Daniel Dennett: Why Free Will Survives in a Deterministic Universe

I personally subscribe to The Economist. TOE listeners get 35% off the annual subscription. No other podcast has this! https://economist.com/TOE Daniel Dennett challenges the existence of qualia, the soul, and argues consciousness can be uploaded. They discuss pragmatism, emergence, and the AI alignment problem, weaving insights from neuroscience to philosophy.

0:00 The Soul
3:18 Most Important Philosophical Question
12:06 Do Qualia Exist?
30:28 Uploading Consciousness
39:55 Thinking Differently
56:20 Pragmatism
1:01:06 Robert Sapolsky
1:12:57 Philosophers and Scientists
1:29:30 Patterns and Emergence
1:36:46 Roger Penrose
1:42:39 Sailing Boats
1:45:40 Fictionalism
1:51:12 Coming Up With Concepts
1:59:55 Douglas Hofstadter
2:05:30 AI Alignment Problem
2:11:31 Q&A

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RESOURCES:

- I've Been Thinking (Dennett): https://amzn.to/3RVffvf
- The Ego of the Mind (Dennett/Hofstadter): https://amzn.to/3RK4JGa
- Determined (Sapolsky): https://amzn.to/3RWMm0P
- Elbow Room (Dennett): https://amzn.to/3GT8u77
- The Extended Phenotype (Dawkins): https://amzn.to/3GVyMW3
- The Emperor's New Mind (Penrose): https://amzn.to/3RVmiEb
- Carlo Rovelli on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_fUPbBNmBw&t=0s
- Engineering, Daydreaming, Control (Dennett): https://www.researchgate.net/publication/360998429_Engineering_Daydreaming_and_Control
- Am I a Fictionalist? (Dennett): https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003091073-23/fictionalist-daniel-dennett
- The Selfish Gene (Dawkins): https://amzn.to/3RX38hu
- Consciousness Explained (Dennett): https://amzn.to/41BHPVO
- Intuition Pumps (Dennett): https://amzn.to/3S6lQmZ
- Darwin's Dangerous Idea (Dennett): https://amzn.to/3vi0VV2
- Freedom Evolves (Dennett): https://amzn.to/3THPIqL
- Elbow Room: Free Will (Dennett): https://amzn.to/3TDef0g
- From Bacteria to Bach and Back (Dennett): https://amzn.to/41yKJL3
- David Sloan Wilson on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3fG96gvgLU&t=0s
- Donald Hoffman on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmieNQH7Q4w&t=0s
- Hoffman & Joscha Bach on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhSlYfVtgww&t=0s
- Hoffman & Philip Goff on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmaIBxkqcT4&t=0s
- Hoffman & Vervaeke on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwTpdCVsttI&t=0s
- Anand Vaidya on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BPLcuHnS_A&t=0s

Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal features long-form, technically detailed interviews with leading researchers in physics, mathematics, consciousness, and philosophy, exploring topics at the level of active research. For academics, graduate students, and anyone seeking depth beyond popular science.

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