The Dissenter

Dr. Joshua Knobe discusses how morality impacts people's philosophical and scientific intuitions. They explore topics like belief vs. knowledge, norm violations affecting causal judgment, the concept of the 'true self', happiness in relation to moral character, folk morality, beliefs in objective moral truths, variations in philosophical intuitions on free will across cultures, and the influence of moral judgments on folk psychology.

Topics discussed in this podcast include creating a story, challenges of creating massive stories, importance of dialogue in movies and descriptions in storytelling, multi-layered character development, connecting Citizen Kane and Fifty Shades of Grey through control, limits of art, disturbing incident at an art exposition, challenges of content moderation and balancing freedom of speech, morality of art and artists, and taboo of animal abuse and artistic expression.

Cailin O'Connor, game theory and science expert, discusses topics such as social pressure and conformity in science, the issue of retractions in scientific papers, the compatibility of naturalism and meta ethics, and the accuracy of perceptual categories in tracking properties of the world.

Darcia Narvaez and Gay Bradshaw discuss the importance of nurturance, community support, attachment, and reconnecting with nature in raising children and creating connected communities. They explore topics such as allomothering in African elephants, the devastating impact of government actions on Native American communities, the role of relationship and attachment in early brain development, challenging myths separating humans from other animals, and embracing localized communities and natural world.

In this podcast, Dr. Eli Merritt discusses the strengths and weaknesses of democracy, the recent backlash against progressive values, and the importance of compromise. He highlights the role of citizen education and checks and balances in maintaining democracy, and addresses common issues and hyper polarization. Overall, the podcast provides insight on how to save democracy at a country or global level.

Dr. Merlijn Olthof, an expert in applying complex systems approach to psychopathology, talks about the study of behavioral variability within individuals, critical fluctuations, and destabilization in psychopathology. They discuss early warning signals, large shifts in symptom severity, and the differences between group-based disease models and personalized approaches.

Dr. Gregory Radick discusses the battle over Mendel and the future of biology. Topics include the relationship between Mendel and Darwin, complexities of inheritance and context, recognition of Mendel's work, debate on interpretation, and gene-environment interaction in genetics education.

Podcaster celebrates 6 years, expresses gratitude to supporters, discusses upcoming interviews, and seeks financial support on Patreon for channel sustainability.

Naomi de Ruiter, a psychologist specializing in a process approach in psychology, discusses the dominance of substance ontology in psychology and introduces an alternative process approach. They explore topics like dynamical systems theory, the limitations of representative samples, the model of intervention causality in psychology, and the complexity of understanding research influenced by cultural context. They also mention their book 'Toward a Process Approach in Psychology: Stepping into Heraclitus' River'.

Dr. Paco Calvo, an expert in plant intelligence, discusses the concept of intelligence in animals and plants, challenging the zoocentric perspective. He explores plant behavior, the biochemistry of plants, and the role of biomediators as signaling molecules. The discovery and functions of melatonin in animals and plants are also explored. The episode compares plant intelligence to animal intelligence and discusses the ethical implications of plant sentience. The guest discusses their book, "Planta Sapiens: The New Science of Plant Intelligence," and where to find it.