In this podcast, the hosts discuss topics like conspiracy theories and unethical practices, the generosity of individuals in high stakes, the value of therapy during life transitions, and the critique of abstraction and concepts in daily life. They also explore the relationship between William James and Henri Bergson, and share their experience with Rocket Money, a personal finance app.
Concepts can distort our understanding of reality and devalue certain aspects of experience.
Raw, unverbalized life and pure perception are essential for grasping the full truth of our experiences.
Allowing ourselves to fully immerse in the rawness of experience without relying heavily on conceptual systems can lead to a deeper understanding of reality.
Deep dives
Critique of Conceptual Analysis
James argues that concepts can distort our understanding of reality and devalue certain aspects of experience. He criticizes the reliance on abstract systems and highlights the need for a more fluid and flexible approach.
The Value of Raw Experience
James emphasizes the importance of raw, unverbalized life and pure perception in grasping the full truth of our experiences. He suggests that concepts, while useful for organizing information, can sometimes lead us away from the true essence of what we perceive.
The Role of Abstraction
James discusses the inherent limitations of abstraction and the tendency to prioritize the concepts over the actual experience. He suggests that allowing ourselves to fully immerse in the rawness of experience without relying heavily on conceptual systems can lead to a deeper understanding of reality.
Reality as Constant Flux vs. Immutable Truth
The podcast episode explores the contrasting views of reality held by ancient Greek philosophers Heraclitus and Parmenides. Heraclitus argued that reality is in constant flux, while Parmenides believed that all change was an illusion. Later, Plato presented the idea that unchanging entities are more real, and that evolving things are imperfect approximations. This view influenced Western philosophy and the methods of conceptual analysis. James suggests that this perspective dominates philosophy, but outliers like Bergson and Nietzsche challenge it. The podcast highlights the connection between the changing nature of reality and the critique of conceptual analysis.
The Pitfalls of Intellectualism and Conceptual Analysis
The podcast delves into James' critique of intellectualism and conceptual analysis. Intellectualism, as James explains, relies on translating raw experiences into conceptual order, believing that reality consists of essences known through definitions. This flawed assumption leads to conceptual frameworks becoming tyrannies and mistaking them for reality, resulting in logical contradictions. James argues that concepts are by nature fixed, hindering our understanding of the constantly changing nature of reality. He emphasizes the limited utility of concepts and the need to avoid mistaking the map (concepts) for the territory (reality).
David and Tamler return to the work of old favorite William James and argue about the 6th lecture (inspired by the French philosopher Henri Bergson) of his 1909 book “A Pluralistic Universe.” James attacks the philosophical habit of elevating unchanging concepts over the continuous ever-changing flux that characterizes raw experience. Concepts, James argues, carves joints where there are none. But why does James trust pure perception (unmediated by concepts) as a true window into reality? Does he want us to return to the blooming buzzing confusion of our infancy? Is his mystical side superseding his pragmatism?
Plus, a new study on generosity after receiving a $10,000 windfall leads to a discussion of what we can interpret from null results, and lots more.
