Category: Podcast

I cover my new book Square One: The Foundations of Knowledge. Truth is discoverable. It’s about time somebody made the case for it.

Pick up a copy on Amazon. Or, you can also get a free copy by supporting on Patreon.

What are numbers? What are concepts? Do they exist, or do we just act like they exist?

I’m joined by Dr. Jody Azzouni of Tufts University. He’s a philosopher who has been arguing for nominalism for years – the idea that numbers and abstract objects don’t exist at all.

His position is a wonderful contrast to the previous interviews I’ve done on this topic, where the guests have been Platonists. My own views sit in-between nominalism and Platonism.

I think abstract objects exist, but they do not exist in a Platonic realm. They exist in our minds. When we stop thinking about them, they stop existing.

Guest’s Website

Guest’s Books

If consciousness can’t be explained within the conceptual toolbox of physicalism, then what’s an alternative theory? Are we stuck with dualism?

This is my breakdown of the interview with Professor Bram about consciousness, machine intelligence, and the implications of rejecting reductive physicalism.

Since recorded history, people have been talking about “religious” or “spiritual” experiences. It’s a shame that intellectuals are no longer able to discuss them openly. It’s become taboo.

Fortunately, my guest doesn’t care about taboos, and he shares some details about his own religious experiences, and I do as well.

We’re not the only intellectuals with these experiences, and it’s about time we start talking about it. The ideas are too important to leave unexamined.

Guest’s Website

Discover Praxis

Buddhist philosophy focuses on some of the most difficult questions in philosophy – what is the “self”? What is the self’s relationship to consciousness? Are there meaningful boundaries in the universe, or is everything a mental construction?

To help me answer these questions, I’m joined by Dr. Janet Gyatso of Harvard University, who is the professor of Buddhist studies.

Guest’s Website

Guest’s Books

Is the Trump phenomenon reactionary? Is it a cultural movement? What do conservatives think about Trump?

I’m joined by the distinguished Dr. Harvey Mansfield, who has been teaching political philosophy at Harvard for more than 50 years. He has a distinctive conservative voice, and he shares his analysis of the 2016 election.

Guest’s Website