacon and Levin together. They only had 90 minutes but still managed to cover a lot of territory, including where they overlap and where some tensions may exist. I first met Deacon back in 2011 during a lecture he gave on his then new book Incomplete Nature. Regular readers may not be surprised to learn that…

Goals Go All the Way Down: Responding to the Deacon-Levin Dialogue

I’m grateful to Tevin Naidu for getting Deacon and Levin together. They only had 90 minutes but still managed to cover a lot of territory, including where they overlap and where some tensions may exist. I first met Deacon back in…

10.05.2025 21:16 — 👍 3 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0

On this line of thought I'm going to be ordering this book by @footnotes2plato.substack.com soon! Very excited

08.05.2025 14:36 — 👍 3 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0

There are arguments Whitehead’s specific alternative to Einstein’s GR has since been empirically falsified; but as W made clear he was really offering a whole new family of approaches that does not require the epistemologically suspect idea of a manifold “curved” by mass.

08.05.2025 18:22 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

New theory suggests gravity is not a fundamental force - Advanced Science News A new theory proposes gravity isn’t a fundamental force but emerges from quantum electromagnetic interactions, potentially reshaping our view of spacetime itself.

There’s Whitehead’s way, of course (see “The Principle of Relativity” [1922]). More recently there is Kastner and Schlatter’s work: www.advancedsciencenews.com/new-theory-s...

08.05.2025 18:19 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

YouTube video by Marcelo Gleiser The Blind Spot Podcast EP01

And in other news... @evanthompson.bsky.social, Marcelo Gleiser and I have started a podcast!

The Blind Spot.

Science, philosophy and more but not the usual reductionist, triumphalist view. New ways of understanding the Universe with us in it.

Episode 1 here.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXXO...

07.05.2025 15:14 — 👍 12 🔁 3 💬 3 📌 0

well if relativity theory requires a block universe then yes it is incompatible with process ontology. But I don't think GR has to be interpreted that way.

08.05.2025 05:39 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

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