Chris Kavanagh is a cognitive anthropologist, and the co-host of the increasingly popular and influential podcast ‘Decoding the Gurus’. This is a podcast that critiques many of the new breed of public intellectuals, including some who have been featured on Rebel Wisdom.
Together with co-host, psychologist Matt Browne, they analyse the methods and messages of what they’ve described as ‘secular gurus’.
This is an important conversation, about the necessity of criticism, of wha
t counts as good and bad faith, and how truth seeking gets warped.It’s a controversial project for many, and in this conversation, Rebel Wisdom’s David Fuller puts many of those criticisms to Chris directly.
Alongside this video, David Fuller has written a detailed and exhaustive analysis on Substack, highly recommended to read: https://rebelwisdom.substack.com/p/decoding-the-gurus-and-the-necessity?r=ye9pq&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Also referenced in the conversation are:
An earlier recording with Chris ‘Criticising the IDW’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByZCCmQVPdg
Chris’s presentation of the ‘Gurometer’ at The Stoa: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EazLoBk9gA
Peter Limberg’s ‘Memetic Tribes of Culture War 2.0’ piece: https://medium.com/s/world-wide-wtf/memetic-tribes-and-culture-war-2-0-14705c43f6bb