How does recognizing our deep physical and social connections change the way we understand human nature?
University of Cincinnati philosophy and psychology professor Dr. Anthony Chemero joins host PJ Weary to challenge traditional Western philosophy and explore the embodied nature of cognition.
Dr. Chemero unpacks his book Intertwined Creatures: The Embodied Cognitive Science of Self and Other. Together they discuss the intersection of cognitive science and feminist theory to show how deeply our environments and social circles shape who we are.
In this conversation they explore:
- How feminist critiques of traditional philosophy reveal that our earliest experiences as infants are shared rather than isolated.
- The flaws of the Cartesian worldview that treats the self as a hidden mind sparsely connected to a mechanical body.
- Using the pub crawl from the movie The World's End to explain why viewing other people as unthinking blanks is a fundamental failure of understanding humanity.
- What flushing toilets and far-from-equilibrium thermodynamics teach us about the self-organizing nature of human behavior.
- The physical and social constraints that effortlessly coordinate our actions when we move a sofa or dance with another person.
- The concept of shared public moods and how our emotions are often collective rather than purely internal.
This is a conversation for anyone interested in psychology and philosophy who wants to break free from the illusion of isolation and embrace a deeply connected human experience.
Make sure to check out Dr. Chemero's book: Intertwined Creatures: The Embodied Cognitive Science of Self and Other 👉 https://cup.columbia.edu/book/intertwined-creatures/9780231223195/
Check out our website at chasingleviathan.com
Who thinks that they can subdue Leviathan? Strength resides in its neck; dismay goes before it. When it rises up, the mighty are terrified. Nothing on earth is its equal. It is without fear. It looks down on all who are haughty; it is king over all who are proud.
These words inspired PJ Wehry to create Chasing Leviathan. Chasing Leviathan was born out of two ideals: that truth is worth pursuing but will never be subjugated, and the discipline of listening is one of the most important habits anyone can develop.
Timestamps
0:00 – Introduction
1:13 – Grad School, Feminism, and the Limits of Analytic Philosophy
2:10 – From Chomsky to Dennett to Feminist Cognitive Science
3:16 – Discovering Feminist Political Theory and Embodiment
4:22 – Embodiment, Social Interaction, and What People Really Are
4:45 – AI as Blanks and The World’s End Analogy
5:33 – Why No One Around You Is a Blank
6:16 – The Problem of Other Minds
7:26 – Philosophy, Real Life, and Promoting Social Change
8:46 – What Is a Person? Traditional Views vs Feminist Critique
9:50 – Mothers, Infants, and Shared Experience
10:30 – Minimal Self, Narrative Self, and a Three Year Old’s Identity
11:32 – From Newborn Coexperience to Semi Autonomy
12:20 – Robinson Crusoe, Technology, and Minds Without Others
13:11 – Culture, Chairs, and How Social Norms Shape Perception
15:00 – Are Some Cultures More Communal Than the West
15:58 – How Roles and Rooms Quietly Shape Our Choices
16:38 – What Are Dynamical Systems in Cognitive Science
18:01 – Far From Equilibrium Thermodynamics and Living Systems
19:19 – Bringing Dynamics into Neuroscience and Cognition
20:11 – Frisbee Catching and Why Minds Extend Beyond the Skull
20:39 – Self Organization, Constraints, and Everyday Common Sense
22:28 – Toilets, Whirlpools, and How Order Emerges Without a Leader
24:23 – Actions as Self Organizing Rather Than Commanded
25:00 – Social Constraints, Bowls, and How Groups Shape Behavior
25:27 – Carrying a Sofa Together as Joint Action
27:19 – Moods as Public and Shared Rather Than Private
28:37 – Personality, Moods, and Emotions Across Timescales
29:10 – Shared Emotions and the Feel of Being in an Argument
29:34 – Power, Hierarchy, and Antagonistic Coupling
30:11 – Belittling, Culture, and How Reactions Are Learned
30:59 – Novels, Violence, and How Books Shape Collective Mood
31:59 – Beyond Cartesian Mind Reading
32:37 – Conversations, Grumpiness, and Shared Affective Fields
36:03 – Truth, Activism, and Why Theory Choice Is Moral
37:02 – Chomsky, Nativism, and Morally Dubious Pictures of Persons
38:17 – How Intertwined Selves Reshape Parenting and Gender
39:44 – Emotional Connectedness as the Human Default
40:01 – Individual Health as Community Health
40:28 – Environment, Regulation, and Why the World Matters for Persons
41:22 – Inverting Harmful Policies Through Interdependence
41:50 – Descartes, Souls, and the Myth of Radical Independence
42:47 – Relationships as Systems With Their Own Integrity
45:00 – Microbiomes, Air Quality, and the Fragility of Thought
47:09 – Jeff VanderMeer, Area X, and Transformative Environments
50:00 – Violence, Mobs, and When Social Dynamics Go Wrong
51:25 – Concluding Thoughts
