Annaka Harris is the author of Conscious: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors: – Wealthfront: https://wealthfront.com/lex to get $50 sign-up bonus – BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/lex to get 10% off – Blinkist: https://blinkist.com/lex to get 25% off premium – Onnit: https://lexfridman.com/onnit to get up to 10% off – Indeed: https://indeed.com/lex to get $75 credit EPISODE LINKS: Annaka’s Twitter: http://twitter.com/annakaharris Annaka’s Website: http://annakaharris.com Annaka’s Facebook: http://facebook.com/annakaharrisprojects Annaka’s Books: 1. Conscious: https://amzn.to/3SFLLPE 2. I Wonder: https://amzn.to/3UPQTTm Annaka’s Articles: 1. What Is Time?: http://nautil.us/what-is-time-238478 2. A Solution to the Combination Problem: http://annakaharris.com/the-future-of-panpsychism 3. Consciousness Isn’t Self-Centered: http://nautil.us/consciousness-isnt-self_centered-237720 Books: 1. The Case Against Reality: https://amzn.to/3MhW4Wt 2. Being You: https://amzn.to/3RsxdBQ 3. Livewired: https://amzn.to/3Cn9BKS 4. Spooky Action at a Distance: https://amzn.to/3y27N7a 5. The Order of Time: https://amzn.to/3Stqn0u PODCAST INFO: Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ YouTube Full Episodes: https://youtube.com/lexfridman YouTube Clips: https://youtube.com/lexclips SUPPORT & CONNECT: – Check out the sponsors above, it’s the best way to support this podcast – Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman – Twitter: https://twitter.com/lexfridman – Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman – LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman – Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman – Medium: https://medium.com/@lexfridman OUTLINE: Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time. (00:00) – Introduction (07:20) – Free will (1:00:37) – Consciousness (1:31:09) – Depression (1:44:26) – Psychedelics (1:52:25) – Meditation (1:56:49) – Ideas (2:20:35) – AI sentience (2:37:56) – Suffering (2:40:53) – Meaning of life

Filmmaker Jay Shapiro has produced a new series of audio documentaries, exploring the major topics that Sam has focused on over the course of his career. Each episode weaves together original analysis, critical perspective, and novel thought experiments with some of the most compelling exchanges from the Making Sense archive. Whether you are new to a particular topic, or think you have your mind made up about it, we think you’ll find this series fascinating. In this episode, we survey the landscape of consciousness and get acquainted with the mystery of the mind. We start with an attempt to define consciousness–and veterans of conversations on consciousness will know that this is a huge part of the challenge.  David Chalmers begins with his conception of what he coined “The Hard Problem of Consciousness” and a famous question offered by the philosopher Thomas Nagel.  We then construct a “Philosophical Zombie” before the philosopher Thomas Metzinger explains why he is thoroughly unimpressed by the ability to imagine “such a thing,” while he simultaneously warns us against ever attempting to build one. Anil Seth brings some hope of whittling away the intuition gap of the hard problem by pursuing the “easy” problems, with clear scientific reasoning. Later, Iain McGilchrist lays out the intuition-shattering implications of the famous Roger Sperry experiments with split brain patients that suggest that consciousness can be cut with a knife… at least temporarily. Annaka Harris then shifts the conversation to the realm of panpsychism, which suggests that consciousness is nomologically fundamental and potentially permeates all matter.  Finally, Don Hoffman explains that consciousness is not only fundamental and non-illusory, but that the physical world we appear to be navigating is merely a virtual space-time interface, which has evolved to hide the true nature of reality from us.

Annaka Harris, expert in consciousness and perception, delves into the illusion of the self, plant consciousness, and the idea of consciousness as a fundamental feature of the universe. Discussions include the challenges of discerning consciousness, the role of intuition in decision-making, and the use of meditation to transcend the self.

What is consciousness? How does it arise? And why does it exist?We take ‘experience' for granted. But the very existence of consciousness raises profound questions: Why would any collection of matter in the universe be conscious? How are we able to think about this? And why should we?Our guide for today's philosophic and scientific exploration of these mysteries is Annaka Harris.An editor and consultant for science writers specializing in neuroscience and physics, Annaka is the author of the children's book I Wonder, a collaborator on the Mindful Games Activity Cards, by Susan Kaiser Greenland, and a volunteer mindfulness teacher for the Inner Kids organization.Annaka's work has appeared in The New York Times and all of her guided meditations and lessons for children are available on the Waking Up app, the digital meditation platform created by her husband Sam Harris — the renown author, public intellectual, blogger, and podcast host.Annaka’s latest book — which recently hit the New York Times bestseller list and provides the focus for today’s conversation — is entitled, Conscious: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind. A must-read for any and all curious about one of the Universe's great mysteries, it's a brief yet mind-bending read that challenges our assumptions about the nature, origin and purpose of consciousness.Equal parts nerdy and fun, this is a deeply profound conversation that tackles the very nature of consciousness itself — and what it means to be a living being having ‘an experience'.We discuss how Annaka became interested in this field and the path undertaken to writing this book.Parsing instinct from scientific fact, we deconstruct our assumptions about consciousness and grapple with its essential nature — what is consciousness exactly? And where does it physically reside?We discuss meditation and artificial intelligence. We dive into plant consciousness. We explore panpsychism (a theory I quite fancy). And we muse about the role of spirituality in scientific inquiry.All told, this tackles the current limits of science and human understanding and leaves us wondering, is it possible to truly understand everything?The visually inclined can watch our entire conversation on YouTube here: bit.ly/annakaharris460 (please subscribe!)An intellectual delight from start to finish, I thoroughly enjoyed talking to Annaka and I sincerely hope you enjoy the listen.Peace + Plants,Rich

As a child Annaka Harris suffered from migraines. Searching for ways to cope with that pain, she became curious - wondering "what is this pain" and "where is it coming from?" The line of questioning shifted her perspective and propelled her into a quest of understanding the mystery of consciousness. Harris takes us with her on this quest in our interview and in her book Conscious, which looks at the many definitions of consciousness and challenges long-held assumptions about this complicated concept. The Plug Zone Website: https://annakaharris.com/about/ Conscious: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind: https://annakaharris.com/conscious/ I Wonder: https://annakaharris.com/i-wonder/ Twitter: @annakaharris Meditation From Joseph Goldstein on Ten Percent Happier "Turbo-Charge Your Meditation" aka, Busy Life Meditation: https://10percenthappier.app.link/o431sZ4XWW ***VOICEMAILS*** Have a question for Dan? Leave us a voicemail: 646-883-8326 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.