Taoism & the Neuroscience of the Self

What happens when the human mind becomes increasingly disconnected from the conditions it evolved within?

In this episode, Josh speaks with Dr. Aldrich Chan, a clinical neuropsychologist, psychotherapist, and longtime practitioner of Taoist and Zen meditation, about the intersection of ancient Taoist philosophy, neuroscience, and evolutionary psychology.

Drawing from his book 7 Principles of Nature: How We Strayed and How We Return, Aldrich introduces his theory of separation, alienation, and discord, exploring how symbolic thought and the brain’s default mode network allowed humans to step outside the immediacy of experience, while modern ways of living may have pushed us increasingly out of alignment with our evolutionary roots. He explains how this mismatch can appear in everything from social isolation and anxiety to our tendency to treat the mind and body as separate.

The conversation moves into the neuroscience of meditation and self-transcendence, including what happens when activity in brain networks associated with self-referential thinking begins to quiet. Aldrich describes the Taoist idea of “original nature,” why experiences of timelessness and selflessness may be less mystical than they first appear, and how meditation can gradually make the boundaries of the self feel more transparent.

Josh and Aldrich also explore Taoist concepts of nothingness and wu wei, the neuroscience of flow, productive versus overwhelming stress, and how learning to relate differently to uncertainty can shift us from threat and resistance toward curiosity and exploration. They close by looking at the importance of play, spontaneity, and the possibility that living well may be less about endlessly optimizing ourselves and more about learning to move with the natural processes already unfolding.