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HYPERLAND: Graham Harman on the Nature of Reality

Nov 18, 2025

Guest

Graham Harman

Graham Harman, a Distinguished Professor of Philosophy known for his work on object-oriented ontology, dives deep into the nature of reality. He explores the tension between continuity and discreteness, challenging how we perceive life’s events and societal changes. Harman discusses the philosophical implications of Aristotle's views, contrasts Darwinian theories, and examines the clash in physics between quantum theory and general relativity. He also critiques how human-made entities, like social media, can reshape democracy, urging a reevaluation of our assumptions in today's complex world.

01:30:24

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INSIGHT

Continuum Vs Discrete Is Universal

The continuous vs discrete paradox appears across science, philosophy and everyday life.
It shapes questions from personal turning points to quantum gravity where chunks meet smooth spacetime.

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ADVICE

Don't Anchor Policy To Current Science

Avoid grounding politics or ethics directly on current scientific findings.
Treat each discipline as having its own evidence and constraints to prevent rapid obsolescence.

insights

INSIGHT

Quantum Vs Gravity Is A Form Vs Flow Clash

Physics' core tension is not size but continuity versus discreteness.
Particles are chunked while spacetime appears continuous, producing the quantum/relativity clash.

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Why the Continuous vs. Discrete Matters

01:36 • 3min

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Do Philosophical Views Shape Everyday Life?

04:12 • 2min

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Should Science Ground Other Disciplines?

06:29 • 6min

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Waves or Stones: Two Visions of Reality

Aristotle, Flux, and Modern Reactions

14:31 • 3min

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Gradualism vs Punctuated Change in Evolution

17:23 • 2min

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Quantum vs Relativity: Continuous and Discrete Clash

Are We the Same Person Over Time?

25:30 • 4min

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Symbiosis, Corporations, and Irreversible Change

29:26 • 7min

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Bergson and the Philosophy of Continuous Time

36:18 • 12min

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Does Mind Replace God in Modern Theories?

48:10 • 2min

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Can Science Explain Everything?

50:00 • 5min

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Why Emergence and Submergence Matter

54:49 • 1min

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Panpsychism and Object Mystery

56:16 • 1min

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Are Objects Defined by Relations?

57:20 • 5min

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Does Truth Differ from Justification?

01:02:00 • 5min

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How Belief and Hunches Drive Scientific Revolutions

01:06:54 • 2min

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Human-Made Entities Gain Unpredictable Power

01:08:28 • 5min

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Are We Exiting Modernity?

01:13:50 • 3min

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How Geography and Climate Reshape Politics

01:17:12 • 3min

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Social Media as a Political Actor

01:19:54 • 1min

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Why Read Waves and Stones Today?

01:21:14 • 2min

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Final Reflections on Uncertainty and Future Change

01:23:16 • 23sec

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Reading and Availability

In Waves and Stones, Graham Harman explores the paradoxical relationship between continuous and discrete realities, arguing that this tension permeates every aspect of human life. He delves into the historical roots of this paradox, tracing its presence from ancient Greek philosophers to contemporary physics. Harman examines various fields, including evolutionary theory, architecture, and the interplay between religion and science, to illustrate the continuous and discrete elements. He proposes a new perspective on this age-old problem, providing fresh insights into our understanding of ourselves and the complex world around us. Waves and Stones ultimately challenges readers to reconsider the fundamental nature of reality and the interconnectedness of seemingly disparate domains.

#34750

The Physicist and the Philosopher

Einstein, Bergson, and the Debate That Changed Our Understanding of Time

Jimena Canales

This book tells the story of the explosive debate between Albert Einstein and Henri Bergson on April 6, 1922, in Paris, which transformed our understanding of time and drove a rift between science and the humanities. Canales explores how this debate reverberated across the twentieth century, influencing figures such as Bertrand Russell and Martin Heidegger, and impacting various philosophical and scientific movements including American pragmatism, logical positivism, phenomenology, and quantum mechanics. The book also discusses how new technologies of the period shaped people's conceptions of time and further polarized the public debate.

#405

• Mentioned in 55 episodes

The Dawn of Everything

A New History of Humanity

David Wengrow

David Graeber

This book offers a dramatically new understanding of human history, challenging fundamental assumptions about social evolution, the development of agriculture, cities, the state, democracy, and inequality. Graeber and Wengrow argue that traditional theories of human history, such as those posited by Hobbes and Rousseau, are not supported by anthropological or archaeological evidence. Instead, they show that humans have lived in large, complex, but decentralized societies for millennia, often without ruling elites or hierarchical systems. The authors draw on extensive research in archaeology and anthropology to reveal a history that is more varied and hopeful than previously assumed, emphasizing human experimentation with different social arrangements and the potential for new forms of freedom and societal organization.

#1715

• Mentioned in 19 episodes

Consciousness explained

Daniel Dennett

In *Consciousness Explained*, Daniel Dennett undertakes a full-scale exploration of human consciousness. He challenges the traditional, commonsense theory of consciousness and introduces the 'Multiple Drafts' model as an alternative to the 'Cartesian Theater' concept. Dennett draws on a wealth of information from neuroscience, psychology, and artificial intelligence to transform current theories about conscious life in humans, animals, and even robots. The book is praised for its accessible and engaging style, making complex scientific and philosophical concepts highly digestible for both experts and general readers.

#12351

• Mentioned in 3 episodes

The Physics

Aristotle

Aristotle's 'Physics' is a seminal work that delves into the principles governing the natural world. It explores concepts such as change, causality, and the essence of nature, introducing the Four Causes (material, formal, efficient, and final) to understand natural phenomena. The text also discusses the nature of motion, time, and space, providing a comprehensive framework for understanding the universe.

Immaterialism

Graham Harman

#3201

• Mentioned in 11 episodes

Metaphysics

Aristotle

Aristotle's Metaphysics is a collection of fourteen books exploring fundamental questions about reality, substance, change, and causality. It delves into the nature of being, exploring concepts like potentiality and actuality, substance and accident, and the relationship between form and matter. This work significantly influenced Western philosophy, shaping metaphysical discussions for centuries. Its complex arguments and profound insights continue to be studied and debated by scholars today, offering a rich understanding of Aristotle's philosophical system.

How do we understand the world and our place in it? Do our lives consist of a small number of dramatic turning points, or is there nothing but a series of gradual changes from infancy to old age? Are political elections genuinely transformational, or merely arbitrary points along a shifting cultural timeline? And in physics, how can the continuities of general relativity coexist with the discontinuities of quantum theory?

In Waves and Stones, Graham Harman shows that this paradoxical interaction – the question of whether reality is made up of sudden jumps, or is laid out along a gentle gradient with no clear divisions between the various things in the world – permeates every area of human life. What’s more, this paradox is as old as human thought itself. In exploring how the continuous and discrete relate to each other, he takes us on a kaleidoscopic journey from the philosophers of ancient Greece, through the writings of the great Arab historian Ibn Khaldun, through architectural and evolutionary theory, the compatibility of religion with science, and the wave-particle duality of matter.

To explore the relationship between the continuous and the discrete, Harman shows, is to consider the very fabric of reality. With this dazzling new book, he proposes a new way of thinking about this ancient problem, with profound implications for our understanding of ourselves and the bewilderingly complex world in which we live.

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