Philip Goff is a philosopher and author, and one of the world's foremost proponents of panpsychism, among several other non-mainstream philosophical views. Episode links, show notes and bonus content here: https://www.matthewgeleta.com/ Make a one-off donation here: https://bit.ly/donate-to-paradigm Philip's Links: ‘Mind Chat’ Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@MindChat Book: ‘Why? The Purpose of the Universe’: https://www.amazon.com/Why-Purpose-Universe-Philip-Goff/dp/0198883765/ Website: https://philipgoffphilosophy.com Social Media: https://twitter.com/Philip_Goff Timestamps 00:00 Intro 04:30 Response to Richard Dawkins' meaningless purposeless universe 10:15 Why might the universe have a purpose? 15:10 Why does the universe seem designed for life? 20:30 Is the universe design for rabbits? 26:30 The multiverse hypothesis and reverse gambler's fallacy 38:10 Pseudoscience and falsifiability 41:30 What does it mean to say the universe has a purpose? 45:10 Is a universe with purpose a good thing? 56:50 How this has changed Philip's life? 1:02:55 Regrets and #movember 1:04:30 Book recommendations 1:09:50 Who should represent humanity to an AI superintelligence?

Sara is an astronomer and planetary scientist known for her pioneering work on the vast and unknown world of exoplanets, and the search for life beyond Earth. Find episode details, video and more at: https://www.matthewgeleta.com/ We discuss: The prospects for finding alien life in our solar system The possibility that there is life on Venus The infamous fermi paradox Exoplanets The beautify of the night sky  … and other topics. Timestamps 0:00 Intro: Where are they? 5:35 Is there life on Venus? 13:25 Venus Life Finder mission 17:15 Non-biological life? 20:15 How might aliens discover life on Earth? 23:17 Should we broadcast our existence? 28:30 Consensus view - is there life outside of Earth? 31:05 Fermi Paradox - where are they? 34:50 Exoplanets 48:20 Starshade mission 54:11 Beauty and awe in physics 1:03:50 Book recommendations 1:11:23 Behind the scenes / backstory

Joscha is an artificial intelligence researcher, cognitive scientist, and philosopher known for his work on cognitive architectures and mind extension technologies. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus content and perks, visit: https://www.matthewgeleta.com/ Watch on YouTube. Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other podcast platform. Read the full transcript here. Follow me on LinkedIn or Twitter/X for episodes and infrequent social commentary. Timestamps: 0:00 Intro - AI risk 5:20 Transhumanism and mind uploading 10:20 Philosophy of self & mind 12:50 Is mind uploading physically possible? 21:50 Tele-transportation 24:50 Philosophy of self & mind - part 2 31:40 Gaia & hypergaia 37:05 Information processing & consciousness 54:10 AI risk & Eliezer Yudkowsky 1:03:10 AI regulation & control 1:11:25 Responsible AI development 1:27:26 AI intelligence explosion 1:36:23 Book recommendations & wrap

Anil Seth is a cognitive and computational neuroscientist and author of an excellent and highly successful book called Being You: A New Science of Consciousness. He is recognised as being in the top 0.1% of most impactful researchers globally, and his TED talks have collectively been viewed around 20 million. Episode notes more more available here: https://www.matthewgeleta.com/ Anil's book available here: https://amzn.to/4dKXg2Mhttps://amzn.to/4dKXg2M Timestamps 0:00 Intro 4:10 Blue and black or white and gold? 9:08 Yanny or Laurel? 12:17 Do we see the world in the same way? 18:21 Perceived is a controlled hallucination 24:16 Why does consciousness exist? 31:19 The Hard and Real problems of consciousness 34:15 Integrated information theory 46:17 Beast machines and the emergence of consciousness 1:04:40 Dreams, psychedelics and exotic conscious experiences 1:18:00 Book recommendations

Samir Okasha is a philosopher of science whose work focuses on theories of knowledge, evolutionary theory and the philosophy of biology. He’s a fellow of the British Academy, and the author of several interesting and very accessible books on philosophy and science, including Agents and Goals in Evolution, and an introductory book to the philosophy of biology. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers and get access to bonus content, episode notes, and subscriber perks, visit: https://www.matthewgeleta.com/ Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 1:00 The limits of human knowledge 3:55 What is science? 9:00 Science vs philosophy 18:38 Can we make progress in philosophy? 23:20 Philosophy of biology 29:58 Functional language in biology 34:12 Is evolutionary psychology is pseudoscience? 45:40 Evolution and morality 58:28 Can we get 'ought' from 'is'? 1:08:00 Book recommendations

Naomi is a Harvard University professor of the history of science, and an Affiliated Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences. She’s a leading voice on the role of science in society, the reality of anthropogenic climate change, and the role of disinformation in blocking climate action. She’s also a world-renowned author, having co-authored 9 books, including the best-selling book Merchants of Doubt, Climate change denial, and her most recent book, the Big Myth, which explores the idea of free market economics, and its dark and politically laden history. In this conversation Naomi and Matt discuss: * The relationships between science, economics, and politics * The idea of the free market, and common misconceptions about free market economics * Arguments for and against a free market way of thinking * The incentives systems that influence how ideas spread in a society * Meme theory * Propaganda … and other topics This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers and get access to bonus content, episode notes, and subscriber perks, visit: https://www.matthewgeleta.com/ Chapters: 0:00:00 Intro 0:03:15 Myth of the Free Market 0:08:55 Adam Smith vs regulation 0:28:40 Bad incentives vs bad actors 0:34:25 Arguments for and against regulation 0:44:10 Are free markets more fair? 0:53:00 Distrust in government as a cause of free market thinking 0:57:50 Meme theory of free market thinking 1:01:00 Ayn Rand & propaganda 1:09:00 Advice for people in positions of power 1:14:20 The Entrepreneurial State 1:16:50 Book recommendations 1:18:00 Advice for scientists 1:18:00 Who should represent humanity to an AI superintelligence?

Stephen Fleming, Professor of cognitive neuroscience, discusses self-deception, cognitive biases, and the limits of self-knowledge. They explore split brain experiments, the challenges of metacognition, and the relationship between metacognition and performance. The podcast also delves into the distinction between reality and imagination, influential books, and representing humanity to future AI.

Guest Thomas Metzinger, philosopher and author, discusses topics such as engineering conscious systems, the nature of conscious experience, psychedelic drugs, climate change, and AI ethics. They explore the ethical implications of creating conscious systems and the possibilities of altered states of consciousness. The podcast also delves into the challenges of addressing the climate crisis and the significance of minimal phenomenological experiences in understanding consciousness. Book recommendations and starting points for diving into these topics are also shared.

Alice Dreger is a bioethicist, historian, activist, and author. She’s well known as a powerful public voice in support of rights people born with atypical sex characteristics, such as intersex. In this conversation, Alice and Matt explore the science, philosophy, and history sex, gender, intersex, and similar topics. Topics: * Biological and social determinants of sex and gender * Medical treatment of people born with atypical sex characteristics * Ethics of sex and gender affirming medical interventions, especially in the case of children and adolescents * Conflicts that often arise between science and activists on matters relating to individual identity … and other topics. Alice’s links: * Website: https://alicedreger.com/ * Books: https://alicedreger.com/books/ * Twitter: https://twitter.com/AliceDreger SUPPORT & CONNECT: - Follow and leave a 5-star review - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewgeleta/ - Twitter: https://twitter.com/MatthewGeleta - Donate: https://bit.ly/donate-to-paradigm PODCAST INFO: - Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3IVDF2W - Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3oEZYmJ - YouTube: https://bit.ly/paradigm-on-youtube - RSS: https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/1656558/s/65176.rss Chapters: 0:00:00 Intro 0:02:20 Alice’s path to studying intersex 0:04:05 What are sex and gender? 0:08:20 Are sex and gender biologically determined? 0:10:14 Is intersex a “problem”? 0:13:00 Sexual orientation vs gender identity 0:16:34 How common is intersex? 0:22:24 Medical treatment of intersex people 0:30:23 Experience of people with intersex 0:41:21 Intersex in children and adolescents 0:44:32 Scientists vs activists 0:55:54 Galileo’s Middle Finger 0:58:21 Book recommendations 1:01:20 Advice for aspiring activists

Thomas Hertog, a prominent cosmologist and collaborator of Stephen Hawking, shares insights from his book 'On the Origin of Time'. He delves into the philosophical and scientific aspects of time, exploring its origin and the bold idea of how laws of physics emerged. Hertog reflects on Hawking's unique contributions to science and provides intriguing thoughts on whether time could ever flow in reverse. The conversation navigates through concepts like the multiverse and quantum gravity, ultimately challenging our understanding of existence.