E181 - Joscha Bach: A Cognitive Scientist’s Guide to Consciousness & The Illusion of Reality

E181 - Joscha Bach: A Cognitive Scientist’s Guide to Consciousness & The Illusion of Reality

Joscha Bach explores the nature of consciousness, free will, and reality through the lens of computation, cognitive science, and philosophy. Rather than treating the mind as a mystical entity, Joscha frames consciousness as a constructed dream—a model generated by the brain to make sense of the world and coordinate behavior.


We examine why beliefs should remain provisional, how the self functions as a useful fiction, and why suffering emerges when internal learning signals misfire. Joscha explains why free will feels real even if decisions arise before awareness, how meaning exists beyond the individual ego, and why wisdom is not simply knowledge but the ability to orient oneself within larger systems of value.


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André's Book Recs: https://www.knowthyselfpodcast.com/book-list


___________

00:00 Intro: Josha Bach

04:24 Agnosticism, Evidence, and Logical Alternatives

11:20 Reality as a Mental Simulation

13:00 What Physicalism Actually Claims

16:55 Telepathy, Rituals, and Distributed Minds

19:45 Consciousness Does Not Make Decisions

22:55 Free Will as a Post-Hoc Story

24:00 Consciousness as a Trance State

26:00 Meditation and the Illusion of Self

29:10 Out-of-Body Experiences Explained

31:07 Ad: BON CHARGE

36:30 Why the Brain Fills in Missing Reality

39:50 Dreams, Selves, and Narrative Identity

43:20 Intelligence, Models, and World-Building

47:10 Why Reality Feels Stable

51:00 Meaning, Agency, and Mental Compression

55:10 Why Consciousness Feels Central (But Isn’t)

59:30 The Psychological World vs Physical Reality

1:04:10 Intelligence Without Awareness

1:08:45 The Cost of Believing the Self Is Real

1:13:30 Waking Up From the Narrative

1:18:40 What a Cognitive Science View Really Implies

1:23:30 Final Thoughts: Living Inside the Dream

___________


Episode Resources:

https://www.cimc.ai/


https://www.instagram.com/andreduqum/

https://www.instagram.com/knowthyself/

https://www.youtube.com/@knowthyselfpodcast

https://www.knowthyselfpodcast.com

Avsnitt(186)

E186 - Nicole LePera: What Your Childhood Home Did to Your Nervous System

E186 - Nicole LePera: What Your Childhood Home Did to Your Nervous System

Dr. Nicole LePera joins me to explore how our childhood experiences shape the nervous system, emotional patterns, and identities we carry into adulthood. We unpack how many of the reactions, habits, a...

17 Mars 1h 55min

E185 - Henry Shukman: A Zen Master With 40 Years of Practice on Who You Really Are

E185 - Henry Shukman: A Zen Master With 40 Years of Practice on Who You Really Are

Zen teacher and author Henry Shukman offers a clear and grounded introduction to the heart of Zen practice. We explore how awakening is not an escape from life, but a deeper participation in it — a re...

10 Mars 2h 6min

E184 - Dr. Sue Morter: What Actually Causes Energetic Blocks (And How to Release Them)

E184 - Dr. Sue Morter: What Actually Causes Energetic Blocks (And How to Release Them)

Dr. Sue Morter returns to explore what it truly means to awaken — not as a concept, but as a lived, embodied experience. Beneath our protective personality and performance-driven identity lies a deepe...

3 Mars 2h 31min

E183 - Nir Eyal: How Your Beliefs Shape What You See (And Hold You Back)

E183 - Nir Eyal: How Your Beliefs Shape What You See (And Hold You Back)

Nir Eyal joins the podcast to explore one of the most foundational forces shaping our lives: belief. What if the way you see reality isn’t reality itself, but a simulation filtered through prior assum...

24 Feb 1h 40min

E182 - Swami Sarvapriyananda: The Advaita Vedanta Explanation of Reality, the Self & Suffering

E182 - Swami Sarvapriyananda: The Advaita Vedanta Explanation of Reality, the Self & Suffering

Swami Sarvapriyananda unpacks the philosophy of Advaita Vedanta and its central claim: you are not the body, not the mind, not even your thoughts — you are pure consciousness itself. Through rigorous ...

17 Feb 2h 53min

E180 - David Ghiyam: The Universal Laws of Creating Prosperity & Wholeness in Life

E180 - David Ghiyam: The Universal Laws of Creating Prosperity & Wholeness in Life

In this conversation, David Ghiyam shares the spiritual framework that has guided his life for over 25 years—one rooted in the idea that reality operates according to universal spiritual laws, just as...

27 Jan 1h 34min

E179 - Reggie Watts: The Absurdity of Being a Human Being

E179 - Reggie Watts: The Absurdity of Being a Human Being

In this conversation, Reggie Watts explores creativity not as a skill reserved for a few, but as the fundamental way human beings relate to reality itself. From comedy and music to improvisation, para...

20 Jan 1h 33min

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