Formal methods formally require impossibly precise definitions of terms. How do we use them effectively without that? https://metarationality.com/definition You can support the podcast and get episodes a week early, by supporting the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/m/fluidityaudiobooks If you like the show, consider buying me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattarnold Original music by Kevin MacLeod. This podcast is under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial International 4.0 Li...
Oct 16, 2022•20 min•Season 2Ep. 93
Reduction is a powertool of rationality, but reductionism can’t work as a general theory; most rationality is not reduction. https://metarationality.com/reductionism You can support the podcast and get episodes a week early, by supporting the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/m/fluidityaudiobooks If you like the show, consider buying me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattarnold Original music by Kevin MacLeod. This podcast is under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Internation...
Oct 09, 2022•19 min•Season 2Ep. 92
Formal rationality requires absolute truths, but those are rare in the eggplant-sized world. How do we do rationality without them? https://metarationality.com/sort-of-truth You can support the podcast and get episodes a week early, by supporting the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/m/fluidityaudiobooks If you like the show, consider buying me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattarnold Original music by Kevin MacLeod. This podcast is under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Int...
Oct 02, 2022•18 min•Season 2Ep. 91
The world is everything that is the case: Aristotelian logic was mistaken both in details and overall conception, yet its key ideas survive in contemporary rationalism. https://metarationality.com/Aristotelian-logic Depends upon what the meaning of the word “is” is: Formal logic successfully addresses important defects in traditional, Aristotelian logic, but cannot deal with contextuality. https://metarationality.com/formal-logic The value of meaninglessness: Recognizing that some statements are...
Sep 25, 2022•27 min•Season 2Ep. 90
Early 20th-century logical positivism was the last serious rationalism. Better understandings of rationality learn from its mistakes. https://metarationality.com/logical-positivism You can support the podcast and get episodes a week early, by supporting the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/m/fluidityaudiobooks If you like the show, consider buying me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattarnold Original music by Kevin MacLeod. This podcast is under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commerc...
Sep 18, 2022•17 min•Season 2Ep. 89
Rationalism responds to its failures, in the face of nebulosity, by making more complicated formal theories. https://metarationality.com/rationalism-responses You can support the podcast and get episodes a week early, by supporting the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/m/fluidityaudiobooks If you like the show, consider buying me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattarnold Original music by Kevin MacLeod. This podcast is under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial International 4.0 ...
Sep 11, 2022•28 min•Season 2Ep. 88
The beginning of Part One of In The Cells Of The Eggplant. The hope that systematic rationality can reliably provide certainty, understanding, and control fails when it encounters nebulosity. https://metarationality.com/rationalism Defining the subject matter: rationality, rationalism, reasonableness, and meta-rationality. https://metarationality.com/rationalism-definitions You can support the podcast and get episodes a week early, by supporting the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/m/fluidityaud...
Sep 04, 2022•28 min•Season 2Ep. 87
Why meta-rationality matters for progress: leveling up science, technology, and society, even as they are unraveling. https://metarationality.com/credibility-post-truth A structural overview of the meta-rationality book In The Cells Of The Eggplant. https://metarationality.com/structure You can support the podcast and get episodes a week early, by supporting the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/m/fluidityaudiobooks If you like the show, consider buying me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/m...
Aug 28, 2022•20 min•Season 2Ep. 86
Here's the second half of the interview with David Chapman in which we announced Fluidity Forum 2023 . In the first half, we discussed Fluidity Forum, a gathering we're planning for 2023 about metamodernity, sense-making, rationalism, metarationality, thinking-about-thinking, a metarationality curriculum, civilizational redesign, internal family systems, developmental theory, erisology, social media algorithms, conflict resolution, psychology, consilience, comparative religion, secular meditatio...
Aug 25, 2022•44 min•Season 2Ep. 85
Rationality And Refrigerators: This book offers more sophisticated understanding of truth than both rationalist absolutism and postmodernist relativism. https://metarationality.com/refrigerator Clouds and eggplants: The relationship between nebulosity—the inherent fuzziness of the world—and rationality is a central concern of meta-rationality. https://metarationality.com/nebulosity You can support the podcast and get episodes a week early, by supporting the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/m/flu...
Aug 21, 2022•9 min•Season 2Ep. 85
Welcome to the first episode of narrating "In The Cells Of The Eggplant" by David Chapman. This begins season 2 of the Fluidity Audiobooks podcast. Is this book for you? How meta-rationality can level up your work in science, technology, and engineering. https://metarationality.com/introduction You can support the podcast and get episodes a week early, by supporting the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/m/fluidityaudiobooks If you like the show, consider buying me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoff...
Aug 14, 2022•12 min•Season 2Ep. 83
In this interview with David Chapman, we discuss Fluidity Forum, a gathering we're planning for 2023. FluidityForum.org We'll also discuss two new events I've attended recently: Critical Rationalism Weekend in Philadelphia, and Vibecamp in Austin. The conversations that have started to excite me the most are intermediate scales between the individual & the world: - not-for-profit projects, activities & events , such as maker spaces, druid groves, science fiction conventions, local Burnin...
Aug 10, 2022•41 min•Season 2Ep. 84
Here we are, listeners. We have concluded "Meaningness". These episodes have been narrating sections of Meaningness which were written during the narration of Meaningness And Time. The remainder of Meaningness has already aired. If you are new to the podcast, it picks up from here at the episode aired on Aug 4, 2021, titled "The Complete Stance". On our next episode, we will begin "In The Cells Of The Eggplant", by David Chapman, published at metarationality.com. An exciting milestone. Thank you...
Jul 21, 2022•9 min•Season 1Ep. 82
This concludes the section on the varieties of nihilistic special meaning. Thanks to Sarah Elkins and Bruce Webber for performing roles in this episode's scripted section! No meaning without proof - A stubborn nihilist can always just refuse to admit that anything is meaningful. https://meaningness.com/no-proof-of-meaning Scientific rationality has proven: everything is meaningless - An event everyone thinks they remember, but never happened. Science disproved religious theories of meaning, but ...
Jul 10, 2022•36 min•Season 1Ep. 81
No meaning without justification - The rationalist theory of justified action leads to nihilism. Understand your activity as a vivid, variegated landscape instead. https://meaningness.com/no-meaning-without-justification No meaning of life as a whole - Misunderstanding “a life” as an object leads to the complaint that, although meanings exist, life is meaningless overall. https://meaningness.com/no-meaning-of-life-overall Not enough meaning - Perception that life is not meaningful enough may inv...
Jul 04, 2022•31 min•Season 1Ep. 80
We pick up where we left off in the Nihilism chapter of the book "Meaningness", with additional pages written by the author during the narration of "Meaningness And Time". No objective meaning: While the meaning of “objective” is nebulous, learning to relate to meaningness more objectively is possible and worthwhile. https://meaningness.com/no-objective-meaning Some other varieties of objectivity: Nihilistic claims about subjectivity, inherent meaning, universal meaning, and scientific objectivi...
Jun 26, 2022•47 min•Season 1Ep. 79
We return to the book "Meaningness" for the conclusion of the Eternalism chapter. I delayed this episode until now in case David Chapman wrote more, or revised them, and no longer considered them unfinished. It's worthwhile just as it is, and I have formatted all these short pages as if they were sections in one page. Eternalist Ploys: Ploys—ways of thinking, feeling, talking, and acting—which stabilize eternalism; and antidotes to use against them. https://meaningness.com/eternalist-ploys Impos...
Jun 19, 2022•51 min•Season 1Ep. 78
The epilogue of "The Cofounders", discussing metarationality in organizational management. https://meaningness.com/cofounders-in-relationship This concludes "Meaningness And Time". The next episodes will return to "Meaningness" to narrate material David Chapman has written in the interim. You can support the podcast and get episodes a week early, by supporting the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/m/fluidityaudiobooks If you like the show, consider buying me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com...
Jun 12, 2022•22 min•Season 1Ep. 77
This episode contains the second and final part of my most recent interview with David Chapman. This one is one hour long. In part 1, we discussed a phrase he has used several times in "Meaningness And Time": secretly pretending to believe. In this part, we apply the approach from his books to controversial issues, including how different factions process the concept of gender transition. We also discuss the nature of the false claims that the votes in the 2020 US Presidential election were not ...
Jun 08, 2022•57 min•Season 1Ep. 76
The path from professionalism to a deliberately-developmental relationship: a tale of startup cofounders. https://meaningness.com/cofounders-in-relationship Be prepared before you begin: this episode is an hour and twenty minutes long. Thanks to Jasmine Ren for performing the part of Prithi. You can support the podcast and get episodes a week early, by supporting the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/m/fluidityaudiobooks If you like the show, consider buying me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee....
Jun 05, 2022•1 hr 19 min•Season 1Ep. 75
In this episode, I interview David Chapman about a phrase he has used several times in "Meaningness And Time": secretly pretending to believe. This is part 1. You can support the podcast and get episodes a week early, by supporting the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/m/fluidityaudiobooks If you like the show, consider buying me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattarnold Original music by Kevin MacLeod. This podcast is under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial International 4.0 ...
Jun 01, 2022•34 min•Season 1Ep. 74
Fluidity addresses the atomization of culture, society, and self with ships that sail the sea of meaning: collaborative, improvised, intimate, and playful. https://meaningness.com/fluidity-preview Desiderata for any future mode of meaningness - A positive and realistic vision for the future of society, culture, and self, drawing lessons from recent history. https://meaningness.com/fluidity-desiderata The Terra Ignota series of science fiction novels by Ada Palmer, which illustrates one vision of...
May 29, 2022•38 min•Season 1Ep. 73
The global internet atomizes cultures, societies, and selves into tiny brilliant shards. Meaning has lost context and coherence. Now what? https://meaningness.com/atomized-mode Cultural atomization—the widespread loss of conceptual coherence—has made serious intellectual work much more difficult in the twenty-teens. https://meaningness.com/thinking-after-atomization If you like the show, consider buying me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattarnold Original music by Kevin MacLeod. This po...
May 22, 2022•24 min•Season 1Ep. 72
“Archipelago” is a political model in which everyone can choose what social system to live in. It’s impractical, but points to better solutions. https://meaningness.com/archipelago-politics In this episode, I narrate the blog post "Archipelago and Atomic Communitarianism" by Scott Alexander, with his permission. https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/06/07/archipelago-and-atomic-communitarianism/ If you like the show, consider buying me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattarnold Original music b...
May 15, 2022•49 min•Season 1Ep. 71
Subcultures: the diversity of meaning - The subcultural era (1975-2000) recognized the diversity of meanings, and provided a new type of supportive, voluntary social group. https://meaningness.com/subcultures Subcultures: meanings at play - With no responsibility to justify universal norms, or for solving social problems, subcultures were freed to play with meanings. https://meaningness.com/subcultural-culture Subsocieties: urban tribes - Subsocieties, close-knit social groups organized around s...
May 08, 2022•41 min•Season 1Ep. 70
At root, the culture war is not about abortion, gay marriage, or marijuana. It is about shared misunderstandings of the nature of meaning. https://meaningness.com/completing-countercultures You can support the podcast and get episodes a week early, by supporting the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/m/fluidityaudiobooks If you like the show, consider buying me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattarnold Original music by Kevin MacLeod. This podcast is under a Creative Commons Attribution No...
May 01, 2022•33 min•Season 1Ep. 69
The culture war, political polarization, Baby Boomer bafflement: the unending zombie slugfest pairing the two countercultures of the 1960s-80s. https://meaningness.com/counterculture-war "Five Case Studies In Politicization", by Scott Alexander. https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/10/16/five-case-studies-on-politicization/ "The Toxoplasma of Rage", also by Scott Alexander. https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/12/17/the-toxoplasma-of-rage/ You can support the podcast and get episodes a week early, by supp...
Apr 24, 2022•53 min•Season 1Ep. 68
The hippie and Moral Majority movements both developed broad, deep cultures, with innovative approaches to every aspect of life, from music to dentistry. https://meaningness.com/countercultural-culture Failure to find new foundations for meaning, to recognize diversity, to provide community, and to transcend opposition: all doomed counterculturalism. https://meaningness.com/countercultures-fail An atomized masterpiece by DJ Lobsterdust, "Queen Vs Satan, featuring pastor Gary G., in: It's Fun To ...
Apr 17, 2022•29 min•Season 1Ep. 67
The Religious Right and New Age Left both promoted time-distorting meta-myths—imaginary past golden ages and implausible future utopias—to hide their defects. https://meaningness.com/counterculture-history-myths Fundamentalism is not traditional; it is a modern, countercultural movement, opposed to tradition and to post-modernity. https://meaningness.com/fundamentalism-countercultural-modernism This references David Chapman's essay on another site, "Ritual Vs Mentalism": https://vividness.live/r...
Apr 10, 2022•35 min•Season 1Ep. 66
In the 1960s-80s, American politics shifted from economic to sacredness issues. This damaged public discourse, but created a new two-track class system. https://meaningness.com/political-left-right-rotated You can support the podcast and get episodes a week early, by supporting the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/m/fluidityaudiobooks If you like the show, consider buying me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattarnold Original music by Kevin MacLeod. This podcast is under a Creative Common...
Apr 03, 2022•25 min•Season 1Ep. 65
