Two for Tea Podcast

General

Visit Brett’s website, where you can find his blog and much more:

https://www.bretthall.org/

Follow Brett on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/Tokteacher

Subscribe to Brett’s YouTube channel:

https://youtube.com/channel/UCmP5H2rF-ER33a58ZD5jCig?sub_confirmation=1

References

Iona’s Substack essay, in which she previously described Brett as a philosopher—a description with which Brett disagreed:

https://drionaitalia.substack.com/p/knots-gather-at-the-comb

Karl Popper’s philosophy:

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/popper/

Massimo Pigliucci’s Two for Tea appearance:

https://m.soundcloud.com/twoforteapodcast/55-massimo-pigliucci

David Deutsch’s ‘The Beginning of Infinity’:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0143121359/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1658005291&sr=8-1

Daniel James Sharp’s Areo review of Ord’s ‘The Precipice’:

https://areomagazine.com/2020/05/11/we-contain-multitudes-a-review-of-the-precipice-existential-risk-and-the-future-of-humanity-by-toby-ord/

David Hume and the problem of induction:

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/induction-problem/

Natural selection and the Neo-Darwinian synthesis:

https://www.britannica.com/science/neo-Darwinism

Richard Dawkins’s ‘The Extended Selfish Gene’:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01MYDYR6N/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1658008393&sr=8-3

Theory-ladenness:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory-ladenness

Ursula K. Le Guin’s ‘The Left Hand of Darkness’:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1473221625/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1658010065&sr=8-1

The Popperian ‘paradox of tolerance’ cartoon:

https://images.app.goo.gl/MEbujAKv2VSp1m4B8

For the Steven Pinker Two for Tea interview on ‘Rationality’, stay tuned to the Two for Tea podcast feed as it’s coming soon for public listening:

https://m.soundcloud.com/twoforteapodcast

Brett’s critique of Bayesianism:

https://www.bretthall.org/bayesian-epistemology.html

Brett on morality:

https://www.bretthall.org/morality

Steven Pinker’s book ‘Rationality’:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0525561994/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1658012700&sr=8-1

Timestamps

00:00 Opening and introduction. What, exactly, is Brett? What does he do?

4:58 Free speech and Popperian thought (and what is Popperian thought, anyway?).

12:24 Brett’s view on existential risk and the future; how he differs from the likes of Martin Rees and Toby Ord.

22:38 How can we overcome ‘acts of God’? (With reference to Iona’s syphilitic friend.) The dangers of the unknown and the necessity of progress.

26:50 The unpredictability of the nature of problems, with reference to fear of nuclear war and nuclear energy. The nature and history of problem solving, particularly as regards energy.

37:02 The Popperian/Deutschian theory of knowledge—guesswork, creativity, and the reduction of error.

46:50 William Paley’s watch, Darwinism, selfish genes, and the embedding of knowledge into reality.

54:15 On theory-ladenness, the necessity of error correction, the power of science, and the impossibility of a final theory—all is approximation and continual improvement.

1:01:10 The nature of good explanations, with reference to the invocation of gods vs scientific accounts and the nature of the atom.

1:07:24 How the principle of the difficulty of variability is important in art as well as science, with reference to Ursula K. Le Guin’s ‘The Left Hand of Darkness.’ ‘Aha’ vs ‘what the fuck?’ surprise.

1:15:30 The nature of critical thinking and Brett on education: the misconceptions inherent in the current fashion for teaching critical thinking.

1:26:10 A question for Brett from Twitter: what did Popper really think about tolerance and intolerance (see the famous cartoon on the paradox of tolerance)?

1:36:24 Is there anything else Brett would like to add?

General

Visit Richard’s website to find out more about him and how to buy his books, including the main subject of this conversation, Richard’s award-winning 2002 novel ‘Altered Carbon’:

https://www.richardkmorgan.com/

References

About Richard:

https://www.richardkmorgan.com/about-the-author/

Ewan Morrison’s Areo article ‘Why We Must Walk Away from Omelas: The Problem with Utopias’:

https://areomagazine.com/2020/08/27/why-we-must-walk-away-from-omelas-the-problem-with-utopias/

Timestamps

0:00 Opening and introduction (and a confession from Iona): the great weight of ‘Altered Carbon’ in Richard’s career.

6:01 Iona reads a passage from ‘Altered Carbon’.

12:30 Richard and Iona discuss the passage, the underlying premises of the novel, and Richard’s visual imagination and writing style over the years.

27:30 ‘Re-sleeving’ and ‘download central’ in ‘Altered Carbon’ and the themes and inspirations behind them.

30:29 Iona’s ambiguity towards the Netflix adaptation of ‘Altered Carbon’: comparisons with the novel.

37:23 More on the ‘sleeves’ in ‘Altered Carbon’: how the rich and powerful get the best from the system and what this tells us about the nature of wealth and capitalism and the trajectory we’re on. “The endless co-option of life and all its pleasures” by the wealthy.

47:18 The theme of identity in ‘Altered Carbons’ (compared to Iain M. Banks’ treatment of it in his ‘Culture’ novels). Richard’s dystopian vision vs. Banks’s utopian vision. Can technology take us to the sunlit uplands or, as Richard says, does the fact that we will always ultimately be “violent apes” constrain the possibilities of progress? The need for eternal Enlightenment vigilance.

1:03:13 Arguing with a Buddhist about karmic balance: the origins of ‘Altered Carbon’.

1:06:31 Sci fi traditions: is ‘Altered Carbon’ genre fiction or literary fiction?

1:08:36 Which authors have most influenced Richard? Who are his favourites? Plus: Iona on what influences she saw in ‘Altered Carbon’ and some reflections on Ursula K. Le Guin.

1:25:02 Some more debate on optimism, the future, and human nature.

1:31:25 Is there anything Richard would have liked to discuss but didn’t get the chance to? The noir tradition, Richard’s argument with trans rights activists over ‘Altered Carbon’ and J.K. Rowling, the misunderstanding of his novel as championing essentialism/the existence of souls, and the death of the author.

1:37:25 Iona reads another passage from ‘Altered Carbon’.

1:40:42 Last words and outro.

General

Visit Louise’s website: https://www.louisemperry.co.uk/

Buy Louise’s book ‘The Case Against the Sexual Revolution: A New Guide to Sex in the 21st Century’: https://www.amazon.com/Case-Against-Sexual-Revolution/dp/1509549994

Follow Louise on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Louise_m_perry

References

‘Lady Windermere’s Fan’ by Oscar Wilde:

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/790/790-h/790-h.htm

Rachel Moran’s ‘Paid For: My Journey Through Prostitution’:

https://www.amazon.com/Paid-My-Journey-Through-Prostitution/dp/0393351971

‘Aella - Sex Work in the Digital Age’ Two for Tea episode:

https://soundcloud.com/twoforteapodcast/82-aella-sex-work-in-the-digital-age

Timestamps

0:00 Opening and introduction.

4:11 Iona reads a passage from Louise’s book ‘The Case Against the Sexual Revolution’.

9:33 Iona argues against the view that conservative mores protect women from harassment and rape better than liberal ones; discussion ensues on this, the promiscuity double standard, the Madonna/Whore complex, and more.

17:22 Does the sacralisation of sex protect women? Does desacralisation improve things for women? Is sex special? Plus: why women are choosier and the perils of prostitution.

27:40 The trouble with universalising, Gen Z’s (lack of?) sex lives, porn, and the rise of OnlyFans. How does this all tie into/effect Louise’s thesis?

34:32 Does a more public sexual culture help or hinder women? Does sexually violent porn make for sexually violent men?

42:17 Are some desires wrong? Why would anyone agree to or seek out, for example, sexual relationships involving subservient BDSM? Is liberalism enough to understand and resolve such issues?

53:00 Last words and outro.

General

Visit Andrew’s website: https://www.andrewscurran.com/

Find out more about Andrew’s books, including ‘The Anatomy of Blackness: Science and Slavery in an Age of Enlightenment’ and his co-edited, with Henry Louis Gates, Jr., volume ‘Who’s Black and Why? A Hidden Chapter from the Eighteenth-Century Invention of Race’, which are the focus of this podcast: https://www.andrewscurran.com/books-gallerypage

Follow Andrew on Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewscurran

References

Andrew’s previous appearance on Two for Tea discussing Diderot: https://soundcloud.com/twoforteapodcast/42-andy-curren-diderot-intellectual-libertine

Olaf Stapledon’s novel ‘Sirius’:

https://www.amazon.com/Sirius-Olaf-Stapledon/dp/0575099429/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1656949127&sr=8-2

Theory-ladenness: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory-ladenness

David Deutsch’s ‘The Beginning of Infinity’, in which he discusses theory-ladenness: https://www.amazon.com/Beginning-Infinity-Explanations-Transform-World/dp/0143121359

Coleman Hughes’s conversation with Charles Murray on race, science, and IQ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OE5QcD_12fQ

David Deutsch’s Edge essay on the link between the factual understanding of reality and morality: https://www.amazon.com/Beginning-Infinity-Explanations-Transform-World/dp/0143121359

Sunil Khilnani’s book ‘Incarnations: A History of India in Fifty Lives’: https://www.amazon.com/Incarnations-History-India-Fifty-Lives/dp/0374175497

Timestamps

00:00 Opening and introduction.

3:24 Andrew reads from the introduction to ‘Who’s Black and Why?’ on the Bordeaux Academy’s interest in African anatomy and ‘scientific’ race theorising.

9:08 Why did a focus on racial physiognomy arise in the middle of the 18th century? Plus background on the Enlightenment and the radical shift in ways of thinking about the world.

14:19 The Biblical narrative of the origins of race - Noah’s sons and the ‘snowflake’ Old Testament God - and 18th-century theories of degeneration. Monogenesis vs. polygenesis. Implications of these views and their place in the Enlightenment paradigm - the world is not fixed, but has a history of development and change.

23:38 ‘Theory-laden observations’ as related to 18th-century thinking about race and humanity.

26:30 Iona reads an excerpt about Diderot and Voltaire’s views on race and slavery from ‘Who’s Black and Why?’.

33:45 Continued discussion of the link between racial theorising and racism.

46:27 Iona on the instability of being anti-slavery while being racist, with reference to Olaf Stapledon’s novel ‘Sirius’. Ensuing discussion of this theme by Andrew as related to the 18th-century - the legal and then scientific reality of categorising people.

54:54 Iona’s relief that her Enlightenment hero Samuel Johnson is, as far as she knows, untainted by racial theorising.

1:03:02 The contemporary debate on race and IQ. Can we really divorce the is from the ought? Iona’s changing view on this after reading ‘Who’s Black and Why?’. Nature vs nurture and Charles Murray.

1:09:59 The Deutschian idea that a better understanding of reality is linked to better morality. 18th-century thinkers on race and their blindspots - many of their assertions could easily have been disproved just by looking - black blood, black semen, black brains.

1:15:35 The literal obsession with colour - skin colour must be reflected in interior anatomy. The disturbing and telling 18th-century view of albinism - ‘white negroes’ - and vitiligo and racial voyeurism.

1:23:30 Racial essentialism vs the many mixed-race people. Again - how close so many 18th-century thinkers got to the truth, yet how far.

1:26:52 Is there anything Andrew would like to say that hasn’t been covered in this conversation?

1:27:27 Andrew’s upcoming book - a biographical history of race.

1:33:11 Last words and outro.

General

Visit Steven’s website, which includes information about all his books, including his latest, ‘Rationality’, and how to purchase them:

https://stevenpinker.com/

Follow Steven on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/sapinker

Timestamps

00:00 Opening and introduction.

2:17 The conventional wisdom that humans are irredeemably irrational is wrong: rationality is actually prevalent and innate. Iona reads passages from Steven’s newest book ‘Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters’ about the “scientific mindset” of hunter-gatherers.

8:09 The evolution of human rationality - our “environmental/ecological rationality.” The “premature consensus” that humans are fundamentally irrational. But why are we so bad at dealing with logical problems in the modern world? How to reconcile this apparent paradox - a new conceptualisation of human rationality: we become expert logicians when logical problems are presented in concrete, human-relevant ways and when we are pursuing goals.

18:32 William James’s example of Romeo and Juliet as rational actors pursuing a goal (as opposed to iron filings attracting each other).

21:05 An analogy with quantum theory’s unintuitiveness. The mismatch between our ancestral environment(s) and our modern environment(s): we didn’t evolve to apply the tools of science. The roots and varieties of irrationality.

25:16 How does ‘Rationality’ relate to Steven’s other work? What is the common thread throughout all of his work?

35:28 On lightly held irrational beliefs - distal vs. testable beliefs, the “willing suspension of disbelief”, and indulging in irrationality. Why do we hold such beliefs? Why does fiction appeal to us? The Enlightenment paradigm of verifying one’s beliefs - revolutionary and almost unique in history, a mindset that we are not adapted to.

46:45 The real meaning of David Hume’s famous statement that “Reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions, and can never pretend to any other office than to serve and obey them.”

48:55 How do we get an ought from an is? How can morality be derived from rationality? Iona reads a passage from ‘Rationality’ dealing with these questions. Steven explains his view of how reason relates to ethics.

54:53 How can reason be justified in the first place? Isn’t it circular to justify reason using reason?

59:17 Base rates and group differences - does a contradiction between rationality and morality lie here?

1:07:27 Difficulties in defining categories and the family resemblances solution. Iona reads a passage about pattern-finding, stereotypes, and fairness from ‘Rationality.’ Using abstract rules to set aside stereotypes for purposes of law, morality, etc. Logic vs. rationality.

1:13:46 Rationality’s relationship to progress. Many social justice movements have begun with appeals to rationality and logical coherence: how can a society claim, for example, to be against absolute monarchy yet allow men to have total power over their wives? How rationality is a good guide to which movements for change deserve support.

1:18:00 How highfalutin methods of logic and reasoning are in fact at the centre of our everyday lives - we just formalise them and we need to apply them more at all levels.

1:25:05 The current “pandemic of poppycock” - is Steven optimistic about the future of rationality?

1:28:16 Iona reads a passage from the end of ‘Rationality.’

1:28:55 Last words and outro.

General

Visit Mark’s website, where you can find out more information about his books, including how to purchase them: https://www.markschatzker.com/

Follow Mark on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/markschatzker

References

Mark’s paper, co-authored with Jeffrey Brunstrom, on micronutrients and food choice:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195666322001465

Timestamps

0:00 Opening and introduction.

2:02 Mark reads a passage from his book ‘The End of Craving: Recovering the Lost Wisdom of Eating Well’.

5:20 Pellagra and how it differently influenced American and Italian cuisine and understandings of food.

15:08 ‘Delicious’/‘hyper-palatable’ food v deeply pleasurable eating experiences.

20:00 Micronutrients, food choice, and our innate nutritional wisdom.

39:33 A critique of the keto diet.

42:33 The set point theory of weight: how the brain deals with food. And why it is perilous to meddle with this process.

50:43 If set point theory is correct, why don’t people stay in a certain weight range all their lives?

58:19 Does the example of northern Italian food culture really support Mark’s theory? Iona challenges Mark’s ideas further with counterexamples.

1:10:00 Mark’s response and further discussion.

1:23:28 The lingering ghost of behaviourism and why we require a more sophisticated approach to the brain and its relationship with food.

1:30:23 Last words and outro.

General

Follow Matt on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mattjj89

Some of Matt’s previous writing and speaking about Ukraine:

https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/.premium-forget-nato-ukraine-s-problem-is-russian-imperialism-1.10576686

https://areomagazine.com/2022/02/25/putins-pointless-war/

https://www.callin.com/episode/matt-johnson-how-to-view-the-war-in-ukraine-MVpYFsdASZ

https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/why-tucker-carlson-hates-ukraine-so-much-1.10746934

References

Two for Tea episode featuring Matt, Daniel, and Ben Burgis on Christopher Hitchens:

https://soundcloud.com/twoforteapodcast/113-about-chris-hitchens

Some of Taras Bilous’s writings from the frontlines of the war:

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/a-letter-to-the-western-left-from-kyiv/

https://www.dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/self-determination-and-the-war-in-ukraine

https://twitter.com/ahatanhel/status/1517440088879284224?s=20&t=yZ9bkeaWalWYIKSClWy3Eg

Timestamps

00:00 Opening and introduction.

2:05 Iona reads a passage from Matt’s Areo essay ‘Putin’s Pointless War’ on the origins and causes of the Ukraine war.

5:00 Matt discusses the history and ideology behind the invasion of Ukraine.

7:10 Matt discusses the more immediate background to the Ukraine war, from 2013 on: Ukraine’s desire for closer relations with the EU, the Revolution of Dignity, the annexation of Crimea, and more. Why Putin is a 19th-century leader.

10:38 The religious aspect of the war and Putin’s warped view of history. Why so many fail to understand that Putin is just an imperialist and miss the mark by talking about Russian security interests and NATO expansion.

15:22 Wouldn’t the US be angry if Mexico joined a Chinese version of the Warsaw Pact? Why blaming NATO expansion for the war is wrong.

20:00 What the Glenn Greenwald-style anti-imperialist left and the Tucker Carlson-style isolationist right get wrong about Ukraine and why (and how they overlap).

25:44 Isn’t Ukraine corrupt and authoritarian? Aren’t Russia and Ukraine just as bad as each other? Isn’t Zelensky illiberal?

28:58 What about the Azov Battalion? Isn’t Ukraine riddled with fascism and neo-Nazism?

31:40 How the usual suspects on the anti-imperialist left deny agency to Ukrainians, who want arms. Plus: The Ukrainian socialist Taras Bilous, on the frontlines and for western arming of Ukraine. Could Ukraine be a turning point for the left?

38:01 The war and the news cycle. What’s actually happening on the ground now? What does the future of the war look like?

42:24 Has Putin lost his edge? Has the invasion backfired on him? Has he united the west again? And if so, how long will that unity last? Has the western reaction to Russian expansionism come too late? Should the west’s aim be to degrade Russia’s capability to wage such wars? Is a Ukrainian victory possible?

51:23 What should the west be doing about Ukraine? Will Europe put up with skyrocketing energy costs to help Ukraine? Will this lead to an upsurge in support for politicians like Le Pen?

53:31 Could Putin use nukes? Might he escalate the war?

58:18 A strange question about elites from Twitter for Matt.

1:03:08 The effects of the war on energy in Europe and attitudes to nuclear power. The war as an advertisement for nuclear power. Plus: the intransigence and greed of the oil companies and OPEC countries.

1:06:16 An aside: the grotesque mystery of America selling its soul to Saudi Arabia.

1:08:00 Is there anything Matt didn’t get the chance to say but wanted to? Yes! Matt on the flaws of realism in the study of international relations: why political culture matters.

1:12:10 Last words and outro.

General

Buy Katy and Jeremy’s book ‘Guilty Pigs: The Weird and Wonderful History of Animal Law’: https://www.amazon.com/Guilty-Pigs-Wonderful-History-Animal-ebook/dp/B09CGQDNGD

Katy’s academic webpage: https://law.unimelb.edu.au/about/staff/katy-barnett

Follow Katy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrKatyBarnett

Jeremy’s academic webpage: https://law.unimelb.edu.au/about/staff/jeremy-gans

Follow Jeremy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeremy_gans

Opinions on High, a legal blog that both Kate and Jeremy contribute to: https://blogs.unimelb.edu.au/opinionsonhigh/

References

Katy’s Areo article ‘Perverse Incentives in Academic Publishing’:

https://areomagazine.com/2021/06/23/perverse-incentives-in-academic-publishing/

Timestamps

00.00 Opening and introductions (with a diversion on Katy’s “adventures in walking”).

5:24 Katy reads a passage from her and Jeremy’s book ‘Guilty Pigs: The Weird and Wonderful History of Animal Law’.

7:10 Jeremy reads a passage from ‘Guilty Pigs’.

9:46 How did Katy and Jeremy come to work together on this book and what initially sparked their interest in the subject?

13:21 How has the status of animals in law changed over time and in space and what does this tell us about our attitude to animals?

22:51 The Isbester dog case.

27:59 The ethical and legal issues raised by the Isbester case. Plus: other cases involving dogs.

35:08 Comparison of these cases with the Daniel Brighton case and discussion of the ethical/legal issues thrown up by it.

44:07 The 19th-century British case involving cattle that influenced the modern legal understanding of ‘animal cruelty’. Iona reads relevant parts of ‘Guilty Pigs’; discussion ensues.

48:50 The strange legal history of swans, queens, and nobles (and sturgeons).

53:07 On the legal eccentricties of bee-owning. Plus: Iona tells the Argentinian tomcat’s tale; and other troublesome felines.

1:01:14 Project Acoustic Kitty.

1:03:45 Crimesolving parrots?

1:06:13 Why you should never, ever pat a zebra.

1:07:35 The Toronto Ikea monkey.

1:11:20 The photographer octopus, the posing macaque and Happy the elephant.

1:19:43 How do Katy and Jeremy see animal law developing in the future and are there legal provisions that aren’t in place that they think should be (or provisions in place that should be abolished or altered)?

1:25:28 Closing words and outro.

General

Arvid’s website:

https://arvidagren.com/

Buy Arvid’s book ‘The Gene’s-Eye View of Evolution’:

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-genes-eye-view-of-evolution-9780198862260?cc=us&lang=en

Follow Arvid on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/arvidagren

References

Daniel’s Areo review of Arvid’s ‘The Gene’s-Eye View of Evolution’:

https://areomagazine.com/2022/02/28/selfish-genery-j-arvid-agrens-the-genes-eye-view-of-evolution/

Two for Tea episode featuring Sean B. Carroll:

https://soundcloud.com/twoforteapodcast/77-sean-b-carroll-revolutionising-our-understanding-of-evo-biology?in=twoforteapodcast/sets/evolutionary-biology-on-two

Timestamps

00.00 Opening and introductions.

4:59 Why Arvid wanted to write his book ‘The Gene’s-Eye View of Evolution’.

5:57 Daniel reads a passage from Arvid’s book.

9:00 The sociological aspects of the gene’s-eye view. How did Arvid become interested in evolutionary biology and the gene’s-eye view? Evolutionary biology’s links with history and philosophy.

13:50 Similarities between Richard Dawkins and Arvid’s background interest in evolutionary biology. Arvid outlines the selfish gene theory and its intellectual history.

18:47 Are some of the arguments over the gene’s-eye view terminological rather than substantial? What if ‘The Selfish Gene’ had been called ‘The Immortal Gene’?

19:58 Stephen Jay Gould vs. Dawkins: critiques of selfish genery. What questions were Gould and Dawkins separately interested in, and what does this tell us about their disagreements?

27:18 Evolutionary developmental (evo devo) biology and its relationship to selfish gene theory.

31:01 Is the evo devo/selfish gene binary really valid? E.g. Dawkins’ contributions to evo devo.

33:21 What are the most compelling critiques of the selfish gene view? What does Arvid think of the alternative ways - evo devo, the extended synthesis, etc - of looking at evolution? Why is the selfish gene view valuable? In which senses is the selfish gene view incomplete? Pluralism and preferences in science.

44:38 The empirical consequences of the gene’s-eye view: extended phenotypes and selfish genetic elements. Plus: Salman Rushdie and W.D. Hamilton’s “eternal disquiet within.”

58:40 Why should scientists study the history of ideas?

1:01:37 The role of metaphorical thinking in science.

1:06:32 The sociological reception of the selfish gene view.

1:10:04 What is the current standing and future of the gene’s-eye view?

1:14:30 The extended evolutionary synthesis: is the Modern Synthesis outdated?

1:19:32 Is there something Arvid would have liked to say but didn’t get the chance to?

1:20:31 Last words and outro.

General

Visit Simon’s website for information about him and to buy his book ‘SPEECH! How Language Made Us Human’:

https://www.simonprentis.net/

Follow Simon on Twitter:

https://mobile.twitter.com/memesovergenes

References

Two for Tea interview with Sean B. Carroll:

https://soundcloud.com/twoforteapodcast/77-sean-b-carroll-revolutionising-our-understanding-of-evo-biology

The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis (linguistic relativity):

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

Simon’s Areo article on Ukraine and the United Nations:

https://areomagazine.com/2022/03/25/ukraine-why-arent-we-talking-about-the-un/

Timestamps

00.00 Opening and introduction.

2:25 Simon reads from his book ‘SPEECH! How Language Made Us Human’.

13:00 Animal sounds vs. human language. Simon’s theory of the key to and origins of language: the “digitisation of noise.”

17:25 The evidence for Simon’s theory.

22:07 Nature and language as digital; an analogy with DNA and evo devo.

26:04 The revolutionary power of language for humanity. Iona reads from Simon’s book—language as an act of transportation, both connecting us with others and distancing us from the immediate basis of experience. Plus: the dangers of being trapped by language (“the trap of identity”, “the trap of culture”, etc.) and a Babylonian diversion.

37:27 Japanese enka music and Jero, the black American enka singer: a cautionary tale against feeling one’s culture is special and unique. This is true at the individual level, too. This is an illusion caused by language. Further discussion and examples of this illusion and how it (sometimes dangerously) misleads and divides us. The artificiality of culture: our natures are all calibration, stemming from language and culture. Simon’s Japanese experience.

49:48 Simon’s views on the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis (linguistic relativity).

55:01 The power of music and its (lack of?) relation to language. Did language drive the growth of the brain?

1:04:36 Do books offer a kind of vicarious experience? Can we really communicate experience and thought to others via language? Is the world headed in the direction of a universal culture (but not a monoculture!)?

1:07:06 Using language and argument instead of violence. Is democracy an evolutionarily stable strategy? How do we apply this at the global level, not just the national level? Why the United Nations fails at this.

1:14:04 Last words and outro.