It's been a year since Metagnosis formally began. We discuss our most and least favorite episodes, how things have changed over the year (and the time before), and what our ideas are for going forward.

Charlie Kaufman directs and writes with a unique and recognizable style. Henry proposes that many of his movies – in particular: "Being John Malkovich", "Adaptation", "Synecdoche, New York", and "I'm Thinking of Ending Things" – are about the process of artistic expression. This could be a conscious goal of his productions or just an unconscious result of his personal style.

We comment on "On Truth and Lie in an Extra-Moral Sense" by Friedrich Nietzsche. This cosmic essay gives a theory of truth and explains the social and psychological implications.

We continue discussing truth and ask whether truth has any intrinsic moral value. We spend a lot of time on the story of Adam and Eve and the significance of the Forbidden Tree of Knowledge.

Yuta argues that truth has intrinsic value while Henry argues that truth has only instrumental value.

Why is truth treated as important? Why is it called *the* truth? Is truth just scientific truth?

We discuss a variety of views on what truth is, and the kind of role that truth plays socially, psychologically, evolutionarily, and artistically.

This is an unplanned and unedited conversation between Henry and Yuta. Like a lot of long conversations it's very rambly and filled with lots of different topics.

We talk about Mike Tyson, grading in university, bizarre social phenomena at Reed College, the "meta" video games 'The Stanley Parable' and 'The Beginner's Guide' both from developer Davey Wreden, and the self-referential movie 'Adaptation' by Charlie Kaufman.

What are stereotypes exactly? And why can they be so funny? Are stereotypes based in observation, or something else? Do stereotypes sometimes have a self-perpetuating force of their own?

Is Ben Shapiro part of a group of sophists corrupting the public forum? Or is he a force for good?

In the first half of our discussion Aditya (previous guest in Episode 6: The Art of Comedy) argues that Ben Shapiro has a negative impact on America while Henry defends Shapiro and Yuta moderates.

In the second half we talk about the new generation of public intellectuals and the incentives they face in an increasingly polarized media environment.

What is morality and what is the right way to make decisions about right and wrong? We talk about some of the most prominent moral theories including utilitarianism and kantianism and then lay out our own separate approaches to morality.

Henry's approach starts with an evolutionary explanation of morality.

Yuta's theory emphasizes moral intuition and includes an analogy to aesthetic judgment.

We revisit the topic of immigration in order to resolve a long-standing disagreement between us: can restricting immigration be consistent with liberal values? Yuta argues no – restricting immigration is treating people differently based on their country of origin, which contradicts the liberal value that everyone has the same intrinsic moral value. Henry argues yes -in some cases restricting immigration can best serve liberal values.

This is a very long discussion (in addition to many more, over the years and off-mic).