Conversations

A conversation with Professor of Philosophy, Eric Schwitzgebel— This month, I sat down with Professor of Philosophy at the University of California - Riverside - Eric Schwitzgebel. Along with teaching, Eric is a prolific writer who since 2006 has written over 1000 posts about numerous subjects on his blog “The Splintered Mind.” His most recent book: A Theory of Jerks and other Philosophical Misadventures is a collection of 68 of Eric’s favorites. Our conversation was as wide ranging as his resume and research. We talked about his personal history towards a academic career in philosophy. Being influenced as a grad student under John Searle of “The Chinese Room” thought experiment fame. Eric’s dad had a similar trajectory as he worked under Timothy Leary for the famous Harvard LSD studies. We discussed the utility of philosophy, moral psychology, and went deep into many of the questions pertaining to consciousness. Our discussion featured his past research on ethics of ethics professors, complex mating dances of garden snails, and ancient Chinese philosophy. We also touched on the reconnection of psychology and philosophy in the last 20 years, and teaching evil earlier in the semester to his students. I thank Eric for his time, research, and eclectic mind. Enjoy the conversation, and until next time - Ad Astra! -- Timestamps: - Eric’s dad was a grad student in the famous Harvard (Timothy Leary & Ram Das) LSD Studies, and invented the ankle monitoring system for arrestees (00:05:13)
 - Eric did his post graduate work at UC Berkley under John Searle of “The Chinese Room” thought experiment fame - a critique of “The Turing Test” (00:13:59)
 - What exactly is consciousness? (00:18:20)
 - Can collectives, societies, companies, ideas, or countries like the United States be conscious? (00:22:45)
 - Eric’s thoughts on Object Oriented Ontology and speculative realism (00:26:37)
 - Unknown Unknowns, and the quest for consilience, and the Fermi paradox (00:35:16)
 Part Two: - Philosophical outlook on altered states of consciousness (00:44:02)
 - The great debate between Mengzi & Xunzi about whether human nature is good or evil. (00:48:06)
 - Science fiction as a philosophy & ethics of technology (01:02:22)
 - Upcoming anthology: “Philosophy through science fiction stories” (01:06:31)
 - Discussing films Ex Machina & Arrival (01:10:54)
 - The bizarre, weird, and complex lives of garden snails (01:16:09)
 - The love of writing, running a blog called “The Splintered Mind,” and everyone is really a philosopher and interested in the deepest mysteries of existence (01:23:40)
 - Eric’s new book: “A Theory of Jerks and other Philosophical Misadventures" (01:30:21)
 - Recommending Zhuangzi (Butterfly Dream) and John Stuart Mill (On Liberty) and Montaigne (Personal essays like On Solitude) (01:39:50)
 - What can we gain philosophically from the idea of the “The Overview Effect?” (01:56:34) More on Eric Schwitzgebel: Eric’s Book: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/theory-jerks-and-other-philosophical-misadventures Eric’s Website: https://faculty.ucr.edu/~eschwitz/ Eric’s blog “The Splintered Mind”: https://schwitzsplinters.blogspot.com/ Eric’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/eschwitz?lang=en

A conversation with the founder of Idea Markets, Mike Elias— After traveling to Europe in October & November to film some projects and record a few podcasts (Ronni Abergel, Vinay Gupta, George Por, & Yogos Krassakopoulos), I am back in LA for the foreseeable future. Last month, I sat down with Mike Elias of Idea Markets.  The subject matter we discussed hits close to home with my journalism  background, and should be deeply important for anyone who values  democratic values & access to information. Sadly, this is not a new  story, but a very old one. Mike  & Idea Markets are trying to help solve the problem of trust,  credibility, and narrative rigor that is objectively missing in media  today. As well as, countering the incalculable harm of the “Tobacco Strategy” that still plagues our societal discourse anywhere narratives take root in the public’s psyche. Enjoy & Ad Astra! What is an idea market? “Idea  markets use investment to establish credibility for ideas and  narratives without trusting a centralized third party by changing the  incentive landscape for creating common knowledge. Success is achieved  not when lies disappear forever, but when the trend reverses from a  competition to exploit, terrorize, and divide the public to a  competition to serve, inspire, and unite it.” -- Timestamps How Mike’s influences have changed over time (05:07) What he does day to day other than Idea Markets (12:53) His experience with cryptocurrencies (18:59) Beginning of part two with an explanation of the Hegelian Dialectic (27:23) What are fiat narratives, and examples of how media corporations create them (36:36) The effectiveness of the “Tobacco Strategy” & Edward Bernays lasting influence on us all (47:31) Beginning of part three with how we are in an epistemic crisis (51:41) Our public media apparatus is inadequate in dealing with the problems of today (55:53) What does Idea Markets do differently? (58:36) How Idea Markets runs on the Ethereum blockchain (We talked to Vinay Gupta who helped launch Ethereum in a previous episode) (01:04:12) Idea Markets have Skin in the Game principles (01:08:59) Idea Markets browser extension launches March 1st, 2020! (01:14:13) -- More on Mike Elias: Idea Markets Website: https://ideamarkets.org/ Idea Markets White Paper: https://github.com/harmonylion/ideamarkets/wiki/Whitepaper-v1 Idea Markets Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ideamarkets_ Mike’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/harmonylion1

A conversation with the Head of Programming for the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, Yorgos Krassakopoulos— “Γεια σας από την Ελλάδα” - “Hello from Greece” After traveling to Europe in October and recording a few podcasts(Ronni Abergel, Vinay Gupta, & George Por), I recieved a long awaited email from the international press secretary of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival(TIFF) regarding press credentials. I had applied weeks prior due to theme of  the 2019 festival being of particular interest. TIFF celebrated it’s 60th anniversary last November, and the theme was “The Overview Effect.” So of course Eclectic Spacewalk had to go check it out. We discussed movies & film in general, their impact on the public,  and a little about TIFF’s 60th anniversary theme - The Overview Effect.”  Yogos is usually critiquing the films and deciding on their possible  inclusion to TIFF, but he also enjoyes interviewing the eclectic director John Waters one of the evenings. Enjoy & Ad Astra! -- Timestamps Yorgos was born in a small town in the Peloponnese region of Greece (02:16) “Who were your biggest influences growing up and now?” (04:09) Yorgos talks about the transformation that happens when you watch a great film (06:26) “What makes a great film?” (09:34) Great films go beyond language or cultural differences (10:46) Three films( Fight Club, Theorem, The Ogre of Athens) that had great impact on Yorgos (11:22) How do you disconnect being a film critic and a film fan/enthusiast? (13:26) Why was this year’s theme “The Overview Effect?” (17:27) Thessaloniki comes alive for the festival (22:26) -- More on Yorgos Krassakopoulos: TIFF Website: https://www.filmfestival.gr/en/ Flix Website: https://flix.gr/ Review Examples: https://flix.gr/en/author/yorgos Yorgos Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/krassakopoulos/

Hey Eclectic Spacewalkers! Back in October, after traveling to Copenhagen and then to London, we headed to Brighton, on the southern coast of the UK, to speak with George Por. George Por is the Founder & Academic Dean of Campus Co-Evolve, or “The Campus.” Campus Co-Evolve is a unique digital higher education prototype. Their ambitions are of the highest order in pioneering learning techniques that can be used at three all encompassing scales. Our purpose is “to  trigger viral waves of new capabilities for facilitating profound   transformation on three scales — personal, organizational, and  societal.” Campus Co-Evolve is still relatively new, as it has only been around for a year or so, but there is much promise. Given more capital with successful cohorts and committed teachers we could be hearing more about The Campus in the future of education. George has a long track record of teaching, mentorship, and being a r.evolutionary change agent.  Our conversation was wide ranging & thought provoking. We talked about The Campus, but also got into civilization renewal, reinvigorating the commons, and the importance of adding evolutionary thinking into your repertoire of seeing reality. Enjoy the conversation, and until next time - Ad Astra! -- Timestamps What did you want to be when you grew up? (00:01:42) George’s  story about being being kicked out of university, spending 20 months in jail, and exiled from Hungary in the 1960s. (00:06:03) George talks about his “Circle of Life” work, and it changing every year (00:13:14) George started a magazine called “Enlivening Edge” (00:23:45) BEGINNING OF PART TWO (00:29:12) George  founded a company called Community Intelligence which is “enabling the  next stage of development and people and organizations” (00:29:12) “Organizational  theories interests me only if they can be tested and practice & are  improving the lives of people while moving the organization that they  work with to its next stage of capabilities. (00:35:30) What are “The Commons?” (00:44:49) How has mentor-ship & teaching changed you personally? (00:48:28) BEGINNING OF PART THREE (00:52:54) Why did you start Campus Co-Evolve? (00:52:54) Five Pillars of Campus Co-Evolve (00:58:15) Campus Co-Evolve is donation based instead of tuition (01:05:12) If  you were at the International Space Station or say the moon with a  whole world looking up at you (Experiencing “The Overview Effect”), what  would you say? (01:11:41) -- More on George Por: Campus Co-Evolve Website: https://campus-coevolve.org/ Community Intelligence Website: https://community-intelligence.com/ EnLivening Edge Newsletter: https://www.enliveningedge.org/ George’s Twitter: @TechnoShaman George’s Medium: https://medium.com/@technoshaman

Hey Eclectic Spacewalk subscribers! Last month, after traveling to Copenhagen, Denmark to speak to Ronni Abergel, Founder & CEO of the Human Library Organization (HLO), we headed to jolly ole’ London town (please excuse the cliche lol) to have a conversation with Vinay Gupta, the CEO of Mattereum. We talked about his early days and influences growing up in Scotland. We spoke about how Buckminster Fuller’s “doing more with less” was the founding principle for him to  make a usable shelter at Burning Man, but also the opportunity for the finished product - The Hexayurt - to be deployed in disaster areas. We discussed how cryptocurrencies were almost inevitable because of the problems with payments over the internet, and how he came to help launch Ethereum. The later parts of our conversation focused on his founding of Matterum, and how it’s main mission is to: “Turn Law into Code” by “Organizing the world's property and making it universally accessible and useful.” In their White Paper, Matterum says it is a “commercial  infrastructure to turn smart contracts into legal contracts that can be  efficiently enforced all over the world, without needing new  legislation, creating liquidity for $50 trillion of assets globally.” By humanizing the singularity, Matterum will not only help in the  legitimacy and trust of assets, but it is positioned extremely well to  help fight against climate change by “creating digital twins of material objects and using blockchain smart contracts to automate  all aspects of how material things are traded, owned, and combined. We aim to squeeze out these systemic inefficiencies and more accurately allocate capital to activities which promote wellbeing.” Timestamps Biggest influences growing up (00:06:57) Buckminster Fuller, Burning Man, & The Hexayurt (00:10:29) Influence of Twitter in discourse & communication (00:16:32) Personal philosophy changing over the years (00:25:03) BEGINNING OF PART TWO (31:59) What is the Blockchain? (00:31:59) Trade-offs of the Blockchain (00:41:21) Helping launch Ethereum (00:59:43) Founding Mattereum - “Turning Law into Code.” (01:08:41) Mattereum proof of concept trust model with William Shatner & his collectibles (01:26:40) What would you say to the world, if you were experiencing the “Overview Effect?” (01:51:42) More on Vinay Gupta: Mattereum Website: https://mattereum.com/ Mattereum White Paper: https://cms.mattereum.io/upload/iblock/784/mattereum-summary_white_paper.pdf Vinay Twitter: https://twitter.com/leashless Vinay Medium: https://medium.com/@leashless

Hey Eclectic Spacewalkers, This month I traveled to Copenhagen, Denmark to speak to Ronni Abergel, Founder & CEO of the Human Library Organization (HLO), and also to document one of their events during Copenhagen’s Culture Night on October 11th, 2019. “Menneskebiblioteket”  as it is called in Danish, was created in Copenhagen in the spring of 2000 by Ronni and a few others. HLO has grown significantly since their humble beginnings and now operate events in over 80 countries. “The Human Library® is, in the true sense  of the word, a library of people.  We host events where readers can borrow human beings serving as open books and have conversations they would not normally have access to. Every human book from our bookshelf, represent a group in our society that is  often subjected to prejudice, stigmatization or discrimination because  of their lifestyle, diagnosis, belief, disability, social status, ethnic origin etc.” HLO meets  their goals by, “creating a special dialogue room, where taboo topics can be discussed openly and without condemnation. A place where people who would otherwise never talk find room for conversation…a place where difficult questions are expected, appreciated and answered.” “Un-judge Someone!” is upgraded from “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover” The improved statement honestly presupposes our biological judgements (based on evolution & survival techniques) of others, but - critically - allows us to consciously rise above them. Ronni and I had a fantastic conversation about the journey of HLO, growing pain key learnings, as well as future  plans of expansion. Our conversation also got into the natural mechanics of judgement, identity, and community. I thank Ronni for his time, and  the wonderful discussion we had. Enjoy the conversation, and until next time - Ad Astra! - - - - - Timestamps Growing up with a French Moroccan family heritage in Copenhagen (00:02:25) Different influences & role models (00:08:07) “I  don't know if it's about seeing myself in them. It's more about  understanding the world and their understanding of the world, and maybe  will help me better my understanding of the world.” (00:12:58) After spending a year in the US, the reverse culture shock of going back to Copenhagen was indeed “weird” (00:15:56) Judging  is an integral part of humanity’s biological repertoire of defense  mechanisms, but HLO is saying: “Become a NON-Judge because we know you already judged.” (00:23:58) BEGINNING OF PART TWO (29:17) What is the Human Library? (00:29:40) “All of us have unconscious bias and all of us judge.” (00:30:51) The non religious epiphany or insight that started it all. (00:34:06) “Unjudge someone” is an upgrade from “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover” (00:38:14) The content of conversations depend on your courage to have them (00:40:45) Human Library’s corporate model (00:44:12) - - - - - More on Ronni Abergel: Human Library' Website: https://humanlibrary.org/ Human Library’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheHumanLibrary Human Library’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/humanlibraryorg

Tiago Forte is a coach, entrepreneur, and writer known for creating BuildingASecondBrain.com and founding Forte Labs. In this engaging discussion, Tiago shares his journey of personal growth and the importance of embracing uncertainty. He introduces the concept of a 'second brain' for structured creativity and productivity, advocating for principles over quick-fix strategies. The conversation also explores how pressure can drive motivation, the psychological impacts of trauma on work, and the transformative power of curiosity and environment on creativity.

Hello Eclectic Spacewalkers, Here is my interview with Cal Poly Pomona, Professor of Philosophy - Michael Cholbi (First published on my Substack newsletter) His research is primarily in ethics, with particular emphases on suicide, grief, punishment, Kantian ethics,  paternalism, work & labor, and moral psychology. Along with teaching, he is currently the director of the newly created California Center for Ethics and Policy (CCEP). Michael is also a founding member of the International Association for the Philosophy of Death and Dying, and has published over 60 peer-reviewed articles. His most noted books are “Suicide, the Philosophical Dimensions”, and on “Understanding Kant’s Ethics.” (Below are timestamps of the conversation to skip around, or just clear your mind and press play to hear a thoughtful conversation). I thank Michael for his time, research, and openness on usually hushed subject matter(s), but as he said in the conversation: “LIGHT IS THE BEST DISINFECTANT.” We have to talk about the things that we care about, but even more so - If we want to change them. Enjoy the conversation & Ad Astra! - - - - - - Timestamps My father was at D-Day” (03:39) Was death and suicide a part of your life growing up? (08:38) “Yeah,  I think that philosophy gives people, well it honors, their autonomy as people and gives them a chance to empower themselves and I think that at its best, you know, philosophy can be a really powerful source of human solidarity.” (24:09) Philosophy and it’s root “Philosophia” means a “love of wisdom” NOT “wisdom” (28:28) Is ethics only really viewed through a subjective (personal/cultural) lens? (45:34) END OF PART ONE (47:42) -- How do animals deal with death? Do they grieve?(57:15) How do different cultures throughout the past, and now, deal with death? (59.04) What are your thoughts on Immortality? (01:05:22) “...it's a somewhat transient impulse and I think that acknowledging suicidal thinking is actually a very powerful suicidal Suicide Prevention technique. It doesn't seem to me that the taboo has done much good on that score.” (01:17:44) “Each of us is a small trembling animal that will someday decay and die” - Ernest Becker (01:33:58) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  More on Michael Cholbi: Website:  https://michael.cholbi.com/  Twitter:  @MichaelCholbi Purchase latest book: Understanding Kant’s Ethics Purchase previous book: Suicide: The Philosophical Dimensons Book

Interview with Author & Poet Millicent Ally (First published on my Substack newsletter) Purchase Book: Tales of the Human Condition on Amazon Purchase Audiobook: Tales of the Human Condition (with music & without) on Audible Connect on Twitter: @MillicentAlly - - - - - -  Last month, I sat down and had a conversation with author & poet  Millicent Ally. She self published a collection of poems called Tales of the Human Condition in 2012. I  found Millicent’s poems in a round a bout way, but they will be on my  bookshelf for a long, long time. The first half of the podcast is  getting to know Millicent, and her journey until now. The second half is  Millicent reading her poetry, and then us discussing it. I was  immediately enamored with her honesty, personal themes, and ability to  make a legitimate attempt of encapsulating the human condition. (I don’t  think any human could ever begin to do that, but the effort is  appreciated!) She breaks up her collection into four pillars of her/your  human condition: Life, Love, Introspection, and God. Timestamps Where are you from originally? (0:25) What influences did you get from LA/”the south?” (1:10) What age range? (2:35) What were your writing influences? (05:19) Millicent reads her poem “Fourteen.” (08:25) “It's like we're more of a spiritual creature inside of a biological.” (11:28) "So  by acknowledging my character flaws and accepting my own shortcomings  with love, forgiveness and a willing to change, I improve my humanity.” (13:50) “I am more forgiving with other people than I am with myself.” (15:00) What were the internal & external factors when you wrote Tales of the Human Condition? (19:35) “I self-published and it was a really interesting.” (28:00) Would you in 2019 keep those same four pillars of: Life, Love, Introspection and God? (35:45) Imagine yourself at International Space Station or the moon, and the world is looking at you. - What would you say? (38:00) END OF PART ONE (41:32) — BEGINNING OF PART TWO (41:36) Millicent reads her poem “Sunday” (41.52) Millicent reads her poem “Masked Morality” (45:59) Millicent reads her poem “Ascension” (58:50) Millicent reads her poem “World’s End”(01:00:47) Millicent reads her poem “Profession” (01:07:30) Millicent reads her poem “Apology” (01:10:06) Millicent reads her poem “The Lifelong Process” (01:13:16) Millicent reads her poem “Lazarus” (01:17:17) Millicent reads her poem “The Distant Beyond” (01:18:44) Millicent reads her poem “Immortal” (01:20:04) Millicent reads her poem “Eternal Hymn in God” (01:22:07) Nicholas reads Millicent’s Tales of the Human Condition “Conclusion” (01:25:45) - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  More: Eclectic Spacewalk Website Subscribe to Substack Newsletter Follow Eclectic Spacewalk on Twitter

Eclectic Spacewalk presents:  "Conversations," a podcast about the uniqueness of the human condition & how - through conversation – we can continue to upgrade humanity’s value systems. Eclectic Spacewalk means: "a broad & diverse range of Earth based philosophies viewed from outer space." Everyone has a subjective awe-inspiring viewpoint on OUR reality, and the goal of this podcast is to have conversations with unique humans.  Send us any recommendations on who we should talk to next, but remember we are not just a podcast! You can subscribe to our Substack newsletter, and get first access to every podcast episode here: Substack Newsletter Connect with us on social media by following Eclectic Spacewalk on Twitter and the hashtag #EclecticSpacewalk. Find us on Minds.com @EclecticSpacewalk And as always you can find everything on the website Eclectic Spacewalk We want to talk with anyone over our shared humanity & best practices of life.  Now…let's have a conversation!