‘The map is not the territory, but maps are all we possess’
Using conceptual engineering to arrive at a clearer definition of the metacrisis
‘Our civilization is characterised by the word 'progress' - progress is its form rather than making progress one of its features’
A critical discourse on the prevailing progress narrative, the dialectic of enlightenment and the prospects for cultural evolution
Meta-Theory
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A sequence on metacrisis meta-theory (social ontology), conceptual analysis and the philosophy of causation
‘I had no need of that hypothesis’
foundational research and conceptual engineering geared towards critically engaging with the existing discourse and making intellectual developments beyond it.
metatheory
Metatheory is the "view from above"—the study of theory itself. Metatheory is concerned with integrative frameworks (like Integral Theory or Critical Realism) that attempt to map how different disciplines, paradigms, and worldviews relate to one another; ultimately seeking to identify the partial truths in all approaches to create a coherent, holistic understanding of reality.
Conceptual Engineering is a methodological approach in philosophy that treats concepts not as fixed definitions, but as cognitive tools that should be actively designed or "engineered" to serve specific functions. If a concept is currently defined in a way that complicates our understanding of reality or implicitly conceals the structural violence of the status quo, conceptual engineering involves reconstructing that concept to better track the truth and serve normative goals.
metacrisis
The metacrisis is civilisation's total complex of interconnected crises, catastrophic risks and critical trajectories -and the causal conditions from it emerges: the evolutionary game-theory, political economy and cultural psychology of techno-capitalist modernity.
Evolutionary Game Theory: the strategic incentive structures where individual rational choices lead to collectively destructive outcomes. Multipolar traps, arms race dynamics, tragedy of the commons, and Moloch-like coordination failures where agents are trapped in competitive games that reward defection and punish cooperation, even when cooperation would produce better collective outcomes.
Political Economy: the structural relationship between economic systems (capital accumulation, growth imperatives, resource extraction,) and political power (governance, regulation, distribution). where market economics colonize 'democratic' political decision-making.
Cultural Psychology: the collective belief-systems (epistemology) and value-systems (axiology) that condition how civilizations perceive reality and possibility (ontology, phenomenology) - rationalism, individualism, materialism, nationalism, progress narratives, anthropocentrism, instrumentalist relationship to technology and environment, disenchantment.
metamodernism
Metamodernism is a cultural paradigm that has emerged in response to both modernism and postmodernism with the purpose of arriving at a higher-order synthesis. Metamodernism reflects an oscillation between different "cultural logics" such as the modern faith in progress with the postmodern skepticism of grand narratives. Philosophically, metamodernism agree with many postmodern critiques of modernism, however it contends that postmodern deconstruction is purely negative and fails to offer a real alternative. In proposing a way to reconcile the two, metamodernism represents the next stage of the dialectic: a paradigm-shift towards a new epistemology, ontology and ethics for the 21st century.
Modernism: Representing the cultural thesis, Modernism is defined by an enthusiastic belief in progress, science, and universal truth. It posits that through reason and structure, humanity can discern objective reality and build a grand narrative of advancement. It values order, sincerity, and the pursuit of a "utopian" future through technological and social engineering.
Postmodernism: Acting as the cultural antithesis, Postmodernism emerges as a skeptical critique of Modernist certainty. It rejects grand narratives and universal truths, viewing them as tools of oppression. It emphasizes subjectivity, irony, and deconstruction, arguing that reality is socially constructed and fragmented. It is a philosophy of "incredulity" that destabilizes established hierarchies and meanings.
Postmodernism as Anti-modernism (Negativism): This is the metamodern critique of the postmodern condition, viewing it not just as a successor but as a reactionary trap. It argues that postmodernism became purely deconstructive, tearing down structures without offering viable replacements. This "negativism" leads to cynicism, nihilism, and cultural paralysis, where the critique of power becomes so all-consuming that it prevents any constructive resolution or forward movement.
metarationality
Meta-rationality is a reaction to the limitations of "naive rationalism" that over-privileges reason and analytic philosophy above all methods of understanding reality; a fundamental critique of the Enlightenment project’s core wager that universal, disembodied reason is sufficient to map reality and optimise human life. Meta-rationality is a higher-order perspective that views logic as just one tool among many and emphasises stepping "outside" epistemologies and mental models to decide when they are useful. It is also a cultural pivot that reintegrates intuition, emotion, and tradition, acknowledging that the full spectrum of human means of knowing are often more effective at navigating the world than pure thought alone.
Cognitive Science: Meta-rationality emerges from the failure of naive, propositional reasoning to handle the combinatorial explosion of real-world complexity—the fact that there are too many variables to explicitly calculate. To solve this frame problem, it leverages insights from 4E cognition (Embodied, Embedded, Enacted, Extended) and ecological psychology, positing that true intelligence is not abstract symbol manipulation, but an embodied process of relevance realization. This shift acknowledges that we must rely on intuitive, non-propositional mechanisms to dynamically filter infinite data and perceive affordances (opportunities for action) directly, downgrading explicit logic from a universal governor to a specialized tool within a broader, adaptive system. Instead of relying solely on the slow "System 2" that positions rationality as the supreme ruler of the mind, the approach emphasises integratation with the fast "System 1"the intuitive, pre-logical ability to filter noise and focus on valuable information.
metaphysics
The unconscious ontological assumptions—the cultural "source code" or operating system of civilisation — For example, the "metaphysics of separation" - the belief that humans are distinct from nature - is the driver of ecological collapse. Addressing the metacrisis requires a "metaphysical reconstruction": shifting our foundational metanarrative from one of dead matter and separation to one of intra-acting and living systems.
Elaboration: The modern world is currently running on a self-negating "Metaphysics of Separation" (or Atomism), a legacy of Enlightenment-era reductionism that views reality as a clockwork mechanism composed of discrete, disconnected objects and "dead" matter. This foundational error creates a psychological dualism—Man vs. Nature, Mind vs. Body—that legitimizes the structural violence of the techno-capitalist machine. It allows for the delusion of "externalities," leading us to believe we can exploit a resource or discard waste "somewhere else," failing to see that in a closed, finite system, there is no "away." Therefore, solving the Metacrisis requires a radical "Metaphysical Reconstruction": a deliberate transition from this mechanistic worldview to a systems ontology of inextricable intrarelations, aligning our fragmented geopolitical and macroeconomics maps with the territory of the indivisible biosphere. he "unit of survival" is not the isolated individual, but the superorganism-in-its-environment.