Dennis Hackethal, philosopher and author of A Window on Intelligence, joins me to discuss how human creativity evolved, how it differs from animal cognition, the role of emotions and values in the mind, and the connections between objectivism and critical rationalism—plus much more.
Note: Some segments were re-recorded due to technical issues, resulting in occasional overlap.

📚 Mentioned Resources

00:00 – Dennis Hackethal – A Window on Intelligence
https://www.windowonintelligence.com/

01:30 – The Neo-Darwinian Theory of the Mind
https://blog.dennishackethal.com/posts/the-neo-darwinian-theory-of-the-mind

06:26 – Karl Popper – Objective Knowledge (Appendix: The Bucket and the Searchlight)

07:30 – Lambda Calculus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lambda_calculus

15:30 – Animal Sentience
https://blog.dennishackethal.com/posts/animal-sentience-faq
https://blog.dennishackethal.com/posts/evidence-of-animal-insentience

18:25 – Sleepwalking
https://blog.dennishackethal.com/posts/sleepwalking

39:40 – David Deutsch – How Close Are We to Creating Artificial Intelligence
https://aeon.co/essays/how-close-are-we-to-creating-artificial-intelligence

41:30 – What Are Inexplicit Ideas? (with Lulie Tanett)
https://youtu.be/vxemBLZRgYI?si=CqWRISkp-svFmI69

44:30 – Michael Levin – Picasso Tadpole Experiments
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XheAMrS8Q1c

48:40 – Richard Feynman – Cargo Cult Science
https://calteches.library.caltech.edu/51/2/CargoCult.htm

53:09 – Robert Trivers – Deceit and Self-Deception
https://amzn.to/4lBFHGg

57:30 – Daniel Kahneman – Thinking, Fast and Slow
https://amzn.to/40oupNJ

1:02:40 – Lisa Feldman Barrett – How Emotions Are Made
https://amzn.to/44rnLan

1:13:43 – Ayn Rand
The Virtue of Selfishness: https://amzn.to/4nBiN3S
Philosophy: Who Needs It: https://amzn.to/44MCXQQThe Fountainhead: https://amzn.to/44ezomr

1:17:00 – Anthony de Mello – Awareness
https://amzn.to/44upoEb

1:19:25 – David Deutsch – Why Are Flowers Beautiful?
https://youtu.be/gT7DFCF1Fn8?si=kmkvckzUp1eCL9s0

1:22:00 – Film: Whiplash
https://g.co/kgs/xrCHrsM

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 Intro01:30 The Neo-Darwinian Theory of the Mind
06:00 Ideas and thoughts are functions
07:48 Ideas as Software Functions
08:34 The selective pressure in the mind
09:00 Evolutionary Pressure in the Mind
10:14 The Meta-Algorithm of the Mind
12:59 Consciousness and Critical Reflection
16:00 Conjecture in the Unconscious
17:29 Conscious and Unconscious Behavior
19:59 The Complexity of Human Behavior
21:02 Differences in Learning: Humans vs. Animals
22:41 Reinforcement Learning and Evolutionary Algorithms
25:14 The Interplay of Randomness and Targeted Learning
26:42 Animal Behavior: Instinct and Sentience
31:37 How Creativity Evolved
36:18 Cognitive Abilities and Evolutionary Advantage
38:47 Understanding Consciousness and AGI
41:52 The Language of Ideas and Information Processing
43:36 Decentralized Intelligence and Motor Movements
46:42 Replacing/Overriding Unconscious Knowledge
48:41 The Complexity of Honesty and Self-Deception
55:07 Common Challenges & Hiccups in Reasoning
01:02:03 The Origins and Role of Emotions
01:06:23 Fun Criterion Nuances
01:10:06 Morality: Critical Rationalism, Objectivism & Existentialism
01:15:21 Non-Dualism and Awareness
01:18:55 Art, Beauty, and Inspiration
01:24:10 Bodybuilding
01:28:07 Pursuing or Envying Ideals

01:31:27 Outro

🧠 More from me
Book: https://edwindoit.com/4acts
Website: https://edwindoit.com
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Productivity blog: https://medium.com/@edwindoit
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