Anders Sandberg, Massimo Pigliucci, Mazviita Chirimuuta debate promises and perils of our potential digital future.
Nov 12
Mazes of the mind: The philosophy of neuroscience | Iain McGilchrist, Colin Blakemore, Bryan Appleyard
<p>Over the past decades, neuroscience has blossomed, positioning itself as a kind of master discipline over everything else. For who understands the brain surely understands all of human activity and creation? Or not?</p><p>Neuroscience's reach has extended past its scientific r ... Show More
47m 58s
Nov 6
In search of nothing | David Deutsch, Amanda Gefter, Lee Smolin
<p>What is nothing? Can it be defined, either philosophically or scientifically? Or will the exploration of nothing bring, ultimately, to nothing?</p><p>The philosophical exploration of nothingness is an ancient one, from the mysterious number zero through theological understandi ... Show More
1 h
Jul 2024
How to Think About AI Consciousness With Anil Seth
Will AI ever start to think by itself? If it did, how would we know, and what would it mean?In this episode, Dr. Anil Seth and Aza discuss the science, ethics, and incentives of artificial consciousness. Seth is Professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the Univers ... Show More
47m 58s
Jul 2022
Michela Massimi, "Perspectival Realism" (Oxford UP, 2022)
For many philosophers, the fact that scientists take different perspectives on the world is an obstacle to being a realist about the world. In Perspectival Realism (Oxford University Press, 2022), Michela Massimi argues that to the contrary the plurality of perspectives is the dr ... Show More
1h 7m
Feb 2023
Monima Chadha, "Selfless Minds: A Contemporary Perspective on Vasubandhu's Metaphysics" (Oxford UP, 2022)
Buddhists are famous for their thesis that selves do not exist. But if they are right, what would that thesis mean for our apparent sense of self and for ordinary practices involving selves—or at least persons? In Selfless Minds: A Contemporary Perspective on Vasubandhu’s Metaphy ... Show More
1h 5m
Jan 2024
Krista K. Thomason, "Dancing with the Devil: Why Bad Feelings Make Life Good" (Oxford UP, 2023)
How could a good life include one with anger, or jealousy, or spite? In Dancing with the Devil: Why Bad Feelings Make Life Good (Oxford UP, 2023), Krista Thomason flips the script on popular ways of dealing with our emotions, including neo-Stoicism, mindfulness, and even the pros ... Show More
59m 31s