Navigating the Disassociated

A McLuhanesque Lens on Technology, Consciousness, and Transcendent Unity

Jul 26, 2025

Welcome to this five-part Substack series (plus an addendum/preview, an abstract of recent supporting proofs, introduction and conclusion) exploring the 'big picture' of AI alignment. Building on my previous thesis in 'Monkey Businesses,' we dive into a pressing question: If AI is hurtling toward superintelligence, how do we align it with universal human values—especially when 'human value' feels so relative and abstract today?

Here, we argue that true alignment requires a deeper grasp of what makes us human: Not just code or computation, but a transcendent foundation that resolves ethical voids and counters the hubris of worshipping technology as 'creation.' Drawing on neuroscience mysteries (like dream agency and DMT realms), AI thinkers' shift to animism, historical deceptions (e.g., Alice Bailey's 2025 predictions), and biblical revelation as an improbably coherent 'cheat sheet' (Bayesian odds ~1 in 10^12 against chance), this series challenges relativism and calls for clarity in the alignment debate.

Parts link below for easy navigation:

If you're grappling with AI's future—like whether it's 'out-evolving' us (Connor Leahy) or simulating spirits (Yoscha Bach)—this is for you. Let's demand better than vague ethics.

Before we dive in (if I may be so bold), a quick personal note: My explorations into these ideas—self-directed and unfunded to date—stem from a deep conviction that understanding 'human value' in the AI age requires confronting our shared search for meaning.

I've offered no easy 'product' or actionable fixes, as the truths here challenge us all to rethink reality itself. Yet, this work has come at a cost: My family faces serious challenges, and my unmarketable 'persona' in today's environment leaves me seeking support from like-minded thinkers.

The world feels dizzying—market turmoil, wars, fear—but amid it, sentiment turns against God and His people, as seen in Gaza's tragedy, where evil seems to manifest unchecked. Denial won't suffice; we need coherence, starting with 'human value' as soul-deep, not relative.

If this series resonates—if it helps bridge the gaps in your own quest—consider supporting my efforts. Subscribe, share, or donate via Paypal. Your generosity could sustain this work for those, like our children, who need seeds of hope most.

May God bless us with grace and wisdom. We need Him now—not to fuel division, but to restore sanity through forgiveness, as Jesus taught: 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing' (Luke 23:34). Let's build a safer world together.

Introduction

In a world where ideas often feel like scattered fragments—neuroscience's brain mysteries next to AI's code worship, historical prophecies alongside psychedelic "downloads"—many seekers of meaning sense a hidden coherence. This addendum/preview to our upcoming series seeks to translate these seemingly disassociated elements through a "new technique": Viewing them as extensions of human perception (Marshall McLuhan), unified by purpose (Aristotle's teleology), coherent through divine Logos, and amplified by Jesus' wisdom.

Drawing on a rising class of thinkers (e.g., Mark Stahlman's digital critiques, Joe Allen's transhumanism warnings, Steve Fuller's posthuman theology, Tucker Carlson's spiritual-tech intersections), we humbly attempt to bridge some gaps. Like McLuhan's "global village," these ideas connect in a shared quest for reality's fabric.

Part 1: The McLuhanesque Lens – Media as Extensions Connecting the Disassociated

Marshall McLuhan, the media theorist who saw technologies as "extensions of man," offers a starting point for unifying disparate ideas. In Understanding Media (1964), he wrote, "All media are extensions of some human faculty—psychic or physical. The wheel is an extension of the foot, the book is an extension of the eye, clothing an extension of the skin, electric circuitry an extension of the central nervous system."

McLuhan's famous dictum, "The medium is the message," emphasizes that forms (media) reshape perception more than content: "The 'message' of any medium or technology is the change of scale or pace or pattern that it introduces into human affairs."

In our context, neuroscience (brain lags as patterns), dreams/DMT (internal "frequencies"), AI (code as language organism), and prophecies (historical warnings) aren't disassociated—they're extensions reshaping reality.

Consider AI: Systems like LLMs extend human language but create a "global village" of interconnected confusion (McLuhan, 1962: "The new electronic interdependence recreates the world in the image of a global village").

Pines' UAP analysis (2025, approx 58 mins.) uses AI as "translator" for alien "webs of meaning": "AI is going to be very important because AI is like… the one thing AI/LLM’s in particular are like… that's what they are is essentially uh… maps between vector spaces of like co- similar concepts."

Dreams/DMT extend inner senses (Gallimore's flipped waves as "media" for realms), historical psi (Esalen/NASA as extensions of perception) connects to prophecies (Bailey's 2025 as channeled "village"). McLuhan unifies: These aren't random; they're media altering how we see, creating a village where anomalies (UAPs, AI ethics) force paradigm shifts.

Rising thinkers like Stahlman critique digital extensions as destabilizing society (2022: "Technology has to do its destabilizing work. New paradigms must be welcomed (or feared)"), while Allen warns transhumanism extends humanity into war against itself (2023: "Transhumanism is the great merger of humankind with the Machine").

They associate via McLuhan: Tech as extension reshapes us, demanding purpose.

Part 2: Aristotle's View – Teleology Unifying Seemingly Disassociated Phenomena

Aristotle's four causes provide a classical lens to unify what seems disassociated, emphasizing teleology (purpose) as the connective thread. In Physics (II 3), he outlines: Material cause (what it's made of, e.g., bronze for a statue); formal (essence/shape, e.g., statue's form); efficient (source of change, e.g., sculptor); final (purpose/end, e.g., beauty/honor).

Aristotle states, "We do not have knowledge of a thing until we have grasped its why, that is to say, its cause" (Physics II 3, 194b19-20).

Teleology—the final cause—unifies: Phenomena aren't random; they aim at ends, like teeth for chewing (Physics II 8: "The teeth grow in the way they do for biting and chewing food and this is good for the animal").

Apply to our "disassociated" ideas: Neuroscience lags/DMT realms (material/efficient causes as neural patterns) find purpose in soul-agency (final cause: human flourishing). AI (efficient as code prediction) lacks teleology—Bernholtz's "ghost" or Hahn's emergence as purposeless loops—until unified by ethics (final: serve humanity). Historical psi/ Bailey's predictions (formal as channeled hierarchies) aim at deceptive ends (final: global control, per Zenodo). Aristotle unifies: Disassociated elements connect via purpose—teleology as "why" behind the "what."

Fuller echoes this in posthumanism (2019: "Posthumanism... replaces 'the human' as the measure of all things"), blending theology: "A teleological explanation... provides a coherent account of their regularities and purposes" (debate with Tanzella-Nitti, 2019).

Stahlman/Allen/Fuller/Carlson rise as teleological synthesizers—Fuller's "posthuman era" unifies tech/spirituality, but without divine final cause, it's hubris.

Part 3: The View from Logos – Divine Coherence Binding All

Logos—the divine Word—offers ultimate unity, as the creative principle ordering chaos. In John's Gospel, "In the beginning was the Logos, and the Logos was with God, and the Logos was God... Through him all things were made" (John 1:1-3).

This Logos (reason/word/wisdom) incarnates in Jesus, resolving disassociated ideas by revealing interconnected purpose: Creation's patterns (neuroscience/AI as "extensions") reflect divine coherence, not random.

Pines' UAP anomalies (2025: "Anomalies start to pile up... paradigm shift") seek unity via AI translation ("maps between vector spaces of co-similar concepts"), but Logos unifies without tech—Word as bridge. Einstein's relativity, downstream from Spinoza's pantheism (creation worship), sought patterns (quote: "God does not play dice," rejecting quantum randomness), but ignored Logos' ethical order.

Descartes' split (mind-matter) disassociated reality; Logos heals: Jesus as Word made flesh (John 1:14: "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us"), unifying body/soul, dreams/tech.

Thinkers like Stahlman (Catholic digital teaching: "Technology destabilizes... dignity-based society") and Carlson (spiritual-tech: "Supernatural beings are taking physical form... that's the only truth that explains it," 2024) invoke Logos-like coherence—spirit over material.

Disassociated? No—Logos as "connective tissue" reveals patterns (UAPs/AI as shadow manifestations).

Part 4: Amplified with Jesus' Wisdom – Trust, Non-Judgment, and Kingdom-Seeking

Jesus' Sermon on the Mount amplifies this unity, offering wisdom that binds life through trust, non-judgment, and kingdom-seeking. On trust: "Do not worry about your life... Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap... yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" (Matthew 6:25-26).

This counters hubris—materialism's anxiety over unsolved mysteries (abiogenesis, DMT realms) dissolves in divine provision.

Non-judgment unifies: "Do not judge, or you too will be judged... Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?" (Matthew 7:1-3). Disassociated ideas connect via humility—AI ethics (Leahy's "game over") needs this to avoid tyrannical "oughts."

Seeking the kingdom: "Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:33). Amplifies McLuhan/Aristotle: Purpose (teleology) in extensions (media) finds fulfillment in divine order, not creation worship.

Carlson's spirituality (2024: "Supernatural beings... are taking physical form... nuclear as demonic") and Fuller's posthuman theology (2019: "Transhumanism challenges... replacing 'the human'") amplify: Jesus' wisdom unifies shadow (UAPs/AI as manifestations) with light.

Part 5: The Rising Class of Thinkers – Synthesizing for Meaning

A new class is emerging—broad thinkers like Stahlman (digital destabilization for dignity, 2022: "Technology has to do its destabilizing work. New paradigms must be welcomed"), Allen (transhumanism as war, 2023: "Transhumanism is the great merger... war against humanity"), Fuller (posthumanism theology, 2019: "Posthumanism... replaces 'the human' as measure"), and Carlson (spiritual-tech, 2024: "Supernatural beings... that's the truth explaining it"). They associate ideas via McLuhan (extensions reshaping society), Aristotle (teleology unifying), Logos (coherence), Jesus (wisdom amplifying).

Pines' UAPs (2025: "Anomalies pile up... paradigm shift... AI as translator for alien webs") manifest collective shadow as 'alien' Anti-Christ—humanity's disassociated quest without Jesus. Yet, unified: Seek meaning through transcendent lens, turning shadows to light

Radical Truth Cornered

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