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Extrapolator is a philosophy/science podcast hosted by Geoff Allen. What is philosophy? How do we define what is true or what exists? Is human cognition special? What can empirical science say about religion, free will and the meaning of life? These topics, and more.
Episodes
Wednesday Sep 08, 2021
Wednesday Sep 08, 2021
In this episode, Geoff Allen speaks with Maura Cassidy Burke about the extent and limit of human knowledge. The idea of a multiverse is a very fun thought experiment here. Are the rules of logic really ‘universal’? For human beings, logic is intuitive and it seems immutable, but maybe there are beings or planets or universes where logic does not hold in the same way. Equally, the laws of physics seem fixed, but what if they were nothing more than our ‘address’ in space? At other locations in the multiverse, the laws of physics may be different!
Geoff and Maura also discuss: the aims of science; perspectival realism; metaphors like ‘approximate truth’ and ‘mapping on to reality’; strategies for scientific explanation (ontic, modal and epistemic); creative thinking and rebellious thinking in academia; mechanisms versus laws of nature; the links between scientific laws and Christian belief; looking for ‘order’ in the world via science and via religion; human observers as ‘agents’ who are embedded in any experiment; feedback loops and co-creation; the notion of co-creation in yoga and in philosophy; the ethics of the agent-dependent view; and other topics.
Maura Cassidy Burke is a PhD candidate in the philosophy of science at Utrecht University and, in her free time, she serves as an editor-in-chief for the Journal of Trial in Error. She holds an MSc in the History and Philosophy of Science from Utrecht University, and a BA in Molecular Biology from Hampshire College in Massachusetts, USA. Maura primarily works on the epistemology of science, with a focus on how explanations function in the natural and life sciences. For her master’s thesis, which served as the foundation for our discussion, Maura began developing a metaphysical position – the ‘agent-dependent view’ – in which she investigates how our role as agents affects our ability to construct scientific explanations and theories. She argues that in order to do good science, we ought to be concerned with the human in the equation (and never forget to have fun).
Website for the Journal of Trial and Error: www.jtrialerror.com
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Wednesday Sep 01, 2021
Wednesday Sep 01, 2021
In this episode, Geoff Allen speaks with Ilan Goodman about the intersection of philosophy and science. They discuss: Ilan’s background as a philosopher, podcaster and actor; scientific philosophy versus ‘pure philosophy’; Patricia Churchland’s views on philosophy and neuroscience; philosophy as a mapping exercise; scientific realism and mind-independent truths; the distinctions between philosophy and science; causality at the level of quantum particles; communicating science to the public; the motivations for podcasting; the current state of intellectual discourse; the challenges of communicating coronavirus information to the public; and other topics.
Ilan Goodman is a podcaster, producer and communicator of science. He works as a producer for science-focused podcasts, including CrowdScience (BBC World Service), The Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry (BBC R4) and Azeem Azhar's Exponential View. In a past role, he worked at the Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication, working as a producer for Risky Talk with David Spiegelhalter. Ilan is the host and producer of NOUS the podcast, which explores questions about the mind through philosophy, psychology and neuroscience. Ilan is also an actor, and he has appeared extensively on stage, in TV shows and in feature films.
Ilan holds an MSc in History and Philosophy of Science from UCL, and this common ground formed the basis for much of our conversation. Ilan holds Bachelor degrees in Experimental Psychology & Philosophy (University of Oxford) and Acting (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art).
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Tuesday Nov 24, 2020
Tuesday Nov 24, 2020
It’s the season one finale (so to speak). Geoff Allen presents a rather optimistic claim: ‘Reality is objectively meaningless, but that’s kind of a nice thing!’
Nihilism is the view that meaning does not exist (externally) – that meaning is not attainable or measurable according to any (external) X, Y or Z – and this has positive implications for human beings!
Who are the pessimistic nihilists who would prefer some fixed, prescriptive morality to be imposed from the outside? Is that alternative really better? (For further incredulity, continue reading…)
What on Earth are these pessimists lamenting? Would they really prefer if meaning was externally dictated?
Nihilism means that it is just us: one terrestrial ecosystem. We are bound together and marooned on this rather lush rock. When we take this outlook, we become pleasantly focused on the real issues at stake.
Life is incredibly improbable and, yet, here we are. We’re kind of in this together. Feel the optimism, folks!
A bibliography for each episode is available here: https://geoffallenwriting.wordpress.com/2020/10/06/extrapolator-bibliography/
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Tuesday Nov 17, 2020
Tuesday Nov 17, 2020
Welcome to the religion episode! It was inevitable, in hindsight. Geoff Allen starts by laying out his personal history of religious un-conversions and re-conversions (from the ages of 12 to 25).
**This episode features some brand new music: an uplifting track to match an uplifting message. This track, ’Optimism/Choate’, and the full album, ‘Extrapolator (Original Podcast Soundtrack)’, are available on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, and all major platforms.**
What is the ontological status of a religious belief? Where does it reside, or in what way does it exist? Well, religions are human ‘narratives’, just like currencies, economies and countries. This is revealed when we step back and characterise religious beliefs from an evolutionary perspective.
Religious beliefs have no truth or meaning in reality outside of human minds. We have believed in various gods because it was useful, not because it was true.
When it comes to morality, religious stories can be confusing and misleading. Religious rights sometimes appear to clash with other human rights. Is it hypocritical to restrict the rights of religious people, while they try to restrict the rights of women (and other groups)? How far do religious rights go?
As always, to answer these questions, we must drill down to our fundamental assumptions about reality.
A bibliography for each episode is available here: https://geoffallenwriting.wordpress.com/2020/10/06/extrapolator-bibliography/
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Tuesday Nov 10, 2020
Tuesday Nov 10, 2020
In this second part, Geoff Allen continues his ambitious ‘five birds, one stone’. He discusses the self, free will, intentionality, the flow of time and the meaning of life – all under one umbrella.
What unites these topics is an apparent mismatch between: the first-person experience of human life, and the third-person descriptions of empirical science. In each case, there is a clash between the first-person and the third-person perspectives.
What is the source of experiences like meaning, concepts and the flow of time? Are they subjective constructs on the part of individual organisms and systems… or, are they features of objective reality?
As always, we must take a naturalistic approach – which means no souls, no gods, no spooky (non-physical) forces. We must extrapolate carefully. Perhaps, if we engage in some wilder extrapolation, we can also make some tentative claims about the meaning of life.
A bibliography for each episode is available here: https://geoffallenwriting.wordpress.com/2020/10/06/extrapolator-bibliography/
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Tuesday Nov 03, 2020
Tuesday Nov 03, 2020
In this double episode, Geoff Allen tackles an ambitious ‘five birds, one stone’. He discusses the self, free will, intentionality, the flow of time and the meaning of life – all under one umbrella.
What unites these topics is an apparent mismatch between: the first-person experience of human life, and the third-person descriptions of empirical science. In each case, there is a clash between the first-person and the third-person perspectives.
Why do we have a subjective sense of self? How can we have any freedom to choose our actions? And how do these first-person experiences match up with the third-person descriptions of physics, biology and evolution?
To answer all of these questions, we must practise ‘naturalised’ or ‘naturalistic’ philosophy! We must refer only to natural entities and processes – which means no supernatural or non-physical claims. No souls, no gods, no spooky (non-physical) forces. Buckle up, folks.
A bibliography for each episode is available here: https://geoffallenwriting.wordpress.com/2020/10/06/extrapolator-bibliography/
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Tuesday Oct 27, 2020
Tuesday Oct 27, 2020
Geoff Allen runs through the history of AI as a field. It all started with a small conference in 1956, where the term ‘Artificial Intelligence’ was coined. By comparing trends in the history of AI, we can learn about changing conceptions of intelligence and cognition.
How has our conception of intelligence changed over time? There have been at least three broad trends, fashionable at different times – (i) Computationalism, (ii) Connectionism, and (iii) the Situated Embodied Dynamical (SED) approach.
Is the mind best understood – (i) as a computer, (ii) as a network, or (iii) in a physical context? Perhaps each of these theories can teach us something about modelling human intelligence and about engineering new intelligence.
Topics also include: human-perception versus bee-perception; the fuzzy line between iPhones and brains; and a big confession on the ethics of artificial intelligence.
A bibliography for each episode is available here: https://geoffallenwriting.wordpress.com/2020/10/06/extrapolator-bibliography/
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Tuesday Oct 20, 2020
Tuesday Oct 20, 2020
We (humans) still suffer from many errors in our thinking. Among these errors is an incorrect and damaging view of nature and other animals. We view animals as being naturally pigeonholed – ‘dogs are for petting, horses are for riding, pigs are for eating’. Why is it barbaric to eat a dog but not a pig?
Many humans still entertain a Book of Genesis notion that humans have dominion over all animals. At the very least, we (incorrectly) view the human species as separate and from the rest of nature. Pollution is seen as a transgression against the natural realm – ‘unnatural’ human activities disrupting ‘natural’ states of being.
Morality aside, this outlook is factually mistaken! Geoff Allen argues that we should cancel the word ‘natural’. As he puts it: ‘A bird’s nest is no more or less natural than a Toyota Prius’.
Topics also include: the logic of Mean Girls; genetics versus memetics; culture among apes and monkeys; animals planning for the future; thinking abstractly versus thinking concretely.
A bibliography for each episode is available here: https://geoffallenwriting.wordpress.com/2020/10/06/extrapolator-bibliography/
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Tuesday Oct 13, 2020
Tuesday Oct 13, 2020
Geoff Allen tackles his favourite set of overarching questions: ‘What is true?’… ‘What is real?’… ‘What exists “out there” in reality?’... He presents the core debate between scientific realists and social constructivists. (Can we say that electrons are ‘real’, or are they simply sociocultural constructs?)
We are all guided by personal tastes, interests and biases – buffeted by our our biology and psychology. We expect judges to overcome these constructs in order to create ‘justice’. We expect scientists to overcome these constructs in order to discover ‘truth’. Perhaps this is asking too much.
The history of things that were created (novels, pyramids, declarations of independence) necessarily involves a story about human authorship – acts by someone. That is the greasy human handprint on the history of knowledge-making. Can we discern any ‘truth’ behind these smudges? Can humans grasp mind-independent reality?
Topics also include: Trump and the post-truth attitude; scientific realism and climate science; empirical regularities versus metaphysical regularities; why scientific knowledge is special.
A bibliography for each episode is available here: https://geoffallenwriting.wordpress.com/2020/10/06/extrapolator-bibliography/
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Tuesday Oct 06, 2020
Tuesday Oct 06, 2020
Welcome to the pilot. This episode tackles the question that keeps everybody awake at night: ‘What on Earth is Philosophy?!’ Geoff Allen presents his original take on the project of philosophy and its relationship to the project of science. In his view, philosophy has three functions (procedural, mapping, substantive) and the proper content of philosophy is… extrapolation.
Taking a meta-approach to philosophy is, in fact, comparable to the meta-approach of Rick and Morty. (It’s all about attaining meta-awareness of devices, arcs and structures.) Topics also include: everything that’s wrong with armchair philosophy, the history of natural philosophy, and how to extrapolate from physics from metaphysics.
A bibliography for each episode is available here: https://geoffallenwriting.wordpress.com/2020/10/06/extrapolator-bibliography/
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