Barry Loewer

Barry Loewer, a Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Rutgers, returns to discuss the philosophy of science. He highlights the critical distinction between science and pseudoscience, exploring Karl Popper's falsification criteria. The conversation dives into the contentious nature of string theory and scientific realism, debating whether it's pseudoscience. Additionally, topics such as Marxism's philosophical impacts and the interplay between metaphysics and scientific inquiry are examined, prompting listeners to rethink the foundations of modern science.

David Albert and Barry Loewer discuss the Mentaculus, their joint project on probability, determinism, and more. They explore subjective and objective perspectives on probability, the relationship between microscopic and macroscopic descriptions of the world, time's arrows, the measurement problem in quantum mechanics, and the influence of evaluating counterfactuals on free will and agency.