Becoming Human with philosopher Samuel Loncar is a show for
a species in transition.
Becoming Human was born from a new story of the human that I am seeking to live and share with others. The show brings my original research and my conversations, courses, and interviews with artists, scientists, and writers to the widest possible audience.
BECOMING HUMAN: ORIGINS
Becoming Human: Origins (2020) tells the story of how an atheistic revolution in philosophy, beginning with Socrates and Jesus, remade religion and science, and set the stage for our post-human age. It argues that the dominant story of reason, science, and religion is a modern myth, and must be replaced if we are to make real progress.
The series begins by presenting Socrates as a revolutionary religious martyr and ends with the death of God and Reason, revealing the common connection between Protestant Christianity, the Enlightenment, Marxism, and Science. These movements are perceived as radically contradictory, but the source of their conflict is their common ancestry: they are all part of a single atheistic narrative—one that has never been told.
That story, recounted here, explains why atheists are religious, why antisemitism persists through all these movements, and why we have a current crisis around the question: What does it mean to be human?
Becoming Human: Origins is based on a decade of research at Yale on science and religion, and it launched the Becoming Human Project: a multimedia project that brings philosophy as a way of life to everyone and seeks to build a community of creators pursuing a more meaningful life
Featured Conversations
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Emily Herring, Ph.D.
Dr. Emily Herring, author of Herald of a Restless World: How Henri Bergson Brought Philosophy to the People, explains the brilliant insights and legacy of Bergson, the French philosopher who wrote brilliantly about the brain, biology, memory, time, and creativity, exploring the relationship of science, philosophy, and mysticism. But he has been largely neglected and forgotten. As Herring explores why this is happened, and how much we have to learn from Bergson today, she opens a path to a new, more creative and hopeful vision of philosophy and science.
Photo Credit: Marina Bourdais
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Makoto Fujimura
Makoto Fujimura is an internationally recognized artist who has developed a unique fusion of traditional Japanese painting, Nihonga, with abstract expressionism. In this conversation, Fujimura shares his story and his wisdom on how art is a way of becoming human, how it can help us live with suffering, and even reveal the divine world in everyday life.
Photo Credit: Windrider Productions
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Avi Loeb, Ph.D.
Dr. Avi Loeb is the Frank B. Baird, Jr., Professor of Science at Harvard University and a best-selling author. In this conversation, Loeb discusses his book, Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth, which lays out his scientific hypothesis that 'Oomuamua, the first interstellar object detected in our solar system, is likely equipment from an Extraterrestrial civilization. We discuss the state of science, why it has been closed-minded about extraterrestrial life, and what the future of science, and humanity, might be.
Photo Credit: Harvard University
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Rabbi Simon Jacobson
Rabbi Simon Jacobson is a best-selling author of Towards a More Meaningful Life and reaches hundreds of thousands daily through his YouTube channel. In this far-reaching conversation, we explore anxiety and “healthy angst,” why religion is declining and spirituality is growing, what the spirit is, why the “messianic age” is about the elevation of human consciousness, and how he would respond if he was representing humanity to a delegation of ethically advanced aliens, and they asked, “What is the matter with humanity?”
Photo Credit: The Meaningful Life Center
