12 July 2025
subscribe
What if Kant had never been born?
Aryeh Cohen-Wade and David Ottlinger ponder the role of contingency in the history of philosophy.
Play entire video
In this video:
- A bizarre Washington Post column about critical theory and Immanuel Kant
- Why has Kant become a bogeyman?
- How contingent is the history of philosophy?
- Relativism vs. rationalism
- What Kant meant by the “Critique of Pure Reason”
- Steven Pinker and the problem with rationalists
- David explains what Kant actually believed
Saving the species by transcending species-typical tendencies
Robert Wright and Josh Summers discuss the importance of overcoming cognitive distortions that are part of human nature.
James Lindsay climbs aboard the Trump train
David Ottlinger and journalist Cathy Young discuss the controversial anti-woke crusader’s support for Donald Trump.
What do we want from science?
Robert Wright and John Horgan discuss whether quantum computing can help us understand how quantum mechanics actually works.
Looking at pornography (for insights into human evolution)
Robert Wright and anthropologist Agustín Fuentes debate whether studying porn viewing habits helps us understand the evolution of human sexuality.
Is free will incompatible with the laws of physics?
John Horgan and physicist Sabine Hossenfelder debate whether a belief in free will requires us to deny some of the fundamental laws of physics.
Ten tools for embracing your finitude
Robert Wright and Oliver Burkeman, author of the new book Four Thousand Weeks, discuss some workable time management techniques.
Dissecting Darwin
Robert Wright and anthropologist Agustín Fuentes, author of a controversial article on The Descent of Man, try to unpack Darwin’s attitudes on race and genocide.
The Wright Show
The existential stakes of enlightenment
Robert Wright and Josh Summers discuss how mindfulness can help humankind overcome potentially disastrous cognitive biases.
The Wright Show
Crime and Punishment and Determinism
Robert Wright and journalist Oliver Burkeman ask whether a commitment to determinism would require us to rethink our approach to criminal justice.
The Wright Show
The “apologist” smear
