My name is Tedy Nenu and I am the host of the 'Philosophical Trials' podcast. This is a place where philosophers, mathematicians, linguists and other bright individuals share with us fascinating aspects of their work. Whether you are interested in the nature of mathematical reality or how language works, there will be an episode here that caters to your interests.
Robert Sapolsky vs Kevin Mitchell: The Biology of Free Will | Episode 15
Professor Robert Sapolsky is a Professor of Biology, Neurology, and Surgery at Stanford University. He is the author of multiple books, including A Primate’s Memoir, Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers, Behave, and Determined. Professor Kevin Mitchell is a Professor of Genetics and Neuroscience at Trinity College Dublin, whose research concerns the relationship between the wiring of the brain and the human faculties. His books include Innate and Free Agents. Today’s debate was about whether the empir...
9 May 2023
Noam Chomsky on Language Evolution and Semantic Internalism | Episode 14
Noam Chomsky has been described as "the father of modern linguistics". He is one of the leading public intellectuals of the world, having authored over 100 books. Chomsky has made seminal contributions to multiple fields, including Linguistics, Philosophy, and Cognitive Science. At the moment, he is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Conversation Outline: 00:00 Intro 00:37 How did you manage to be so productive? 01:07 What got you in...
2 Jul 2022
A.C. Grayling on Atheism and The Frontiers of Knowledge | Episode 13
Professor A.C. Grayling is one of the most prolific philosophers and public intellectuals. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, the Master of the New College of the Humanities and a Supernumerary Fellow of St. Anne’s College, Oxford. He made important contributions to Analytic Philosophy, primarily in Epistemology, Metaphysics and Philosophical Logic. Prof. Grayling wrote more than 40 books, including The God Argument, The History of Philosophy and The Frontiers of Knowledge. Con...
28 May 2022
William Lane Craig on Christianity and Philosophy of Religion | Episode 12
Professor William Lane Craig is a world-renowned theologian and philosopher of religion. He authored dozens of books on these topics, including The Kalām Cosmological Argument (1979), God Over All (2016), The Atonement (2018), In Quest of the Historical Adam (2021) and many others. Besides his academic scholarship, Professor Craig is internationally known for his debates with various academic and popular atheists such as Christopher Hitchens, Lawrence Krauss, Sam Harris, Peter Millican, Arif ...
8 Jun 2021
Vicky Neale on 'Why Study Mathematics?' and the Twin Prime Conjecture | Episode 11
Dr Vicky Neale is the Whitehead Lecturer at the Mathematical Institute and Balliol College at the University of Oxford. She is also a Supernumerary Fellow at Balliol and the author of two great books aimed at general audiences, namely ‘Closing the Gap’ and ‘Why Study Mathematics?’. Vicky Neale is a great communicator of Mathematics. She was given an MPLS Teaching Award in 2016 and she also won an award for being the Most Acclaimed Lecturer in MPLS in the student-led Oxford University Stu...
3 Feb 2021
Peter Koellner on Penrose's New Argument concerning Minds and Machines | Episode 10
Professor Peter Koellner is a leading Logician and Philosopher based at Harvard University. He has made very important contributions to areas surrounding Mathematical Logic and today he was kind enough to join me for a discussion on Penrose's arguments against the prospects of mechanizing the mind (given Kurt Gödel's work on Incompleteness). Note: I am sorry for the occasional internet connection problems. I hope the relevant parts can still be understood! Conversation Outline: ...
12 Oct 2020
Sara L. Uckelman on Medieval Logic, Onomastics and Teaching | Episode 9
Dr Sara L. Uckelman is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Durham. She earned her PhD in Logic at the University of Amsterdam and her research interests cover many interesting areas including Medieval Logic, Onomastics, Philosophy of Fiction (among others). Today she kindly joined me for a fun discussion on many logic-related topics: I hope you’ll enjoy it!Conversation Outline: 00:00 Introduction01:43 University teaching during the pandemic04:15 “What is Logic?” YouTube ...
29 Jul 2020
Timothy Williamson on Relativism and Vagueness | Episode 8
Professor Timothy Williamson is one of the most important philosophers alive. He is the Wykeham Professor of Logic at the University of Oxford, a position that he has been holding since 2000. His groundbreaking work in the areas of philosophical logic, philosophy of language, epistemology and metaphysics has shaped many of the contemporary debates. Today I’m joined by him to discuss Relativism about Truth and the Epistemic account of Vagueness. Enjoy!Conversation outline: 00:00 Introduct...
24 Jun 2020
Thomas Cormen on The CLRS Textbook, P=NP and Computer Algorithms | Episode 7
Thomas Cormen is a world-renowned Computer Scientist, famous for co-writing the indispensable 'Introduction to Algorithms' textbook. He is currently a professor at Dartmouth College and former Chairman of the Dartmouth College Department of Computer Science. In 2013 he wrote a wonderful algorithmic book aimed at nonexperts which is entitled 'Algorithms Unlocked'. Professor Cormen also is well-known online for being Top Writer on Quora on numerous years, most recently in 2018. He is a great co...
19 Jun 2020
Scott Aaronson on Computational Complexity, Philosophy & Quantum Computing | Episode 6
Scott Aaronson is a world-renowned expert in the fields of Quantum Computing and Computational Complexity Theory. He is a David J. Bruton Centennial Professor of Computer Science at The University of Texas at Austin. Every Computer Science enthusiast knows who Prof. Aaronson is because of his extremely clear and engaging way of communicating difficult theoretical ideas. His book Quantum Computing since Democritus is a wonderful resource of dipping into the topics that we are discussing today....
16 Jun 2020
Kai von Fintel on Language, Semantics and Possible Worlds | Episode 5
Professor Kai von Fintel is a world-leading linguist (Section Head at MIT) who is well known for his contributions to Semantics, an academic fields which sits at the intersection of many disciplines which is typically concerned with the meaning of linguistic expressions. He is the co-founder of the open access journal Semantics & Pragmatics. You can find more about his work on his website: https://www.kaivonfintel.org Conversation Outline: 00:00 Introduction00:18 What is special...
29 May 2020
Ed Cooke on Memory Competitions, The Art of Remembering and Attention | Episode 4
Ed Cooke is a Grandmaster of Memory and the CEO and co-founder of Memrise, one of the most used Language Learning apps in the world. He was also a main character in the international bestseller “Moonwalking with Einstein”. He graduated with a first-class degree in Psychology and Philosophy from the University of Oxford and today we are discussing various memory related issues, briefly described in the following timestamps:00:00 Memrise introduction00:39 Grandmaster of Memory and memory feats0...
16 May 2020
Joel David Hamkins on Infinity, Gödel's Theorems and Set Theory | Episode 1
Joel David Hamkins is an American Mathematician who is currently Professor of Logic at the University of Oxford. He is well known for his important contributions in the fields of Mathematical Logic, Set Theory and Philosophy of Mathematics. Moreover, he is very popular in the mathematical community for being the highest rated user on MathOverflow. Outline of the conversation:00:00 Podcast Introduction00:50 MathOverflow and books in progress04:08 Mathphobia05:58 What is mathematics and what se...
16 May 2020
Simon Blackburn on Philosophy, Truth and Morality | Episode 2
Simon Blackburn is a Fellow of the British Academy. He is a Professor of Philosophy at Trinity College, University of Cambridge who is well known for his contribution to meta-ethics (where he defends quasi-realism) and for his excellent introductory books (such as 'Think' or 'Being Good'). Outline of the conversation:00:10 What motivated you to write 'Think'?02:00 What is the role of Philosophy?04:10 Progress in Philosophy07:18 Remarks on the notion of Truth09:27 Deflationism about Truth14:15...
16 May 2020
Tim Crane on Minds, Artificial Intelligence and Consciousness | Episode 3
Tim Crane is a world leading philosopher whose areas of research gravitate towards the study of the mind. His book, The Mechanical Mind, has introduced thousands of people to the central ideas which unite Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind and Cognitive Science. He is currently the Head of Department at the Central European University, having previously been the Knightbridge Professor of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge.Conversation outline: 00:00 The problem of mental repre...
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