Converging Dialogues

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with David Hoinski about different philosophical ideas and the importance of appreciation. They discuss the philosophy of the pre-socratics, logos, and the nature and role of philosophy. They also talk about immanence vs. transcendence, reality and the metaphysical, and the emotions of guilt and shame. They discuss Nietzsche’s idea about the death of god, universal and political implications of Nietzsche’s philosophy, capitalism, why appreciation is important and many more topics.

David Hoinski is a philosopher and writer. He is an Assistant Professor of philosophy at West Virginia University where he emphasizes ancient philosophy, modern German philosophy, and ethical/political philosophy. David is an esteemed bibliophile and speaks German and Ancient Greek.  Twitter: @davidfahoinski

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Merve Emre about literary criticism and how to engage with literature. They discuss what literary criticism is and why it is important. They talk about different ways of reading, author’s intent, and the contours of literary genre. They also discuss various forms of interpretation, themes of “becoming” in the philosophy of Nietzsche and writing of Mieko Kawakami, and many more topics.

Merve Emre is a professor of literature at Oxford University, Critic at The New Yorker, and the Shaprio-Silverberg Distinguished Writer-in-Residence at Wesleyan University. She has her BA from Harvard University and her PhD from Yale University. Her essays have appeared in Harper’s, The Atlantic, and The New York Review of Books. She is the author of numerous books including Paraliterary and The Personality Brokers. You can find her work at her website. Twitter: @mervatim

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Justin Gregg about animal intelligence. They discuss how one defines intelligence, g, and what intelligence means for humans and animals. They talk about animal minds, communication in animals, and concepts of deception. They discuss theory of mind, minimal concept of death, morality and norms in animals, torture and pain in animals, and many other topics.

Justin Gregg is a science writer and communicator. He is Adjunct Professor at Saint Francis Xavier University and Senior Research Associate with the Dolphin Communication Project. He has a PhD from Trinity College, Dublin and has studied dolphin social cognition. He is the author of a few books including his most recent, If Nietzsche Were A Narwhal. You can find his work here. Twitter: @justindgregg

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Lars Chittka about the cognitive abilities of bees. They discuss the individuality and evolutionary history of bees. They talk about the various aspects of vision in bees such as polarization, sun compass, and phylogenetic analysis. They discuss the antennae of bees and how they use this sense. They talk about the sociality of bees, the brains of bees, intelligence, and their personality. They also discuss robot bees, bee conservation, and many more topics.

Lars Chittka is a zoologist and ecologist who is the founder of the research centre for psychology at Queen Mary, University of London. He is an editor of PLoS Biology, fellow of the Linnean Society, the Royal Entomological Society, and Royal Society of Biology. He is a well-established researcher on sensory physiology and cognition of bees. He is the author of The Mind of A Bee. You can find his work here. Twitter: @lchittka

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Katja Hoyer about the history of the German Empire. They discuss what it means to be German, Prussia and its boundaries, and the importance of the German revolution in 1848. They talk about the character and rule of Otto Von Bismarck, the unification of Germany in 1871, and how the industrial revolution was economically important. They also talk about the changing of the Kaisers, Germany’s involvement in WWI and the aftermath, and many other topics.

Katja Hoyer is a historian and journalist who is visiting research fellow at King’s College London and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. She is also Global Opinions contributing columnist for The Washington Post. Her main research area is the history of modern Germany. She is the author of Blood and Iron: The Rise and Fall of the German Empire 1871-1918. Twitter: @hoyer_kat

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Freddie deBoer about marxism, education and society. They define marxism, how marxism works today and how it is connected with communism and socialism. They discuss the evolution of the cult of smart, manufacturing and technical jobs, and how educational systems globally are compared to the United States. They talk about capacity and achievement, genetics and the “hereditarian left,” equality and equity, and lack of quality of education. They also discuss No Child Left Behind, Common Core, charter schools, solutions for our education system, and many more topics.

Freddie deBoer is a academic and writer. He has a Masters in writing and rhetoric from the University of Rhode Island and a PhD in english from Perdue University. He is the author of The Cult of Smart and writes consistently on his substack.

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Stuart Ritchie about fraud, bias, and hype within the social sciences. They talk about “trust the science” and some of the challenges of science during the COVID-19 pandemic. The discuss how the scientific method work and some of the dynamics within the scientific publishing world. They talk about how certain campaigns can promote what does and does not get accepted into scholarly journals, the replication crisis, and various fads within psychology. They also talk about the challenges of priming studies, censorship in journals, the Wakefield MMR vaccine study, p-hacking, growth mindset, and many more topics.

Stuart Ritchie is a psychologist and Lecturer at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience at King’s College, London. His research interests are human intelligence and challenges within the social sciences. He is the author of Science Fictions: How Fraud, Bias, Negligence, and Hype Undermine the Search for Truth. You can follow his substack. Twitter: @stuartjritchie

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Matthew Cobb about the moral history of genetic engineering. They discuss his reasons for writing the book and why one should be worried about genetic engineering. They define genetic engineering and some of the precursor tools before the advent of recombinant DNA. They discuss recombinant DNA, Paul Berg, and Asilomar. They also talk about the genetic history of GMOs, gene editing/CRISPR, the future of genetic engineering, and many more topics.

Matthew Cobb is Professor of Zoology at the University of Manchester. He has interests in human and animal behavior and is a well-established science communicator. He is the author of numerous books including the most recent, As Gods: A Moral History of The Genetic Age. Twitter: @matthewcobb

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue about the philosophy of Schelling, Spinoza, idealism, and realism. They talk about how he came to write his book on Schelling and Spinoza and how one can define idealism and realism. They talk about the three claims of idealism, Spinoza’s ethics, and the importance of Jacobi’s critiques on German idealism. They also talk about Spinoza’s god, the infinite and finite, modes and attributes of substance, principle of sufficient reason, and Kant’s synthetic judgements. They talk about Schelling’s philosophy of nature and his shift from philosophy of nature to philosophy of identity. They also mention the absolute, blotobjectivism, Kant’s antinomies, the problem of evil, and Schelling’s notion of potencies. They also mention Žižek’s three phases of Schelling’s philosophy, Schelling’s tripartite-tripartite soul, and many more topics.

Benjamin Norris is a philosopher and professor at Rowan University. He has his PhD in philosophy from the New School for Social Research. His main interests are German idealism, history of philosophy, and social and political philosophy. He is the author of the book, Schelling and Spinoza: Realism, Idealism, and the Absolute. You can find his work here. Twitter: @absoluteorgan

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Geoffrey Miller about evolution, polyamory, and artificial intelligence (AI). They give an overview of natural selection and sexual selection and explain why sexual selection was lost to history for many years. They discuss mate choice, pair-bonding, cold and hot choosers, sexual ornamentation, the ornamental mind, and mate retention. They also discuss polyamorous relationships, the moral and ethical implications of polyamorous relationships, and the role of commitment. They also talk about effective altruism and its connection with AI, the alignment problem of AI, libertarianism, and many more topics.

Geoffrey Miller is an evolutionary psychologist and associate professor at the University of New Mexico. He has a Bachelors in biology and psychology from Columbia university and a PhD in cognitive psychology from Stanford University. He is well cited in the scientific literature and has appeared in many mainstream outlets. His main research areas are in sexual selection, mate choice, creativity, and consumer behavior. He is the author of numerous books which can be found at his website. Twitter: @primalpoly