The Illusion of Self-Awareness

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No matter how effortful and seemingly self-aware your process can be you still have to make the choice. The choice is fundamentally mysterious to you that you do not know why you choose one thing over the other no matter how big a thing it is or no matter how trivialThe thing that tips the balance is inscrutable to you right I mean yeah do you does it need to be that transparent to you no but it's not it's not a feel like it's you it's not even slightly transparent we can get bogged down on whether this is libertarian view of free will, he says.

Bestselling author and friend of the podcast Sam Harris joins Tamler and Dave for a marathon podcast. (Seriously, pack two pairs of astronaut diapers for this one). We talk about the costs and benefits of religion, dropping acid in India, and the illusory nature of (a certain kind of) free will. Then we go at it on blame, moral responsibility, hatred, guilt, retribution, and vengeance. Sam thinks these are antiquated responses based on a belief in spooky metaphysics, Tamler thinks they are important components of human morality, and Dave just wants everyone to get along and be reasonable (like that nice Kant fellow).

Time markers (roughly)

0:00-47:00 Intro and costs and benefits of religion

47:00-77:30 Drugs, the self, free will

77:30-- Blame, guilt, vengeance, moral responsibility, desert.

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