The Invited Philosopher Melanie This was the 20th dinner & philosophy event, and this time it took place at Melanie’s apartment in Brussels, where she cooked the meal and served a French wine selected especially for the night. Menu Main course: Smoked tofu with oyster mushrooms in an Asian style sauce, served with basmati rice. Desserts: European Chocolates (Lindt, Ritter Sport) Drinks: Château Tour de Bigorre, Bordeaux 2022 The Philosophy Our dinner discussion compared John C Lilly’s ego‑dissolving path toward “Satori”, with the tension in Apple TV’s Pluribus, where Carol Sturka’s fiercely individual ego

resists joining a population bound by a collective “Oneness” hive mind. A while ago, Melanie and I watched the series Pluribus about a world in which all humans, except for 13 people, Carol being one among them, have joined into “Oneness” due to a virus infection, acting in unison as one peaceful and happy “hive” mind. The Oneness humans share all memories and a single consciousness, losing their individuality, their personal desires, opinions, and goals, aka their “ego”. The series reminded me of John C. Lilly’s graph “Travel of Self”, shown in the figure below,…