Peter Limberger
Role(s): Philosopher, Facilitator, The Stoa Founder, "Less Foolish" Newsletter Writer, Philosopher-in-Residence at AI Collective Last interaction: October 24, 2025 - Hosted Gary's presentation on "The Narratives Fighting for the Soul of Humanity" at The Stoa
Background
- Founded The Stoa in 2020 during the pandemic as a digital meeting ground for meaning-making
- Hosts philosophical discussions, salons, open dialogues, and experimental events
- Writes the "Less Foolish" newsletter focused on practical philosophy
- Philosopher-in-residence at the AI Collective (reportedly world's largest AI group)
- Involved with the Dark Forest Collective focusing on new visions for online communities
- Based in Toronto, Canada
The Stoa
Origins and Purpose
Founded During COVID: Started in March 2020 with Jordan Hall as the very first presenter doing situational assessments
"When it was like the beginning of the COVID pandemic, Jordan Hall, very first session, he did a situational assessment, and it was like every Sunday he had one. It actually felt like church, many people said back then."
Community Focus
- Brings together post-rationalist thinkers, spiritual seekers, meta-modernists
- Dedicated to "meaning-making" in turbulent times
- Experimental approach to collective inquiry and dialogue
Format Innovation
Collective Inquiry Approach:
"Sometimes they can be really, really beautiful. And sometimes they're an awkward shitshow. And I love both, to be honest."
Future-Oriented Vision:
"This type of emergent dialogue that we've been experimenting with at the STOA in a way that's surprising and uncontrollable is the future. That's my claim."
Worldview & Philosophy
Church Hurt Framework
Understanding Religious Trauma:
"Church hurt... it's like the trauma that people have towards church or firsthand or secondhand. And that creates this like embodied hesitancy and kind of like they're revolted by anything Christian."
Worldview Hurt Theory
Broader Pattern Recognition:
"Whether the church or university hurt, but there's like a worldview hurt, perhaps at the bottom of a lot of these people's worldviews that they're not how maybe sound epistemology or based in faith, but they're just reacting against something else."
The Religion That Is Not a Religion
Meta-Modern Spiritual Quest: Interested in what Ken Wilber calls "The Religion of Tomorrow" and the metamodern/Game B trajectory toward emergent spirituality:
"It was not kind of looking to establish Christianity, but kind of cobbled together all these different practices, theories from different traditions and creating something that was new, emergent, and spiritual."
Hosting & Facilitation Style
Question Crafting
Dialogue Invocation Focus:
"I was hoping to kind of like honor the course and then your presentation and have something that's sort of the, you know, will be worded in a way that invokes dialogue, written dialogue."
Managing Disagreements
Deep Disagreements Framework: References philosopher Robert Fogelman's concept:
"He calls this like deep disagreements, especially when it comes to the worldview level in the metaphysical realm, and revealed truth, deep disagreements definitely arise."
Collective Inquiry Guidelines
- Speak when you feel called to speak
- Don't hog the conversational airspace
- Get tuned to the collective
- Enjoy the silence - "something's cooking there"
- Enjoy the awkwardness - "something real is underneath it always"
Relationship with Christianity
Personal Journey
Public Christian Declaration Impact:
"When I came out as Christian, because I was baptized as Christian, but when I kind of like came out in the summer and my substack was like, oh, this is the most unfollowed that I had. I was like talking about other controversial shit, but it was like, boom, just dipped."
Holding Tensions
Meta-Christian vs Meta-Modern: Actively navigating between Christian and meta-modern trajectories in The Stoa community
Writing & Content
Publications
- "Less Foolish" newsletter on Substack
- Articles on conspiracy theorists vs coincidence theorists
- Focus on practical philosophy for rapid societal change
Recent Work
- Article on "conspiracy theorists and coincidence theorists" exploring archetypal extremes
- University hurt as parallel to church hurt concept
Interactions with Gary Sheng
October 24, 2025 Stoa Presentation
- Hosted Gary's presentation on three worldviews (transhumanist, ethno-pagan, universal sacred)
- Facilitated Q&A exploring church hurt and worldview formation
- Created space for dialogue between Gary and Jordan Hall
- Crafted question: "Will worldviews of tomorrow be more transhuman, ethno-pagan or metachristian or something else?"
Support and Vulnerability
Creating Safe Space:
- Acknowledged Gary's vulnerability in sharing worldview
- Emphasized respect for disagreements while maintaining dialogue
- Connected Gary's work to broader Stoa mission of sense-making
Notable Quotes
On The Stoa's Purpose
"This is the aim and aspiration of the stoic to hold it all, not just with our minds, but with our bodies."
On Collective Process
"Trust the process. The argument is going to take too long to unpack here, but this type of emergent dialogue... is the future."
On Worldview Studies
"This is a inverse course, helping us make sense of the worldviews presently influencing and shaping our world. And perhaps how we can be present with our own worldviews so we can see the world wisely."
Notes
Peter Limberger represents a unique figure in the online philosophy and sense-making space, creating containers for difficult conversations about worldviews, spirituality, and cultural evolution. His own Christian journey, combined with his openness to meta-modern and emergent spiritual frameworks, positions him as a bridge-builder between traditional religious and post-religious communities.
His facilitation of The Stoa demonstrates sophisticated understanding of group dynamics and the challenges of hosting conversations about deeply held beliefs. His concept of "worldview hurt" as a broader pattern beyond just church hurt shows analytical depth in understanding why people react against certain belief systems.
The fact that he experienced significant follower loss when publicly declaring his Christianity, yet continues to host diverse spiritual and philosophical discussions, demonstrates intellectual courage and commitment to dialogue across difference. His work at The Stoa, particularly in navigating the tension between Christian and meta-modern trajectories, makes him a valuable ally for Gary's mission of inspiring authentic faith exploration.
Transcripts
| Transcript ID | Date | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-10-24-stoa-presentation-narratives-fighting-humanity | 2025-10-24 | Gary's presentation on three worldviews competing for humanity's soul with Peter hosting and Jordan Hall as special guest |