#25 – David Deutsch: Free-Will, Taking Children Seriously, and Anarcho-Capitalism

David Deutsch is the author of The Fabric of Reality and The Beginning of Infinity. He works on fundamental issues in physics, particularly the quantum theory of computation and information, and constructor theory. He is known as the father of quantum computing for his contributions to the field. He is an advocate of Taking Children Seriously, a new, non-paternalistic view of children.

Topics we discuss are well captured by the timestamps below.

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Timestamps

0:22 - Happiness is a state of continually solving one’s problems

4:54 - Both free-will and the self exist

12:06 - The principle of optimism

17:28 - Any ultimate explanation is a bad explanation

20:22 - The origins of Taking Children Seriously

25:33 - Why children are the most coerced members in society

31:33 - Anarcho-capitalism