Robinson's Podcast

Jonathan Lear is the John U. Nef Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Philosophy and at the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago. He is also a practicing psychoanalyst. Jonathan’s work focuses on understanding the human psyche both through philosophy—with an emphasis on Aristotle and the ancients—and psychoanalysis. In this episode, Jonathan and Robinson discuss three pinnacles of psychoanalysis: free association, the unconscious, and transference. Jonathan’s most recent book is Wisdom Won From Illness: Essays in Philosophy and Psychoanalysis (Harvard, 2017). Jonathan’s Website: https://home.uchicago.edu/~jlear/ Wisdom Won From Illness: https://a.co/d/hxkokCz OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 00:50 Introduction 03:28 Philosophy and Psychoanalysis 12:29 What Is The Fundamental Rule of Psychoanalysis? 20:02 On Slavoj Žižek and Free Association 25:26 Following Freud 37:55 Transference and Changing One’s Mind 49:22 How the Analyst Listens 01:09:40 Analysis and Contradiction 01:25:44 Dreams and Free-Association 01:34:42 Transference 01:55:12 Who Is Psychoanalysis For? Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between. 

Lee Smolin, a founding member of the Perimeter Institute, discusses the philosophical underpinnings of realism in quantum mechanics, contrasting it with various interpretations like the Copenhagen model. He introduces his radical presentism, where only the immediate present truly exists. The conversation also delves into the connections between mathematics and physics, revealing how theoretical frameworks shape our understanding of reality. Smolin further shares personal insights on living with Parkinson’s disease, enriching the discourse with reflections on life and challenge.

Yascha Mounk is a Professor of the Practice of International Affairs at Johns Hopkins University. He is also a Contributing Editor at the Atlantic, a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and the host of The Good Fight podcast. Yascha has written five books, the most recent of which is The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time (Penguin, 2023). In this episode, Robinson and Yascha talk about this latest work. They begin by discussing the interrelationship between political theory, political science, and political philosophy before moving on to the role of equality in the politics on the left over the past hundred years. Then they turn to the rise of identity politics, its dangers, and how we can avoid what Yascha refers to as “the identity trap.” The Identity Trap: https://a.co/d/jh6IZIR Yascha’s Website: https://www.yaschamounk.com OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 01:32 Introduction 04:48 Distinguishing Political Theory, Science, and Philosophy 12:02 Why Focus on the Left Rather than the Right? 27:33 The History of Equality on the Left 32:38The Origin of Identity Politics 44:19 Universalism and Cultural Marxism 50:48 How Did Identity Politics Spread So Fast? 58:16 Do Identity Politics Conflict with Psychology? 01:12:00 How Do We Escape Identity Politics? Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between. 

Christopher E. Mason is Professor of Computational Genomics in Computational Biomedicine in the Institute for Computational Biomedicine and Professor of Neuroscience in the Brain and Mind Institute at Weill Cornell Medicine. Igor Tulchinsky is the founder, chairman, and CEO of WorldQuant, a global quantitative asset management firm. Together, they lead a joint project between Cornell Medicine and WorldQuant, the WorldQuant Initiative for Quantitative Prediction, which seeks to marry the expertise of financial prediction and analysis with genetic and medical research to improve and deploy new methods of preventive medicine. In this episode, Robinson, Chris, and Igor discuss their recent book, The Age of Prediction (MIT, 2023), and how our rapidly improving technology, data collection, and predictive algorithms are changing the world in innumerable ways, ranging from smart weapons in the military to solving crime and measuring job performance. Errata: In the introduction, Robinson says that this is episode 140, but due to a scheduling error the episode was released as episode 146. The Age of Prediction: https://a.co/d/3VAg0KD OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 01:10 Introduction 03:33 WorldQuant and Cornell Medicine 10:39 The Age of Prediction 15:51 Financial Prediction 19:44 Autonomous Drones and AI 28:38 Insurance and Prediction 33:35 Job Performance and Hiring 40:30 Using Genetics to Predict and Solve Crime 52:38 Final Thoughts Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between. 

Deirdre McCloskey is Distinguished Professor Emerita of Economics and of History and Professor Emerita of English and of Communication at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is also Isaiah Berlin Chair in Liberal Thought at the Cato Institute. Over the span of her career, Deirdre has written on economic theory, history, rhetoric, feminism, ethics, law, and more. In this episode, she and Robinson discuss her political philosophy—classical liberalism. They begin by discussing her training before delving into liberalism’s roots in the eighteen and nineteenth centuries as a celebration of freedom of speech and innovation, as well as its doctrine of equality under the law. They then compare it to competing views, such as conservatism, and address common criticisms of classical liberalism, such as its alleged inability to respond to crises like global warming or that the free market will concentrate wealth in the hands of a few. Why Liberalism Works: https://a.co/d/hvUAtnk Deirdre’s Website: https://www.deirdremccloskey.com OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 00:59 Introduction 04:09 Deirdre’s Background in Economics 17:36 What is Classical Liberalism? 33:28 The Beginning of Liberalism 51:50 The Great Enrichment 01:05:43 Free Speech 01:17:31 Conservatism and Libertarianism 01:28:36 Criticisms of Liberalism 01:43:00 Climate Change and the Free Market 01:49:57 Liberalism and Queers Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between. 

Carl Wieman is Cheriton Family Professor, Professor of Physics, and Professor of Education Emeritus at Stanford University and winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physics for the production and observation of the first Bose-Einstein condensate. In addition to his extensive work in atomic and optical physics, Carl has pioneered the use of experimental techniques to evaluate the effectiveness of various teaching strategies for physics and other sciences. He also served as Associate Director for Science in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. This episode constitutes a deep dive in two directions. First, Robinson and Carl discuss the trajectory of his career and research and how it led to his work on Bose-Einstein condensates that won the Nobel Prize. Then they turn to science education, including what’s wrong with it and how it can be improved. Improving How Universities Teach Science: https://a.co/d/5HA980y OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 01:02 Introduction 03:41 Getting into Physics 10:03 What is Parity Violation in Physics 16:38 How Can A Laser Trap and Cool Atoms? 25:48 What is Spin? 35:59 What is a Bose-Einstein Condensate? 45:11 The Experiment 52:57 Applications of BECs 57:22 Getting Into Education Research 01:04:43 The Science Education Initiative 01:19:31 Implementing Education Initiatives 01:25:31 What Makes for Effective Teaching? 01:31:40 Equity in Education 01:36:15 Teacher Evaluation 01:43:09 Steps of Restructuring 01:42:40 Final Thoughts Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between. 

Andrew Knoll is the Fisher Professor of Natural History in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University. Andy’s work straddles the line between the early evolution of life on Earth and our planet’s environmental history. He has written numerous books on these subjects, most recently A Brief History of Earth: Four Billion Years in Eight Chapters (Custom House). In this episode, Robinson and Andy discuss when and how life arose on earth—and, just as importantly, what and how we know about it. Then they turn to some related topics, such as the diversity of microbial life on Earth and how it shaped our environment. They finish off with the possibility of life on Mars, as Andy was part of NASA’s MER mission to Mars, which examined the soil and geology of Mars’s surface through two rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. A Brief History of Earth: https://a.co/d/dLrMhVz OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 00:51 Introduction 03:23 On Walt Whitman and The Learn’d Astronomer 11:36 Big Numbers Concerning Life and the Age of the Universe 29:47 On The Earliest Life on Earth 46:29 How Did Life Begin? 58:21 How Far Back Can We Trace Humans on the Tree of Life? 01:08:42 The Diversity of Microbial Life 01:19:43 The Branching of the Tree of Life 01:24:08 How Did Microbes Shape Our Atmosphere? 01:34:48 What Does Martian Soil Tell Us About The Life That Might Be Found There? Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between. 

Tim Maudlin is Professor of Philosophy at NYU and Founder and Director of the John Bell Institute for the Foundations of Physics. Tim is renowned as one of the leading philosophers of physics, and he also works in the philosophy of science and metaphysics. This is Tim’s fourth appearance on the show. Tim was also a guest on episode 46 (laws of nature, space, and free will), episode 67 with David Albert (the foundations of quantum mechanics), and episode 115 with Craig Callender (the philosophy of time). In this episode, Robinson and Tim dig into some of the crucial developments in the philosophy of science that took place during the 20th century. Then they move on to John Bell and the John Bell Institute for the Foundations of Physics. If you’re interested in the foundations of physics—which you absolutely should be—then please check out the JBI, which is devoted to providing a home for research and education in this important area. Any donations are immensely helpful at this early stage in the institute’s life. Tim’s Website: www.tim-maudlin.site The John Bell Institute: https://www.johnbellinstitute.org OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 00:41 Introduction 04:56 What’s the Point of Philosophy of Science? 10:38 Carnap and Logical Positivism 26:30 Thomas Kuhn and the Structure of Scientific Revolutions 42:52 What is Scientific Realism? 01:02:44 Instrumentalism and Scientific Anti-Realism 01:06:08 Who Was John Bell? 01:20:15 Einstein, Quantum Mechanics, and Bell’s Inequality 01:45:34 The John Bell Institute Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between. 

Norman Naimark is Robert & Florence McDonnell Professor of East European History at Stanford University. He is also Senior Fellow of the Hoover Institution and the Institute of International Studies. He has worked on a wide array of topics related to the Cold War, genocide, communism, Hitler, Stalin, and more. In this episode, Robinson and Norman talk about the world history of genocide. After discussing just what constitutes genocide, they begin with the most distant reaches of prehistory—neanderthals and beyond—before moving up through biblical times, the Mongol conquest, the crusades, the colonial period, and more modern events.  Genocide: A World History: https://a.co/d/7o4tG25 OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 00:55 Introduction 05:13 Norman’s Background 16:24 What’s an Archival Historian? 21:12 What is Genocide 35:59 Prehistoric and Biblical Genocide 48:20 Genghis Khan and the Mongolian Genocide 01:08:05 Were the Crusades Genocidal? 01:24:07 The Spanish Colonial Genocide 01:39:02 Race, Economics, and the Settler Genocides 01:48:02 The Genocides of Modernity 01:55:07 The Armenian Genocide 02:04:49 Is There a Genocide in Ukraine? Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between. 

John Burgess is John N. Woodhull Professor of Philosophy at Princeton University, where he works in mathematical and philosophical logic and the philosophy of mathematics. In this episode, Robinson and John discuss realism in the philosophy of mathematics, and while the nature of this question is itself disputed, it can be roughly described as concerning the extent to which we should be committed to the mind-independent truth of mathematical theorems, or to the existence of the objects they apparently describe. Robinson and John begin by addressing the nuances of this question, and they then turn to various developments in mathematics that have been historically associated with realism—set theory, in particular—as well as specific philosophical positions associated with realism (such as Platonism) and anti-realism (such as conventionalism). John’s most recent book is Set Theory (Cambridge, 2022). Set Theory: https://a.co/d/cF305wf OUTLINE 00:00 In This Episode… 00:22 Introduction 03:17 Mathematics or Philosophy? 08:06 What is Realism in the Philosophy of Mathematics? 14:11 Objectivity and Mathematics 24:34 What Is Set Theory? 47:29 Platonism and the Continuum Problem 01:15:42 Conventionalism 01:22:06 Finitism 01:31:17 A Cap on Infinity? Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between.