Ned Block on Perception, Cognition, and Consciousness
Distinguished Philosopher Ned Block discusses perception, cognition, and consciousness as well as his latest book, The Border Between Seeing and Thinking, a model for bringing philosophy and the mind ...
10 Jul 20241h 18min
Are Plants Sentient?
Help Closer To Truth keep our content free from paywalls with a tax-deductible donation. To inquire whether plants are “sentient” sounds like pseudoscience but has become real science. What does a p...
3 Jul 202447min
Are Suffering and Ritual Vital?
How do Buddhism, Chinese traditions, and Hinduism address the perennial problems of suffering, ethics, ritual and contemplative practices? Why is suffering so important in Buddhism? Why karma in Hindu...
26 Jun 202427min
Why is There Anything at All?
Why are we here? Why is there a world, a cosmos, something-instead of absolutely nothing at all? Of all the big questions, this is the biggest. Why? What can we learn from "nothing"? Featuring inter...
19 Jun 202427min
Brian Swimme on Consciousness, Cultural Evolution, and the Noosphere
Professor Brian Swimme discusses cosmogenesis, our cultural evolution, human consciousness, the Noosphere, and more. Brian Thomas Swimme is a professor at the California Institute of Integral Studie...
12 Jun 202442min
What is Evolutionary Developmental Biology?
Two big ideas in biology: the evolution of species via mutation, fitness and natural selection; and the embryological development of individuals, from fertilized egg to whole organisms. How do these t...
5 Jun 202427min
Eastern Traditions: What is the Human Person?
How do Buddhism, Chinese traditions and Hinduism address the essence of human sentience? What is consciousness? What is the self? What is qi? Do humans have souls or spirits? Are humans dualistic bein...
29 Mai 202426min
Sean Carroll on Physics, the Multiverse, and Quantum Mechanics
Why is matter solid? Why is there antimatter? Where do the sizes of atoms come from? Theoretical physicist and philosopher Sean Carroll cuts to the bare mathematical essence of our most profound theor...
24 Mai 202458min
