Azim Shariff - The Psychology and Evolution of Religion

In this episode, I have the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Joseph LeDoux, a world-renowned neuroscientist whose research primarily focuses on survival circuits and their impacts on emotions such as fear and anxiety. Dr. LeDoux is the Henry and Lucy Moses Professor of Science at New York University, and director of the Emotional Brain Institute. He has made significant contributions to our understanding of the amygdala and its role in processing threats, elucidating the relationship between physiological responses, cognitive interpretations, and the conscious experience of emotions. Our conversation takes us back to Dr. LeDoux's earliest work with split-brain patients, a fascinating area of study that naturally led him to explore questions of consciousness. From there, he shares the journey that took him from studying humans to focusing on animal models, particularly in relation to fear and anxiety. We delve into the intricate nature of emotions, discussing two contrasting theories: the traditional view that emotions are universal and rooted in our biology and the constructivist theory, which posits that emotions are constructed and shaped by our culture and personal experiences. Dr. LeDoux offers a compelling argument that while innate circuits control behavior, the conscious experience of an emotion is a cognitive interpretation based on our personal narratives and cultural schemas. We also explore the topic of attributing emotional states to animals. Dr. LeDoux provides an insightful perspective on the difficulties of this task, emphasizing the importance of distinguishing between physiological responses and conscious experiences and the potential dangers of anthropomorphizing animal behavior. It's a fascinating journey into the depths of human emotion and the workings of our brain, offering valuable insights from one of the leading experts in the field. Whether you're a student of neuroscience, a curious learner, or simply interested in understanding the complexities of human emotion, this conversation will surely provide food for thought. 0:00:00 - Introduction 0:02:28 - The nature of emotions: biological or constructed theories 0:05:15 - The neuroscience of emotions and its foundation with split-brain patients 0:19:46 - Cognitive elements in emotions and the disconnect between physiological responses and the conscious experience of an emotion 0:27:27 - The role of biological neural circuits in emotional responses 0:31:05 - Emotional models and how emotional experiences are based on interpretation and shaped by language 0:39:47 - Attributing emotional states to animals and consciousness in mammals 0:56:48 - Joseph's career, the intersection of neuroscience and music, and his upcoming book

Long time no see! I hope to make the podcast more active this year. In this episode, I talk with Dr. Gregory Sadler, likely the most influential philosophy educator to exist. Sadler earned an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Southern Illinois University.  He is the Founder of ReasonIO, a consulting company providing philosophy content, training, and consulting services.  He has reached impressive popularity on YouTube, and his channel has over 130.000 subscribers and 13 million views. He has helped me digest challenging thinkers with fantastic lectures explaining the main concepts while providing additional context and insights. His channel is an absolute gold mine for anyone interested in philosophy.   We talk about the process of learning philosophy, the importance of good teachers, considerations about translated works, secondary literature, philosophical biases, truth, and much more. It was a very engaging conversation and one of my favorite episodes! Timestamps: 3:28 Sadler's expertise and background 6:09 Sadler's journey in philosophy 12:58 Being a good teacher 17:34 Students from non-philosophical backgrounds 19:48 Stoicism, Sartre, and Nietzsche in Sadler's philosophy views 23:43 Importance of the original language in philosophical works 36:24 Death of philosophy 47:26 Trade-offs between primary and secondary literature 57:28 Philosophical biases and autodidactism 1:04:12 Intersection of truth in philosophy and religion Gregory Sadler's channel: https://www.youtube.com/@GregoryBSadler Gregory Sadler's website: https://reasonio.wordpress.com/ www.anagogepodcast.com PS: If you would like to connect with me on Instagram, you can do so at @tiagobooks: https://www.instagram.com/tiagobooks/

Anagoge Podcast is now over 1 year old! Thank you everyone for listening. Shaun Gallagher is the Lillian and Morrie Moss Professor of Excellence in Philosophy at the University of Memphis.  He is a founding editor and continues as a co-editor-in-chief of Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences, an interdisciplinary journal published by Springer. In this episode, we talk about Shaun's background, the nature of phenomenology and cognitive science, the role of embodiment and action, and Shaun's research about the overview effect; the awe astronauts feel during spaceflight when seeing Earth. My main microphone died shortly after the podcast started, so you will notice the quality decreasing at some point, as I had to use my camera microphone. Sorry! The timestamps below are made for YT so they are not 100% accurate as the pace differs slightly. 02:00 Shaun's background in philosophy 05:19 Shaun's background in cognitive science 07:00 Interdisciplinarity and Cog-Sci 10:00 The paradox of phenomenology  17:02 Scientific vs philosophical methods in phenomenology  21:02 Cog-Sci as an example of the role of philosophy in science 26:17 Existentialism in phenomenology  32:00 Embodied Cog-Sci and psychopathology  36:09 Virtual reality for therapy  39:45 What's 4E Cognitive Science?   53:05 4E Cognitive Science and Buddhism 58:15 Varela and Dalai Lama - Mind & Life Institute 1:00:00 Metaphysical tensions of Buddism and Western Science 1:04:00 Awe in the overview effect 1:10:15 Differences in present and future reporting 1:14:10 Background of the awe experience 1:16:45 Feeling of unity 1:19:45 Connections with psychedelic and religious experiences 1:25:00 Enactivist Cognition  1:31:00 Critique of Heidegger of social cognition 1:34:50 History of embodiment If you would like to connect with me on Instagram, you can do so at @tiagobooks.

In this episode, I talk with Gregg Henriques about the problem of psychology and the solution he has been working on for 20 years. We covered the bulk of his theory in the first half of the episode, and in the second half, we do a deep dive into cognitive behavioral therapy, including Gregg's experience with it and some controversies in one of the major studies published about CBT. Gregg Henriques is a Full Professor and a core faculty member in James Madison University's Combined-Integrated Clinical and School Psychology Doctoral Program. He teaches courses on integrative/unified psychotherapy, personality, social, and cognitive psychology. He developed the Unified Theory Of Knowledge (UTOK), which consists of eight key ideas that Henriques results in a much more unified vision of science, psychology and philosophy. 0:00:09 Introduction 0:05:16 The enlightenment gap 0:12:12 The problem of psychology 0:21:50 Why evolutionary psychology can't be the answer 0:31:31 The tree of knowledge 0:38:25 Emergence and complexity dynamics 0:45:13 Comparing it to memetics 0:49:24 Justification hypothesis 0:52:24 Dan Sperber and Hugo Mercier 1:00:57 The influence matrix 1:09:45 Children social intellgience 1:11:42 Variation of the influence matrix 1:18:03 Connection with Haidt 1:20:13 Empirical backing 1:26:03 Cognitive Behavioral Therapy 1:46:19 Cognitive vs Non-Cognitive Therapy 1:55:08 Rigidity vs pseudoscience in therapy 2:01:49 Conclusion

Michael Strevens teaches philosophy of science at New York University. His work revolves around the nature of science, covering topics such as scientific explanation, complex systems, and probability. In his book "The Knowledge Machine" he explains why science is so successful at creating knowledge and why it took so long for humans to come up with it. In this episode, we talk about the origins of science, philosophy of science, the contributions and flaws of Karl Popper and Thomas Kuhn, what makes science special and some odd contradictions at the core of scientific thinking. Get Michael's book "The Knowledge Machine" here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1324091088 0:00:00 Introduction 0:02:26 The origins of science 0:07:08 Karl Popper and Thomas Kuhn 0:15:59 What Popper and Kuhn were missing 0:20:50 Sociology of science 0:24:56 Contributions of philosophy of science 0:31:49 Bayesian probability 0:34:15 What makes science special? 0:41:06 The irrationality of science 0:45:25 Aesthetic and theological motivations in science 0:47:50 Caloric fluid vs kinetic theory of heat 0:57:15 Creativity in science 0:59:21 The tediousness of extreme detail 1:03:56 Can science make truth claims? 1:10:39 Philosophy of quantum mechanics 1:14:56 The biggest challenge of science If you would like to help the podcast grow so I can dedicate more time to it, a review on Apple Podcasts is super helpful. Thank you! https://podcasts.apple.com/si/podcast/anagoge-podcast/id1512482918 If you would like to connect with me on Instagram, you can do so at @anagogepodcast and @tiagobooks The intro song is by Lief Sjostrom, titled Peril from the album 'Impossible Parade'. 

Nathan Dufour is a writer, musician, video artist and activist. He produces music videos on YouTube about philosophical ideas and teaches Latin language and Greek Civilization at City College of New York. He received a PhD in Classics from CUNY's Graduate Center. In the first half, we talk about the relationship between music and philosophy, the performative aspect of art, philosophy's origins and how it connects to music, classics, and western civilization. In the second half, we cover Plato and Whitehead, which was Nathan's PhD thesis. We discuss Whitehead's process philosophy, how it connects to Platonism, and some of the modern implications of Whitehead's thought. Nathan is super talented. Make sure to follow his work:  https://www.youtube.com/nathanology https://nathanoglesby.bandcamp.com/ https://www.nateandhila.com/ https://www.instagram.com/nathan_ology/  

Juensung Kim is a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto, focusing on the science of self-transformation related to the psychology of religion and the cognitive science of magic. He is the lab manager of the Consciousness and Wisdom Studies Laboratory. In this episode, we discuss the meaning of magic and some of its scientific research. Other topics such as psychedelics, wisdom and transformation are also covered, especially in their connection to the meaning crisis and Juensung's work.

John Vervaeke is the author of the famous YouTube series "Awakening from the Meaning Crisis". He is an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto and he is the director of the Cognitive Science program in the Consciousness and Wisdom Studies Laboratory. He has a vast body of scientific work related to consciousness, mindfulness, flow, and wisdom. In this episode, we cover some of John's life, the importance of dialogos and the relationship between science and spirituality. My Instagram handle is @tiagobooks

Jonathan Pageau is a carver who specializes in Eastern Orthodox Icons and other traditional Christian images. He graduated with distinction from the Painting and Drawing program at Concordia University in Montreal and has recently gained popularity on YouTube by discussing symbolic thought from Christianity and modern culture. In this episode, we cover a bit of his personal history, early greek thought, what love means, how reality unfolds, and much more.   For those not familiar with his work, I recommend watching a couple of his videos first so you better understand his ideas, I have created a resource for it here: https://sites.google.com/view/jonathanpageau/

Dr. Azim Shariff is a social and moral psychologist whose research focuses on morality and religion. He also has some more recent work on the ethics of automation and how people deal with ethical dilemmas of self-driving cars. In this episode, we talk mostly about the psychology of religion through a lens of cultural evolution.