172 - Joseph LeDoux: Neuroscience and The Four Realms of Human Existence

Joseph LeDoux is Henry and Lucy Moses Professor of Science, University Professor, Professor of Neural Science, Professor of Psychiatry, and Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at New York University, where he works in neuroscience and related areas. Though his career is expansive, one major focus of his research has been emotions in humans and other animals. He is also the frontman of The Amygdaloids. Joseph’s most recent book is The Four Realms of Existence: A New Theory of Being Human (Harvard, 2023). In this episode, Joseph and Robinson discuss psychoanalysis, the nature of biological life, how nervous systems evolved, and the relationship between consciousness and cognition.

The Four Realms: https://a.co/d/2wrFGG2

Joseph’s Website: http://joseph-ledoux.com

OUTLINE

00:00 In This Episode…

01:06 Introduction

04:29 Thoughts on Psychoanalysis

17:05 The Four Realms of Human Existence

41:29 What Is Life?

48:10 What Are Nervous Systems and How Did They Evolve?

01:10:07 Cognition Substance-Neutral?

01:15:12 What Is Consciousness? 

Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com

Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between.