Back the East West Lecture Series: theeastwestseries.com

Join Jacobs Premium: https://www.thenathanjacobspodcast.com/membership

The book club (use code LEWIS): https://www.thenathanjacobspodcast.com/offers/aLohje7p/checkout

Dr. Jacobs is joined by guest Jonathan Pageau for an in-depth discussion on the nature of symbolic thinking and philosophical realism. They explore how symbols function in reality, the relationship between ancient worldviews and modern nominalism, and the distinction between genuine symbology and eisegesis. The conversation addresses the metaphysical foundations of symbolic interpretation, the role of idealism in understanding reality, and whether symbols are merely useful fictions or constitute the actual structure of the world.

All the links:

Substack: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenathanjacobspodcast

Website: https://www.nathanajacobs.com/

X: https://x.com/NathanJacobsPod

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0hSskUtCwDT40uFbqTk3QS

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nathan-jacobs-podcast

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nathanandrewjacobs

Academia: https://vanderbilt.academia.edu/NathanAJacobs

00:00:00 Intro

00:00:52 Jonathan’s Background

00:17:31 Symbology 101: What is Symbolic Thinking?

00:22:01 Philosophical Realism and Ancient Intuition

00:25:01 Are Symbols Real or Useful Fictions?

00:37:27 Idealism and the Structure of Reality

00:44:02 Christ-Shaped Reality and the Logos

01:12:20 How to Avoid Eisegesis in Symbolic Interpretation

01:23:45 The Danger of Gnostic and Esoteric Fascination

01:28:58 The Problem of Non-Realist Symbolism