Man’s Search for Meaning by Dr. Viktor Frankl—this is a must-own book. If you do not yet have a copy, purchase one here:
https://www.amazon.com/Mans-Search-Meaning-Viktor-Frankl/dp/0807014273/
Remember Bergen-Belsen:
https://bergen-belsen.stiftung-ng.de/en/your-visit/historicalgroundsofthecamp/
Remember Babi Yar/Babyn Yar:
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/kiev-and-babi-yar
Remember the victims of October 7th:
https://october7memorial.com/memoriam
Remember the Nova Music Festival Massacre:
https://theweitzman.org/exhibitions/nova/
Watch Screams Before Silence, a documentary on the sexual violence of Hamas:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAr9oGSXgak
Bring every hostage home now.
Progress is speeding up even as the world barrels toward one of innumerable disasters. What lies ahead, and what should we do when we get there? In the best-case scenario, we may still have control over our direction.
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Music credits:
"Half Mystery" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
"Hypnothis" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
"Deliberate Thought" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
"Rising Tide" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
It's a great day for an existential crisis! What are the odds that you ever existed at all? Find that out and more on our latest foray into the insanity of existence!
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References:
Nick Bostrom AI TED Talk
https://youtu.be/MnT1xgZgkpk
All Tomorrows episode inspiration (not directly related)-
https://youtu.be/YbuulUQzHRU
Deepmind destroying Atari -
https://www.infoq.com/news/2020/05/deepmind-ai-atari/
Warming cities -
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/ng-interactive/2017/nov/03/three-degree-world-cities-drowned-global-warming
The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Relaxing Piano Improvisation by Alexander Nakarada
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/5978-relaxing-piano-improvisation
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist website: https://www.serpentsoundstudios.com/
Music: Evacuation by Sascha Ende
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/8118-evacuation
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist website: https://www.sascha-ende.de
Music: Journey Of Hope by Alexander Nakarada
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/4718-journey-of-hope
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist website: https://www.serpentsoundstudios.com/
There's no real answer for the question of why we are here. At least not one that we know. Sure, the big bang, evolution, emperors and economies. But that doesn't answer the question of why. Why are we here? Well, we emerged. From what - that is the question. As always, thanks for listening. It means a lot to me that someone, somewhere can hear my thoughts.
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Resources:
Aristotle:
https://se-scholar.com/se-blog/2017/6/23/who-said-the-whole-is-greater-than-the-sum-of-the-parts
Space and the distances between:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstellar_travel
Emptiness of atoms:
https://education.jlab.org/qa/how-much-of-an-atom-is-empty-space.html
Exurb1a and hard logicality:
Machine learning:
https://www.sas.com/en_us/insights/analytics/machine-learning.html
Crashcourse neural networks:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oV3ZY6tJiA0
Honeybee honeycombs:
https://www.nature.com/articles/srep28341
Music:
The Descent by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4490-the-descent
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Anguish by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3373-anguish
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Magic Tavern by Alexander Nakarada
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/9139-magic-tavern
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Leaving Home by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4708-leaving-home
When the robot overlords come for me, tell them I'm out grabbing a byte. I joke, but artificial intelligence may legitimately mean the end of life as we know it if we're not careful. In this series I'll be investigating the many facets of AI and what the future may hold for humanity.
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Resources:
Uyghur genocide, perpetuated by the government of China:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-59595952
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/22/world/asia/china-surveillance-xinjiang.html
CRISPR gene editing:
https://www.newscientist.com/definition/what-is-crispr/
AlphaFold AI protein folding project:
https://deepmind.com/blog/article/alphafold-a-solution-to-a-50-year-old-grand-challenge-in-biology
Deep Blue chess AI project:
https://www.ibm.com/ibm/history/ibm100/us/en/icons/deepblue/
Prions and mad cow disease:
https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/animal-health-literacy/all-about-bse-mad-cow-disease
Tesla’s AI:
Sam Harris TED Talk:
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36576608-flowers-for-algernon
Brief history of the universe:
https://www.space.com/52-the-expanding-universe-from-the-big-bang-to-today.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Have_No_Mouth,_and_I_Must_Scream
Kardashev scale:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale
A significant portion of the video was inspired by CGP Grey’s video on AI, it is definitely worth a watch:
Music:
Deep Relaxation Preview by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5726-deep-relaxation-preview
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Healing by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3860-healing
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Quite a messy episode. Freedom of speech is messy. Even so, I hope to convince you of the truth of what Voltaire stood for.
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Links-
Voltaire's Treatise on Tolerance:
https://www.earlymoderntexts.com/assets/pdfs/voltaire1763.pdf
Life and times of Voltaire:
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/voltaire/
Voltaire's Candide:
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/19942/19942-h/19942-h.htm
Hong Kong autonomy:
https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/China-retreats-from-50-year-pledge-of-Hong-Kong-autonomy2
Mao ZeDong's sparrow drive:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0306422018800259
Whorf hypothesis:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/psychology/sapir-whorf-hypothesis
George Orwell's 1984:
http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks01/0100021.txt
Music credits:
Waltz (Tschikovsky Op. 40) by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4605-waltz-tschikovsky-op-40-
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Pride by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4239-pride
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Leaving Home by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4708-leaving-home
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
As with many of Plato's works, it is legitimately impossible to overstate the impact and significance of Plato's Republic on our society, development, and life in general. As I explore the smallest fraction of the wisdom within, I relay and relate my thoughts on the January 6th attack on the Capitol Building of the United States of America. Perhaps there is something we can learn from Plato that may help us through this time. Or perhaps not. But if there is even the slightest chance that something can save our republic, I believe it is absolutely worth a try.
Read Plato's Republic at Project Gutenberg:
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1497/1497-h/1497-h.htm
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Music credits:
Relent by Kevin MacLeod - volume adjustments
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4274-relent
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Canon In D For Two Renaissance Harps by Kevin MacLeod - volume adjustments
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/6958-canon-in-d-for-two-renaissance-harps
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Energizing by Kevin MacLeod - volume adjustments
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5709-energizing
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Adding The Sun by Kevin MacLeod - volume adjustments
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5708-adding-the-sun
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Truth in the Stones by Kevin MacLeod - volume adjustments
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4550-truth-in-the-stones
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Hermann Hesse wrote in German, but the concepts within are indescribable in any language. Watch and listen to my struggle to understand. And please, if you can...enlighten us.
Video link: https://youtu.be/PeBec7wzgGM
Read Siddhartha from Project Gutenberg:
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2500/2500-h/2500-h.htm
Listen to the audiobook from LibriVox:
https://librivox.org/siddhartha-by-hermann-hesse/
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In Defense of Sam Harris. Politics are not the most important thing in my life; that spot is reserved for philosophy. Sam Harris found himself in a defensive political game for much of the past few years, which is really a shame as his academic work seems to me much more important a place for Sam to put his PhD brain to use. In this episode I argue that taking breaks from political life is important if you wish to not be entirely consumed by it.
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Sam Harris and Dave Rubin on the Rubin Report:
Sam Harris on Bill Maher with special guest Batman (Ben Affleck):
https://youtu.be/vln9D81eO60
Music credits:
Cold Funk by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3522-cold-funk
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ - fade in/out
Sax, Rock, and Roll by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4324-sax-rock-and-roll
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ - fade in/out
Love it or hate it, we are all here today because of capitalism. There are few if any global systems more well-developed than our markets and free trade. Listen to my personal philosophy, the general philosophy of capitalism, and its modern foundations in the writings of Adam Smith in this rather more controversial podcast episode.
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Learn more about the topics discussed:
Biography of Adam Smith:
https://www.investopedia.com/updates/adam-smith-wealth-of-nations/
Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations:
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/3300/3300-h/3300-h.htm
Locke’s Second Treatise on Government:
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/7370/7370-h/7370-h.htm
Capitalism:
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/capitalism.asp
Global poverty statistics:
https://ourworldindata.org/extreme-poverty?
Music credits:
Peace of Mind by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4199-peace-of-mind
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Canon In D For Two Harps by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/6959-canon-in-d-for-two-harps
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
SCP-x5x (Outer Thoughts) by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/6735-scp-x5x-outer-thoughts-
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
What does it mean to be a liberal? The grandfather of liberalism, John Locke, will tell you it boils down to three fundamental principles of human existence: the right to life, liberty, and property. It is no exaggeration to say that John Locke laid the foundations of freedom for the world to follow. Listen to my rundown of the more poignant points of his philosophy.
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Learn more about the topics discussed-
Read Locke's Two Treatises of Civil Government:
https://oll.libertyfund.org/pages/john-locke-two-treatises-1689#lf0057_head_003
Sir Robert Filmer, Locke's ideological opponent:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-Filmer
Marduk and Babylon:
https://www.ancient.eu/Marduk/
Dr. Jordan Peterson's lecture encompassing Marduk:
https://youtu.be/R_GPAl_q2QQ
The Mandate of Heaven in Chinese culture:
https://www.ancient.eu/Mandate_of_Heaven/
Music credits:
Wholesome by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5050-wholesome
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ - music fade in/out
White by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4626-white
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ - music fade in/out
Samba Isobel by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4316-samba-isobel
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ - music fade in/out
Sad Trio by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4314-sad-trio
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ - music fade in/out
**Not an actual sea monster. This monster is in fact one that we've created ourselves, and is composed of our own bodies. The societal contract that binds us together. Where does it come from? How has it persisted? Why do I always ask so many questions? Come with me into this little dive with Thomas Hobbes and the Leviathan.
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Learn more about the topics discussed:
Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan-
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hobbes-moral/
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/3207/3207-h/3207-h.htm
Article partly discussing Jane Goodall and the Gombe Chimp War:
http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150811-do-animals-fight-wars
World War 2:
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/world-war-ii-history
The concentration camps of Nazi Germanys:
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/nazi-camps
Music credits:
"Sincerely" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ - music fade in/out changes
"Angel Share" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ - music fade in/out changes
"Perspectives" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ - music fade in/out changes
Alternate title: In Defense of The Republic. Philosopher-King, Philosopher-King, who is fit to rule? Is mob justice true justice, or is it unjustly cruel? Call me Dr. Seuss, because my rhymes are fire. This episode covers a rather large range of topics, but the prevailing theme throughout is the concept of Tyranny of the Minority, AKA your standard dictatorship, vs. Tyranny of the Majority, AKA mob rule. It's a debate I find personally fascinating, and as I explain in the episode I think the United States of America does an exceptional job of balancing the two extremes of governance.
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Learn more about the topics discussed:
Jean-Paul Sartre - https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/sartre/
Greek democracy - https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-greece/ancient-greece-democracy
Plato's Apology - the trial of Socrates - http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/apology.html
Plato's Republic - http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/republic.html
Vidkun Quisling - https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/vidkun-quisling
The Constitution of the United States - https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution
/////
Music Credits:
"Egmont Overture" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ - music fade in/out changes
"Thunderbird" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ - music fade in/out changes
"Stay the Course" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ - music fade in/out changes
True Detective very much helped to popularize the view of pessimism as tenable philosophical ground to the national television-viewing audience. The story of Rust Cohle is one of bleak reality almost too real to bear. Thomas Ligotti, likewise, broadcast his own philosophical pessimism to horror-savvy readers with his book “The Conspiracy Against The Human Race”. In this episode I discuss both popular accounts of pessimism and my own experience and investigations into the abyss. It’s impossible to mention the philosophy of Ligotti without mentioning his predecessor, H.P. Lovecraft, and his incomprehensible creations like Cthulhu. Perhaps the reality of existence truly is too much. Then again, the philosophy of Buddhism accepts much the same premises as philosophical pessimism, but comes to radically different conclusions. Maybe the answer is to strive in the face of suffering per Dr. Jordan Peterson and Dr. Viktor Frankl. As always, I leave the answers up to you to figure out. Let me know what you come up with.
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Learn more about the topics discussed:
True Detective's Rust Cohle and the philosophy of pessimism: https://youtu.be/9oX2xFo7JA4
David Benatar and Jordan Peterson debate: https://youtu.be/vsyZcKUP_-k
Man's Search for Meaning by Dr. Victor Frankl: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4069.Man_s_Search_for_Meaning
The Dhammapada: https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/dhp/dhp.intro.budd.html
The Call of Cthulhu by H.P. Lovecraft: http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/fiction/cc.aspx
Thomas Ligotti: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/128466.Thomas_Ligotti
Background music thanks to Anchor.
When faced with a terrible unknown, sometimes the best place to look for guidance is in ancient wisdom. Death is one of these unknowns. Many of us humans living and dead profess faith in an afterlife. Why does death still feel so alien, even with our self-proclaimed beliefs? Socrates discussed death philosophically as he awaited his own by way of execution. Perhaps Socrates can help alleviate some angst about this great mystery. Perhaps not. Alan Watts too may serve helpful to some.
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Learn more about the topics discussed:
Plato's Phaedo, the last hours of Socrates:
http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/phaedo.html
Plato's Crito, the attempted jailbreak:
http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/crito.html
Death as philosophical inquiry:
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/death/
The painting, The Death of Socrates by Jacques Louis David:
https://www.metmuseum.org/en/art/collection/search/436105
Background music thanks to Anchor.
"The unexamined life is not worth living."
Out of all historical figures democratically sentenced to death, Socrates is by far my favorite. Who was Socrates, you ask? Wonderful question. Read his apology to the men of Athens here:
http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/apology.html
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Ever wake up one morning and realize that no one actually knows anything about anything? That's what the consciousness debate is like. Presumably everyone already has intimate firsthand knowledge of their own consciousness...so why can't we agree on anything? I'm throwing a few ideas out there with their own problems and challenges. What's your take on this greatest of mysteries?
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Check out the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy article on consciousness:
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/consciousness/
Neural correlates of consciousness, what my episode seeks to address:
http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Neural_correlates_of_consciousness
Also zombies:
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/zombies/
