The mind-body problem, which Buddha, Socrates and many modern scientists have sought to solve, encompasses riddles such as consciousness, free will, morality and the meaning of life. In this podcast, science journalist John Horgan, talks to leading mind-body theorists about their views and often, about their personal lives. The show is an outgrowth of a book of the same title, available for free at mindbodyproblems.com.
Consolations of Physics (John Horgan & Sabine Hossenfelder)
Sabine inspires John's quantum experiment ... Sabine previews her book-in-progress ... Isn't quantum mechanics non-deterministic? ... Is consciousness conserved? ... John and Sabine tangle over free will ... Physics creationism ... Will quantum mechanics be replaced? ...
7 Jun 2021
Quantum Mechanics and the Quest for Final Knowledge (John Horgan & Philip Ball)
Will science ever absorb the arts and humanities? ... Why Phil wrote a book about quantum mechanics ... Knowing quantum math doesn’t necessarily help ... Is "information” the key to quantum mechanics? ... What quantum computing can and can’t do ... The weirdness and arbitrariness of existence ...
12 Apr 2021
Science, Fiction, and the Mind-Body Problem (John Horgan & Erik Hoel)
Erik's new novel, The Revelations ... How Erik became a writer and a neuroscientist ... Erik defends integrated information theory ... The agnosticism of the novelist ... Should the mind-body problem have a single solutions? ...
8 Mar 2021
Explaining Quantum Mechanics (John Horgan & Tim Maudlin)
Why Tim became a philosopher ... John gets entangled in superposition ... Tim explains Bell’s Theorem with diagrams ... Tim rejects shutting up and calculating ... Will quantum computers lead to a better quantum theory? ...
1 Feb 2021
Quantum Mechanics and “Reality” (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? ...
6 Jan 2021
Spooky Action at a Distance (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 ...
28 Dec 2020
Quantum Mechanics and Other Mysteries (John Horgan & Amanda Gefter)
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16 Dec 2020
The Quantum Astrologer's Handbook (John Horgan & Michael Brooks)
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1 Nov 2020
The Innovation Delusion (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 ...
19 Jul 2020
Debating Panpsychism (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 ...
20 Apr 2020
The Case Against Thomas Kuhn (John Horgan & Errol Morris)
Can we ever really know the world? ... Debating the ideas of Thomas Kuhn, famous philosopher of science ... Will we ever see the end of war? ... Errol's book about Kuhn, The Ashtray: (Or the Man Who Denied Reality) ... Errol: Science without truth cannot live ... John sticks up for Kuhn ... Errol's vexed personal relationship with Kuhn ... Stephen Hawking's sense of humor ... Errol: "We're a dumbass species" ... The glass is half empty and filled with poison ...
How Massimo's midlife crisis moved him from biologist to philosopher ... What's the point of philosophy? ... Philosophical doubt as as a counterweight to scientific confidence ... John mistrusts science's yearning for certainty ... Massimo's path to stoicism ... Can reason make you happier? ... Abusive Buddhist gurus and other unexpectedly bad people ... Was Seneca a hypocritical asshole? ...
17 Jan 2020
Spiritual Science (John Horgan & Steve Taylor)
Steve's childhood experiences of euphoria in nature ... Why Steve prefers "wakefulness" to "enlightenment" ... Does being "awakened" make you a better person? ... Steve: "Being a parent is a spiritual path" ... Steve's new book, Spiritual Science ... "Panspiritism" as an alternative to panpsychism ... How is "the spirit" different than God? ... Was there a point in prehistory when man behaved morally? ... Brexit, Trump, and encounters with death that lead to transformation ...
Why Bernardo thinks the mind-body problem is not as hard as it seems ... Bernardo’s spiritual, intellectual, and psychedelic history ... God, metacognition, and the Universe ... The consolations of Bernardo’s philosophy ... Bernardo: The Universe has multiple personality disorder ... The narcissism of a human-centered Universe ... Why John thinks we’ll never solve the mind-body problem ...
22 Jun 2019
Epiphanies of Mind (John Horgan & Jeffrey Kripal)
Jeff’s new book, The Flip: Epiphanies of Mind and the Future of Knowledge ... How John and Jeff make sense of Freud ... Jeff redefines the “paranormal” ... What belief in levitation or clairvoyance reveals about human nature ... Are hardcore atheists/materialists doing religious fundamentalism a favor? ... The death and rebirth of good old human narcissism ... Jeff on humanity’s future and the nature of optimism ...
5 Mar 2019
The Theology of Communication (Nikita Petrov & John Horgan)
Nikita launches a YouTube channel and a Patreon page ... Could depression be rational? ... The nihilistic/psychedelic/Buddhist Russian writer Victor Pelevin ... Louis CK and the problem of evil ... Gnosticism and the blunder of creation ... The mystery of communication ... Russia is a book, America is a computer game ...
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