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Philip Goff is a professor of philosophy at Durham University in the United Kingdom, where he researches consciousness and the philosophy of mind. He is the best known proponent of a view about consciousness known as panpsychism, which takes mentality to be fundamental in the world rather than something that either emerges out of complex structures or exists parallel to physical objects (as an immaterial property of things like souls). In this episode, Robinson and Philip discuss the major camps in the debate over consciousness, including physicalism, dualism, and panpsychism, touching on both their strengths and weaknesses. They then turn to a few questions raised in Philip’s most recent book, Why? The Purpose of the Universe (Oxford, 2023), in which he seeks to find a middle ground between atheism and deism.

Why? The Purpose of the Universe: https://a.co/d/2cqj5Us

Philip’s Website: https://philipgoffphilosophy.com

OUTLINE

00:00 Introduction

04:41 Philip’s Interest in Consciousness

8:11 What Is Consciousness?

14:36 Is Consciousness a Spectrum?

19:42 On Dualism About Consciousness

31:37 On Physicalism and the Mind

46:56 What Is Panpsychism?

53:27 The Best Arguments for Panpsychism

57:11 Panpsychism and the Combination Problem

1:02:20 On Panpsychism and Parapsychology

1:07:06 On Panpsychism and Free Will

1:13:04 On the Fine-Tuning Problem

Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com

Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between.

Patreon: https://bit.ly/3v8OhY7

Vijay Prashad is a historian and journalist. He obtained his PhD in history at the University of Chicago and was most recently the George and Martha Kellner Chair in South Asian History at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. Vijay is a Marxist, and much of his work and writing has been devoted to critiques of capitalism and colonialism, and this notably includes research on Israel, Palestine, and the Middle East. In this episode, Robinson and Vijay discuss the Israel-Palestine conflict as a problem of anti-semitism and colonialism, and touch on various other dimensions of the issue, such as how the war might end, Noam Chomsky’s contributions to the discussion, and the legitimacy of Palestine.

Tricontinental: https://thetricontinental.org/institutes/

OUTLINE

00:00 Introduction

04:20 Human Rights and the Crisis in Palestine

10:50 Decolonizing Palestine and the Problem of European Antisemitism

19:33 Is Israel a European Colonialist Enterprise?

31:06 Is Palestine a Legitimate Nation?

43:14 On Noam Chomsky and a One-State Solution to Israel-Palestine

53:26 Communism, Israel-Palestine, and Dreams of Utopia

59:46 Is There a Practical Solution to the War in Gaza?

Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com

Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between.

Patreon: https://bit.ly/3v8OhY7

Jeffrey Sachs is University Professor at Columbia University, where he serves as the Director of the Center for Sustainable Development. Before that, he taught at Harvard University for twenty years. Jeff is the author of numerous books, including three New York Times bestsellers. His latest is The Ages of Globalization: Geography, Technology, and Institutions (Columbia, 2020). In addition to his work as an economist on the cutting edge of sustainable development—including research on changes related to extreme poverty, climate change, and other national economic reforms—Jeff is an authority on geopolitics and international relations, with particular expertise on Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Palestine, and other currently contentious areas. In this episode, Jeff and Robinson discuss practical solutions to the war in Gaza, the geopolitics surrounding the conflict in Israel and Palestine, allegations of anti-semitism in American universities, the assassination of JFK, and the truth behind conspiracy theories.

The Ages of Globalization: https://a.co/d/34yO8HB

Jeff’s Website: https://www.jeffsachs.org

OUTLINE

00:00 Introduction

03:48 Was October 7th Justifiable?

05:35 Can the UN End the War in Palestine?

09:31 Is Israel an Apartheid State?

11:28 Is Israel Committing Genocide?

17:50 Is a Two-State Solution Right for Israel and Palestine?

21:14 What Is the Pathway to Ending the War in Gaza?

26:06 Did the CIA Assassinate JFK?

28:12 On the Legitimacy of Conspiracy Theories

32:59 Key Israeli and Palestinian Players for the War in Gaza

42:01 Biden, Putin, Xi Jinping, and the War in Israel

46:39 On Anti-Semitism in American Universities

Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com

Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between.