Converging Dialogues

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Joseph LeDoux about human cognition, consciousness, and existence. They discuss his work on split brain patients, the four realms of existence, idea of the self, personality and temperament, and integration information theory. They also talk about extended mind, habits and goal direct behaviors, consciousness in the prefrontal cortex, Tulving’s 3 layers of consciousness, fear, AI and consciousness, and more.

Kristian Rönn, expert in carbon accounting, discusses net zero vs. carbon neutral, scopes 1,2,3 emissions, global regulations, cap and trade, greenwashing, impact of AI on carbon accounting. They explore existential risks, rethinking incentives, redefining success in business accounting, navigating complexities of carbon emissions, and AI's role in climate change.

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Douglas Brinkley about various conservation presidents in the 20th century. They discuss his process for how he wrote his conservation trilogy, understanding the psychology of Theodore Roosevelt (TR’s) and how conservation was important to him, and TR’s complex relationship with animals that included preservation and hunting. They talk about how TR used the Federal Government to protect natural land, his relationship with Native Americans, and his overall legacy. They discuss Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) using the Federal Government for enacting policies to protect forests, building dams, and creating recreation areas, and how he tied conservation with economic growth. They discuss the impact of Rachel Carson and John F. Kennedy (JFK) for the environmental wave in the 60s, the environmental justice movement, Richard Nixon seizing the moment of environmental activism, climate change in the present moment, and many more topics. Douglas Brinkley is the Katherine Tsanoff Brown Chair in Humanities and Professor of History at Rice University, a CNN Presidential Historian, and a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. He is the author of numerous books including the conservation trilogy which include, The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America, Righteous Heritage: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Land of America, and Silent Spring Revolution: John F. Kennedy, Rachel Carson, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and the Great Environmental Awakening. Six of his books have been named New York Times “Notable Books of the Year” and seven became New York Times bestsellers. He received a Grammy Award in 2017 as co-producer of Presidential Suite: Eight Variations on Freedom (Best Jazz Ensemble). The New-York Historical Society selected Brinkley in 2017 as their official U.S. Presidential Historian. He is on the Board of Trustees at Brevard College and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library. He is a member of the Century Association, Council of Foreign Relations and James Madison Council of the Library of Congress. Website: https://douglasbrinkley.com/ Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Cat Bohannon about the evolutionary history of females. They discuss her background, limited female subjects in many research papers, “morgie” and how milk became important, other features of milk such as bonding, attachment, and the “let-down” reflex. They also talk about the different types of wombs for monotremes, marsupials, and placentals, placenta and the menstrual cycle, and risks of pregnancy. They also talk about the grandmother hypothesis, future of females, and many more topics. Cat Bohannon is a research and author with her PhD from Columbia University. She has studied the evolution of narrative and cognition. Her writing has appeared in Scientific American, Science magazine, The Best American Nonrequired Reading, Lapham’s Quarterly, and other outlets. She is the author of the book, Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution. Website: https://www.catbohannon.com/Twitter: @catbohannon Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Nicholas Dames about the history of the chapter. They discuss how chapters have boundaries, define what is a chapter, and talk about literacy form. They also talk about the chapter as temporal units or scenes, Tabula Bembina and the first chapter, capitulation and Augustine, and how the chapter evolved with the history of the Bible. They also discuss the chapter in the 15th century, Locke’s anti-chapter theory, Jane Austen and the significance of chapter word count, Tolstoy and episodes, and Dickens and Eliot with diurnal time. They also discuss Machado’s inbetweenness, the Antique-Diminutive Model, chapter in film, the future of the chapter, and many more topics. Nicholas Dames is the Theodore Kahan Professor of Humanities in the Department of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University. He has been a recipient of Columbia’s Presidential Teaching Award (2005), a Charles Ryskamp Fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies (2005-6), the Lenfest Distinguished Faculty Award (2008), and the Mark Van Doren Award for Teaching (2013). In 2009-2010 he was chair of the MLA’s Division on Prose Fiction Executive Committee.  From 2011-2014 he was chair of the Department of English and Comparative Literature. His main interests are in the history and theory of the novel, the hsitory of reading, and 19th century fiction. He is the author of the most recent book, The Chapter: A Segmented History from Antiquity to the Twenty-First Century. Website: https://nicholasdames.org/Twitter: @n_j_dames Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Walter Veit about animal consciousness. They talk about various frameworks for understanding consciousness, the naturalist approach, cognitive ethology, and pathological complexity thesis. They discuss consciousness arising in the Cambrian period, defining consciousness, free will, consciousness profile, Integrated Information Theory, interacting with animals, and many more topics. Walter Veit is a lecturer in philosophy at the University of Reading. He is also the Director of the PPE Program and the Philosophy MA Program. He is also an external member of the Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy at the University of Munich. He has his PhD from the School of History and philosophy of Science at the University of Sydney. His research interests have been on animal ethics, welfare, and evolution. He is the author of the book, A Philosophy for the Science of Animal Consciousness. Website: https://walterveit.com/Twitter: @wrwveit Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Michael Muthukrishna about energy, cooperation, and global themes. They discuss the broad scope of the book, importance of theory, energy being essential for cooperation, corruption and cooperation, laws of life, cooperation fueling human growth, and some of the negative aspects of cooperation. They also talk about intelligence, immigration, wealth inequality, meritocracy, and many other topics. Michael Muthukrishna is Associate Professor of economic psychology in the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He has his PhD in psychology from the University of British Columbia and his main interests are in cooperation, cross-cultural differences, and corruption. He is the author of the latest book, A Theory of Everyone: The New Science of Who We Are, How we got here, and Where we are going. Website: https://www.michael.muthukrishna.com/Twitter: @mmuthukrishnaBook Website: https://www.atheoryofeveryone.com/Substack: Michael Muthukrishna 2019 paper on theory: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-018-0522-1You might also like: Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Sam Ottewill-Soulsby about Christians and Muslims relationships during the age of Charlemagne. They discuss Charlemagne and his context, the viewpoint of the Muslim world, and the landscape of the Abbasid and Umayyad empires. They discuss prestige diplomacy, frontier diplomacy, importance of Islam and Christianity, four legal schools of Islam, and Carolingian religious values. They also discuss the dynamics with the Abbasid, gift giving, war and peace with the Umayyads in the 9th century, and many more topics. Sam Ottewill-Soulsby is a researcher at the University of Oslo. He has a Bachelors in History from the University of York, Masters in Medieval History and PhD in History from the University of Cambridge. He has been a Research Associate for the Impact of the Ancient City project at the University of Cambridge. He was also Visiting Research Fellow at the Migration and Mobility in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages Center for Advanced Studies at the University of Tübingen. He is the author of the book, The Emperor and the Elephant: Christians and Muslims in the Age of Charlemagne. Twitter: @sottewillsoulsb Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Melvin Rogers about Black American thought and democracy. They discuss the two visions/stories of democracy in America, utility of rhetoric, and whether white supremacy is still a relevant term in present-day America. They discuss Walker’s use of appeal, on freedom, Jefferson on we the people, political loss, Baldwin and race relations, how we move forward, and many more topics. Melvin Rogers is the Associate Director of the Center for Philosophy, Politics, and Economics and Professor of Political Science at Brown University. He has his MPhil in Political Thought and Intellectual History from Cambridge and his PhD in Political Science from Yale University. His main interests are in democratic theory, American, and African-American political thought. He is the author of numerous books, including the most recent, The Darkened Light of Faith. Website: https://www.melvinrogers.site/Twitter: @mrogers097 Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Juliet Hooker about the politics of loss and the racial themes connected with loss. They discuss how racial justice is a prominent theme in today’s society, they define loss and how it is political, and discuss anticipatory loss. They also talk about white Americans with Anticipatory loss, symbolic vs. material loss, democracy and political loss, and class and inequality. They also discuss Civil Rights today, Black Maternal health, public grievance, and many other topics. Juliet Hooker is the Royce Family Professor of Teaching Excellence in Political Science at Brown University. She is a political theorist that teaches and covers topics of racial justice, Latin American political thought and Black political thought. She has her PhD in government from Cornell University. She is the author of numerous books including the most recent book, Black Grief/White Grievance: The Politics of Loss. Website: https://juliethooker.com/Twitter: @creoleprof Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe