By MeaningofLife.tv
Conversations about philosophy, science, religion and spirituality
The incredible achievement of the Marvel Cinematic Universe ... The choices that led to the MCU's greatness... ... ...and the choices that didn't quite work out ... Critiquing Black Panther, Captain Marvel, and Dr. Strange ......
Ingrid's new book, Animalkind ... Animal rights vs. animal welfare ... Amazing facts about animals (and the many things we still don't know) ... Is it bad to call your dog a “pet” (or for that...
A live conversation with Josh Summers on cognitive empathy and mindfulness. ...
Explaining Crispin’s position on explanatory unity ... Dan: Meaning is part of social reality, it’s not all in our heads ... What is the substance of our ontological commitments? ... Why Dan thinks philosopher W.V.O. Quine is...
A conversation in memory of the late journalist and podcaster Michael Brooks. ...
Why does bad CGI make us feel weird? ... Where digital effects work (The Avengers) vs. where they don't (CATS) ... Gollum vs. Thanos, Roger Rabbit vs. Jar Jar Binks ... The tragic digital miscues...
Bruce's new book, Life Is in the Transitions: Mastering Change at Any Age ... Debunking the idea of the "predictable crises of adult life" ... Two kinds of life changes: "disruptors" and "lifequakes" ... Does Bob need...
Russell’s book, The Tyranny of Opinion: Conformity and the Future of Liberalism ... Preserving the liberal tradition ... Can the genie of stakes-inflation be put back in the bottle? ... Dan: Woke illiberalism is a kind...
David's new book, On Inhumanity: Dehumanization and How to Resist It ... The tension at the heart of dehumanization ... David: Genocides are moralistic ... The essential role of psychological essentialism ... Dehumanization...
Philip’s 2019 book, Galileo's Error: Foundations for a New Science of Consciousness ... What’s the difference between panpsychism and philosophical idealism? ... John: Solipsism is “an absolute impediment to a truly scientific theory of consciousness” ...
Buddhism and the military atrocities in Myanmar and Sri Lanka ... The early political history of Buddhism ... Varieties of Buddhist rationales for nonviolence ... The history of war between Southeast Asian nations ... Is warfare...
What are persons? ... Why don't we say "my legs went to the store"? ... Actions and intentions ... The case of the robot who voted ... Are addicts in control of their actions? ...
Rutger's new book, Humankind: A Hopeful History ... Debunking the "veneer theory" of human nature ... Are violence and war intrinsic to human nature? ... The human self-domestication thesis ... Why Bob doesn't like the...
Doug's new book, Philosophy Smackdown ... Plato's Cave and the three layers of wrestling reality ... What it means when wrestlers break the fourth wall ... Real life can be "just as scripted as wrestling, if not...
Abby's research on "death anxiety" ... Demoralization, purpose, and meaning ... Death anxiety and the quality of life of health care providers ... Abby's experience contracting the coronavirus ... Is religious belief a cure for death...
A Scientology ship commander calls the pandemic "suppressive and anti-social" ... Turning to L. Ron Hubbard during the pandemic: radiation as a state of mind ... The appeal of groups like Scientology in a crisis ... The...
John’s new book, Mood and Trope ... From the "linguistic turn" to the "affective turn" ... Kant vs. Nietzsche vs. Heidegger vs. Deleuze ... In praise of unsystematic criticism ... Clarifying some Heideggerian terminology ......
Are we really as social as the Stoics believed? ... Distinguishing between the “objective” and the “real”... ... ...and between the “real” and representations of the “real” ... Dan: It makes no difference whether or not values...
Spoiler alert! Critiquing Star Trek: Discovery and Picard ... Serial vs. episodic storytelling ... Why Dan hated Discovery's main character ... Is the show too woke? ... Debating the big twist in Picard ...
Paul describes the view from Toronto ... Zero- and non-zero-sum aspects of the pandemic ... Paul: Canada's multiparty system helps defuse polarization ... A disaster without solidarity ... How our emotions caused us...
Remembering Andrew’s recently deceased dog Eddy ... Can we explain the bond between dogs and people? ... The many disgusting things that dogs love ... Andrew angers the cat lovers in the audience ......
Jacqueline's new book, Manifesto for a Moral Revolution: Practices to Build a Better World ... Female saints as childhood role models ... How Jacqueline helped start Rwanda's first microfinance bank ... Jacqueline's "patient capital" investment nonprofit, Acumen...
Dan's in-progress book, Prolegomena for a Pluralist Metaphysics ... Avoiding the "crazy positions" ... A stereoscopic view of the "scientific" and "manifest" images ... Dan: A world with people in it is only explainable in fragmentary terms...
John fails the coronavirus antibody test; Bob consoles him ... Science fiction, free will, and robot sex ... The Devs interpretation of quantum mechanics ... The Wright-Horgan interpretation of Devs, part 1 (spoilers) ... The Wright-Horgan...
The continuing battle over gender in philosophy ... Harm avoidance vs. competing interests ... Jesse: There's disagreement within the trans community over what it means to be trans ... Dan: "This is madness to everyone...
Evan's new book, Why I Am Not a Buddhist ... Evan's critique of "Buddhist modernism" and "Buddhist exceptionalism" ... Which of Buddhism’s major claims are naturalistic? ... Is Buddhism fundamentally different than other religions? ......
How to model an epidemic ... The costs and benefits of cost-benefit analysis ... Turning coronavirus models into coronavirus policy ... Eric: Your intuitions about the virus’s spread are "useless" ... The use...
Can we ever really know the world? ... Debating the ideas of Thomas Kuhn, famous philosopher of science ... Will we ever see the end of war? ... Errol's book about Kuhn, The Ashtray: (Or the Man...
Will the pandemic forever change college education? ... Laying out the "hard problem" of consciousness ... Why panpsychism is not a solution to the problem ... The battle between radicals and conservatives in...
Scott's new book, Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization ... Debunking myths about Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs ... The origins of humanistic psychology ... Optimism for the thinking person ... Psychological security in...
Robert's new book, Overdoing Democracy ... The revealing differences between Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts ... The diminishing importance of place in American culture ... How homogeneity distorts groups ... Partisan identity has become...
Ruth's book, America the Anxious ... Ruth is skeptical that meditation leads to happiness ... Is being in the moment overrated? ... Is there a mindful view of the coronavirus pandemic? ... Radical self-help at...
Jesse's new article, "The Rise of PTSD" ... How society viewed traumatized veterans of WWII vs. Vietnam ... Effective treatments for PTSD ... The danger of trauma becoming an identity ... From 9/11 to...
Is Bob a bad yogi? ... Narayan's book, The Magnanimous Heart ... Narayan's journey from Janet to Narayan ... How Narayan entered contemplative practice ... Learning from snakes and lizards in Thailand ......
Unpacking the Dao De Jing's famous opening line, "The Dao that can be told is not the eternal Dao" ... "The way" as a descriptive and prescriptive moniker ... Rising above the perspective of the moment ......
Helen's forthcoming book on gender ... Why are younger women attracted to novel gender theories? ... Social constructivism vs. self-constructivism ... Did feminists bring this upon themselves? ... Helen: Immigration caused Britain's political...
Nikita’s new project, Psychopolitica.com ... A collection of DMT stories ... The drama and the silliness of life as experienced by children ... The ontological status of DMT entities ... Three big pretenses: “I exist,” “I...
David's new book, That All Shall Be Saved: Heaven, Hell, and Universal Salvation ... What does the New Testament actually say about Hell? ... Original sin and the crucifixion of Jesus ... David's case against eternal damnation...
Robert's essay examining whether pansexuality is obligatory ... Orientation vs. desire ... Is the push for trans rights undermining gay and lesbian rights? ... Dan: Sexual attractions can't be subject to moral scrutiny ... Kant...
In praise of Uncut Gems ... Why does Adam Sandler's dirtbag character evince such sympathy? ... Punishment and forgiveness in narrative storytelling ... In praise of Dolemite Is My Name ... Eddie Murphy's triumphant...
In a new TEDx talk, Alex calls for a science of UFOs ... Why Bob finds two naval sightings credible ... Alex: "There's some decent chance that these things are alien" ... Alex's proposal for...
Defining transhumanism ... Why David is pessimistic about the Singularity ... Becoming happier by shifting our "hedonic set points" ... Could we phase out suffering by tackling its genetic roots? ... Can chemicals deliver enduring happiness? ... Why David has...
Adam's new book, Light of the Stars: Alien Worlds and the Fate of the Earth ... Adam: Climate change is a civilizational inevitability ... How many planets are in our galaxy? Guess again. It’s more than that. ......
The time Michael thought he was being abducted by aliens ... Michael's new book, Heavens on Earth ... Deepak Chopra's afterlife ... Why uploading your brain to achieve immortality makes no sense ... Is radical life extension just bunk? ...
Why transhumanists want to escape their biological prisons ... The “singularity” and the culture of Silicon Valley ... How biohackers turn technology into performance art ... How do you upload an immaterial mind? ... Over-the-counter life extension: does it work?...
How to raise a good robot ... The moral development of machines ... The trouble with robots who can reason ... Will AI have feelings? ... Is it wrong to hurt a zombie? ... How AI could shape human morality...
The bad effects of addictive tech ... How much time do you spend on your phone? ... You might be addicted if... ... The World of Warcraft as a case study in tech addiction ... The tricks Silicon Valley uses...
When technology takes people’s jobs ... Asking your iPhone for medical advice ... Killer robots! ... Letting machines decide whether to push the nuclear button ... The growing threat of bioterrorism ... How to stop bioterrorists ... Is it all...
Changing the human genome to combat climate change ... Will new technologies stratify society genetically? ... Military and civilian uses of memory-changing technology ... The army’s plans for deep brain simulation ... Matthew's book The Right to Be Loved ...
Transhumanism and the singularity ... Teilhard de Chardin’s "Omega Point" ... The (theoretical) physics of immortality and resurrection ... The theism of the simulation theory ... Any word on transhumanist Islam or Judaism? ... Christianity and globalization ...