

RSam Podcast
Rahul Samaranayake
Philosophy & Theory | AI & CogSci
Episodes
Mentioned books

Dec 10, 2024 • 1h 29min
Francesca Bellazzia: The Gene, Self-Assembly, and the Philosophy of Biochemistry
Dr Francesca Bellazzi is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the ERC-funded project AssemblingLife at the University of Oslo, working on self-assembling processes in biochemistry. Her main research explores the philosophy of biochemistry and the interface between chemistry and biology. Her thesis was titled "Biochemical Kinds and the Unity of Science". She will be releasing her upcoming book 'Philosophy of Biochemistry: Biochemical Kinds and their Properties' with Cambridge University Press. In this episode, we discuss biochemical functions, the gene as a natural kind, self-assembling processes, process philosophy and the philosophy of biochemistry.
You can find more of Dr Bellazzi's work at https://www.francescabellazzi.com/
Dr Bellazzi's research team:
Gry Oftedal: https://www.hf.uio.no/ifikk/english/people/aca/philosophy/tenured/gryof/index.html
Sebastian Sander Oest: https://www.hf.uio.no/ifikk/english/people/aca/philosophy/temporary/sebaso/index.html
Bendik Hellem Aaby: https://www.hf.uio.no/ifikk/english/people/aca/philosophy/temporary/bendikaa/index.html
Jietong Xu: https://www.hf.uio.no/ifikk/english/?vrtx=person-view&uid=jietongx
Watch the video version here.
RSam Podcast #59
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Please consider financially supporting my work (ONLY if you have the means).
Patreon: https://patreon.com/trsam?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
Substack: https://rsampod.substack.com
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{Podcast}
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/RahulSam
Substack: https://rsampod.substack.com/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4ryEqjut4r6SMtfxLdM1Le
SFP: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rahul-samaranayake
Website: https://rahulsam.me/
{Social Media}
https://substack.com/@trsam/
https://www.instagram.com/name_is_rahul/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahul-samaranayake-981a9315b/
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{Reference Links}
https://philpeople.org/profiles/francesca-bellazzi
https://youtu.be/EpcKqd9Tcx4?si=3c-ApkOAlUdeLhvc
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33928.Full_House
{Music Used}
"Supapao - Can't Fall In Love" is under a Free To Use YouTube license https://soundcloud.com/supapao
Music powered by BreakingCopyright
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If the ideas I discuss in this podcast evoke your interest, consider visiting https://theunhappyman.substack.com/
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Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statutes that might otherwise be infringing. If you are or represent the copyright owner of materials used in this video and have a problem with the use of the related material, please email me at trahulsam@gmail.com, and we can sort it out.
Thank you.

Nov 24, 2024 • 1h 49min
Barry Taylor: Unknowing and Radical Theology
Dr Barry Taylor is the Chair of the Department of Theology at Global Center for Advanced Studies (GCAS) College Dublin. He is also the author of multiple books including, 'Entertainment Theology: Exploring Spirituality in a Digital Democracy' and 'Sex, God, and Rock 'n' Roll: Catastrophes, Epiphanies, and Sacred Anarchies'. In this episode, we discuss living the death of God.
You can find more of Dr Taylor's work at https://www.patreon.com/barrytaylor and https://gcas.ie/about/faculty/barry-taylor
Watch the video version here.
RSam Podcast #58
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Please consider financially supporting my work (ONLY if you have the means).
Patreon: https://patreon.com/trsam?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
Substack: https://rsampod.substack.com
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{Podcast}
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/RahulSam
Substack: https://rsampod.substack.com/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4ryEqjut4r6SMtfxLdM1Le
SFP: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rahul-samaranayake
Website: https://rahulsam.me/
{Social Media}
https://substack.com/@trsam/
https://www.instagram.com/name_is_rahul/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahul-samaranayake-981a9315b/
https://twitter.com/trsam97
{Reference Links}
https://youtu.be/tnhgJRfjP_k?si=wTkh6KW0fmtZy12N
https://youtu.be/kQrcRVNloFw?si=6lzsnMcxawbWjuz0
https://youtu.be/jkpdDpwuy18?si=6ATEigOSQ8WwZ-Fp
{Music Used}
"Supapao - Can't Fall In Love" is under a Free To Use YouTube license https://soundcloud.com/supapao
Music powered by BreakingCopyright
---------------------------------------
If the ideas I discuss in this podcast evoke your interest, consider visiting https://theunhappyman.substack.com/
---------------------------------------
Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statutes that might otherwise be infringing. If you are or represent the copyright owner of materials used in this video and have a problem with the use of the related material, please email me at trahulsam@gmail.com, and we can sort it out.
Thank you.

Nov 20, 2024 • 1h 35min
Pietro Mazzaglia: Embodied AI and Alternatives to LLMs
Dr Pietro Mazzaglia is a Senior Machine Learning Researcher at Qualcomm Research Netherlands. He did his PhD at Ghent University, Belgium, with the dissertation title "Efficient Learning Strategies for Embodied Intelligence." Dr Mazzaglia's main research areas are embodied AI, robotics, world models, and deep reinforcement learning. In this episode, we discuss embodied AI, the gap between neuroscience and AI research, multimodal foundation world models, computational phenomenology, the ARC-AGI, drawbacks of LLMs, and general artificial intelligence.
You can find more of Dr Mazzaglia's work at https://mazpie.github.io/
Watch the video version here.
RSam Podcast #57
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Please consider financially supporting my work (ONLY if you have the means).
Patreon: https://patreon.com/trsam?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
Substack: https://rsampod.substack.com
---------------------------------------
{Podcast}
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/RahulSam
Substack: https://rsampod.substack.com/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4ryEqjut4r6SMtfxLdM1Le
SFP: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rahul-samaranayake
Website: https://rahulsam.me/
{Social Media}
https://substack.com/@trsam/
https://www.instagram.com/name_is_rahul/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahul-samaranayake-981a9315b/
https://twitter.com/trsam97
{Reference Links}
https://mazpie.github.io/#research
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11023-023-09638-w
https://arcprize.org/arc
{Music Used}
"Supapao - Can't Fall In Love" is under a Free To Use YouTube license https://soundcloud.com/supapao
Music powered by BreakingCopyright
---------------------------------------
If the ideas I discuss in this podcast evoke your interest, consider visiting https://theunhappyman.substack.com/
---------------------------------------
Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statutes that might otherwise be infringing. If you are or represent the copyright owner of materials used in this video and have a problem with the use of the related material, please email me at trahulsam@gmail.com, and we can sort it out.
Thank you.

Nov 16, 2024 • 1h 48min
Why German Idealism? (w/ Christopher Satoor)
Christopher Satoor is a doctoral candidate (ABD) in the Department of Humanities at York University. His research focuses on the Classical German philosophy of the 18th and 19th centuries and the German idealist philosophies of Kant and Fichte, with an extra special concentration on the work of Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling. He is also the creator of the #TheYoungIdealist series on Classical German Philosophy on YouTube. In this episode, we discuss all things Kantian philosophy and German Idealism.
You can find more of Christopher's work at https://yorku.academia.edu/ChristopherSatoor and https://x.com/aufgehenderRest
The Young Idealist: https://www.youtube.com/@TheYoungIdealist
Watch the video version here.
RSam Podcast #56
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Please consider financially supporting my work (ONLY if you have the means).
Patreon: https://patreon.com/trsam?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
Substack: https://rsampod.substack.com
---------------------------------------
{Podcast}
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/RahulSam
Substack: https://rsampod.substack.com/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4ryEqjut4r6SMtfxLdM1Le
SFP: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rahul-samaranayake
Website: https://rahulsam.me/
{Social Media}
https://substack.com/@trsam/
https://www.instagram.com/name_is_rahul/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahul-samaranayake-981a9315b/
https://twitter.com/trsam97
{Reference Links}
https://epochemagazine.org/56/the-influence-of-plato-on-schellings-living-cosmos-the-timaeus-the-freedom-essay-and-ages-of-the-world/
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4333304-bruno
https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/R/bo16835785.html
{Music Used}
"Supapao - Can't Fall In Love" is under a Free To Use YouTube license https://soundcloud.com/supapao
Music powered by BreakingCopyright
---------------------------------------
If the ideas I discuss in this podcast evoke your interest, consider visiting https://theunhappyman.substack.com/
---------------------------------------
Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statutes that might otherwise be infringing. If you are or represent the copyright owner of materials used in this video and have a problem with the use of the related material, please email me at trahulsam@gmail.com, and we can sort it out.
Thank you.

Nov 10, 2024 • 1h 41min
Michael Potter: The Rise of Analytic Philosophy
Prof Michael Potter is Professor of Logic at Cambridge and a Life Fellow of Fitzwilliam College. He was previously at Oxford, where he took a D.Phil. in pure mathematics and was a Fellow of Balliol College. Prof Potter has authored multiple books on Frege, Wittgenstein, set theory and analytic philosophy, including 'Wittgenstein's Notes On Logic', 'Set Theory And Its Philosophy' and 'The Rise of Analytic Philosophy.' His primary research interests focus on Wittgenstein's Tractatus, the philosophy of set theory, neo-Fregean logicism and philosophy of language. In this episode, we discuss Gottlob Frege, Bertrand Russell, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Frank Ramsey, Kurt Gödel, the nature of logic and the rise of analytic philosophy.
You can find more of Prof Potter's work at https://www.phil.cam.ac.uk/people/teaching-research-pages/potter
Watch the video version here.
RSam Podcast #55
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Please consider financially supporting my work (ONLY if you have the means).
Patreon: https://patreon.com/trsam?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
Substack: https://rsampod.substack.com
---------------------------------------
{Podcast}
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/RahulSam
Substack: https://rsampod.substack.com/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4ryEqjut4r6SMtfxLdM1Le
SFP: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rahul-samaranayake
Website: https://rahulsam.me/
{Social Media}
https://substack.com/@trsam/
https://www.instagram.com/name_is_rahul/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahul-samaranayake-981a9315b/
https://twitter.com/trsam97
{Reference Links}
https://youtu.be/-4O4hUwcpDw?si=TPORXhPXu4nEVxkD
https://www.routledge.com/The-Rise-of-Analytic-Philosophy-1879-1930-From-Frege-to-Ramsey/Potter/p/book/9781138015142
{Music Used}
"Supapao - Can't Fall In Love" is under a Free To Use YouTube license https://soundcloud.com/supapao
Music powered by BreakingCopyright
---------------------------------------
If the ideas I discuss in this podcast evoke your interest, consider visiting https://theunhappyman.substack.com/
---------------------------------------
Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statutes that might otherwise be infringing. If you are or represent the copyright owner of materials used in this video and have a problem with the use of the related material, please email me at trahulsam@gmail.com, and we can sort it out.
Thank you.

Nov 8, 2024 • 1h 46min
Cadell Last: Systems, Subjects and a Hegelian Philosophy of Science
Dr Cadell Last is an anthropologist and Hegelian philosopher who is interested in biocultural evolution, mind-matter relations, and speculative futures. His PhD thesis, Global Brain Singularity, focuses on all three of these topics. He is the author of Systems and Subjects, Enter the Alien, and many other interdisciplinary books. Dr Last has taught multiple courses on Hegel's Science of Logic, Sigmund Freud's Unconscious, Alenka Zupančič's What IS Sex? and is also the founder of Philosophy Portal, an education platform focused on teaching the foundational philosophical discourses of the modern world. In this episode, we discuss systems theory, foundations of science and subjectivity through continental philosophy apropos Hegel, Heidegger, Lacan and Žižek.
You can find more of Dr Last's work at https://philosophyportal.online/ and https://www.youtube.com/@PhilosophyPortal.
Systems & Subjects: https://philosophyportal.online/systems-subjects
Global Brain Singularity: https://philosophyportal.online/global-brain-singularity
Logic for the Global Brain: https://philosophyportal.online/logic-for-the-global-brain
Watch the video version here.
RSam Podcast #54
---------------------------------------
Please consider financially supporting my work (ONLY if you have the means).
Patreon: https://patreon.com/trsam?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
Substack: https://rsampod.substack.com
---------------------------------------
{Podcast}
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/RahulSam
Substack: https://rsampod.substack.com/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4ryEqjut4r6SMtfxLdM1Le
SFP: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rahul-samaranayake
Website: https://rahulsam.me/
{Social Media}
https://substack.com/@trsam/
https://www.instagram.com/name_is_rahul/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahul-samaranayake-981a9315b/
https://twitter.com/trsam97
{Reference Links}
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00146-023-01688-z
https://youtu.be/aiBnR2gSik8?si=WiDngyy3Cy7B-OtN
{Music Used}
"Supapao - Can't Fall In Love" is under a Free To Use YouTube license https://soundcloud.com/supapao
Music powered by BreakingCopyright
---------------------------------------
If the ideas I discuss in this podcast evoke your interest, consider visiting https://theunhappyman.substack.com/
---------------------------------------
Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statutes that might otherwise be infringing. If you are or represent the copyright owner of materials used in this video and have a problem with the use of the related material, please email me at trahulsam@gmail.com, and we can sort it out.
Thank you.

14 snips
Nov 3, 2024 • 1h 52min
Katherine Everitt: Quantum Mechanics, Psychoanalytic AI, and a Hegelian Ontology of Space
Katherine Everitt, a Hegelian scholar and philosopher, dives into the intersection of quantum mechanics and psychoanalytic AI. She brilliantly unpacks the philosophy of space, exploring its infinite nature and how it shapes our understanding of reality. The discussion touches on how consciousness and AI challenge human identity, along with the existential themes of vertigo and freedom. Everitt's insights on the significance of gaps in subjectivity and ontology reveal complexities in our perception of existence and the void.

Oct 31, 2024 • 1h 37min
Does Capitalism Lead to Scientific Innovation? (w/ Vlasta Sikimić)
Dr. Vlasta Sikimić is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy of Science and a member of the Philosophy and Ethics group at Eindhoven University of Technology. Her research focus is on the Social Epistemology of Science, Metascience, Philosophy of AI & ML in Science and Philosophy of AI in Education. In this episode, we discuss the relationship between science and capitalism.
You can find more of Dr Sikimić's work at https://vlastasikimic.com/ and https://x.com/VlastaSikimic
Watch the video version here.
RSam Podcast #52
---------------------------------------
Please consider financially supporting my work (ONLY if you have the means).
Patreon: https://patreon.com/trsam?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
Substack: https://rsampod.substack.com
---------------------------------------
{Podcast}
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/RahulSam
Substack: https://rsampod.substack.com/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4ryEqjut4r6SMtfxLdM1Le
SFP: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rahul-samaranayake
Website: https://rahulsam.me/
{Social Media}
https://substack.com/@trsam/
https://www.instagram.com/name_is_rahul/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahul-samaranayake-981a9315b/
https://twitter.com/trsam97
{Reference Links}
https://link.springer.com/collections/dbjicbfcda
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/371982028_The_Immortal_Science_of_ML_Machine_Learning_the_Theory-Free_Ideal
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13194-022-00478-6?
https://www.penguin.com.au/books/the-knowledge-machine-9780141981260
{Music Used}
"Supapao - Can't Fall In Love" is under a Free To Use YouTube license https://soundcloud.com/supapao
Music powered by BreakingCopyright
---------------------------------------
If the ideas I discuss in this podcast evoke your interest, consider visiting https://theunhappyman.substack.com/
---------------------------------------
Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statutes that might otherwise be infringing. If you are or represent the copyright owner of materials used in this video and have a problem with the use of the related material, please email me at trahulsam@gmail.com, and we can sort it out.
Thank you.

Sep 25, 2024 • 2h 4min
Nikhil Venkatesh: Left-Utilitarianism and Socialism for Effective Altruists
Dr Nikhil Venkatesh is a fellow in the Yeoh Tiong Lay Centre for Politics, Philosophy and Law at King's College London. He specialises in moral, social, and political philosophy. His research focuses primarily on utilitarianism and socialism. His PhD thesis argues that recognising the social nature of persons makes utilitarianism more defensible. In this episode, we discuss the social nature of a person contra human nature, collective vs. individual actions, Marxism, socialism, utilitarianism, Effective Altruism, and Longtermism.
You can find more of Dr Venkatesh's work at https://nikhilvenkateshphilosophy.com/ and https://x.com/nikvenkatesh/.
Watch the video version here.
RSam Podcast #51
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{Podcast}
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/RahulSam
Substack: https://rsampod.substack.com/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4ryEqjut4r6SMtfxLdM1Le
Anchor: https://anchor.fm/rahul-samaranayake
Available on other platforms at https://link.chtbl.com/PDBAf9Zd
Website: https://rahulsam.me/
{Social Media}
https://www.instagram.com/name_is_rahul/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahul-samaranayake-981a9315b/
https://twitter.com/trsam97
{Reference Links}
https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10164799/
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/article/2024/may/25/american-pronatalists-malcolm-and-simone-collins
---------------------------------------
If the ideas I discuss in this podcast evoke your interest, consider visiting https://theunhappyman.substack.com/
---------------------------------------
Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research.
Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statutes that might otherwise be infringing.
If you are or represent the copyright owner of materials used in this video and have a problem with the use of the related material, please email me at trahulsam@gmail.com, and we can sort it out.
Thank you.

Sep 13, 2024 • 1h 39min
Daniel Lakens: Metascience, Open Science and a Philosophy of Statistics
Prof Daniel Lakens is an Associate Professor in the Human-Technology interaction group at Eindhoven University of Technology. His areas of expertise include meta-science, research methods and applied statistics. Prof Lakens' main lines of empirical research focus on conceptual thought, similarity, and meaning. He also focuses on how to design and interpret studies, applied (meta)-statistics, and reward structures in science. Outside academia, Prof Lakens has a podcast on science called Nullius in Verba with his cohost, Smriti Mehta, from UC Berkeley. In this episode, we discuss metascience, the openness initiative in science, incentive structures, scientific realism vs anti-realism, and the philosophy of applied (meta)-statistics.
You can find more of Prof Lakens's work at https://sites.google.com/site/lakens2/, https://www.tue.nl/en/research/researchers/daniel-lakens and https://x.com/lakens.
Nullius in Verba: https://nulliusinverba.podbean.com/
The 20% Statistician: https://daniellakens.blogspot.com/
Watch the video version here.
RSam Podcast #50
---------------------------------------
{Podcast}
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/RahulSam
Substack: https://rsampod.substack.com/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4ryEqjut4r6SMtfxLdM1Le
Anchor: https://anchor.fm/rahul-samaranayake
Available on other platforms at https://link.chtbl.com/PDBAf9Zd
Website: https://rahulsam.me/
{Social Media}
https://www.instagram.com/name_is_rahul/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahul-samaranayake-981a9315b/
https://twitter.com/trsam97
{Reference Links}
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.1177/1745691614528520
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1745691612462586
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rsos.150547?cpetoc=
---------------------------------------
If the ideas I discuss in this podcast evoke your interest, consider visiting https://theunhappyman.substack.com/
---------------------------------------
Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research.
Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statutes that might otherwise be infringing.
If you are or represent the copyright owner of materials used in this video and have a problem with the use of the related material, please email me at trahulsam@gmail.com, and we can sort it out.
Thank you.