Quest #20: Illuminating Ivan Illich, with Dougald Hine and Sajay Samuel

Welcome to 3 Brothers Quest #20!

QUEST GUESTS

Meet Sajay Samuel and Dougald Hine, who have spent their professional lives (among many other projects) illuminating the work of Ivan Illich. Austrian Catholic priest, author, philosopher, teacher, and social critic, Illich described himself as an “errant pilgrim,” and advocated for a radical reconceptualization of civilization in an age of dehumanization brought on by modern systems, suggesting a return to small scale values – tools, friendship, family, community, and the uniqueness of each human as an embodied being. Our three-way conversation explores Illich’s legacy, and considers Illich’s approach as a teacher, his emphasis on tools over systems, his critique of Christianity as a devout Christian, and his call for genuine friendship in an impersonal age dominated by Rules and Systems. Afterwards, join the Baldwin brothers – Ian, Michael, and Philip – for their fraternal reflections on this 3 Brothers Quest episode.

QUEST MAP

Widely considered one of the 20th century's most vital yet underappreciated philosophers, Ivan Illich’s legacy can be found in his wide-ranging critiques of modern institutions, including institutionalized “health care,” “public schools,” and organized religion. Illich called for dismantling pervasive and impersonal institutional bureaucracies in favor of a more decentralized, small scale, human-centered existence, and promoted what he called “conviviality” – tools for self-reliance, community, and friendship – as well as playfully advocating for “sober drunkenness” and a radical reorientation towards living as unique and sovereign embodied beings, rather than rule-bound subjects of impersonal systems.

QUEST COMMUNITY

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