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Martin LeFevre - Meditations
Scoop Contributor
Martin LeFevre is a contemplative and philosopher.
His sui generis “Meditations” explore spiritual, philosophical and political questions relating to the polycrisis facing humanity.
lefevremartin77@gmail
Martin LeFevre - Meditations - Latest News [Page 15]
Freeing The Sisyphus Within Us
Wednesday, 20 September 2023, 10:45 am | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
There are different versions of the Greek myth of Sisyphus, and then there is Camus’ essay by the same name, in which he introduces his philosophy of the absurd. The Greek myth that speaks to me the most tells of how Sisyphus enchained the spirit ... More >>
Conspiracy Theories Fill The Vacuum Of An Effective Philosophy Of Evil
Friday, 15 September 2023, 11:21 am | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
In 1999 I helped get a leading anti-corruption figure from Kenya to a conference in Washington with then Vice-President Al Gore. Afterward I met Edward in Chicago, where we had a meeting with the principals of the Parliament of World’s Religions. ... More >>
The Human Brain Is Exapted For Insight
Wednesday, 13 September 2023, 11:51 am | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
It used to be said of people in the West, “we are all Greeks.” It meant that the creative explosion of the ancient Greek philosophers so stamped the Western mind that all subsequent peoples in Europe, the Americas and Aotearoa were of the same ... More >>
Narratives Or Insight?
Thursday, 7 September 2023, 10:56 am | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
Philosophical claims urgently need to give way to essential questions. Is direct perception possible, and is it the wellspring of the psychological revolution vital to change the increasingly disastrous course of man? The commonplace idea that all ... More >>
Oppenheimer, And “I Am Become Death”
Friday, 1 September 2023, 11:30 am | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
I waited to see “Oppenheimer” until after the “Barbenheimer” foolishness flamed out, the theaters were nearly empty again, and the tickets were a fifth of the original price. Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” runs together and runs ... More >>
Doing Philosophy In America
Wednesday, 30 August 2023, 11:07 am | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
Words that were the currency of philosophy when I attended grad school a few decades ago are now in everyday use. Words like ‘problematic,’ ‘unpack,’ and ‘deconstruct.’ Does that mean philosophy has become respected in America? Hardly. The parlous condition ... More >>
Regarding Nihilism And Negation
Friday, 25 August 2023, 5:40 pm | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
In the South Korean movie “Parasite,” which in 2020 was the first foreign language film to win the Oscar for best picture, there is a scene and speech that captures a nihilistic philosophy that’s widespread in the world today. After a torrential More >>
Providence, The End Of Man, And The Emergence Of Human Beings
Thursday, 17 August 2023, 10:56 am | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
God, in the belief system of Christians, is conceived as a separate “Supreme Being” that created the universe, and occasionally intervenes in human life. Providence is the belief in the notion of the protective care and direction of this monotheistic ... More >>
Awakening Intelligence Within
Friday, 11 August 2023, 11:05 am | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
The day was mild, relative to the scorching temperatures of late, and the park was nearly empty. And for the entire hour and half I sat beside the stream, a single swallowtail butterfly fed on the nectar of the fading white balls overhanging the ... More >>
Indict The Bastard
Friday, 4 August 2023, 11:58 am | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
Given today’s momentous events in Washington, Scoop is republishing a piece by its columnist in California, Martin LeFevre, from over a year ago, “Indict the Bastard.” As the author writes today, “Prescience is secondary, since it flows ... More >>
Would Jesus Do An Exegesis?
Wednesday, 2 August 2023, 11:07 am | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
Often, when I ask someone if they meditate, I hear things like, “distance running is a meditation for me.” Though such responses miss the mark, I usually let it go at that. However turning hunting into a meditation is a mockery of the art that ... More >>
Teilhard Got It Backwards
Friday, 28 July 2023, 11:02 am | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
There’s a line from a Matthew McConaughey movie – I don’t remember which one – that pretty much sums up the self-made situation of the human species at present. The McConaughey character is in a bar with a woman that’s had a troubled life. ... More >>
Awakening A Proprioception Of Thought
Wednesday, 26 July 2023, 10:54 am | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
Proprioception refers to “the body’s ability to sense movement, action and location.” Though I’ve written before about how this “sixth sense” plays an important part in quieting the mind, there’s a growing urgency for methodless meditation ... More >>
Human Being Is Not A “Very Small Phenomenon”
Friday, 21 July 2023, 11:37 am | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
The problem with the commentaries on AI that I’ve read is not a failure of imagination, but a failure of perception. Both AI experts and the plethora of commentators on AI don’t seem to have insight into thought. So how can they have insight into the ... More >>
Finding False Comfort In Impermanence
Wednesday, 19 July 2023, 10:49 am | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
It’s strange how a valuable truth from the ancient East is being used to escape from a disturbing truth about the destructiveness of the modern West. I’m referring to one of the essential principles of Buddhism – “impermanence” – and how ... More >>
Has The Retreat Industry Contributed To Human Regression?
Monday, 17 July 2023, 10:21 am | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
A veritable retreat and spiritual guidance industry has sprung up in the last few decades in the West and spread around the world. Apart from the ethical questions of turning spirituality into business (a practice as old as both), there is the question: ... More >>
Letter To A Friend About Meditation
Monday, 10 July 2023, 1:35 pm | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
Perhaps because you have tried many different methods of meditation, you now see that methods are antithetical to meditation. As you said, “Meditation begins when ‘the me’ ends.” So without implying a method, how does one go from that intellectual ... More >>
A Birthday Wish From America For Humanity On The 4th Of July
Tuesday, 4 July 2023, 11:24 am | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
On July 4th the United States celebrates its 247th Independence Day. Or I should say, millions of people celebrate by trying to get away, resulting in many Americans voluntarily locking themselves up in crammed airports for days because of flight ... More >>
Our View Of Nature Is The Cornerstone Of Our Worldview
Wednesday, 28 June 2023, 11:12 am | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
Our view of nature establishes our worldview, and our worldview determines our view of nature. They are not the same thing however. One’s worldview flows from one’s ideas or insights into human nature, while one’s view of nature reflects one’s ... More >>
Three Kinds Of Singularity
Friday, 23 June 2023, 12:20 pm | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
There are three meanings to the word “singularity” – cosmological, technological, and psychological. The first and last are real, while the second is the fever dream of technophiles. The cosmological singularity, which gave rise to the misnomer of ... More >>
