Can we free ourselves from stale ideas about consciousness? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Some argue that the reality we perceive is a controlled hallucination. Others claim that science is about to crack the ancient problem of the self once and for all. Distinguished philosopher and panpsychist Philip Goff argues that neither of these are true, and explains why we need a new theory altogether. Philip Goff is a renowned philosopher of consciousness at Durham University. His unique research focuses on integrating consciousness into our scientific worldview. There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=breaking-through-the-consciousness-stalemate See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Should we think of morality in terms of objective truth or social consensus? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Once the fashion of a postmodern age, moral relativism has always had its detractors, many of them religious. But now a new breed of atheist celebrity thinkers, from Sam Harris to Peter Singer, are making claims for the existence of absolute moral truths. Critics argue that like authoritarian moralists of the past, they use so-called 'objective' morality to shore up to their own prejudices and silence dissent. Firebrand philosopher Slavoj Žižek, bestselling author of Zed Joanna Kavenna, and philosopher and author of Truth Simon Blackburn debate objective morality in a postmodern age. Hosted by Professor and Chair of Jurisprudence at the University of Oxford, Ruth Chang. There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=[iai-tv-episode-title] See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Is it time to abandon the search for reality? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Nietzsche famously declared 'God is dead' in the late nineteenth century. Outspoken critic of philosophical realism Hilary Lawson observes that today we have replaced God with ‘reality’. He urges us to abandon this elusive and unattainable concept, offering an alternative view which embraces observation and reason while abandoning reality for good. There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=the-world-after-reality-hilary-lawson See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Is human-like AI a pipe dream? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes A future with human-like AI is no longer limited to the pages of sci-fi, it’s now the dream of Big Tech too. But is this just a pipe dream? Join philosopher of perception Mazviita Chirimuuta as she argues that human-like AI is and will remain a fantasy.  There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=the-ai-hoax-mazviita-chirimuuta See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Is it time for the English-speaking world to move on from analytic philosophy? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Focusing on logic and the meaning of words, analytic philosophy sought to put philosophy on a scientific footing. Yet a century on and critics argue the core questions about the relationship between language and the world have been largely abandoned as insoluble, while the focus on logic and the aping of science is out of sync with the contemporary environment. Should we see analytic philosophy as the high point of an enlightenment scientism that has been in retreat almost since its inception and which is no longer relevant? Or can it be revived by applying its focus on rationality and the logic of words to the divisive and emotional disputes that beset current culture? Distinguished philosopher of language and the senses Barry Smith, Wittgensteinian expert Maria Balaska and maverick post-post modern philosopher Hilary Lawson lock horns over whether philosophy's fixation on language has held us back. Rufus Duits hosts.  There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=is-analytic-philosophys-fixation-on-language-holding-us-back See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Should we see art as a means of getting closer to the essence of what it is to be alive? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Art is most often seen as an adornment to everyday life. An entertainment, a delightful distraction perhaps, but not an uncovering of the essential character of the world. To uncover reality, we instead focus on accurate description and the discovery of facts. Yet these descriptions frequently do not settle the matter and can often lead to conflict and dispute, and all the while we are no closer to agreement on the essential nature of reality.  Could we successfully refocus culture so that art was the primary means of making sense of ourselves and our reality? Or is this an empty romantic illusion that would leave us poorer, less productive and less able to fend for ourselves in the world? Critically acclaimed writer Janne Teller, musical comedian and writer Isy Suttie, British philosopher James Tartaglia and Pulitzer prize poet Paul Muldoon as they debate whether art can uncover the essence of the world. Hosted by acclaimed author, Joanna Kavenna. There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=[infinty-in-the-palm-of-your-hand See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Is knowing oneself even possible? Listen to find out. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes From the self-help industry to the contemporary focus on mental health, the ancient Greek maxim 'Know Thyself', is very much in fashion. But many would argue it is an impossible dream. We can't catch sight of ourselves, and the attempt to do so often leaves us lost and confused. What's more, from the notorious serial killer Ted Bundy to drug addicts who's lives are in ruin, individuals can be well aware of their failings but unable or unwilling to change. Pioneer of modern understanding of ancient myths Betty Sue Flowers, Award winning journalist Anil Ananthaswamy, renowned psychiatrist Iain McGilchrist and Professor of Philosophy Bence Nanay are joined by our host, Professor of Religion and Science Mary Jane Rubenstein to ask if we can ever truly know ourselves. There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=catching-sigh-of-our-self See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Should we all engage in a radical cull? Listen to find out. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes We are attached to things. Our dwellings are packed with items we rarely throw out. Things have traditionally given us comfort but they also give us status. The wealthy often collect things for no other purpose than to own them. But in an age when the great majority of us have too much, when cupboards are full of clothes we do not wear, shelves with books we do not read, is it not time to end this obsession? Might the status of the future come from being free of objects and clutter, focusing instead on experience and the natural world? Or are things our only link with the past, and a necessary part of who we are? Behavioural scientist Paul Dolan, senior lecturer in psychology at Leeds Beckett University Steve Taylor and British broadcaster and anthropologist Mary-Ann Ochota debate the status of things. Eliane Glaser hosts. There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=the-status-of-things See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Must we give up on our current ideas of the self and identity? Listen to find out! Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes We laugh at the medieval view that disease is due to an imbalance in the four humours. Instead we see infectious illness as an attack by something external. But this can't be the whole story. After all, not everyone got Covid or suffered from it equally. There are mounting challenges to the standard attack-defence account of disease. Critics argue It relies on our being able to distinguish self and non-self and there is no such mechanism. Instead they argue radical collective and ecological frameworks provide a better and more effective account. Can the new paradigms of danger theory or adaptation help crack disease? Might immunology proves to be the key to the deep philosophical question of what makes us who we are? Quantum biologist JohnJoe McFadden, distinguished immunologist Ane Ogbe and Professor of Paediatric Immunology Petter Brodin debate the self and the non-self. Gunes Taylor hosts.   There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=beyond-the-self-and-the-non-self See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What are the moral limits today? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes We think we should be concerned for the well being of farm animals and those used in experiments. But where should we draw the line? Mosquitoes? Plants? Rivers? Join philosopher and bestselling author Peter Godfrey-Smith as he argues we should draw new limits for our moral consideration. Peter Godfrey-Smith is professor in the School of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Sydney. His main research interests are in the philosophy of biology and the philosophy of mind. He is the author of numerous highly-acclaimed, including 'Other Minds: The Octopus, The Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness.' There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=should-we-care-for-ants-peter-godfrey-smith See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Can we change the world? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Camus and Kafka have both been central to 20th century writing and thought. Both wrote about the relationship of the individual to society. But they had very different visions. Camus saw the individual as having the power to change and influence society. While Kafka honed in on the limitations of the individual to change anything and the power of the state and social organisation. Who got it right? Should we follow Camus and see freedom and the ability to change the world as essential to the human condition? Or is this an illusion, and instead recognise that we are limited by culture, upbringing, and organisation, so that there is no room left for the lone individual to alter and change the character of society or the course of their lives? There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=kafka-vs-camus See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Opening a path towards more enlightened societies with Rebecca Roache. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Philosophy is not just about armchair thinking. It can help us live better lives and find meaning. In this talk philosopher of mind Rebecca Roache shows us that philosophy can be the key to creating better lives, and more enlightened societies.   Rebecca Roache is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at Royal Holloway, University of London. Her research interests range from ethics and metaphysics to philosophy of mind and philosophy of language. She is a pioneer in field of philosophy of swearing, and her work has been featured in The Times, The Guardian and the BBC.  There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=how-to-use-philosophy-for-a-better-life See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

An interview with CosmisSkeptic Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes What is scepticism? How do we deal with our own coginitive dissonance? Can veganism ever be justified purely by reason? These are just some of the questions that Alex O'Connor, AKA CosmicSkeptic, has been grappling with on his youtube channel, viewed by over 40 million people, for the past few years. In this interview, Alex O'Connor sits down with the Institute of Art and Ideas to discuss his positions on scepticism, David Hume, veganism, Peter Singer and religion. Alex O’Connor, also known by his YouTube alias ‘CosmicSkeptic’, is a prolific philosopher, youtuber, public speaker and animal welfare activist. His youtube channel has amassed over 450 000 subscribers and discusses issues relating to free speech, free will, animal rights and the philosophical arguments against religion. There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=where-sceptics-fail See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Should we go back to a world before civilisation? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes With high rates of infanticide, senicide and disease, not many of us pine for the era before human civilization, farms and nations. Yet anthropologists Yuval Harari and Jared Diamond have called the agricultural revolution a"trap"and humanity’s "worst mistake”, arguing hunter gatherer life was more leisurely and free, as humans were not tied down to private property or oppressed by hierarchy. Is there a way to keep the benefits of industry and technology while also living as freely as our untamed ancestors? Should we go further and rewild to escape the status, hierarchy and oppression of civilisation? Or is this an impossible fantasy born out of a misunderstanding of anthropology and the idealistic myth of the ‘noble savage’? Paleobiologist Mark Williams, Conservative former cabinet minister Peter Lilley and former leader of the Green Party Natalie Bennett weigh in on civilisation as we know it. Hosted by Güneş Taylor. There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=[iai-tv-episode-title] See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Neuroscience?! Quantum Physics?! Is new data on the horizon? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes We are uncovering a new science of consciousness. A theory that is getting closer to solving the problem of the self once and for all. Or at least so claim leading neuroscientists. Some argue the reality we perceive is a controlled hallucination as a best guess to how the world really is. Others that quantum mechanics or multiple levels of brain organisation are responsible for consciousness. But critics maintain these don't get to the heart of the problem: how the material stuff of the brain is responsible for the immaterial stuff of experience. Should we see the 'new science of consciousness' as marketing hype? Might we alternatively need to give up our very notion of reality? Or could science be about to crack the ancient problem of the self once and for all? Legendary theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli, ground breaking metaphysical idealist Bernardo Kastrup, godmother of neurophilosophy Patricia Churchland lock horns over the New Science of Consciousness. Robert Lawrence Kuhn Hosts. There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=the-new-science-of-consciousness See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How do we know if a story is worth telling? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes In this interview, award-winning writer and author of 'How I Live Now', Meg Rosoff, provides an insight into her writing philosophy. She discusses her origins in advertising, why the theme of adolescence fascinates her, and how a passion for horse-riding inspired the idea of 'throughness' which encapsualtes the relationship between the conscious and unconscious mind. Meg Rosoff is an award-winning writer. She is perhaps best known for the novels 'How I Live Now' which won the Guardian Prize, and 'Just In Case, for which she was awarded the Carnegie medal. Her most recent novel, 'The Great Godden' is a coming-of-age novel which was nominated for the Costa Book Award in 2020. There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=writing-the-self See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Should we give up the dream of certainty? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes We look for certainty to know where we are, to feel safe. Descartes founded modern Western philosophy on the search for certainty. And in our daily lives we have institutions to create the illusion of certainty, marriage in the precarious world of relationships, schools and universities in the world of knowledge. For psychologists tell us that uncertainty is one of the strongest predictors of distress. Yet certainty is also the enemy of progress and change, and as Eric Fromm argued 'The quest for certainty blocks the search for meaning'. To be certain is to have ended enquiry, to have called a halt to the new and the original, to have in a sense already died. Should we recognise the pursuit of certainty in our personal lives, in our pursuit of knowledge, and in religion and philosophy is destined to fail? Should we instead welcome, even encourage, the uncertain and the unknown as a vehicle for growth and potential? Or without the safety of the known are we all lost? Distinguished philosophy professor Simon Blackburn, maverick post post-modern philosopher Hilary Lawson and ground-breaking philosopher of value Ruth Chang question whether we can be certain about anything. Maria Balaska hosts. There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=the-search-for-certainty See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Can science and religion coexist? Listen to find out! Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes In this interview, Alister McGrath, the Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion at the University of Oxford, explores the relationship between science and certainty. He charts his path from atheism to Christianity, and discusses how his faith is consistent with his scientific beliefs. McGrath asserts that reason is not a universal concept, but rather only a culturally contingent framework. He argues that a cross-cultural framework of reason is an essential tool that must be developed to ensure greater harmony between nations and cultures. Alister McGrath is a theologian, intellectual historian, scientist, and public intellectual. He currently holds the Andreas Idreos Professorship in Science and Religion in the Faculty of Theology and Religion, at the University of Oxford, McGrath is noted for his work in historical theology, systematic theology and the relationship between science and religion.  There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=science-religion-and-the-quest-for-reason See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Have mundane setbacks become catastrophic? Our experts discuss. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Trauma was traditionally associated with events such as war, assault and natural disasters. Now it is increasingly used to describe everyday experiences like personal criticism or romantic rejection, and of becoming an empty therapeutic buzzword. Some psychologists argue that we risk undermining diagnoses of serious disorders by treating the mundane as the catastrophic, at the same time as making us less resilient. Should we stop describing everyday setbacks as trauma? Or is a looser understanding of trauma to be encouraged so that individuals can come to terms with their suffering? Or is this all a symptom of a broader cultural focus on our emotional lives which once promised better mental health, but which has now turned out to have undermined an entire generation? Neuroscientist Sarah Garfinkel, bestselling author of Zed Joanna Kavenna and fearless psychoanalyst Ian Parker explore modern trauma and what we can do about it.  There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=the-trauma-of-the-everyday See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Beyond right and wrong? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Politicians, scientists, experts, specialists and even philosophers frequently claim to be right and to have understood how things ultimately are. Yet at the same time they know this can't plausibly be the case. In the history of humankind there is no theory that has been shown to be definitive, no claim that cannot be disputed. Nor can we imagine a time when such dispute will come to an end. Should we give up the very idea that it is possible to be definitively right? Would this usher in a new era of compromise? Or is the possibility of being right essential to progress and culture, without which we risk violence and conflict? Author of Freedom in Age of Alternative Facts Santiago Zabala, pragmatic epistemologist Corine Besson and expert of Indian thought Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad clash over whether it is ever possible to be definitely right about anything. There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=beyond-right-and-wrong See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.