The Observable Unknown

Episode: Interlude III: The Observable Unknown in Words, Instincts, & Myths

Host: Dr. Juan Carlos Rey
Date: September 19, 2025

Episode Overview

This interlude episode observes the elusive border where language, instinct, and myth reveal the "observable unknown"—the hidden forces shaping perception and existence. Dr. Juan Carlos Rey weaves the thinking of three towering figures—philologist Max Müller, ethologist Konrad Lorenz, and anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss—exploring how each, through a unique discipline, illuminates the enduring mysteries beneath human words, behaviors, and stories. The episode invites listeners to reflect on the echoes embedded within language, the ancient patterns beneath instinct, and the deep structures underpinning myth, suggesting that the unknown is not far away, but woven into daily reality.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Max Müller: Language as Fossil Record (00:03–03:00)

• Theme: Language as a vessel of ancient meaning.
• Müller saw words as fossils, containing the residues of past thoughts and beliefs.
• Key Insight: Myths are "diseases of language," born from metaphors that have lost their original vitality and petrified into forgotten gods and legends.
• Quote (00:35):

  “Myth for him was not random invention. It was a disease of language. Metaphors that once blazed with life… grew rigid.” — Dr. Juan Carlos Rey

• The analysis frames language as a telescope of memory, reaching not outward but backward, revealing imagination hidden beneath speech.

2. Konrad Lorenz: Instinct Beneath Culture (03:01–05:10)

• Theme: Instincts as patterned, not chaotic; often disguised by culture.
• Lorenz’s work with geese and imprinting highlighted that animal behaviors possess logic and order.
• Key Insight: In humans, these instincts are intentionally concealed by culture and morality, yet persist beneath the surface.
• Quote (04:30):

  “Our bodies repeat ancient rhythms, yet our minds tell very different stories. Lorenz sought to strip away illusion and reveal that much of what we call choice is in fact an unavoidable inheritance.” — Dr. Juan Carlos Rey

3. Claude Lévi-Strauss: Myths as Coded Arguments (05:11–07:15)

• Theme: Myths as structured responses to cultural contradictions.
• Lévi-Strauss noticed a “hidden grammar” in myths across cultures, revealing deep logic unrecognized by storytellers themselves.
• Key Insight: Myths mediate contradictions (nature/culture, life/death) through invariant structures, exposing ways societies process irresolvable tensions.
• Quote (06:15):

  “The observable were the myths themselves… the unknown was the deep logic that generated them—structures not consciously known even to the storytellers themselves.” — Dr. Juan Carlos Rey

4. A Unified Wager: The Ordinary as Extraordinary (07:16–08:30)

• Synthesis: Each scholar believed the extraordinary resides in the familiar—a wager that daily experiences harbor mysteries yet unseen.
• Quote (07:25):

  “Each made the same wager: that in the ordinary lies the most extraordinary—that what we see, what we hear, what we take for granted, carries what we will never fully grasp.” — Dr. Juan Carlos Rey

5. Reflections: The Observable Unknown In Us (08:31–10:00)

• Theme: These domains—words, instincts, myths—all embody the observable unknown embedded in human experience.
• Notable Points:
  • Words are echoes of ancient worlds.
  • Instincts are shaped before reason itself.
  • Myths serve as architectures of thought.
• Quote (08:45):

  “Words are never only words. They are always echoes of worlds long since passed… Instincts are never only impulses. They are patterns shaped before reason was reason… Myths are never only stories. They are architectures of thought.” — Dr. Juan Carlos Rey

6. Invitation to Listeners (10:01–11:30)

• Dr. Rey invites the audience to interact and offer personal reflections, shaping the journey into the “observable unknown” as a communal endeavor.
• Memorable Closing Note (10:55):

  “Because the observable unknown is not just my voice. It is the space we create together… Curiosity counts. Retain it. Embrace it. Temper it. Use it as your guiding light and walk gently in the company of the observable unknown.” — Dr. Juan Carlos Rey

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Language:

  “He turned language into a telescope of memory, pointing not outward but backward.” (01:10)

• On Instinct and Culture:

  “In humans, we quite intentionally conceal [patterns of behavior] behind culture, behind morality.” (03:45)

• On Myth:

  “Myths obeyed a certain hidden grammar—a grammar not really understood by those who heard the myths or conveyed the myths.” (05:45)

• On the Central Mystery:

  “The observable unknown is not distant. It is already here. It is in language. It is in behavior and in culture. It is what we carry without knowing that we carry it.” (08:55)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:03 — Introduction and thematic overview
• 00:40 — Max Müller and language as fossil record
• 03:00 — Konrad Lorenz and instincts beneath culture
• 05:10 — Claude Lévi-Strauss and the hidden grammar of myth
• 07:20 — The wager: finding the extraordinary in the ordinary
• 08:40 — Reflections on language, instincts, myths as observable unknown
• 10:01 — Listener invitation and closing reflections

Summary

Dr. Juan Carlos Rey’s interlude synthesizes ideas from philosophy, science, and anthropology to suggest that the greatest mysteries are hidden in plain sight. By tracing the work of Müller, Lorenz, and Lévi-Strauss, he illuminates how language, instinct, and myth reveal layers of meaning and influence beneath consciousness and culture. The episode weaves these threads into a meditation on curiosity and the value of seeking the “observable unknown,” both in ourselves and the worlds we inhabit.