A Pastor and a Philosopher Walk into a Bar

How the Brain Constructs Reality: Interview with Andy Clark


Listen Later

Text us your questions!

Every now and then we like to talk to someone who is an expert in something we know almost nothing about. What better topic than philosophy and neuroscience? Andy Clark is Professor of Cognitive Philosophy at the University of Sussex, and is a well-known voice within philosophy of mind, pushing the boundaries of how we conceive of the brain, its connections with our environment, and in his new book, how it actively constructs our experience through prediction. The book is The Experience Machine: How Our Minds Predict and Shape Reality. We have a delightfully nerdy, scientific, and humble conversation with Andy about everything from why we sometimes feel our phones vibrating when they're not there, to whether AI can match human brains, to psychedelics, to whether there is a hard problem of consciousness. We even get him to talk a bit about religion. We barely scratch the surface, but it was a lot of fun!

The beverage we taste in this episode is Blanton's Single Barrel bourbon from Buffalo Trace Distillery.

Audio note: we weren't able to use our standard recording setup for this one, so if we sound a little odd, that's why. Apologies!

To skip the tasting, go to 6:53.

You can find the transcript for this episode here.

Image credit: The New Yorker Magazine

=====

Want to support us?

The best way is to subscribe to our Patreon. Annual memberships are available for a 10% discount.

If you'd rather make a one-time donation, you can contribute through our PayPal.


Other important info:

  • Rate & review us on Apple & Spotify
  • Follow us on social media at @PPWBPodcast
  • Watch & comment on YouTube
  • Email us at [email protected]

Cheers!

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

A Pastor and a Philosopher Walk into a BarBy Randy Knie & Kyle Whitaker

  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8

4.8

141 ratings


More shows like A Pastor and a Philosopher Walk into a Bar

View all
Homebrewed Christianity by Dr. Tripp Fuller

Homebrewed Christianity

568 Listeners

Nomad Podcast by Nomad

Nomad Podcast

424 Listeners

The Holy Post by Phil Vischer

The Holy Post

4,319 Listeners

Theology in the Raw by Theology in the Raw

Theology in the Raw

1,432 Listeners

Voxology by Mike Erre and Tim Stafford

Voxology

1,076 Listeners

The Bible For Normal People by Peter Enns and Jared Byas

The Bible For Normal People

3,268 Listeners

You Have Permission by Dan Koch

You Have Permission

531 Listeners

Bare Marriage by Sheila Gregoire

Bare Marriage

1,202 Listeners

The Roys Report by Julie Roys

The Roys Report

764 Listeners

No Small Endeavor with Lee C. Camp by Tokens Media

No Small Endeavor with Lee C. Camp

507 Listeners

The New Evangelicals Podcast by Hosted by Tim Whitaker

The New Evangelicals Podcast

1,012 Listeners

Bodies Behind The Bus by Bodies Behind The Bus

Bodies Behind The Bus

481 Listeners

Curiously Kaitlyn by Kaitlyn Schiess

Curiously Kaitlyn

813 Listeners

The Esau McCaulley Podcast by Esau McCaulley

The Esau McCaulley Podcast

524 Listeners

All the Buried Women by Beth Allison Barr and Savannah Locke

All the Buried Women

532 Listeners