Patterson in Pursuit

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 82 - Do Entities Exist? | Breakdown of Chalmers Interview Mar 11, 2018

Show notes

This is my breakdown of David Chalmers' interview on the Closer to Truth Series - about metaphysics and ontology. Are there entities in the world, or is there just stuff? Video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0QPWQR5f9Q

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Ep. 81 - The Ethics of Eating Meat | Dr. Mike Huemer Mar 04, 2018

Show notes

If animals can suffer, does that make it immoral to eat meat?

I'm joined again by Dr. Mike Huemer to help me answer this question. He has recently released a series of four dialogues on the topic, which address many of the issues we talk about in this episode.

Also covered: free will, empathy, and whether the nutritional value of meat changes our ethical judgments.

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Ep. 80 - A Debate about Truth and Postmodernism | Thaddeus Russell Feb 25, 2018

Show notes

Does objective truth exist? Thaddeus Russell joins me for part two of our discussion about postmodernism. In this episode, we focus on the philosophy of truth.

Can we know anything about the world? Can we know anything about our minds? Are the laws of logic objective or just a convention of language?

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Ep. 79 - Postmodernism, Marxism, Love, and Religion | Thaddeus Russell Feb 18, 2018

Show notes

I am joined by Dr. Thaddeus Russell to talk about postmodernism. With the popularity of people like Jordan Peterson, who vocally criticize postmodernism, Thaddeus thinks most of the criticism is misplaced.

We also have a great conversation about love, religion, and people's motivation for their actions.

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Ep. 78 - The Case for Idealism | Dr. Bernardo Kastrup Feb 11, 2018

Show notes

Season 2 is here! The show starts up again with a fantastic interview with Dr. Bernardo Kastrup about idealism.

I've spent a lot of time arguing against physicalism and for a kind of "reluctant dualist" worldview, but I've not explained my position on idealism. So, I brought Dr. Kastrup on the show to give his case that only mental stuff exists.

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Time for Writing and Health Oct 08, 2017

Show notes

I need to take a break from Patterson in Pursuit to focus on health and writing. I can't wait to return.

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The Puzzle of Awareness Oct 05, 2017

Show notes

Consciousness is a hard phenomenon to explain in any worldview. We seem to be able to intentionally change the content of our experience. How is that possible?

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Ep. 77 - Why I Support Catalonia's Secession Oct 01, 2017

Show notes

Who determines whether an individual or group has the right to govern themselves?

At what point does secession become legitimate?

How many people need to get together in order to secede?

I try to tackle some of these questions while giving my perspective on the imminent Catalonia independence referendum. I am unabashedly in favor of secession - all the way down to the individual.

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Don't Fight for Objective Definitions Sep 28, 2017

Show notes

Language is ambiguous. If you want to communicate effectively, you must understand that different people have different meanings for the same words.

Far too many rationalists waste their time arguing for objective definitions, instead of stating their intended meaning for words.

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Ep. 76 - Metaphysical Questions, Objectivist Answers | Dr. David Kelley Sep 24, 2017

Show notes

Can the whole be greater than the sum of its parts? Does consciousness require that we split the world between mind and body? Can free will exist in a naturalistic worldview?

Dr. David Kelley joins me on this episode to give his Objectivist perspective on these questions. As Dr. Kelley explains, many ideas in Objectivism are heavily influenced by Aristotelian thinking.

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