Buddhist philosopher Jay Garfield argues that the self we defend so fiercely simply does not exist — and that this is good news. Drawing on Madhyamaka philosophy, cognitive science, and Hume, he shows how the no-self view makes us more ethical, more connected, and less afraid.
“A forest is much more than what you see,” says ecologist Suzanne Simard. Her 30 years of research in Canadian forests have led to an astounding discovery — trees talk, often and over vast distances. Learn more about the harmonious yet complicated social lives of trees and prepare to see the natural world with new eyes.
098: Climate activist and author Paul Hawken joins us for his fifth interview, focused on food, agriculture, climate change, and greenwashing. In this episode, the first half of Dave Chapman’s conversation with Paul, they discuss whether regenerative agriculture is organic and vice verse.
Paul Hawken is a climate activist, entrepreneur, and the author of nine books including Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming, Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Social Movement in History Is Restoring Grace, Justice, and Beauty to the World, Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution, and his most-recent, 2022’s best-selling Regeneration: Ending the Climate Crisis in One Generation. He serves on Real Organic Project’s Advisory Board.
Would you want to live forever? On this episode, Neil deGrasse Tyson and author, inventor, and futurist Ray Kurzweil discuss immortality, longevity escape velocity, the singularity, and the future of technology. What will life be like in 10 years?
Could we upload our brain to the cloud? We explore the merger of humans with machines and how we are already doing it. Could nanobots someday flow through our bloodstreams? Learn about the exponential growth of computation and what future computing power will look like.
When will computers pass the Turing test? Learn why the singularity is nearer and how to think exponentially about the world. Are things getting worse? We go through why things might not be as bad as they seem. What are the consequences of having a longer lifetime? Will we deplete resources?
Will there be a class divide between people able to access longer lifespans? What sort of jobs would people have in the future? Explore what artificial intelligence has in store for us. What happens if AI achieves consciousness? We discuss the definition of intelligence and whether there will be a day when there is nothing left for humans to do. Will we ever see this advancement ending?
Today we welcome Dr. Jim Tucker who is a child psychiatrist and the Bonner-Lowry Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia. He is Director of the UVA Division of Perceptual Studies, where he is continuing the work of Dr. Ian Stevenson on reincarnation. He has been invited to speak about his research on Good Morning America, Larry King Live, and CBS Sunday Morning. He recently published BEFORE: Children’s Memories of Previous Lives, a 2-in-1 edition of his previous books.
In this episode, I talk to Dr. Jim Tucker about the science of reincarnation. We delve into his research findings and methodology on children who claim to remember their previous lives. Dr. Tucker notes that these children don’t just recall biographical details of their past, but they also retain feelings and emotions. His findings have important implications for how we understand consciousness. We also touch on the topics of mortality, trauma, quantum physics, and panpsychism.
Mo Gawdat is Chief Business Officer at Google [X]. He is the author of, among other things, the book Spooky smart and launched his own podcast Slo Mo: A Podcast with Mo Gawdat (https://www.mogawdat.com/podcast) in 2020, which is known worldwide.
The origin of consciousness is a hotly debated issue in the scientific community. The division is between those who believe that consciousness is primary to matter, and those who look upon it as a result of the complexity of brain matter. Macrocosmic Quantum Theory demonstrates that the evolution of consciousness is brought by nine sequentially activated waves of creation – what the ancients referred to as Plumed Serpents – that shape evolution in all its forms. From this perspective, the purpose of human life seems to be to attain the state of consciousness of the Ninth Wave. Join us for a discussion on the paths to get there. Presented on April 1, 2021.
Carl Johan Calleman has a Ph.D. in physical biology from the University of Stockholm. He started his career as a senior researcher at the School of Public Health at the University of Washington in Seattle, focusing on identifying toxic substances in the human environment. After leaving his academic career, he has spent the past 25 years developing an understanding of the meaning of the Mayan calendar, and as part of this quest he has lectured in 25 countries and written seven books, which have been translated to 14 languages. His current focus is on the application of Macrocosmic Quantum Theory. Learn more at www.calleman.com
What does artificial intelligence have to tell us about the central Buddhist teaching of non-self? We’ll delve into some of the recent advances in AI, focusing in particular on the chat programs ChatGPT (GPT-3 — recorded before the release of GPT-4) and LaMDA. Then we’ll turn to the Buddhist notion of non-self. Finally we’ll look at what one of these artificially intelligent programs had to say about the relationship between Buddhist non-self and AI.
Does the Universe have a Purpose? This documentary explores the possibility that conscious life is an inevitable feature of cosmic evolution. We explore different theories, including the possibility that conscious life is destined to transform the universe, and that in its final state, participates in the creation of its own existence.
Does moral truth exist? In this episode of Waking Cosmos I talk to the philosopher Sharon Rawlette about her work on moral realism and consciousness, and her pursuit of a universal ethical theory grounded in the intrinsic value of conscious states. We discuss her book, The Feeling of Value, utilitarianism, the deep nature of value, hedonism, darwinian suffering, and Sharon’s belief in the teleological (purpose-driven) nature of reality.