> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.withrealityinmind.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The Feminine, The Masculine & The Collective Shadow - URL: https://www.withrealityinmind.com/feminine-masculine/ - Published: 2026-05-20T18:53:51.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-20T14:07:05.000Z - Description: Is the fundamental archetype of nature the feminine? | AMA with Bernardo - Author: Amir Giles - Tags: recording Recording details Date: 19 May 2026 Duration: 2h 11m Free preview Chapters 0:00:00 A typical day in Bernardo's life 0:05:15 Introducing transcript search portal 0:09:15 The **most interesting philosophers and scientists today?** 0:12:17 Integrated Information Theory (IIT) and the definition of a "thing" 0:16:38 Physics and the first-person perspective 0:18:15 Quantum gravity as one exciting scientific field today 0:21:00 **Language** as a way of being 0:33:00 Collisions with the **collective shadow** and personal shadow 0:42:40 Origins of male toxicity 0:49:00 The terrifying collapse of *Logos* 0:53:35 Fluid compensation as a psychological closure mechanism 0:54:17 Self-validation and fluid compensation 0:57:40 The biology and archetype of sexual dimorphism 1:07:50 **Is Mind-at-Large intrinsically feminine?** 1:17:55 **Male toxicity** \- a backlash to earlier feminization? 1:41:50 On Jordan Peterson 1:44:44 Male toxicity: runaway train or pendulum swing? 1:58:58 How guest speakers are invited to the sessions 1:59:51 Understanding **gender** as a social construct 2:07:30 Sophie Wilson: a transgender award-winning engineer *With thanks to Rita Conde* Could the feminine archetype be considered the basic template of nature, perhaps even of Mind at Large? Our culture abounds with the opposite imagery. Woman's origin is Adam's rib. God the creator is "God is the father". For Sally Annett, one of our members, the effect of this on women's psyche has been literally "soul-destroying." But in utero, the female is the original form; The male is a hormone-induced modification. In evolution, the Y chromosome emerged relatively recently. Origin deities across cultures range from sea goddesses to great cosmic mothers, later suppressed, replaced, or forgotten. If in Analytic Idealism whatever arises in our world is considered an archetypal expression of mind at large, then the female, as the base from which all life and all sexual differentiation unfolds, is not merely biologically primary but archetypally so. ### Is toxic masculinity a pendulum swing or a runaway train? On this topic, the conversation turned into debate, both in the main meeting and the chat. Is Jordan Peterson a symptom of repressed masculinity or femininity? Is today's collective shadow an imbalance of archetypes or brain hemispheres? And should this even be a topic of discussion in our meetings? Whilst I'm certain there will be as many perspectives on this as there are members in the group, as a collection of deep thinkers and empathic souls, I'm sure we can appreciate the differences of opinion without losing sight of the values we all share. I look forward to hearing your view, and warmly thank you for your respectful and passionate engagement. With thanks! Amir **We also discussed:** - The risk of introducing **gender politics** into metaphysical discussion - Why **sexual reproduction** exists at all - **Language** as a way of being, not merely a tool for communication - Confronting the **collective shadow** ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c5/20/c520bbe6-927b-460d-bf38-d4f48d5dc338/content/images/2026/05/baroque_devils_battling_snails_on_a_long_ship_photo_realist_x61m8nyexs9zu672g7ic_1.png) Sally Annett 2026 - Baroque Devil (No4). Digital photograph. "This image represents the exclusion and demonisation of women and the feminine throughout history, with particular reference to the witch hunts that ran alongside and after the Renaissance, or Early Modern Period, and the development of the new sciences and philosophies. Women in the UK were additionally banned from publishing any form of literature until the 18th century and therefore a form of 'voice.' Their religious spaces/voices were only occupied/heard outside of cloisters, if they were possessed - directly channelling the 'divine'! Otherwise, an opinionated women could look forward to torture and death. The veil represents a loss of obscured identity and vision. The link between image, language, belief and metarepresentation (the ability to have a belief about a belief) I feel is crucial to all theories of consciousness and human communication/evolution."N Speakers ![CTA Image](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c5/20/c520bbe6-927b-460d-bf38-d4f48d5dc338/content/images/2026/09/Bernardo-Kastrup-profile.jpg) Bernardo Kastrup Analytic idealism Bernardo Kastrup is the Executive Director of Essentia Foundation and Founder/CEO at AI systems company Euclyd BV. His work has set off the modern renaissance of metaphysical idealism. He has a Ph.D. in philosophy (ontology, philosophy of mind) and another in computer engineering (reconfigurable computing, artificial intelligence). As a scientist, he has worked for the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and the Philips Research Laboratories (where the ‘Casimir Effect’ of Quantum Field Theory was discovered). He has also been creatively active in the high-tech industry for almost 30 years, having founded parallel processor company Silicon Hive (acquired by Intel in 2011) and worked as a technology strategist for the geopolitically significant company ASML. Most recently, he has founded AI company Euclyd BV. Formulated in detail in many academic papers and books, his ideas have been featured in *Scientific American*, the magazine of *The Institute of Art and Ideas*, the *Blog of the American Philosophical Association* and *Big Think*, among others. His most defining book is *Analytic Idealism in a Nutshell: A straightforward summary of the 21st-century’s only plausible metaphysics.* [Explore Bernardo’s work →](https://www.bernardokastrup.com/?ref=withrealityinmind.com)