Jack Roycroft-Sherry

lliot R. Wolfson is a theologian, philosopher, and historian. The prominent tradition in theology known as negative theology (or apophasis) holds that one cannot speak of God directly or positively because God is beyond all concepts and things. For example, Meister Eckhart viewed the Christian Trinity as a path to the true Godhead beyond. Similarly, Ibn Arabi considered Allah as a means of reaching the truth (al-Haqq) that transcends even Allah. In this podcast, expect to learn why this tradition emerged, how it is has been incorpated in Christianity and Islam, why it has been successful, as well as about dreams and mystical experiences, the nature of the infinite, Heidegger and the unveiling of reality, and more... Timestamps: 00:00 – Introduction to Negative Theology 03:05 – When Did This View of God Emerge? 07:50 – Why Negative Theology? 15:30 – The Emptiness of Being 17:50 – Elliot Reads Jack Some Heidegger 25:00 – The Strange Nature of Dreams 34:14 – Talmud's Interpretation of Dreams 40:00 – Negative Theology in Islam 42:50 – The Infinite Related Books By Elliot Wolfson: - A Dream Interpreted Within a Dream - Heidegger and Kabbalah: Hidden Gnosis and the Path of Poiēsis -Giving Beyond the Gift: Apophasis and Overcoming Theomania

Alexander Ororbia is a computer scientist and neuroscientist. AI today is built upon silicon-based computers, but what would artificial intelligence look like if it were based on biological materials and principles? In this podcast, expect to learn how biological intelligence differs from silicon-based intelligence, the concept of "mortal computers" (computers that die), how cognition extends beyond neurons, examples of mortal computers such as anthrobots and xenobots, and more... 00:00 Biological vs Silicon; Mortal vs Immortal 05:06 Mortal Computers vs Standard Computers 09:52 The Importance of Death in Intelligence 18:23 Embodiment and Inactivism in Biological Intelligence 26:16 Limits of Current AI 36:35 Benefits of Mortal Computers Over Standard AI 39:50 Mortal Compter Examples: Anthrobots and Xenobots 45:50 How Good are ChatGPT and LLMs? Efficiency of Mortal Computers 50:50 Will LLMs Ever Get to AGI? Find Alexander's work: -Mortal Computation paper: https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.09589 -Survey on brain-inspired learning: https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.09257 -Review of neuroscience machine learning: https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.18929 -Survey on predictive coding / biomimetic learning: https://arxiv.org/abs/2308.07870

Jamie Ward is a cognitive scientist and an expert on why people's brains and cognition differ across individuals. Roughly 3% of the world experiences synesthesia—the mixing of senses where you might taste words, smell colors, and other such phenomena. In this discussion, expect to learn about the range of experiences among synesthetes, the types of people who have synesthesia, the relationship between psychedelics and synesthesia, why people have synesthesia, and much more. Timestamps: 00:00 What is Synesthesia? 01:24 The Range of Experiences 03:01 Personality Traits and Abilities 05:19 Improved Memory Among Synesthetes 07:35 Differences in Pattern Recognition 12:05 Living With Synesthesia 14:29 Synesthesia and Psychedelics 18:49 Expectations, Perception, Cognition

Benjamin Lyons works on issues of collective intelligence within economics, biology & mathematics. We typically think that agency can only be found in brains and organisms like us. But what if we could find agency in something as fundamental as mathematics? Or in something as large and distributed as an economy? In this podcast expect to learn about how agency can be seen in mathematics, about the hidden competencies within mathematics, whether we should be suprised by level of intelligence found in biology, the economy as a cognitive system, and more... Timestamps: 00:00 - Even Mathematics Has Agency 02:16 - The Role of Choice in Mathematics 05:47 - Hidden Competencies in Mathematics 09:20 - Implications for Biological Systems 34:39 - The Economy as a Collective Intelligence System 44:49 - The Role of the Price System in Collective Intelligence 48:57 - Understanding Self-Interest in Economics 51:40 - The Function of Money in the Economy 55:54 - The Importance of Mainstream Economics 01:00:31 - Closing Remarks Find Benjamin -Website: https://benjaminflyons.com -Agency in Mathematics talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tT0pFAE36c&t=231s -Talk with Michael Levin: https://youtu.be/0Oo4ng6dWrQ?si=4fuTiAQ9vDdH9D5X

Randy Ellis is a biologist and computational biologist. It's been a few decades since cases of fraud in psychology began science's "replication crisis". What has happened since then? What problems remain? And what does the future hold? In this podcast, expect to learn about fraud in science, the misincentives in science that lead to too many positive results, why replication has proven difficult in science, ways science's problems could be fixed, and more... Timestamps: 00:00 The Replication Crisis in Science 08:08 Why Are Replication Rates So Bad? 16:13 Fraud in Science 23:32 Confirmation Bias From Scientists Meta-Science and Improving Scientific Practices 27:54 Enhancing Credibility and Reproducibility in Science 43:30 Future of Science 47:14 Problems in Clinical Trials 53:04 Problems of Citation Metrics Find Randy: randalljellis.github.io

Juensung Kim is a cognitive scientist. Cultures have used magical practices for millennia. Are they real? Do they work? What even is magic? This podcast explores the cognitive underpinnings of magic, providing a scientific perspective on such ancient wisdom. In this podcast, expect to learn about the cognitive machinery that allows for magic to work, how divination and fortune-telling could be explained scientifically, the study of the mind and imagination, the dangers of psychedelics and insight, and more. Timestamps: 00:00 What Really is Magic? 09:04 Imagination vs Perception vs Reality 17:29 Intelligence of the Ancients (What counts as knowledge?) 21:27 Pattern Recognition and Fortune Telling 24:47 AI vs Human Intelligence 30:40 Mental Time Travel and Origins of Science and Magic 34:11 Understanding the World and Developing a Relationship 42:00 The Problem of Psychedelics 48:50 Awe and Vastness Experiences

Zack Baker is a writer and researcher who works with Center Studies. Humans are unique: we have language, money, and culture. How did we get here? And what might the future look like? In this podcast, expect to learn about how civilization got off the ground, a theory of how language could have emerged, why humans have a unique ability to defer violence, the role of religion and the sacred, the future of money and politics, and more... Timestamps: 00:00 Center Studies' Radical Hypothesis on Human Nature 05:59 Humans' Unique Capacity for Shared Attention 10:18 The Emergence of Language 17:25 How Civilization Defers Violence Through Language 25:37 Religion, Liberalism, Planetary Governance 27:10 Long-Term Projects and Meaningful Human Teams 32:02 Jesus Christ and a Post-Sacrificial World 33:26 Inventing New Ways of Thinking and Speaking 38:02 Fiat Currency and the End of Money 44:31 Future of Currency and Civilization Find Zack -twitter: @zackabaker Find Center Studies -twitter: @centerstudy_ -website: https://centerstudycenter.xyz/

Mathew Segall is a philosopher and writer of the popular blog Footnotes2Plato. Science must always make philosophical and metaphysical assumptions. What are these? What really is science, how does it compare to philsophy and religion, and how might it radically change in the future? Expect to learn about how radical science becomes philosophical, how religion cannot be separated from science, how Whitehead's process philosophy could help science's mind-body problem, the role of psychedelics and mystical states in gaining scientific insights, and more. Timestamps: 00:00 Science vs Philosophy 09:25 Why Science Can't Ignore Human Experience 14:08 Science vs Religion 21:32 Metaphysical and Theological Dimensions of Economics 34:11 Egregores and Spirits 40:25 Whitehead's Process Philosophy 46:45 Panpsychism and Mind in Science 53:30 How Michael Levin Changed His Views on Agency 59:19The Potential Impact of Psychedelics on Science and Philosophy Find Matthew: -X: @ThouArtThat -Substack: https://footnotes2plato.substack.com/ -Blog: https://footnotes2plato.com/

Kenneth Michael Florence is a writer, artist, and musician. An egregore is the concept in Western esotericism of a non-physical entity or thoughtform that arises from the collective thoughts and emotions of a group of individuals. Is the concept useful for describing collective entities like economies, corporations and nations in today's world? Are collective entities reducible to the psychic, or is there more to them? In this podcast expect to learn about whether collective beings are conscious, the relationship between personhood and souls, Carl Jung's collective unconscious in relation to spiritual realities, how Rudolf Steiner's four domains of reality help us understand egregores, understanding AI in spiritual terms, and more... 00:00 Kenneth's Article on Egregores 07:13 Are Collective Entities Conscious? 12:44 Personhood and Identity 21:13 Carl Jung's Higher Self and Psychic Realities 28:25 Psyche vs. Spirit (Can Spirits Be Reduced to Psyche?) 38:54 Rudolf Steiner's Four Domains of Reality 47:35 Egregores as Headless Beings 01:00:20 Spiritual Realities Non-Reducible to the Material 01:05:18 AI as an Astral Entity Susceptible to Spirits Find Kenneth Egregores article: https://thesymbolicworld.com/content/the-symbolic-world-vs-egregores-part-1 Website: https://www.kennethmichaelflorence.com/bio Substack: https://kennethmichaelflorence.substack.com/