Follow Topher's Work:

https://tophermcdougal.com/

Buy the book, Gaia Wakes:

https://cup.columbia.edu/book/gaia-wakes/9781788218283

Follow Topher on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/topherlmcdougal

Come join me on Patreon:

https://patreon.com/HemlockPatreon

Clarifications:

Prokaryotes emerged 3.5-.3.8 billion years ago (BYA), eukaryotes/endocytosis emerged 2 BYA.

Chapters

(00:00:00)-Introduction to Gaia Wakes and Its Themes

(00:09:06)-The Intellectual Clash of the Cold War

(00:16:06)-The Dialectic of Predation and Domestication

(00:50:01)-The Emergence of a Planetary Consciousness

(00:55:44)-The Scalar Organization of Life and Learning

(01:02:20)-Consciousness and the Models of Our Models

(01:08:28)-The Emergence of AI Consciousness

(01:18:00)-Ethics and AI Personhood

(01:24:42)-The Future of AI and Human Interaction

(01:52:23)-The Role of Humanity in Ecosystem Stewardship

(01:58:10)-Synthesis of Biological and Technological Systems

(02:06:09)-The Future of Energy and Resource Management

(02:12:05)-The Logic of Coordination and Planning

(02:18:15)-Technological Progress and Economic Impact

(02:31:03)-Recommendations for Further Reading

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Summary

In this conversation, William engages with Professor Topher McDougal about his upcoming book, 'Gaia Wakes,' which explores themes of planetary consciousness, artificial intelligence, and the interplay between human development and ecological challenges. They discuss historical intellectual debates during the Cold War, the dialectic of predation and domestication in evolutionary processes, and the potential for a centralized planetary consciousness to address environmental issues.

In this conversation, McDougal explores the intricate relationship between learning, consciousness, and the emergence of AI. He discusses the scalar organization of life, the models we create to navigate our environment, and the potential for AI to develop consciousness. The ethical implications of AI personhood and the future of human interaction with AI are also examined, highlighting the need for a robust framework for understanding and guiding these developments.

In this conversation, the speaker explores the intricate relationship between humanity, technology, and the environment. They discuss the role of humans as custodians of ecosystems, drawing parallels with natural systems like slime molds. The synthesis of biological and technological systems is highlighted, along with the potential risks associated with rapid technological advancements.

The conversation also delves into the future of energy management, the importance of planning for sustainability, and the disjunction between meaningful work and economic realities. Recommendations for further reading are provided to deepen understanding of these themes.

Come join my Patreon!

https://patreon.com/HemlockPatreon

Check out Roy's YouTube Page:

https://www.youtube.com/@DrRoyCasagranda

00:00-Introduction

02:30-The 1919 Revolution: A Catalyst for Change

10:38-Emergence of Dominant Ideologies in the Arab World

20:59-The United Arab Republic: A Pan-Arab Dream

23:48-Yemen's Civil War: Echoes of History

28:24-The 1973 Arab-Israeli War and Its Aftermath

38:27-Kissinger's Chaos and Middle Eastern Alliances

41:20-The Rise of Tyranny and Civil Wars

45:45-The Arab Spring: A Wave of Change

52:31-Yemen's Fragile Democracy and the Houthi Revolution

56:44-The Complexity of Yemen's Civil War

01:01:43-The Future of Yemen: Hope or Despair?

01:07:47-The Impact of Climate Change on Yemen's Stability

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It's finally here, and we're just getting started: Book I of Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy with a new intro by me.

(00:00:00) - Historical Introduction

(00:22:54) - Note on Translation & Performance

(00:26:16) - Book 1

(01:03:23) - Outro

Please consider purchasing the book that inspired this project, the Ignatius Critical Edition translated by Scott Goins and Barbara H. Wyman:

https://a.co/d/3A2j8PS

Full Text of the Cooper Translation:

https://faculty.georgetown.edu/jod/boethius/jkok/1m1_u.htm-//-

Suggestions for the show:

[email protected]

Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/HemlockPatreon

-//-

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:01:55) - Staloff on Eliade

-//-

Bluesky:

https://bsky.app/profile/william-engels.bsky.social

Darren Staloff:

https://hamilton.center.ufl.edu/people/darren-staloff/

Mircea Eliade:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mircea_Eliade

Patreon: https://patreon.com/HemlockPatreon

Hang in there.

Original Video, Published Feb 2014

https://youtu.be/EwPCJ9WpH7E

Thank you to Wheaton College for recording and uploading this talk.

https://www.youtube.com/@wheatoncollege

We did it! 100 reviews on Spotify!

To celebrate, we are kicking off an open-source audiobook project celebrating Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy, a deathbed prose poem written at the collapse of the Western Roman Empire and the birth of what is (somewhat unfortunately, but not for no reason called) the Dark Ages.

00:00:00 Announcement

00:08:36 Scholarly Introduction to the Consolation

This introduction is found in the Ignatius Critical Edition of Boethius, and the public domain text we will be using for the reading is the WV Cooper translation which can be found here:https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924073630026&seq=11

We must needs densify the social fabric, compadres...

https://patreon.com/HemlockPatreon

“This is what I thought: for the most banal even to become an adventure, you must (and this is enough) begin to recount it. This is what fools people: a man is always a teller of tales, he sees everything that happens to him through them; and he tries to live his own life as if he were telling a story. But you have to choose: live or tell.”

-Jean-Paul Sartre, Nausea, 1938.

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00:00:00 Intro

00:00:33 Sartre: Life and WW2

00:30:33 The Emotions and Responsibility

01:00:28 Phenomenology & Consciousness

01:30:54 Bad Faith and Inauthenticity

02:01:14 Being-for-Others & "No Exit"

02:31:14 Love & the Romantic Life

-//-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_C._Solomon

Come join my Patreon!

https://patreon.com/HemlockPatreon

Buy Paul Reitter and Paul North's Scholarly Edition of Marx's Capital Volume 1:

https://a.co/d/3dMYjCw

(Untracked Link)

"In the realm of religion, people are ruled by a product of their own heads, and it is just so in capitalist production, except that here people are ruled by the products of their own hands." 

Karl Marx, "Capital Volume One", translated by Paul Reitter, edited by Paul North.

Links:

Paul North

https://german.yale.edu/who-we-are/faculty-officers/paul-north

Paul Reitter

https://germanic.osu.edu/people/reitter.4

-//-

Come join my Patreon!

https://Patreon.com/HemlockPatreon

Leave a review! Once we get to 100 I'll record and release (completely gratis) an outstanding philosophy audiobook from the public domain.

Original Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7TONauJGfc&t=22s