#79 Loving to Know and Subsidiary Focal Integration with Esther Lightcap Meek

Send a love message with philosopher Esther Lightcap Meek, Professor of Philosophy emerita at Geneva College, in Western Pennsylvaniaexploring from-to fractals, Michael Polanyi, Meek's Indeterminate Future Manifestations, the difference between information and knowledge, epistemological therapy... and all with some laughter and good cheerHappy holidays! These conversations are part of research: to skip the research ramble, go to 26:30. This episode explores the intricate relationships between knowledge, information, reality, and love with guest Esther Lightcap Meek. Building on the ideas of Michael Polanyi, Esther and Andrea delve into the concept of ‘subsidiary focal integration’ and its implications for how we understand reality. The conversation addresses the limitations of viewing knowledge merely as information, the importance of bodily cognition, and how love and communion with the real are fundamental to genuine knowing. It shows how philosophy can be understood as therapeutic, a dynamic process that connects us deeply with ourselves, each other, and the world.00:00 Introduction to the Concept of Reality and Information01:46 The Role of Subsidiary Focal Integration03:36 Exploring Covenant Epistemology04:54 Understanding Bodily Cognition06:44 Introducing Esther Lightcap Meek08:50 The Journey of a Philosopher10:46 The Importance of Subsidiary Focal Integration13:02 Practical Applications and Everyday Philosophy16:40 The Role of Philosophy in Real Life26:31 A Conversation with Esther Lightcap Meek49:34 Integrative Knowledge and Liberation50:25 Epistemological Therapy and Embodied Cognition52:37 The Role of Subsidiary Focal Integration54:58 Daisy of Dichotomies and Modernity57:54 The Interpersonal Nature of Knowledge01:11:20 Covenant Epistemology in Education01:18:35 AI, Tools, and the Real01:29:14 The Role of Love in Knowing A professional philosopher, author and speaker, Esther offers her own distinctive, down-to-earth, approach to the philosophical matters that ground and permeate our lives: humanness, meaning, reality, knowing. The book Andrea and Esther discuss here is Loving to Know.Link here to Esther’s work and books: https://www.estherlightcapmeek.comTacit KnowledgeMichael PolanyiSupport us if you can.Full intro and notes here.Care is not the opposite of love. It is the very urge of life. 'Caring for what?' is the primary question. That we have a choice about what we care for and how is what makes us human, but it's quite the challenge and responsibility. Let's help one another handle it.Support the showBuy Holding Paradox: The Navigational Approach to Mind and Consciousness by Andrea HiottSign up for Making Ways newsletter and projects.Please rate and review with love. YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Substack.