Kevin Cann is a retired nuclear engineer, Navy veteran, and independent philosopher. He is author of Platonic Surrealism: A Modern Framework for Meaning Beyond Science and Religion and The Front Porch Dialogues: Learn to Feel Free and Content with Who You Really Are. Also Plasma Space Weather and the Paranormal. He contributed Chapter 3 to Jeffrey Kripal’s How to Think Impossibly. His newest book is Platonic Surrealism: UFOs and the Extra-Consciousness Hypothesis. This is the third book in the Platonic Surrealism Series. To connect with Kevin: https://platonicsurrealism.com/Newsletter. To read the book: https://platonicsurrealism.com/ufos
Kevin explores the intersection of Platonic philosophy, surrealism, and UFO phenomena, proposing that non-human intelligences may exist in a reality beyond conventional physical perception. He discusses how altered states, symbolism, and archetypal imagery may serve as bridges between human consciousness and these elusive encounters. Cann suggests that UFO experiences could be better understood through a philosophical and experiential framework rather than purely material analysis.
00:00:00 Introduction
00:05:43 Platonic framework for understanding reality
00:11:26 Surrealism as a bridge to non-ordinary perception
00:17:10 Archetypes and symbolic encounters
00:22:54 Consciousness and altered states in UFO experiences
00:28:38 The role of perception beyond materialism
00:34:21 Historical and philosophical influences
00:40:05 Interpreting non-human intelligence
00:45:49 Limits of scientific reductionism
00:52:30 Conclusion
(Recorded on April 14, 2026)
Check out the New Thinking Allowed Foundation website at http://www.newthinkingallowed.org. There you will find our incredible, searchable database as well as opportunities to shop and to support our video productions – plus, this is where people can subscribe to our FREE, weekly Newsletter and can download a FREE .pdf copy of our quarterly magazine.
To order high-quality, printed copies of our quarterly magazine: NTA-Magazine.MagCloud.com
Check out New Thinking Allowed’s AI chatbot. You can create a free account at awakin.ai/open/jeffreymishlove. When you enter the space, you will see that our chatbot is one of several you can interact with. While it is still a work in progress, it has been trained on 1,600 NTA transcripts. It can provide intelligent answers about the contents of our interviews. It’s almost like having a conversation with Jeffrey Mishlove.
Download and read Jeffrey Mishlove’s Grand Prize essay in the Bigelow Institute competition, Beyond the Brain: The Survival of Human Consciousness After Permanent Bodily Death, go to https://www.bigelowinstitute.org/docs/1st.pdf.
To order the second book in the New Thinking Allowed Dialogues series, Russell Targ: Ninety Years of ESP, Remote Viewing, and Timeless Awareness, go to https://amzn.to/4aw2iyr
To order a copy of New Thinking Allowed Dialogues: UFOs and UAP – Are We Really Alone?, go to https://amzn.to/3Y0VOVh
To order a copy of Charles T. Tart: Seventy Years of Exploring Consciousness and Parapsychology, go to https://amzn.to/4oOUJLn
Published on May 1, 2026