1 March 2021
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MeaningofLife.tv videos
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Feb 23, 2021 — Robert Wright & Frank Wilczek
What got Frank his Nobel Prize
Frank’s new book, Fundamentals: Ten Keys to Reality
Solving the mystery of dark matter
Can quantum physics make sense?
Frank: Mind emerges from matter, not the other way around
Can you love an automaton?
Complementarity as scientific concept and everyday attitude
How Frank’s Catholic upbringing influenced his scientific thinking
Is reality an algorithm?
The limits of human intelligence
Feb 22, 2021 — Nikita Petrov & John Horgan
Nikita Petrov and John Horgan contemplate the nature of ideas and their relationship to individual people and cultures.
Feb 18, 2021 — Robert Gressis & Kevin Currie-Knight
Rob and Kevin make small talk
Kevin describes and laments the grade economy
What’s the relationship between grades and learning?
Bryan Caplan’s “The Case Against Education” and how it has traumatized Rob
Unschooling
If schools suck so much, how did Rob and Kevin learn?
Feb 10, 2021 — Daniel Kaufman & David Ottlinger
A new home for Sophia
The (latest) defenestration of Kathleen Stock
How sincere are pro-trans rights public intellectuals?
Justin Weinberg’s essay on the Kathleen Stock incident
David: “It’s the squishy middles that are gonna kill us”
Dan: deplatforming people on social media is effectively censorship
The death of public discourse and the rise of Trump
How consensus crumbles
David: we should get rid of the harm principle
Feb 1, 2021 — John Horgan & Adam Becker
Do you need math to grok quantum mechanics?
Adam’s quibble with Nils Bohr
Explaining David Bohm’s pilot-wave model
Defending the many-worlds hypothesis
Are quantum mechanics and consciousness entangled?
Will science ever explain the world?
Jan 26, 2021 — Robert Wright & Josh Summers
Continuing “the Dharma of Bob”
The evolutionary logic of cognitive biases
Attribution error, or why your enemies seem so damn evil
Zero-sum biases in a non-zero-sum world
Bob fixes social media
How cognitive biases have shaped perceptions of the Capitol riot
The psychology of tribalism and the BLM protests
Jan 18, 2021 — John Horgan & Nikita Petrov
In the first of a series of bi-weekly conversations, Nikita Petrov and John Horgan talk about
John’s hockey career
, the
Covid pandemic
, Nikita’s
escape from the city
and search for a new lifestyle,
the 60s
, Russian laws about
“foreign agents,”
amanita muscaria
mushrooms
,
inner emigration
, the social responsibility of an artist, and more.
Jan 6, 2021 — John Horgan & George Musser
Is spacetime obsolete?
Quantum spookiness explained!
Black holes and the big bang are spooky too.
What preceded space and time?
Is physics just poetry with math?
George’s next book: how mind relates to matter
Jan 4, 2021 — Daniel Kaufman & Kevin Currie-Knight
Kevin’s book, Education in the Marketplace
Dan and Kevin’s concern for Coleman Hughes’ intellectual freedom
How young is too young for movement conservatism?
What was the Intellectual Dark Web?
The IDW’s central contradiction
How Dan got involved with the conservative movement …
… and why he left it
Dan’s advice to Hughes: don’t trust the movement
Dec 28, 2020 — John Horgan & Amanda Gefter
A conversation about nothing
inspires a career in science writing. Physicist John Wheeler’s
participatory cosmos
. A new
interpretation
of quantum mechanics. Amanda’s
second-person
solution to the mind-body problem.
Dec 23, 2020 — Daniel Kaufman & Megan Fritts
Megan: philosophy of religion shouldn’t focus on “proofs for God”
Determining rational grounds for supernaturalism
Why Dan rejects epistemic foundationalism
Megan’s Christian agnosticism, Dan’s Jewish atheism
Wittgenstein’s engagement with philosophy of religion
What kind of authority would it be good for us to submit to?
Dan has a revelation
Has philosophy forgotten that it’s a humanistic discipline?
Dec 21, 2020 — Daniel Kaufman & Robert Gressis
Robert’s essay, “The Philosophy Rapture”
What counts as “relevant” philosophy?
Philosophy’s “dirty insider game”
Why are great philosophers overrepresented at elite universities?
Generational decline, intellectual and attitudinal
Do intellectual celebrity cultures produce shrinking intellectual gene pools?
Dan: Our present-day celebrity philosophers will destroy the discipline
Dec 16, 2020 — John Horgan & Michael Brooks
How Richard Dawkins helped Michael
lose his faith
. Michael’s infatuation with a 16th-century
“quantum astrologer.”
Are dreams of a final theory
delusional
? John’s new stream-of-consciousness
memoir
“Pay Attention.”
Dec 14, 2020 — Daniel Kaufman & Milton Lawson
The new issue of Milton’s comic book,
Thompson Heller: Detective Interstellar
Christopher Hitchens’ influence on Milton’s comic
The anxieties of robot personhood
The economic determinants of comic book production
How a new comic writer finds an artist
The comic book art division of labor
Thompson Heller’s future
Dec 9, 2020 — Daniel Kaufman & Joshua Rasmussen
Joshua’s views on basic beliefs
How do we get from experience to justified belief?
The connection between knowledge and awareness
Is Dan actually a foundationalist?
Where the chain of warrant ends
Joshua’s engagement with the big questions in philosophy
Running up against the boundaries of inquiry
Dec 8, 2020 — Robert Wright & Massimo Pigliucci
Could evolution have a higher purpose?
The value of (some) untestable hypotheses
What zombies can (and can’t) teach us about consciousness
Evolutionary teleology vs. evolutionary teleonomy
Why does evolution produce increasingly complex forms of life?
Distinguishing between physical laws and natural processes
Could the hypothesis that evolution is serving a larger purpose be tested?
Nov 30, 2020 — Robert Wright & Josh Summers
Continuing the exploration of “the Dharma of Bob”
Bob: There is no good alternative to global community
Defining non-zero-sumness
How genetic “selfishness” led to altruism
The psychology of tribalism
Can we bridge the polarization divide?
Sadly, self-transcendence isn’t genetically inheritable
Does Bob see cause for optimism?
Nov 18, 2020 — Daniel Kaufman & Kevin Currie-Knight
Why Kevin chose not to vote
The two-party system vs. a multiparty parliamentary system
Dan accuses Kevin of not confronting what the election was about
Is Kevin acting like a spoiled brat?
The logic of straight-ticket voting
Kevin accuses Dan of having a pessimistic view of democracy
Nov 5, 2020 — Daniel Kaufman & Crispin Sartwell
The origins of “standpoint theory”
Are Dan and Crispin white?
Defining standpoint theory
Dan: Standpoint theory presents an irrefutable hypothesis
Crispin: “All knowledge is from some standpoint”
Dan: There is no single black perspective on race
Why don’t people trust experts?
Is this argument good for society right now?
Nov 3, 2020 — Robert Wright & Josh Summers
Philo of Alexandria, seminal Logos theorist
Bob: Teleology is perfectly compatible with a scientific worldview
A logic shaping the unfolding of life
How Jordan Peterson understands the Logos
Does order flow from consciousness?
Moral progress and human interdependence
Teleology without theology
The Logos and the “simulation hypothesis”
Nov 1, 2020 — John Horgan & Lee Vinsel
Lee’s new book,
The Innovation Delusion
Is progress real?
Lee’s critique of the documentary
The Social Dilemma
The necessity and dangers of “expertise”
John’s problems with Buddhism
Oct 13, 2020 — Robert Wright & Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons
Guthrie’s new book,
Just Faith: Reclaiming Progressive Christianity
Guthrie’s personal faith journey
The tradition of liberal Protestantism
Human sexuality and evangelicalism
Guthrie sees a liberatory counternarrative in Scripture
What drives militant atheism?
What happened to Christian antiwar activism?
Do young progressives privilege identity over class?
Why Guthrie prays for President Trump
Oct 7, 2020 — Daniel Kaufman & Robert Gressis
A review of Kate Manne’s book
Entitled
sparks an online philosophy feud
Is America systematically misogynistic?
How Twitter incentivizes bad behavior
The professional norms around book reviewing
Dan sees “no honor all the way down” on the other side
Self-immolating philosophers
Is there a case for keeping some topics off limits?
Oct 1, 2020 — Robert Wright & Josh Summers
Applying cognitive empathy to the Supreme Court vacancy fight
The danger of runaway retaliation
Reviewing
The Social Dilemma
, a new documentary critical of social media
Enhance your online stature by vilifying the other tribe!
How will historians view the social media era?
Can Democrats oppose Barrett mindfully?
The links between yoga and mindfulness
Sep 21, 2020 — Robert Gressis & Jaime Edwards
Jaime explains how Marx understood ideology
Our tendency to get facts wrong in a self-serving way
Cognitive biases that lead the working class astray
Why do we have reason?
“Thank God for the ruling class!”
How do the elite get what they want?
Imagining the meetings of the megarich
Sep 14, 2020 — Daniel Kaufman & Joshua Rasmussen
How can there be persons?
Against hypostatic ontological commitment
Things vs. thingy things
Mind over matter, or vice versa?
Are there minds? Dan isn’t sure.
Have philosophers gone beyond their ambit?
Philosophy as service to people
Sep 8, 2020 — Robert Wright & Sharon Salzberg
How Sharon became one of the first Americans to study Buddhism in India
Sharon’s new book,
Real Change: Mindfulness to Heal Ourselves and the World
Does meditation seal you off from the world?
Mindfully coping with anger on social media
There’s more political diversity among meditators than you might think
Sharon explains lovingkindness meditation
The difficult work of finding compassion for your enemies
Planting seeds in a garden you never get to see
Sep 3, 2020 — Daniel Kaufman & Milton Lawson
The incredible achievement of the Marvel Cinematic Universe
The choices that led to the MCU’s greatness…
…and the choices that didn’t quite work out
Critiquing
Black Panther
,
Captain Marvel
, and
Dr. Strange
Milton foresees future “Has Marvel Lost Its Way?” thinkpieces
Blatant speculation on upcoming films
Dan fears wokeness ruining Marvel movies
Aug 25, 2020 — Robert Wright & Ingrid Newkirk
Ingrid’s new book,
Animalkind
Animal rights vs. animal welfare
Amazing facts about animals (and the many things we still don’t know)
Is it bad to call your dog a “pet” (or for that matter “yours”)?
Contemplating animal consciousness
How unethical is Bob’s pescatarian diet?
The rise of artificial meat
Ingrid asks, “Do you think that animal was a volunteer?”
Ingrid’s extremely unusual last will and testament
Aug 18, 2020 — Daniel Kaufman & Crispin Sartwell
Explaining Crispin’s position on explanatory unity
Dan: Meaning is part of social reality, it’s not all in our heads
What is the substance of our ontological commitments?
Why Dan thinks philosopher W.V.O. Quine is almost right
The conspicuous absence of philosophers from the public discourse about values
Metaphysics is not as complicated and important as people think it is
Aug 10, 2020 — Daniel Kaufman & David Ottlinger
Why does bad CGI make us feel weird?
Where digital effects work (
The Avengers
) vs. where they don’t (
CATS
)
Gollum vs. Thanos, Roger Rabbit vs. Jar Jar Binks
The tragic digital miscues of
The Irishman
Are practical effects dead?
The closing of aesthetic diversity
Jul 28, 2020 — Robert Wright & Bruce Feiler
Bruce’s new book,
Life Is in the Transitions: Mastering Change at Any Age
Debunking the idea of the “predictable crises of adult life”
Two kinds of life changes: “disruptors” and “lifequakes”
Does Bob need a lifequake?
Bruce: “The linear model of life transitions is just wrong”
Millennials zigging and zagging
The ABCs of meaning: agency, belonging, cause
How to write your own life story
Are the stories we tell about ourselves just BS? And is that okay?
How to change the meaning of your life
Jul 26, 2020 — Daniel Kaufman & Russell Blackford
Russell’s book,
The Tyranny of Opinion: Conformity and the Future of Liberalism
Preserving the liberal tradition
Can the genie of stakes-inflation be put back in the bottle?
Dan: Woke illiberalism is a kind of luxury
Russell’s recommendations for keeping the liberal tradition alive
The role of legislation and institutions in tamping down illiberalism
Jul 21, 2020 — Robert Wright & David Livingstone Smith
David’s new book,
On Inhumanity: Dehumanization and How to Resist It
The tension at the heart of dehumanization
David: Genocides are moralistic
The essential role of psychological essentialism
Dehumanization in American politics
When David received death threats after critiquing Jordan Peterson
The “Great Chain of Being” and our complex conception of monsters
Why David doesn’t like the term “the banality of evil”
How to resist dehumanization
Jul 19, 2020 — John Horgan & Philip Goff
Philip’s 2019 book,
Galileo’s Error: Foundations for a New Science of Consciousness
What’s the difference between panpsychism and philosophical idealism?
John: Solipsism is “an absolute impediment to a truly scientific theory of consciousness”
Does panpsychism “cheat” when it comes to philosophy’s fundamental problems?
The moral dimension of panpsychism
Hallucinogens and mystical experience
Jul 14, 2020 — Robert Wright & Bhikkhu Bodhi
Buddhism and the military atrocities in Myanmar and Sri Lanka
The early political history of Buddhism
Varieties of Buddhist rationales for nonviolence
The history of war between Southeast Asian nations
Is warfare antithetical to attaining enlightenment?
Justifications for non-pacifism
Meditation and the antiwar mindset
Foreign policy, anti-China sentiment, and BLM protests
Jul 13, 2020 — Daniel Kaufman & Crispin Sartwell
What are persons?
Why don’t we say “my legs went to the store”?
Actions and intentions
The case of the robot who voted
Are addicts in control of their actions?
The moral culpability of a naughty dog
Jul 7, 2020 — Robert Wright & Rutger Bregman
Rutger’s new book,
Humankind: A Hopeful History
Debunking the “veneer theory” of human nature
Are violence and war intrinsic to human nature?
The human self-domestication thesis
Why Bob doesn’t like the idea of people “deserving punishment”
Is it bad to emphasize the dark side of human nature?
What the debunking of the Stanford Prison Experiment can teach us
Giving money to rich people: Why the U in UBI?
Would UBI turn us all into couch potatoes (or worse)?
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