

Robert Wright's Nonzero
Nonzero
Conversations with a series of people who have nothing in common except that program host Robert Wright is curious about what they’re thinking. www.nonzero.org
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jul 4, 2019 • 1h 13min
Defending Science from Denial, Fraud, and Pseudoscience (Robert Wright & Lee McIntyre)
Lee’s new book The Scientific Attitude: Defending Science from Denial, Fraud, and Pseudoscience ... Why scientific theories are never “proved” ... Karl Popper’s principle of falsification explained ... Why the philosophy of science hasn’t been useful to scientists ... Why philosophers of science need a new way to talk about evidence ... Can philosophy of science help refute science deniers? ... Flat Earthers, science denial, and the scientific attitude ... Cognitive bias, ideology, and the social sciences ... Lee: There is no consensus about the epistemological status of science ... The hubris of “naive realism” ... This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.nonzero.org/subscribe

Jun 22, 2019 • 1h 19min
Free Will, Determinism, and Compatibilism (Robert Wright & Gideon Rosen)
A brief primer on the free will vs. determinism debate ... Are moral responsibility and determinism compatible? ... Is punishment a tragic necessity or a moral good? ... Gideon tries to convince Bob that compatibilism is coherent ... Gideon's distinctive take on compatibilism ... A thought experiment about the moral culpability of an ancient slaveholder ... Free will and the mind-body problem ... Buddhist ideas about punishment ... This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.nonzero.org/subscribe

May 21, 2019 • 1h 11min
Completing the Darwinian Revolution (Robert Wright & David Sloan Wilson)
David's new book, This View of Life ... In what sense, if any, could evolution be conscious? ... The need to complete the Darwinian revolution ... An evolutionary psychology discussion makes Bob tape his mouth shut ... How successful groups avert the tragedy of the commons ... Convergent cultural evolution ... David: Evolution shows that neither laissez faire nor centralized planning works ... A preview of the coming Bob vs. David showdown over group selection ... This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.nonzero.org/subscribe


