In times of war, civilians run from combat. But war reporters have the opposite reaction — they run toward it, putting themselves in danger to bear witness to these armed conflicts, and to try to make sense of our broken world. My guest on today’s program spent years going to the frontlines, until one day, in June of 2020, the frontlines came to him. The near death experience that followed, he says, changed him forever.
Sebastian Junger is an American journalist, the bestselling author of Tribe, Freedom, and The Perfect Storm, and an Oscar-nominated filmmaker. His latest book is In My Time of Dying: How I Came Face to Face With the Idea of An Afterlife — and it’s out this week.
Sebastian Junger is my guest, today on Lean Out. Transcript to come for paid subscribers.
Wonderful and fascinating conversation.
Thank you.
I noticed Mr. Junger spoke of the term “rationalism” quite a bit when describing his worldview. I believe he actually meant “naturalism” as it more closely describes the words he used surrounding the term. That is obvious as he, himself, confesses that he has no context in which to put his super-natural experience in his worldview. The difference is in the a priori commitments. Given that he has an a priori commitment to atheism, he cannot allow any non-natural explanations. A person can be rational and include God and the super-natural in their worldview. As an example, I am a born-again Christian with a rational faith. I believe there is much evidence available that points to a creative Deity who loves me, instead of away from the existence of these ideas.
Thank you Tara
I have several responses to this interview.
1. There is a line of Evolutionary Biology that hypothosizes that the near death experiences are adoptive as they bond and provide direction to groups. Basically, Sebastian's experience & response is beneficial to his decendents
2. I have long believed that homelessness is what happens when community breaks down. Sebastian's move towards tribal closeness, and its importance is what allows us to survive trauma. This is also protective as someone who is connected to other people in a deep way is unlikely to be homeless for any length of time. (There is always someone willing to bring them in - note - there are some people who reject help for what ever reason)
3. This is also one of the issues around "Moral Injury" as experienced by soldiers who are not fighting for "Hearth & Home". Killing for an abstract notion in a foriegn land is very different than defending your family, and tribe.
Tara- This was a very thoughtful and interesting interview. One statement of Mr. Junger stuck out for me: "I'm open to everything." Well not really. He's not open to the existence of God. It is curious that while claiming to still be an atheist his reactions to his near death experience sound more agnostic. "For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse." -Apostle Paul
I enjoyed this episode. I do not have the aversion to the word 'energy' that your guest does, but I appreciated his attempts to frame it as potentially physics that we don't yet understand. Curious about the mysteries. The humility of wondering.