Aporia Podcast

See the full interview at AporiaMagazine.com From the overrepresentation of Muslims in UK prisons to the nuances of racial disparities in crime rates, our conversation traverses the delicate terrain of British society and its criminal justice system. We confront the controversial grooming gangs topic, explore the effects of police bias and public perception, and address the criticism aimed at previous analyses of ethnic crime data. With Noah's expertise, we navigate the intricate tapestry of societal views, law enforcement, and the media's role in shaping our understanding of crime.

Rob Kurzban is an evolutionary psychologist and former University of Pennsylvania Professor who now hosts the substack Living Fossils. His book, Why Everyone Else is a Hypocrite is a great exploration of human evolved moral psychology We talked about a number of Living Fossils Blogs like "What to do with Emotions", "The Trials of Academic Publishing",  "The Existential Relief of Having Children" and "The Thief of Joy".  Rob has also written some articles for Aporia. We frequently mentioned the recently passed evolutionary scientist John Tooby, who Rob wrote an obituary for here. We talked about many different aspects of Rob's academic work: • The side taking view of morality • Erasing Race • Sex, drugs, and moral goals

In this episode, Harvard's Dr. Michael Rosen joins Bo Winegard for a deep exploration of Nietzsche, Kant, Hegel, and the Passage from Heaven to History. At issue is the fundamental question of life without God. If God is dead, then how do humans find meaning or justice? Should they accept that the funeral of God is also the funeral of humanism, of objective morality, et cetera—or should they adjust their metaphysical premises while preserving their ideals? Read a review of Michael’s book here.

In this episode Bo and Noah discuss the ethical maze surrounding AI's integration into our lives and its encroachment upon areas once believed to be exclusively human. They examine the effect of AI on the arts, the possible future where AI surpasses human abilities in intellectual creativity, and the societal shifts that could arise from such changes. From the ethics of using AI in creative fields to the emotional consequences for those who find meaning in their intellectual work, our conversation challenges audiences to reflect on the true value of human expression in the age of technological wonders.

Join us on the Aporia podcast where Bo Winegard and Noah Carl explore free will and moral responsibility. Bo brings to the table a defense of compatibilist free will and retributive justice, challenging those like Robert Sapolsky who believe we should eschew free will and moral agency. The discussion peels back the layers of this philosophical debate, contrasting libertarian views with compatibilist perspectives and explores the complex interplay between human autonomy, moral agency, and the nature of punishment.

Our guest today is Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. Previously, he was Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation. Steve is an entrepreneur and has started successful ventures in embryo selection, forensic genetics and artificial intelligence. Steve Hsu- Steve is a polymath- you can see just how wide his interests are on his blog infoproc. Despite his mathematical chops Steve is great at having conversations- I recommend Aporia listeners check out his podcast Manifold. During the 2020 racial reckoning, after some controversy, Steve stepped down as Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation at Michigan State University. You can see his response to the allegations against him here and his resignation here. Steve published the first paper showing that polygenic scores can predict phenotype with accuracy- see his paper on height here. Steve and his team also have shown that Genomic Prediction's aneuploidy testing improves pregnancy outcomes. We also talked about my article for Aporia on ethical objections to polygenic screening. In China, Yousheng, loosely translated as "eugenics" doesn't have a bad connotation- as Steve points out here. Steve is skeptical about the deleterious effects of polygenic screening or gene editing due to pleiotropy. Simone Collins, former Aporia guest, was also interviewed on Manifold. She used Genomic Prediction's health index. We talked about Bryan Caplan's books, The Case Against Education and "Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids"

Expanding upon last week's conversation about the race/IQ taboo, Bo Winegard and Noah Carl discuss the ethics of honesty about race differences in cognitive ability. They both agree that candor is better than silence or dishonesty. But they discuss alternative positions sympathetically before forwarding arguments against them.

Is there truly a veil of silence in academic circles when it comes to discussing race and IQ? Noah Carl and Bo Weingard unravel this question by dissecting the assertions of Jackson Jr. and Winston, who deny the existence of such a taboo. They argue controversies in intelligence research stem from poor scholarship rather than an aversion to the topic. Our spirited dialogue challenges their viewpoint, as we scrutinize the nature of academic critique and the undeniable presence of a taboo that, we believe, stifles open conversation on this polarizing subject. By examining our intelligence research controversies database, we aim to separate the wheat from the chaff, identifying where legitimate debate ends and where political or racist rhetoric begins.

Join Walter Veit, University of Reading scholar and pioneering author, as we navigate the intriguing and complex world of animal consciousness. Walter's expertise breathes new life into our understanding of how consciousness could have evolved across species, from the depths of the ocean with the octopus to the humble existence of the worm. Our conversation challenges long-standing human-centric views, uncovering the ethical ramifications of our interactions with animals, and sparking debate over the moral intricacies of artificial sentience, animal farming practices, and the future of lab-grown meat. Links to Dr. Veit's works: His website: https://walterveit.com/ His podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@DrWalterVeit His paper on clean meat: https://philarchive.org/rec/ANOFWB Can eugenics be defended?: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8321981/ Is humane slaughter possible?: https://philpapers.org/rec/BROIHA-7 Should parents genetically engineer their children?https://philarchive.org/archive/VEISPG Cognitive enhancement and inequality: https://philarchive.org/rec/VEICEA Mentioned in the episode: Do video game characters matter morally? https://reducing-suffering.org/do-video-game-characters-matter-morally/ The logic of the larder https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Replaceability_argument#:~:text=The%20replaceability%20argument%2C%20or%20the,would%20be%20brought%20into%20existence. Antechinus: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/why-a-little-mammal-has-so-much-sex-that-it-disintegrates Octopus teacher: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3s0LTDhqe5A

Professor Michael Huemer challenges the efficacy of activism and policy predictions, highlighting the dangers of societal experimentation. He discusses the limitations of experts in forecasting political shifts, proposing the idea of dividing the nation for better policy testing. The podcast compares societal changes to the delicate workings of a living organism, warning against random tampering without proper understanding.