Being conscious We think we have this thing, consciousness, whether we share it with the entire earth or with only our species, but yet its definition has evaded the efforts of leading philosophers and neuroscientists alike for decades. Do you think you know what consciousness is? Does it exist out there in the world or only in our thoughts? Join leading neuroscientist and philosopher Iain Mcgilchrist, Nobel prize winning mathematical physicist Roger Penrose and postmodern sociologist Steve Full...
Sep 25, 2024•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast How will our scientists know if they are looking at complex phenomena from the wrong perspective? Have we taken the wrong approach to understanding the quantum world? Join Slavoj Žižek for an exclusive interview as he discusses the current state of quantum physics and questions the accuracy of our research into all things subatomic. Slavoj is a Slovenian Marxist-Lacanian philosopher and author, known for his incisive, radical, and humourous takes on society, politics, and science. He rarely hold...
Sep 17, 2024•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Heaven in disorder What does the future hold for capitalism and our society? Where will our modern ideals, perspectives, and philosophies lead us? Join Slavoj Zizek as he explores the current state of the world, focusing on the decay of our social and political institutions and ideologies. Slavoj is a Slovenian Marxist-Lacanian philosopher and author, known for his incisive, radical, and humourous takes on the global political landscape. He rarely holds back when giving his opinion, laying out h...
Sep 13, 2024•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast Heaven in disorder What does Russia's war in Ukraine reveal about our modern world? Is there an inconvenient truth hidden behind our reactions to the conflict? Join Slavoj Zizek as he explores the current state of the world, focusing on the decay of our social and political institutions and ideologies. Slavoj is a Slovenian Marxist-Lacanian philosopher and author, known for his incisive, radical, and humourous takes on the global political landscape. He rarely holds back when giving his opinion,...
Sep 10, 2024•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast The puzzle of perception with Barry C. Smith Has philosophy ignored taste, smell, and touch to its detriment? What can we learn from these senses, and why are they important? What do they have to tell us about being human? Join philosopher Barry C. Smith as he gives an introduction to his most recent subject matter: the philosophy of the senses, beyond sight and sound. Barry (also a wine connoisseur!) is Director of the Institute of Philosophy at the University of London and founding director of...
Sep 03, 2024•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast The matrix, myths, and metaphysics Part 2 Is metaphysics still relevant? Or has the pre-eminence of science over the last centuries made such questioning obsolete? Join provocative mathematician and investor Eric Weinstein, award-winning physicist Becky Parker and post-post-realist philosopher Hilary Lawson as they discuss what role, if any, metaphysics should currently be playing in our society. Their discussions touch on issues such as the openness or not of science, as well as the underlying ...
Aug 31, 2024•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast The matrix, myths, and metaphysics Part 1 Is metaphysics still relevant? Or has the pre-eminence of science over the last centuries made such questioning obsolete? Join provocative mathematician and investor Eric Weinstein, award-winning physicist Becky Parker and post-post-realist philosopher Hilary Lawson as they discuss what role, if any, metaphysics should currently be playing in our society. Their discussions touch on issues such as the openness or not of science, as well as the underlying ...
Aug 28, 2024•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast PART 3 of Does life have meaning Series: How do we find meaning (and happiness) in the contemporary age? Nihilism, the abandonment of all fundamental beliefs, may appear a hopeless outlook. Yet perhaps it also has potential. Join philosopher Nolen Gertz as he explores the history of nihilism to give us a complex image of it as something we can learn to live with in our technological age. Nolen Gertz is Associate Professor of Applied Philosophy at the University of Twente, the C...
Aug 23, 2024•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast PART 3 of Does life have meaning Series: How do we find meaning (and happiness) in the contemporary age? Nihilism, the abandonment of all fundamental beliefs, may appear a hopeless outlook. Yet perhaps it also has potential. Join philosopher Nolen Gertz as he explores the history of nihilism to give us a complex image of it as something we can learn to live with in our technological age. Nolen Gertz is Associate Professor of Applied Philosophy at the University of Twente, the C...
Aug 20, 2024•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast PART 2 of Does life have meaning Series: How do we find meaning (and happiness) in the contemporary age? In the so-called 'happiest' countries in the world, the uncomfortable reality of high rates of depression, suicidality, chronic pain, and social isolation are obscured by the conflation of happiness with capitalist conformity. In this intriguing talk, Rob Boddice challenges the tenets of happiness indices that flatten the subjective states of citizens, asking pointedly if it is still po...
Aug 14, 2024•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast PART 1 of Does life have meaning Series: How do we find meaning (and happiness) in the contemporary age? Humans have a special need for meaning in their life. A life without meaning, many would agree, has no value. But what does meaning actually mean? And how can we ensure our life is full of it? Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Science John Vervaeke has dedicated much of his research precisely to this question. He is well-known for his attempts to define a meaningful life in an age charact...
Aug 06, 2024•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Can art vanquish evil? In a largely secular culture what are we to make of evil? In a rational and relativistic climate without superstitutions, have we lost a cultural space in which to engage with evil? Should we abandon the notion altogether as anachronistic or is it essential in the fight for a better world? Filmmaker Mike Figgis, Artistic Director of the Lyric Hammersmith, Sean Holmes, and philosopher Robert Eaglestone explore the nature of evil and our response to it. There are thousands o...
Aug 02, 2024•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Can art vanquish evil? In a largely secular culture what are we to make of evil? In a rational and relativistic climate without superstitutions, have we lost a cultural space in which to engage with evil? Should we abandon the notion altogether as anachronistic or is it essential in the fight for a better world? Filmmaker Mike Figgis, Artistic Director of the Lyric Hammersmith, Sean Holmes, and philosopher Robert Eaglestone explore the nature of evil and our response to it. There are thousands o...
Jul 30, 2024•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast Contemporary life is defined by excess. There must always be more, but there is never enough... Is the pursuit of happiness a terrible mistake? Join firebrand philosopher, Slavoj Žižek, as he argues the joys of excess are flimsy and futile and asks whether we can ever find a way out. Slavoj Žižek is a world-renowned philosopher, cultural critic and public intellectual. He is international director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities and a senior researcher at the University of Ljubljana...
Jul 25, 2024•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast What should guide our actions? We all have epiphanies. Yet most of us choose to ignore them, and trust in reason to determine our path in life. Join philosopher Sophie-Grace Chappell, who argues that we should allow our epiphanies to guide our actions. Sophie-Grace Chappell is a Professor of Philosophy at the Open University who writes about ethics, politics, feminism and epistemology. She argues that we should allow our epiphanies to guide us. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: h...
Jul 19, 2024•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast What should guide our actions? We all have epiphanies. Yet most of us choose to ignore them, and trust in reason to determine our path in life. Join philosopher Sophie-Grace Chappell, who argues that we should allow our epiphanies to guide our actions. Sophie-Grace Chappell is a Professor of Philosophy at the Open University who writes about ethics, politics, feminism and epistemology. She argues that we should allow our epiphanies to guide us. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https:/...
Jul 16, 2024•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Should we follow our philosophical conclusions wherever they take us? Or is there a hard wall of common sense that we are beholden to? Listen to some of today's leading philosophers in science and metaphysics as they talk it out! Tim Maudlin is Professor of Philosophy at New York University as well as the Founder/Director of the John Bell Institute for the Foundations of Physics. Michael Della Rocca is Professor of Philosophy at Yale University and a famous disciple of the pre-Socratic philosoph...
Jul 09, 2024•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Have you heard of Descartes' 'demon'? How can a mythical creature inform scientific progress? What is real? Listen in to find out! Join award-winning science historian Jimena Canales in this studio interview as she discusses the process of discovery and the nature of the unknown in science. Jimena Canales is a pioneering historian of science and an expert in 19th and 20th century history of the physical sciences. She is currently Vice-President of the Board of the American Council of Learned Soc...
Jul 02, 2024•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast Is the real world unreachable due to the mediation of language? Or has the linguistic turn in philosophy and academia gone too far? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Join post-realist philosopher Hilary Lawson, professor of logic Michael Potter and philosopher of language John Searle as they discuss what debates over language add or takeaway from the discipline of philosophy. The three philosophers do not shy away from metaphysics and the potenti...
Jun 25, 2024•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast How much should we really value altruism? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes From charity-givers, to those who sacrifice themselves in war for others, we see altrusim and selflessness as virtues to be applauded. Those who take no heed of their own interests are highly praised in Western culture. But many point to a danger. Studies show that altruism gone awry leads to tolerating abusive partners, eating disorders and depression. And critics argue ...
Jun 20, 2024•58 min•Transcript available on Metacast Why has the concept of consciousness stumped scientists forever? Is there a way of overcoming this impasse? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Join physicist and philosopher Avshalom Elitzur as he fearlessly accompanies physics to its logical limitations - the understanding of our lived experiences and, most importantly, our consciousness. Elitzur takes Leibniz' challenge to scientists as his starting point and ends by defending what some may term...
Jun 11, 2024•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast What does it mean to perceive, and can we ever truly know the world around us? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Join the diverse trio of cognitive scientist Daniel Kahneman, psychologist Ellen Langer, and philosopher Hilary Lawson as they knock heads on what it means to ever know the world, if we can trust ourselves in the pursuit, and if such knowledge even matters. Our understanding of truth also enters the conversation. It is a lively discuss...
Jun 04, 2024•1 hr•Transcript available on Metacast Why do people believe in conspiracy theories? Looking for a link we mentioned? Find it here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes In this intimate interview, Michael Shermer explores how conspiracy theories undermine objective truth or the generally accepted scientific, materialist paradigm. He covers everything from his most recent work to why conspiracy theories are so good at creating cult followings and what objective truth might look like. Michael Shermer is an American science wri...
May 21, 2024•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Is complexity a cop-out? Looking for a link we mentioned? Find it here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes From consciousness to free will, and even life itself, it has become commonplace for philosophers and neuroscientists to explain some of the most puzzling phenomena in the universe as 'emergent'. Some even make the claim that nothing in science makes sense without emergence, the idea that the characteristics and behaviour of the whole is different from, and in addition to, its pa...
May 14, 2024•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast Is it time to abandon the Golden Rule? Looking for a link we mentioned? Find it here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Join us as world-leading cognitive scientist Donald Hoffman discusses his cutting-edge research about consciousness and perception, as well as its astonishing implications for the ultimate nature of reality. Donald Hoffman is an American cognitive psychologist working at the University of California, Irvine. Hoffman's Interface Theory of Perception suggests that, in...
May 07, 2024•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast Why do so many of us in the present day belief in conspiracy theories? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Join professor and psychologist Dan Ariely as he discusses the main tenets of his 2023 book 'Misbelief: What Makes Rational People Believe Irrational Things.' With great sympathy for those, including some of us, who tend to believe various unsubstantiated claims, Ariely assesses their personality traits, the effects on society, and what, if an...
Apr 30, 2024•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast Can we look for consciousness outside the realm of space-time? Looking for a link we mentioned? Find it here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Join us as world-leading cognitive scientist Donald Hoffman discusses his cutting-edge research about consciousness and perception, as well as its astonishing implications for the ultimate nature of reality. Donald Hoffman is an American cognitive psychologist working at the University of California, Irvine. Hoffman's Interface Theory of Perc...
Apr 23, 2024•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast What role can religion play in our contemporary secularised lives? Why do many (of us) still feel the need for it today? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Join former Archbishop of Canterbury, theologian, and poet Rowan Williams in a deep-dive interview into his professional and theological trajectory. He reflects on what he's learned, including the challenges of being in the spotlight, why he engaged in climate activism, and how to work in commu...
Apr 17, 2024•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast Should we treat animals and humans equal? Looking for a link we mentioned? Find it here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Almost forty years after these two philosophers helped create the idea of animal rights, what do they believe would constitute further progress in our attitudes to other forms of life? Live from Melbourne, Australian philosopher, Princeton professor and author of Animal Liberation , Peter Singer joins the "UK's foremost scourge of scientific pretention" ( G...
Apr 09, 2024•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast Is 'energy' as a concept suited to the 21st century? Or is it a simplification of processes we do not understand, whose nature may be more mystical rather than purely rational? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Join leading minds in the world of physics - Priyamvada Natarajan, Avshalom Elitzur, and Bernard Carr - as they face head on the necessity, or lack thereof, of one of the most essential building blocks of contemporary physics: energy. It u...
Apr 02, 2024•1 hr•Transcript available on Metacast 
