Podcast
Within Reason
Hosted by Alex J O'Connor · EN
For the curious.
A philosophy podcast that sometimes flirts with other disciplines, Within Reason has featured guests including Richard Dawkins, Douglas Murray, William Lane Craig, Peter Singer, Konstantin Kisin, and Neil deGrasse Tyson.
82episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
#156 Mysticism: The Heretics Who Got Too Close to God - Simon Critchley
1w ago01:17:36Tap to summarizeGet Huel today with this exclusive offer for New Customers of 15% OFF with code alexoconnor at https://huel.com/alexoconnor (Minimum $50 purchase).For early, ad-free access to videos, and to support the channel, subscribe to my Substack: https://www.alexoconnor.com.Simon Critchley is a British philosopher, author and professor at The New School in New York. He is best known for his work on existentialism, mysticism, ethics and continental philosophy, and is the author of books including The Book of Dead Philosophers, Faith of the Faithless and Mysticism.Get Simon's book Mysticism here.TIMESTAMPS:0:00 - Is Mysticism Always Religious?7:52 - What is Mysticism?18:58 - Unification With the Divine29:58 - Mysticism and the Self40:38 - Why Are So Many Mystics Women?48:41 - The Limits of Language59:54 - Was Pascal a Mystic?01:03:21 - Where Does Simon Stand on Mysticism?01:11:22 - Where Should We Start With Learning About Mysticism?01:15:36 - Imagery in Simon’s Book - CONNECTMy Website: https://www.alexoconnor.comTwitter: http://www.twitter.com/cosmicskepticFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/cosmicskepticInstagram: http://www.instagram.com/cosmicskepticTikTok: @CosmicSkeptic - CONTACTBusiness email: contact@alexoconnor.comBrand enquiries: David@modernstoa.co
Transcribe →#155 AI Music is Not Music - Adam Neely
3w ago01:57:19Tap to summarizeGet Huel today with this exclusive offer for New Customers of 15% OFF with code alexoconnor at www.huel.com/alexoconnor (Minimum $50 purchase).For early, ad-free access to videos, and to support the channel, subscribe to my Substack.Adam Neely is an American bassist, YouTuber, and jazz musician based in New York City. His YouTube content includes Q&A videos, vlogs about performing music, and video essays about online music culture. As a musician, he performs with groups including the electro-jazz duo Sungazer and the instrumental band Aberdeen.Watch Adam's video on Suno here.TIMESTAMPS:0:00 - Music and Philosophy5:17 - Can You Cheat in Music?9:07 - What is Suno?25:20 - Can You Use AI Musically?32:21 - Is AI Just the New Sampling?38:40 - AI and Inclusivity46:21 - Is Music Becoming Narcissistic?57:26 - Does Great Art Require Ego?01:07:04 - Are AI Music Tools Inevitable?01:22:55 - How Would Adam Improve Suno?01:35:44 - Are We Removing the Humanity From Music?01:44:18 - Is Jazz the Blueprint? - CONNECTMy Website: https://www.alexoconnor.comSOCIAL LINKS:Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cosmicskepticFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/cosmicskepticInstagram: http://www.instagram.com/cosmicskepticTikTok: @CosmicSkeptic - CONTACTBusiness email: contact@alexoconnor.comBrand enquiries: David@modernstoa.co
Transcribe →#154 Happiness: Epicurus' Ancient Guide - Jonny Thomson
4w ago01:48:33Tap to summarizeGet all sides of every story and be better informed at https://ground.news/AlexOC - subscribe for 40% off unlimited access.For early, ad-free access to videos, and to support the channel, subscribe to my Substack: https://www.alexoconnor.com.Jonny Thomson is a philosopher and the founder of PhilosophyMinis . He is on the Executive Board for the British Philosophy Association and is a staff writer at Big Think.Get Jonny's upcoming book, The Art of Enough: The Ancient Epicurean Philosophy of Finding – and Keeping – HappinessTIMESTAMPS:00:00 - Are Epicureans Selfish?05:30 - Why Epicureanism?10:31 - Who Was Epicurus?16:42 - Godless But Not Atheistic23:21 - Epicurus’ Metaphysics27:24 - Why Focus on Pleasure?35:29 - Epicureanism vs Utilitarianism48:59 - What About Immoral Pleasures?53:02 - Could AI be Epicurean?01:00:50 - The Experience Machine01:10:59 - Why Epicurus Didn’t Like Sex01:16:21 - Are Influencers Watering Down Ancient Philosophy?01:20:06 - Are You In Control of Your Happiness?01:26:33 - Epicureanism vs Stoicism01:32:36 - Epicurus on Death01:36:42 - Do We Have a Happiness Crisis? - CONNECTMy Website: https://www.alexoconnor.comSOCIAL LINKS:Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cosmicskepticFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/cosmicskepticInstagram: http://www.instagram.com/cosmicskepticTikTok: @CosmicSkepticThe Within Reason Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/within-reason/id1458675168 - CONTACTBusiness email: contact@alexoconnor.comBrand enquiries: David@modernstoa.co
Transcribe →#153 If Anyone Builds It, EVERYONE Dies - AI Expert on Superintelligence
Apr 2601:35:13Tap to summarizeGet all sides of every story and be better informed at https://ground.news/AlexOC - subscribe for 40% off unlimited access.For early, ad-free access to videos, and to support the channel, subscribe to my Substack.-Nate Soares is an American artificial intelligence author and researcher known for his work on existential risk from AI. In 2014, Soares co-authored a paper that introduced the term AI alignment, the challenge of making increasingly capable AI’s behave as intended. Nate is the president of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute, a research nonprofit based in Berkeley, California.Get the book, If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All. - TIMESTAMPS00:00 - Is This an Exaggeration?04:31 - What Is Unique About the Threat of AI?11:28 - What is Superintelligence?21:25 - From Chess Computers to Murderous Machines27:52 - What Really Drives AI Systems?44:29 - Evidence AI Is Already Turning Against Us56:03 - How We Are Helping AI Take Over01:01:21 - Why Would AI Seek Power or Control?01:07:42 - Some Worst-Case AI Scenarios01:18:38 - What Do We Do About This Now?01:32:53 - How Has AI Changed in the Last Six Months? - CONNECTMy Website: https://www.alexoconnor.comSOCIAL LINKS:Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cosmicskepticFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/cosmicskepticInstagram: http://www.instagram.com/cosmicskepticTikTok: @CosmicSkeptic - CONTACTBusiness email: contact@alexoconnor.comBrand enquiries: David@modernstoa.co
Transcribe →#152 Why AI Will Never Be Conscious
Apr 2001:41:50Tap to summarizeGet Huel today with this exclusive offer for New Customers of 15% OFF with code alexoconnor at https://huel.com/alexoconnor (Minimum $50 purchase).For early, ad-free access to videos, and to support the channel, subscribe to my Substack.Anil Seth is a British neuroscientist and professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex. A proponent of materialist explanations of consciousness, he is currently amongst the most cited scholars on the topics of neuroscience and cognitive science globally.Read Anil's essay, "The Mythology of Conscious AI". - TIMESTAMPS00:00 - The Difference Between Intelligence and Consciousness03:55 - What’s Stopping the Replication of Consciousness in AI?17:01 - Can You Separate What the Brain Is From What It Does?22:20 - Is Conscious Experience Just Predictions From the Brain?26:48 - Why Do We Project Consciousness Onto LLMs?37:27 - Can Consciousness Exist Without a Body?42:25 - Why We Liken the Brain to a Computer52:11 - Is There An Evolutionary Reason For Consciousness?56:29 - Studying Unconscious Perception?1:01:21 - Is Consciousness Unified? Split-Brain Patients1:15:10 - Attention and Consciousness1:19:04 - What Would a Conscious Chatbot Even Look Like?1:25:13 - Consciousness as a Controlled Hallucination1:34:19 - Do Scientists Actually Study “Consciousness” At All? - CONNECTMy Website: https://www.alexoconnor.comTwitter: http://www.twitter.com/cosmicskepticFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/cosmicskepticInstagram: http://www.instagram.com/cosmicskepticTikTok: @CosmicSkeptic - CONTACTBusiness email: contact@alexoconnor.comBrand enquiries: David@modernstoa.co
Transcribe →#151 John Lennox - What Nearly Dying Taught Me About God
Apr 1301:18:44Tap to summarizeGet all sides of every story and be better informed at https://ground.news/AlexOC - subscribe for 40% off unlimited access.For early, ad-free access to videos, and to support the channel, subscribe to my Substack: https://www.alexoconnor.com.-John Lennox is a Northern Irish mathematician, bioethicist, and Christian apologist originally from Northern Ireland. He has written many books on religion, ethics, the relationship between science and God, and has had public debates with atheists including Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens. -Exclusive discount: Listeners to my show can get 30% Off John Lennox’s autobiography, My Story when shopping directly from his publishers. Visit https://spckpublishing.co.uk/my-story and enter AOC30 at checkout to get 30% off. - TIMESTAMPS00:00 - How Pressure Can Produce the Best Work02:29 - Does the Incarnation Make Sense?06:22 - John’s Richard Dawkins Debate14:39 - What Did the New Atheists Get Wrong About God?26:21 - Science Cannot Explain Everything31:22 - What Did the New Atheists Get Right?35:18 - Why Does God Hide From So Many People?44:36 - Why Does God Allow Arbitrary Suffering?56:25 - Is Faith “Belief Without Evidence”?1:00:33 - How Could God Punish a Mere Lack of Faith?1:08:14 - How Christopher Hitchens Agreed with Jesus1:13:03 - Does Christianity Cause Evil?
Transcribe →#150 Materialist AND Panpsychism are True - Galen Strawson
Apr 800:57:39Tap to summarizeGet Huel today with this exclusive offer for New Customers of 15% OFF with code alexoconnor at https://huel.com/alexoconnor (Minimum $50 purchase).For early, ad-free access to videos, and to support the channel, subscribe to my Substack: https://www.alexoconnor.com.Galen Strawson is a British analytic philosopher and literary critic who works primarily on philosophy of mind, metaphysics, John Locke, David Hume, Immanuel Kant and Friedrich Nietzsche.TIMESTAMPS:00:00 - Is Radical Emergence Possible?08:15 - Can Physics Describe Consciousness?12:01 - Is Everything Made of Consciousness?18:34 - Why Are People Resistant to Panpsychism?21:19 - Can Experience Alone Tell Us What Consciousness Is?23:50 - Does Consciousness Require Complexity?29:03 - Panpsychism vs Idealism: What’s the Difference?36:08 - The Combination Problem40:03 - What is the “Self”?43:16 - Do We Even Need to Explain Consciousness?48:25 - Is Consciousness a Scientific or Philosophical Question?53:25 - Is It Possible for AI to Become Conscious?
Transcribe →#149 My Problem With C.S. Lewis - Philip Pullman
Apr 201:27:00Tap to summarizePhilip Pullman is one of England's most cherished and celebrated writers. Author of the popular His Dark Materials series of books (later adapted into a film, The Golden Compass (2007), and a 2019 HBO/BBC drama series), his novels are dripping with philosophical and religious themes.Get Philip Pullman's Books here.-TIMESTAMPS:0:00 - C.S. Lewis Tells Filthy Lies5:12 - Childhood Innocence is Overrated10:09 - Religion in Philip’s Novels21:26 - How to Improve the Story of Jesus and the Gospels27:43 - The Connection Between Music and Fiction36:24 - Books vs Movies43:38 - Consciousness in The Book of Dust50:05 - Should Novelists Go Back and Update Their Books?56:11 - The Omniscient Narrator1:00:12 - How Movies Changed Novels1:05:49 - Why Subtitles Are So Popular Now1:10:56 - The Role of Philosophy in Philip’s Novels1:13:27 - Philip’s Writing Process1:20:11 - The Fear of AI in Creative Industries
Transcribe →#149 Blaise Pascal: Philosopher, Mathematician, Genius - Graham Tomlin
Mar 2501:34:28Tap to summarizeGet Huel today with this exclusive offer for New Customers of 15% OFF with code alexoconnor at https://huel.com/alexoconnor (Minimum $50 purchase).For early, ad-free access to videos, and to support the channel, subscribe to my Substack.Graham Tomlin is a British theologian, author and former Church of England bishop.LINKS:Get Graham's book, Blaise Pascal: The Man Who Made the Modern WorldGraham's organisation, Seen and Unseen TIMESTAMPS:00:00 - Can Blaise Pascal Be Categorised?03:05 - Who Was Blaise Pascal?11:12 - Pascal’s First Conversion17:19 - Pascal’s “Night of Fire”21:59 - Did Pascal Reject Reason?31:45 - Pascal’s War With Descartes42:31 - Did Pascal Invent the Bus?45:42 - The Heart Has Its Reasons, Of Which Reason Knows Nothing50:03 - How Pascal Invented Probability Theory52:29 - Pascal’s Wager1:15:35 - The Pensées1:18:30 - Pascal’s “Two Minds”1:22:39 - The Importance of Boredom1:26:58 - Why Should Atheists Read Pascal?1:31:34 - What Would Graham Ask Pascal?
Transcribe →#147 What is PURE Consciousness? - Thomas Metzinger
Mar 1802:03:28Tap to summarizeGet Huel today with this exclusive offer for New Customers of 15% OFF with code alexoconnor at https://huel.com/alexoconnor (Minimum $50 purchase).For early, ad-free access to videos, and to support the channel, subscribe to my Substack: https://www.alexoconnor.com.Thomas Metzinger is a German philosopher and Professor Emeritus of theoretical philosophy at the University of Mainz. His primary research areas include philosophy of mind, philosophy of neuroscience, and applied ethics, particularly focusing on neurotechnology, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence.Get The Elephant and the Blind: The Experience of Pure Consciousness: Philosophy, Science, and 500+ Experiential ReportsTIMESTAMPS0:00 - The Minimal Phenomenal Experience Project11:34 - Is MPE New Age Meditation?17:07 - Collecting Reports of Pure Consciousness25:48 - Lucid Deep Sleep - Thomas’ Experience32:19 - Does Consciousness Require Complexity?39:29 - The Power of Meditation45:32 - Is Meditation Always a Positive Experience?53:13 - Is a MPE Actually an Experience?01:11:21 - Your Brain is Not Telling You the Truth01:20:08 - Analysing Minimal Conscious Experiences01:27:26 - Is Meditative Enlightenment Unethical?01:32:37 - Western Ignorance of Eastern Tradition01:40:13 - “Coming Home”01:44:29 - The Political Implications of MPE01:52:40 - Should Ketamine Be Legalised?
Transcribe →