The Wire Still Holds

Rebuilding Coherent Thought in the Age of Epistemic Collapse or How to Think for Yourself

Photo by Sheila C on Unsplash

I’ve been going back and forth in my mind about how to write what I’m about to write.

My project here has been one of public philosophy—and behind that lies a belief that people can be made, through education, to think for themselves. Indeed, I believe that is the purpose of education: to liberate people so they can pursue their own passions in harmony with a broader humanity, toward a common flourishing.

I have spent the last year writing this Substack, oscillating between various registers. At times I have engaged in political polemic. At times, intra-intellectual critique—internal examination of other intellectual positions. At times, mythopoetic writing. But now I want to try something new.

I just finished reading an incredible book by Steven Pinker, an acquaintance I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with deeply on some of the political and philosophical issues we face today. His book, When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows... got me thinking about this conversation—about the epistemic crisis we’re in.

Perhaps I should take some time to describe that.

This essay traces how we lost the ability to think coherently together—and how we might rebuild that capacity within ourselves.

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This isn’t just another essay about misinformation. It’s a roadmap for rebuilding how we think.

It explains why our shared sense of reality collapsed—and how coherence itself can become a technology of resistance in the age of AI and algorithmic manipulation.

If you’ve ever wondered how to keep your bearings when truth itself feels liquid, this piece is the culmination of everything I’ve been building toward: a guide to thinking freely and clearly in a system built to fragment you.

I’m keeping it behind the paywall because it took months of work and reflection to bring this together—and because the work of rebuilding our intellectual culture needs to be sustained.

If you value this project, I’d be grateful for your support.

If you can’t afford a subscription, just reach out. I’ll send you a comp link—because the ability to think for yourself shouldn’t be behind a wall.

→ Become a paid subscriber to read The Wire Still Holds.

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