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A Mystery That Matters | Anil Seth

Jun 27, 2022

Anil Seth, a leading expert in cognitive neuroscience and author of "Being You," delves into the nature of consciousness and self-awareness. He explores how our brains create the experience of consciousness and the comforting idea that the self is impermanent. Seth shares personal insights from his battle with long COVID, challenging perceptions of free will and emotional resilience. Additionally, he addresses the future of AI and its implications, suggesting that understanding consciousness can spur significant personal transformation.

01:16:48

Creator website

Episode guests

Anil Seth

Highlights

AI Chapters

Episode notes

The History and Understanding of Emotions

01:46

The Conjuring of the Subject within the World

01:04

Randomness Doesn't Help You at All

01:25

Intro

2min

Exploring the Mysteries of Consciousness and Self-Identity

4min

Exploring Consciousness: Philosophy, Neuroscience, and the Self

22min

Understanding Emotions and Resilience

9min

Exploring the Illusion of Free Will

3min

The Illusion of Free Will

15min

Exploring AI's Future and the Importance of Daily Indulgences

3min

Exploring Consciousness and AI Ethics

23min

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How, on this planet, did we go from molten lava and shifting tectonic plates to sentient beings? How are you awake and aware right now? Who and where and what exactly is the “you” that is experiencing everything?

Guest Anil Seth says that exploring these questions can lead to real and radical changes in your life, including reducing your emotional reactivity.

Seth is a Professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex, Co-Director of the Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science and Editor-in-Chief of Neuroscience of Consciousness. His TED Talk on consciousness has been viewed over 13 million times. Most recently, he is the author of Being You: A New Science of Consciousness.

In this episode we talk about:

How brains give rise to consciousness
The bundle theory of self
The comfort in thinking of the self as impermanent
A new way to think about emotional states
How Seth’s personal experience with long COVID has changed his own sense of self
The question of whether we have free will
Whether machines can be conscious – and whether we should be afraid of artificial intelligence

Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/anil-seth-469

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