Within Reason - podcast cover

Within Reason

Alex J O'Connorwww.cosmicskeptic.com
For the curious. A philosophy podcast that sometimes flirts with other disciplines, Within Reason has featured guests including Richard Dawkins, Douglas Murray, William Lane Craig, Peter Singer, Konstantin Kisin, and Neil deGrasse Tyson.
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Episodes

#126 Was Jesus an Ancient Magician? - Religion for Breakfast

Exclusive NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/withinreason. Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Andrew Mark Henry is a scholar of religious studies. His research focus is early Christianity and late Roman religion. He earned his PhD at Boston University.His YouTube channel is "Religion for Breakfast", find it here . Timestamps: 0:00 - Was Jesus a Magician? 3:35 - The Origins of ‘Magic’ 10:02 - Celsus, Christianity’s Earliest Critic 16:35 - The Wise Magi 19:59 - Did Jesus Use ...

Oct 19, 20251 hr 12 min

#125 Emily Qureshi-Hurst - Does God Know What Time It Is?

Dr. Qureshi-Hurst is a Philosopher of Religion and Science at the University of Cambridge. Her work focuses on the relationship between physics—and time in particular—and theology. Her forthcoming book, Decoding the Cosmos: God, Physics, and the Search for Deeper Explanation , explores this relationship in depth. Improve your focus with Brain FM with 30 days free: https://www.brain.fm/withinreason. TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 - Does the Bible Predict the Big Bang?2:37 - Scientists and Theologians10:18 - Wh...

Oct 12, 20251 hr 2 min

#124 Sisyphus 55 - So You're Having an Existential Crisis

Ben Thomas, known as Sisyphus55, explores the nature of existential crises, tracing their roots through philosophical concepts like contingency and arbitrariness. He delves into Albert Camus' absurdism, contrasting it with existentialist views on creating meaning, and discusses how both Western and Eastern philosophies offer frameworks for navigating life's inherent meaninglessness and suffering. The conversation also touches on the value of personal experience and the complexities of achieving well-being.

Oct 05, 20251 hr 31 min

#122 Robert Greene - Near-Death Experiences and the Mind Apart From the Brain

Get Huel today with this exclusive offer for New Customers of 15% OFF with code alexoconnor at https://huel.com/alexoconnor (Minimum $75 purchase). Robert Greene is an American author of books on strategy, power, and seduction. He has written seven international bestsellers, including The 48 Laws of Power. He is working on a book about the concept of the sublime, and speaks today about its relation to near-death experiences, dreaming, consciousness, and religious belief. Buy his books here . Lea...

Sep 21, 20251 hr 24 min

#121 John Cottingham - The Father of Modern Philosophy: René Descartes

John Cottingham (born 1943) is an English philosopher. The focus of his research has been early-modern philosophy (especially Descartes ), the philosophy of religion and moral philosophy. He is a Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Reading, Professorial Research Fellow at Heythrop College, University of London, and Honorary Fellow of St John's College, Oxford. He is also a current Visiting Professor to the Philosophy Department at King's College, London. Learn more about your a...

Sep 16, 20251 hr 40 min

#120 Brant Pitre - Jesus DID Claim to be God

Brant Pitre is an American New Testament scholar and Distinguished Research Professor of Scripture at the Augustine Institute. He has written extensively on the historical Jesus, the Virgin Mary, Paul the Apostle, the origin of the Eucharist, and the canonical Gospels. His book, Jesus and Divine Christology , is available here . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...

Sep 10, 20252 hr

#119 Jim Al-Khalili - The Strange World of Quantum Physics

Jim Al-Khalili is an Iraqi-British theoretical physicist and science populariser. He is professor of theoretical physics and chair in the public engagement in science at the University of Surrey. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 01, 20251 hr 6 min

#118 Joe Folley - Everything You Need to Know About Logic

EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/withinreason Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee Joe Folley runs the YouTube channel Unsolicited Advice . He graduated from Cambridge University in 202with an MPhil in Philosophy, specialising in logic. TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 - What is Logic? 5:04 - Aristotelian vs Stoic Logic 12:47 - How Logic Provides Clarity 18:42 Ambiguities in Logical Language 29:07 - Validity vs Soundness in a Logical Argument 39:40 Why Anything Follows From a Cont...

Aug 24, 20251 hr 33 min

#117 Dan McClellan - The Bible Has More Than One God

Dan McClellan is an American biblical scholar and author of The Bible Says So: What We Get Right (and Wrong) About Scripture’s Most Controversial Issues . Timestamps: 0:00 Why Does God Say “We”? 14:36 Does God Create the Universe From Nothing? 28:43 Is This Explained By The Trinity? 34:32 Is There Only One God? 47:39 Fake Idols or Gods? 1:02:50 How English Translations Mislead Us Into Monotheism 01:11:02 The Elevation of YHWH to God of the Universe 1:20:36 Polytheism in the New Testament 01:24:1...

Aug 17, 20251 hr 29 min

#116 Peter Godfrey Smith - Animal Consciousness: What Can We Know?

Peter Godfrey-Smith is an Australian philosopher of science and writer, who is currently Professor of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Sydney. Buy his books here . Timestamps: 0:00 How Many Times Has the Brain Independently Evolved? 4:36 What is a Nervous System? 7:12 The Differences Between the Human and Animal Brains 13:40 What Does an Octopus Brain Look Like? 25:21 What is it Like to be an Octopus? 35:48 Are the Mind and Body Distinct? 42:46 Panpsychism: Is Everything Co...

Aug 10, 20251 hr 56 min

#115 Phil Halper & Niayesh Afshordi - What Came Before The Big Bang?

Niayesh Afshordi is a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Waterloo. Phil Halper is a science communicator and YouTuber. Together, they have authored a book called " Battle of the Big Bang: The New Tales of Our Cosmic Origins ", an overview of the state of modern cosmology on the nature of the big bang. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...

Aug 04, 20252 hr

#114 Simon Blackburn - What is Ethical Emotivism?

Simon Blackburn is well-known both as a writer of popular philosophy introductions (like Think ), and also a significant figure in non-cognitivist meta-ethics, having invented the term “quasi-realism” to describe his moral philosophy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 28, 20251 hr 22 min

#112 Rick Alan Ross - Do Cult Leaders Believe Their Own Lies?

Rick Alan Ross is an American deprogrammer, cult specialist, and founder and executive director of the non-profit Cult Education Institute. Frequently appearing in the news and other media, discussing groups some consider cults. Ross has intervened in more than 500 deprogramming cases in various countries. (Wikipedia) Get Rick's book, "Cults Inside Out: How People Get In and Can Get Out" here . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...

Jul 13, 20251 hr 55 min

#111 Helen Bond - The Forgotten Female Disciples of Jesus

Helen Bond is Professor of Christian Origins at the New College, University of Edinburgh, and former head of the School of Divinity there. She is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. In 2023, she co-authored a book with Joan Taylor called Women Remembered: Jesus’ Female Disciples . Watch the documentary version here . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...

Jul 06, 20251 hr 25 min

#110 The Cultural Tutor - Why Modern Love Fails and How to Rescue It

Sheehan Quirke is The Cultural Tutor. A writer on history, art, and architecture with millions of followers, he is also the author of the forthcoming The Cultural Tutor: Forty-Nine Lessons You Wish You’d Learned at School, which is currently available for preorder here . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...

Jul 01, 20251 hr 16 min

#108 Marcus du Sautoy - Do Numbers Exist?

Marcus du Sautoy is a British mathematician, Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford, Fellow of New College, Oxford and author of popular mathematics and popular science books. Buy Blueprints: How Mathematics Shapes Creativity here . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...

Jun 16, 20251 hr 6 min

#107 Dale Allison - Did Jesus Rise From the Dead?

Dale Allison is an American historian and Christian theologian. His areas of expertise include the historical Jesus, the Gospel of Matthew, Second Temple Jewish literature, and the history of the interpretation and reception of the Bible. Allison is the Richard J. Dearborn Professor of New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary (2013- ). (Wikipedia) By Dale Allison's book, The Resurrection of Jesus , here . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...

Jun 12, 20251 hr 27 min

#106 Diarmaid MacCulloch - Sex and Christianity: a Tumultuous History

Diarmaid MacCulloch is an English academic and historian, specialising in ecclesiastical history and the history of Christianity. Since 1995, he has been a fellow of St Cross College, Oxford; he was formerly the senior tutor. Buy Lower than the Angels: A History of Sex and Christianity here . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 29, 202559 min

#105 John Lennox - Why Science Needs God

John Lennox is a Northern Irish mathematician, bioethicist, and Christian apologist originally from Northern Ireland. He has written many books on religion, ethics, the relationship between science and God, and has had public debates with atheists including Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 22, 20251 hr 42 min

#104 Annaka Harris - Is Consciousness Fundamental?

Annaka Harris is an American writer. Her work touches on neuroscience, meditation, philosophy of mind and consciousness. She is the author of the New York Times bestseller Conscious: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind . Get Annaka Harris’ documentary Lights On here . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...

May 04, 20251 hr 33 min

#103 Rhett McLaughlin - Why I Left Christianity

Rhett McLaughlin is a comedian best known for creating the internet’s most-watched daily talk show, Good Mythical Morning along side Link Neal; their award-winning weekly podcast The pair also host a weekly podcast, Ear Biscuits ; and the instant #1 New York Times bestseller Rhett & Link’s Book of Mythicality . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...

Apr 20, 20251 hr 53 min

#102 David Deutsch - You're Not Smarter Than a Caveman

David Deutsch and Alex O'Connor discuss whether humans are more intelligent now than in the past, exploring the roles of culture, technology, and explanatory creativity. They delve into the Enlightenment's impact, the nature of knowledge, and whether science truly explains the world or just makes predictions. The conversation challenges common assumptions about science, knowledge, and the human condition.

Apr 07, 20251 hr 55 min

#101 Brian Greene - String Theory, Fine Tuning, and Divine Design

Brian Greene discusses string theory, its evolution, and its implications for understanding the universe. He explores the challenges of experimentally verifying string theory, the concept of the multiverse, and the philosophical questions raised by these ideas. Greene also delves into the nature of time and the fine-tuning of physical constants, offering a deep dive into the frontiers of theoretical physics.

Apr 02, 20251 hr 20 min

#100 Philosopher Shootout - 16 Thinkers, Ranked (With Joe Folley)

For episode 100 of Within Reason, I'm joined by Joe Folley, from the YouTube Channel "Unsolicited Advice" , to tackle a completely arbitrary and ridiculous tournament of thinkers, each of whom are to some degree relevant to the show. Joe graduated from Cambridge University with an MPhil in Philosophy, specialising in logic, in 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...

Mar 23, 20253 hr 9 min

#99 Penn Badgley - My Religious Conflicts With Playing a Killer

Penn Badgley is an actor best known for his roles in Netflix’s You and the popular drama series Gossip Girl. He is less known as a podcaster and member of the Baháʼí Faith, a religion which teaches that there is a historical unity between major world religions and their prophets, having itself developed out of a branch of Twelver Shia Islam in the 19th century. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 17, 20251 hr 56 min

#97 Kipp Davis - What Are the Dead Sea Scrolls?

Kipp Davis ( ‪@DrKippDavis‬ ) is a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Agder in Kristiansand, Norway, where he specialises in the assignment and reconstruction of fragments from the Dead Sea Scrolls and their interpretation. (Google Books) The Dead Sea Scrolls are a set of ancient Jewish manuscripts from the Second Temple period. They were discovered over a period of 10 years, between 1946 and 1956, at the Qumran Caves near Ein Feshkha in the West Bank, on the northern shore of the Dead Se...

Mar 02, 20252 hr 15 min
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