The Panpsycast Philosophy Podcast

Hedda Hassel Mørch is a philosopher and post-doc at the University of Oslo, previously at The Center for Mind, Brain, and Consciousness at New York University. Dr Mørch’s research focuses on panpsychism, neutral monism and liberal conceptions of physicalism. More specifically, how such views can respond to problems in philosophy of mind and metaphysics, such as the hard problem of consciousness (namely, how does soggy grey matter give rise to technicolour experience), the problem of mental causation (how can the mind interact the world), and the metaphysics of causation (what does it really mean for one event to ‘cause’ another). In this episode, we’re going to be discussing these topics with Hedda, but focus more specifically, on her views on consciousness and Integrated Information Theory. In Hedda’s own words: "The nature of consciousness seems to be unique among scientific puzzles. Not only do neuroscientists have no fundamental explanation for how it arises from physical states of the brain, we are not even sure whether we ever will." --- Contents Part I. Integrated Information Theory. Part II. Further Analysis and Discussion.

Hedda Hassel Mørch is a philosopher and post-doc at the University of Oslo, previously at The Center for Mind, Brain, and Consciousness at New York University. Dr Mørch’s research focuses on panpsychism, neutral monism and liberal conceptions of physicalism. More specifically, how such views can respond to problems in philosophy of mind and metaphysics, such as the hard problem of consciousness (namely, how does soggy grey matter give rise to technicolour experience), the problem of mental causation (how can the mind interact the world), and the metaphysics of causation (what does it really mean for one event to ‘cause’ another). In this episode, we’re going to be discussing these topics with Hedda, but focus more specifically, on her views on consciousness and Integrated Information Theory. In Hedda’s own words: "The nature of consciousness seems to be unique among scientific puzzles. Not only do neuroscientists have no fundamental explanation for how it arises from physical states of the brain, we are not even sure whether we ever will." --- Contents Part I. Integrated Information Theory. Part II. Further Analysis and Discussion.  

Peter Adamson is Professor of Late Ancient and Arabic philosophy at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, and the host of the History of Philosophy without and gaps podcast. The range of Peter’s expertise is phenomenal. The depth and breadth of his podcast History of Philosophy without any gaps is simply unrivalled, and the success of Peter’s projects has led him to publish a range of books in the aforementioned areas. Contents Part I. The History of Women in Philosophy. Part II. Further Analysis, Discussion and 'The Man Behind the Podcast'.

Peter Adamson is Professor of Late Ancient and Arabic philosophy at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, and the host of the History of Philosophy without any gaps podcast. Peter’s main publications focus on Classical Philosophy, Philosophy in the Hellenistic and Roman Worlds, and Philosophy in the Islamic World, but the range of Peter’s expertise is phenomenal. The depth and breadth of his podcast History of Philosophy without any gaps is simply unrivalled, and the success of Peter’s projects has led him to publish a range of books in the aforementioned areas. So, in Part I, we’ll be speaking to Peter Adamson about the history of women in philosophy, and in Part II, we’ll be engaging in some further analysis and discussion, asking some listener questions, and getting at ‘the man behind the podcast’. Contents Part I. The History of Women in Philosophy. Part II. Further Analysis, Discussion and 'The Man Behind the Podcast'.

Out now! Our audiobook ‘Developments in Christian Thought’ is free to download on all major podcast apps and at our website www.thepanpsycast.com/audiobook. For more information, take a little peak in the iTunes description (or at the bottom of this page). The audiobook is made up of 24-chapters, equally divided into 2-parts, which have been imaginatively named Part I and Part II. Part I contains 12 in-depth discussions, in which we talk through the history of theological thought within Christianity (as specified by the OCR Developments in Christian Thought specification). In Part II, we'll be interviewing some of the biggest names in theology and philosophy, to name but a few, Yujin Nagasawa, Joseph Shaw, Eric Metaxas, Christopher Rowland, Alison Stone, Michael Wilcockson, David Ford, Peter Ochs and Tim Mawson! Next week, normal service will resume with ‘Episode 46, Peter Adamson and the History of Women in Philosophy (Part I)’. Thank you for all of your support, especially all of our patrons. Projects like this would not be possible without you. If you want to support the show you can do so by visiting www.patreon.com/panpsycast. If you listened to last week’s episode, rather than jumping over to our audiobook page, kick back and enjoy 'Chapter VIII. Gender and Society (Part II)'. Audiobook Link: www.thepanpsycast.com/audiobook Audiobook on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/developments-in-christian-thought/id1434044057?mt=2

We've been working tirelessly on our upcoming audiobook, Developments in Christian Thought, which is due to be released, free of charge, on August 28th 2018. If you're listening to this past August 28th, you can find a link to the audiobook in the iTunes description (or at the bottom of this page). We can't wait to share it with you. So we decided to release one of our favourite chapters early. What you're about to hear is Part I of 'Chapter VIII. Gender and Society'. In this instalment, we look at the history of the Church, relating to issues surrounding sex and gender.  Next week, we'll be releasing the second instalment of this chapter, where we'll be looking at secular challenges to the church, through the work of thinkers such as Simone de Beauvoir and Harriet Taylor. The audiobook is 24-chapters long. As well as 12 discussions between myself, Olly and Andrew, you can expect interviews with Yujin Nagasawa, Daniel Hill, Thom Atkinson, Peter Adamson, Joseph Shaw, Eric Metaxas, Christopher Rowland, Alison Stone, Michael Wilcockson, David Ford, Peter Ochs and Tim Mawson. As I mentioned, it's free, so hit the link in the iTunes description. If it's not August 28th yet, then kick back and enjoy 'Chapter VIII. Gender and Society (Part I)'. Audiobook Link: www.thepanpsycast.com/audiobook Audiobook on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/developments-in-christian-thought/id1434044057?mt=2

As Professor of Psychology at Harvard University, Steven Pinker’s list of accomplishments is incredible; he has been named Humanist of the Year, a top “100 Global Thinker” by Foreign Policy and included in Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World Today.” Steven has also been awarded eight honorary doctorates and his research on language, vision and social relations has won prizes from the National Academy of Sciences, the Royal Institution of Great Britain, the Cognitive Neuroscience Society, the American Psychological Association, and the Association for Psychological Science. Needless to say, that Steven’s work has been deeply influential. Amongst his most well-read works, Steven in the author of, The Language Instinct, How The Mind Works, Words and Rules, The Blank Slate, The Stuff of Thought, Better Angels of Our Nature, and most recently, Enlightenment Now.

Galen Strawson is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin. Amongst countless papers in metaphysics and philosophy of mind, Galen is the author of Freedom and Belief, The Subject of Experience, Consciousness and Its Place in Nature and most recently, Things That Bother Me: Death, Freedom, the Self, Etc.  The widespread impact of these works cannot be understated. In the words of Stephen Fry: Galen Strawson has a marvellous gift for untangling even the most complex lines in philosophical thinking and laying them straight. He writes with humour, clarity and always from a recognizably human place. Even the most complex and controversial areas in modern philosophy come into the light when you are in his benign company…. He opens windows and finds light-switches like no other philosopher writing today.

Galen Strawson is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin. Amongst countless papers in metaphysics and philosophy of mind, Galen is the author of Freedom and Belief, The Subject of Experience, Consciousness and Its Place in Nature and most recently, Things That Bother Me: Death, Freedom, the Self, Etc.  The widespread impact of these works cannot be understated. In the words of Stephen Fry: Galen Strawson has a marvellous gift for untangling even the most complex lines in philosophical thinking and laying them straight. He writes with humour, clarity and always from a recognizably human place. Even the most complex and controversial areas in modern philosophy come into the light when you are in his benign company…. He opens windows and finds light-switches like no other philosopher writing today.

For religious believers, considering the questions that surround the nature or attributes of God, is important in their attempt to form a coherent understanding of their creator. In the Summa Theologica, shortly after arguing for the existence of God, Saint Thomas Aquinas writes the following: “Having recognised that a certain thing exists, we have still to investigate the way in which it exists, that we may come to understand what it is that exists.” This seems like a peculiar thing to state. I know that there exists something, but I have no idea as to what this thing is. As Brian Davies points out in his book Philosophy of Religion: A Guide and Anthology, this not such an odd statement after all. Suppose I attempt to open a door, and something stops it from opening. I might say, ‘well something is certainly in the way’. If it makes sense to make this statement, it also makes sense to ask, 'what is it'?