Episode Details
Back to Episodes
Burnout, Burn Up, Burn It Down: Hartmut Rosa's Diagnosis of Modern Life
Description
What is up, Theology Nerds! This week I'm joined by my buddy Matthew Segall from the Footnotes to Plato Substack to announce something exciting: we're doing a joint reading group on Hartmut Rosa's new book Time and World. Rosa's a German sociologist who does big-picture thinking—like old school "let me tell you about modernity" stuff—and his work resonates deeply with process philosophy. His diagnosis? We're stuck in what he calls a frenetic standstill—exhausted, burnt out, running faster just to stay in place. I gave Matt my above-ground pool whirlpool metaphor: we're all running in circles, and if you stop, you get pulled under. Modernity promises us the good life through control—making everything available, accessible, attainable—but the cost is a mute world and the birth of monsters. Rosa's antidote isn't slowing down; it's resonance—a mode of relationship where we're genuinely touched, we respond, we're transformed, and we accept it's all gloriously uncontrollable. Process folks will eat this up: it's Whitehead's prehension, creativity, and divine persuasion in sociological clothing. The invitation? Stop. Listen. Let the world address you again. If you want to join us for the Zoom sessions this February, become a member of either Process This or Footnotes to Plato—preferably both. See you soon.
You can WATCH the conversation on YouTube
Join us at Theology Beer Camp, October 8-10, in Kansas City!
Dr. Segall is a transdisciplinary researcher and teacher who applies process philosophy to various natural and social sciences, including consciousness. He is also an Assistant Professor in the Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness Program at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, CA.
Make sure you check out SubStack Footnotes to Plato, his YouTube channel, and his recent book.
Previous Podcasts with Matt
- The Meaning Crisis in Process
- Processing the Political
- Cosmology, Consciousness, and Whitehead’s God.
- Science, Religion, Eco-Philosophy, Etheric Imagination, Psychedelic Eucharist, Ecological Crisis and more…
UPCOMING ONLINE LENT CLASS: Jesus in Galilee w/ John Dominic Crossan