Are We Having a Conversation Between Optimism and Pessimism?

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I wouldn't elevate it to argument. I think arguments are productive, especially when they're done in good company. It seems almost like we are having a conversation between optimism and pessimism. For me, I've always said pessimists sound smart and optimists make money. Now of course, my position is that of rational optimism. When I put rational in front of it to avoid the panglass. Nice. You have optimists, yeah. Or Dr. Panglass from Candide. This is the best of all best possible worlds. I don't believe any of that at all. There are serious problems that we face now. We'll face in the future. Problems are

Ahead of the release of the next episode of his lecture series on René Girard, Johnathan Bi returns for his second appearance on the show. He and Jim discuss Girard, prestige, innovation, AI, and much more. Enjoy! Important Links:

Show Notes:

The Girardian notion of prestige
What proof is there for mimesis?
The difference between mimesis and status signalling
Philosophical critiques of Girard
Girard on innovation
Historical understandings of innovation
A conversation between a pessimist and an optimist
AI, progress and the panopticon
Could we ban innovation?

Books Mentioned:

The Status Game: On Human Life and How to Play It; by Will Storr
The Alchemy of Finance; by George Soros
The Laws of Imitation; by Gabriel Tarde
When These Things Begin: Conversations with Michel Treguer; by René Girard
The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World; by David Deutsch
The Invention of Improvement: Information and Material Progress in Seventeenth-Century England; by Paul Slack
Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future; by Peter Thiel