Jeremy Sherman on Hypocrisy, Language, and How Meaning Emerges from Matter

Jeremy Sherman: Hypocrisy, Language, and the Strange Emergence of Meaning

What if the very thing we try to avoid — hypocrisy — is actually fundamental to being human?

In Episode 241 of Moped Outlaws, Dr. Jeremy Sherman takes us on a ride that stretches from the origins of life itself to the strange, often uncomfortable realities of human consciousness.

This is not a conversation about surface-level ideas.

It’s about what we are — at the deepest level.

From Matter to Meaning

Jeremy describes his work as “cradle to grave.”

Not metaphorically — literally.

He explores how life emerged from non-living matter and asks a question most science still avoids:

How did anything begin to matter at all?

Darwin explained evolution, but he assumed the struggle for existence already existed.

Jeremy’s work goes deeper.

It looks at how a chemical system could begin to care — how something could start acting in its own interest.

That’s where “mattering” begins.

Before Language — And After

For nearly 3.8 billion years, life existed without language.

Then something changed.

Humans became the symbolic species.

Unlike animals, which communicate through signals tied to immediate reality, humans use language to create entirely new worlds.

We don’t just respond to what’s happening.

We imagine what could happen.

We describe things that don’t exist.

We anticipate the future.

And we fear it.

The Cost of Symbolic Thinking

Language doesn’t just expand our capabilities.

It amplifies our anxiety.

As Jeremy explains, humans are likely the most anxious species on Earth — not because of our environment, but because of our imagination.

We can:

conceive of death
replay the past
project into the future
invent problems that don’t yet exist

This ability makes us visionary.

It also makes us unstable.

Communication vs. Language

One of the most fascinating distinctions in the conversation is between two types of communication:

Indexical communication — signals tied directly to reality (like animals responding to sounds or stimuli)
Symbolic communication — abstract systems like language, built on shared meaning

Whales, dolphins, and animals communicate.

But humans operate in an entirely different layer.

We can combine symbols endlessly to create ideas, stories, and possibilities.

That’s the leap.

The Human Condition: Built on Contradiction

Jeremy introduces a provocative idea:

Humans are inherently hypocritical.

Not as a moral failure — but as a structural reality.

From the moment we’re born, we rely on others to shape our understanding of the world.

We inherit language.

We inherit meaning.

We inherit contradictions.

We are, in his words, “parasitic on culture.”

And that creates tension.

We want independence, but we depend on systems we didn’t create.

We want truth, but we navigate interpretations.

We want certainty, but we live in ambiguity.

From Hippie Commune to Scientific Inquiry

Jeremy’s path into this work wasn’t linear.

He spent years as an elder in a large commune, immersed in a culture of spirituality and shared ideals.

But something began to feel off.

He noticed patterns of virtue signaling — even within communities striving for authenticity.

That realization pushed him toward science.

Not as a rejection of meaning, but as a way to understand it more rigorously.

Are Revelations Real?

One of the more grounded moments in the conversation comes when Jeremy challenges the idea that altered states — psychedelics, substances, or otherwise — inherently reveal truth.

His take is simple:

“Garbage in, garbage out.”

Experiences may feel profound, but they don’t guarantee insight.

Interpretation still matters.

And interpretation is shaped by who we already are.