Show for March 25, 2012. Philosophy Fights Back.
In the age of science, what’s a philosopher to do? As physics, biology and other hard sciences advance, is philosophy left with only a few increasingly recherché questions? Nope, says philosopher Colin McGinn. McGinn argues that philosophy is a kind of science (though it could use some rebranding to that effect), and those other sciences would do well to pay it some mind. A dose of philosophy could help clear up many scientific confusions and save theorists from a mess of conceptual errors (homuncular fallacy, anyone?). Colin McGinn and I talk science vs. philosophy, different kinds of knowledge, the nature of objectivity, problems with the scientific study of consciousness, and his Campaign to Rename Philosophy (CRP), which he wrote about recently in the New York Times.
Click the Play arrow above to listen to the show, or you can download the MP3 here (if using a Mac, control-click the link and choose “Save Link As…” If using a PC, right-click and choose Save Target As…”)
Show for March 4, 2012. Sebastian Seung—Mapping the Brain
And you thought sequencing the human genome was a big job. MIT neuroscientist Sebastian Seung is proposing something even more Herculean: tracing the trillions of neuronal connections in the human brain, collectively known as the “connectome.” He believes the connectome may hold the key to understanding the brain and the self. That follows from connectionism—the notion that learning, memory and personality are embedded in the brain’s wiring. Like so much else in neuroscience, that’s still hypothetical, and Sebastian is refreshingly candid about the limits of current understanding. We discussed what is and isn’t known about the workings of neurons, how the brain’s circuitry might encode information, the relevance of computer models, and artificial intelligence techniques that may help map the connectome. Also: the “Jennifer Aniston neuron,” whether or not to freeze your posthumous head, and the cautionary tale of the South Park underpants gnomes.
Click the Play arrow above to listen to the show, or you can download the MP3 here (if using a Mac, control-click the link and choose “Save Link As…” If using a PC, right-click and choose Save Target As…”)
Show for Oct. 24, 2010: Neuroscientist Daniel Levitin on Musicality and Evolution
The best-selling author of This is Your Brain on Music returns to our show. Neuroscientist, musician and record producer Dan Levitin discusses his most recent book, The World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature. Levitin contends that music played a key role in human evolution. (Interview originally boradcast in 2008.)
Click the “play” arrow above to listen, or download the MP3 here.
Show for March 14, 2010. The Musical Brain: Daniel Levitin
From 2007: A musical celebration and cerebration with neuroscientist, instrumentalist and record producer Daniel Levitin, author of “This is Your Brain on Music.” Dan is a natural entertainer and talented explainer. We played a lot of different tunes and had us some good fun. Worth a listen, if you missed it the first time around.
Click here to see Dan’s website.
