I started writing this one while Mr. Kundera was still alive. He has since passed on, but his legacy will exist forever in history as a moment as fixed as the Big Bang itself. I hope my tribute to him and his novel does justice to his work. Music by OB-LIX, Zakhar Valaha, Aleksey Chistilin, and Yevhen Onoychenko from Pixabay BECOME A PATRON: https://www.patreon.com/TonyTalksBack Or, make a one-time donation here: https://paypal.me/TonyTalksBack Follow on social media for updates on new content a...
Sep 27, 2023•28 min
Progress is speeding up even as the world barrels toward one of innumerable disasters. What lies ahead, and what should we do when we get there? In the best-case scenario, we may still have control over our direction. BECOME A PATRON: https://www.patreon.com/TonyTalksBack Or, make a one-time donation here: https://paypal.me/TonyTalksBack Follow on social media for updates on new content and releases: https://www.facebook.com/TonyTalksBack/ https://twitter.com/TonyTalksBack Music credits: "Half M...
Mar 22, 2023•20 min•Season 3Ep. 4
It's a great day for an existential crisis! What are the odds that you ever existed at all? Find that out and more on our latest foray into the insanity of existence! BECOME A PATRON: https://www.patreon.com/TonyTalksBack Or, make a one-time donation here: https://paypal.me/TonyTalksBack Follow on social media for updates on new content and releases: https://www.facebook.com/TonyTalksBack/ https://twitter.com/TonyTalksBack References: Nick Bostrom AI TED Talk https://youtu.be/MnT1xgZgkpk All Tom...
Nov 04, 2022•19 min•Season 3Ep. 3
There's no real answer for the question of why we are here. At least not one that we know. Sure, the big bang, evolution, emperors and economies. But that doesn't answer the question of why. Why are we here? Well, we emerged. From what - that is the question. As always, thanks for listening. It means a lot to me that someone, somewhere can hear my thoughts. BECOME A PATRON: https://www.patreon.com/TonyTalksBack Or, make a one-time donation here: https://paypal.me/TonyTalksBack Follow on social m...
May 23, 2022•18 min•Season 3Ep. 2
When the robot overlords come for me, tell them I'm out grabbing a byte. I joke, but artificial intelligence may legitimately mean the end of life as we know it if we're not careful. In this series I'll be investigating the many facets of AI and what the future may hold for humanity. BECOME A PATRON: https://www.patreon.com/TonyTalksBack Or, make a one-time donation here: https://paypal.me/TonyTalksBack Follow on social media for updates on new content and releases: https://www.facebook.com/Tony...
Jan 06, 2022•18 min•Season 3Ep. 1
There is little doubt in my mind that artificial intelligence is the most fascinating, utterly confusing, and potentially dangerous development mankind will go through. In the near future, we will need to face ethical questions of such kind as, do we grant personhood to AI? How do we determine who qualifies as a person and therefore is afforded ‘human rights’? What restrictions, if any, are necessary on personhood and artificial intelligence to ensure the flourishing and continuation of life? Wh...
Jun 10, 2021•1 min
Quite a messy episode. Freedom of speech is messy. Even so, I hope to convince you of the truth of what Voltaire stood for. BECOME A PATRON: https://www.patreon.com/TonyTalksBack Or, make a one-time donation here: https://paypal.me/TonyTalksBack Follow on social media for updates on new content and releases: https://www.facebook.com/TonyTalksBack/ https://twitter.com/TonyTalksBack Links- Voltaire's Treatise on Tolerance: https://www.earlymoderntexts.com/assets/pdfs/voltaire1763.pdf Life and time...
Feb 28, 2021•19 min•Season 2Ep. 7
As with many of Plato's works, it is legitimately impossible to overstate the impact and significance of Plato's Republic on our society, development, and life in general. As I explore the smallest fraction of the wisdom within, I relay and relate my thoughts on the January 6th attack on the Capitol Building of the United States of America. Perhaps there is something we can learn from Plato that may help us through this time. Or perhaps not. But if there is even the slightest chance that somethi...
Jan 18, 2021•20 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Hermann Hesse wrote in German, but the concepts within are indescribable in any language. Watch and listen to my struggle to understand. And please, if you can...enlighten us. Video link: https://youtu.be/PeBec7wzgGM Read Siddhartha from Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2500/2500-h/2500-h.htm Listen to the audiobook from LibriVox: https://librivox.org/siddhartha-by-hermann-hesse/ BECOME A PATRON: https://www.patreon.com/TonyTalksBack Or, make a one-time donation here: https://p...
Dec 20, 2020•24 min
In Defense of Sam Harris. Politics are not the most important thing in my life; that spot is reserved for philosophy. Sam Harris found himself in a defensive political game for much of the past few years, which is really a shame as his academic work seems to me much more important a place for Sam to put his PhD brain to use. In this episode I argue that taking breaks from political life is important if you wish to not be entirely consumed by it. BECOME A PATRON: https://www.patreon.com/TonyTalks...
Nov 29, 2020•8 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Love it or hate it, we are all here today because of capitalism. There are few if any global systems more well-developed than our markets and free trade. Listen to my personal philosophy, the general philosophy of capitalism, and its modern foundations in the writings of Adam Smith in this rather more controversial podcast episode. BECOME A PATRON: https://www.patreon.com/TonyTalksBack Or, make a one-time donation here: https://paypal.me/TonyTalksBack Follow on social media for updates on new co...
Nov 15, 2020•19 min•Season 2Ep. 4
What does it mean to be a liberal? The grandfather of liberalism, John Locke, will tell you it boils down to three fundamental principles of human existence: the right to life, liberty, and property. It is no exaggeration to say that John Locke laid the foundations of freedom for the world to follow. Listen to my rundown of the more poignant points of his philosophy. BECOME A PATRON: https://www.patreon.com/TonyTalksBack Or, make a one-time donation here: https://paypal.me/TonyTalksBack Follow o...
Nov 01, 2020•17 min•Season 2Ep. 3
**Not an actual sea monster. This monster is in fact one that we've created ourselves, and is composed of our own bodies. The societal contract that binds us together. Where does it come from? How has it persisted? Why do I always ask so many questions? Come with me into this little dive with Thomas Hobbes and the Leviathan. BECOME A PATRON: https://www.patreon.com/TonyTalksBack Or, make a one-time donation here: https://paypal.me/TonyTalksBack Follow on social media for updates on new content a...
Oct 18, 2020•17 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Alternate title: In Defense of The Republic. Philosopher-King, Philosopher-King, who is fit to rule? Is mob justice true justice, or is it unjustly cruel? Call me Dr. Seuss, because my rhymes are fire. This episode covers a rather large range of topics, but the prevailing theme throughout is the concept of Tyranny of the Minority, AKA your standard dictatorship, vs. Tyranny of the Majority, AKA mob rule. It's a debate I find personally fascinating, and as I explain in the episode I think the Uni...
Oct 04, 2020•19 min•Season 2Ep. 1
True Detective very much helped to popularize the view of pessimism as tenable philosophical ground to the national television-viewing audience. The story of Rust Cohle is one of bleak reality almost too real to bear. Thomas Ligotti, likewise, broadcast his own philosophical pessimism to horror-savvy readers with his book “The Conspiracy Against The Human Race”. In this episode I discuss both popular accounts of pessimism and my own experience and investigations into the abyss. It’s impossible t...
May 09, 2020•19 min•Season 1Ep. 8
The importance of philosophy to the development of society and civilization as we know it is impossible to overstate. So why does philosophy often have the feel of an old forgotten relic, passed by by so many today? And how might we restore philosophy to its central position in the cultivation of progress and reason? Education might be a cliché answer to that question, but I do believe it is true. Philosophy is fundamentally the love of wisdom, but it manifests in different ways and through diff...
Apr 26, 2020•16 min•Season 1Ep. 7
When faced with a terrible unknown, sometimes the best place to look for guidance is in ancient wisdom. Death is one of these unknowns. Many of us humans living and dead profess faith in an afterlife. Why does death still feel so alien, even with our self-proclaimed beliefs? Socrates discussed death philosophically as he awaited his own by way of execution. Perhaps Socrates can help alleviate some angst about this great mystery. Perhaps not. Alan Watts too may serve helpful to some. BECOME A PAT...
Apr 19, 2020•20 min•Season 1Ep. 6
"The unexamined life is not worth living." Out of all historical figures democratically sentenced to death, Socrates is by far my favorite. Who was Socrates, you ask? Wonderful question. Read his apology to the men of Athens here: http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/apology.html BECOME A PATRON: https://www.patreon.com/TonyTalksBack Or, make a one-time donation here: https://paypal.me/TonyTalksBack Follow on social media for updates on new content and releases: https://www.facebook.com/TonyTalksBack/ ...
Apr 05, 2020•14 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Ever wake up one morning and realize that no one actually knows anything about anything? That's what the consciousness debate is like. Presumably everyone already has intimate firsthand knowledge of their own consciousness...so why can't we agree on anything? I'm throwing a few ideas out there with their own problems and challenges. What's your take on this greatest of mysteries? BECOME A PATRON: https://www.patreon.com/TonyTalksBack Or, make a one-time donation here: https://paypal.me/TonyTalks...
Mar 29, 2020•20 min•Season 1Ep. 4
Descartes and Princess Elisabeth. Name a more iconic duo. Is dualism of the mind and body the answer? Or is the mind-body problem insurmountable? Will physicists be able to tell us what consciousness is? I don't have answers, only more questions. Also, what is it like to be a bat? Just curious. BECOME A PATRON: https://www.patreon.com/TonyTalksBack Or, make a one-time donation here: https://paypal.me/TonyTalksBack Follow on social media for updates on new content and releases: https://www.facebo...
Mar 22, 2020•18 min•Season 1Ep. 3
With special mentions Descartes and Aristotle. Faith is a problem; so many of us believe or want to believe in something beyond ourselves, and yet the existentialist dilemma threatens the very idea of objective meaning central to many religious traditions. So what do we do with that? Kierkegaard may have the answer for those who seek faith in God. And for those who consider themselves "spiritual but not religious", Alan Watts is a remarkable teacher to go to for insight and clarity. BECOME A PAT...
Mar 15, 2020•19 min•Season 1Ep. 2
Questions asked and never answered: what is consciousness, what are we all doing here, what is the meaning of life? Tony Remis tries to make sense of all of this nonsense with a quick introduction to existentialism and the types of problems the show will discuss. Music for the episode is courtesy of Anchor, and yours truly on the fiddle. Read more about Friedrich Nietzsche: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nietzsche/ BECOME A PATRON: https://www.patreon.com/TonyTalksBack Or, make a one-time do...
Mar 01, 2020•9 min•Season 1Ep. 1
