Anil Seth: Why Consciousness Is a Controlled Hallucination

Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal

Curt Jaimungal

Physics, Philosophy, Society & Culture, Science

4.6 • 606 Ratings

🗓️ 23 November 2020

⏱️ 163 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

I personally subscribe to The Economist. TOE listeners get 35% off the annual subscription. No other podcast has this! https://economist.com/TOE Anil Seth (University of Sussex) explains the Bayesian brain model and challenges Dennett's views on consciousness They explore perception, illusion, free will, and even the prospects of mind uploading, weaving together neuroscience, philosophy, and AI.0:00 Introduction1:08 What's alluring about "consciousness" research?1:03:51 Defining "phenomenology"2:05:56 What does it mean to "explain" consciousness?3:14:52 Difference between illusion and hallucination4:18:16 If perception is tuned for fitness, why care about objective reality?5:24:44 Applying Donald Hoffman's ideas to Anil Seth's6:33:39 Does time actually slow down, during high valence emotions7:36:31 Details on the Bayesian model of consciousness8:41:50 Can you be wrong about your own perceptions?9:46:29 Myth of left brain vs. right brain10:54:31 The role of the "ego" and the loss of it11:56:45 Consciousness and quantum mechanics13:00:37 Sapir Whorf hypothesis and Curt's polemics14:10:24 Language and conscious experience15:13:33 Can I "see" without noticing? What's the difference?16:17:27 The Bayesian model of consciousness (and its limitations)17:25:16 How does the Bayesian model deal with mental disorders18:36:26 Gödel's incompleteness theorem's implications on the computational nature of the brain19:42:23 Can we upload our minds? (a neuroscientific perspective)20:45:48 Integrated Information Theory and measuring Phi21:50:21 Peter Lush's recent paper and undermining the rubber hand illusion22:55:09 Placebo effect and hypnosis24:01:25 Experiments involving psychedelics (LSD and microdosing)25:04:01 Anil's personal insights from psychedelics26:06:18 Anil's views on Daniel Dennett's "Explaining Consciousness"27:12:26 Compatibilism, free will, and Douglas Hofstadter28:15:21 Global Workspace Theory29:19:45 Anil Seth and Pragmatism30:22:39 Curt's list of final questions, repudiated31:23:35 How do the various AI architectures relate to the brain? (GAN / Convultional / etc.)32:32:17 How does Anil stay so fit?33:33:44 Comporting rationalism with irrational behaviorsRESOURCES:- Patreon for conversations on Theories of Everything, Consciousness, Free Will, and God: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal- Help support conversations like this via PayPal: https://bit.ly/2EOR0M4- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt- iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/better-left-unsaid-with-curt-jaimungal/id1521758802- Pandora: https://pdora.co/33b9lfP- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e- Google Podcasts: https://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/ps/Id3k7k7mfzahfx2fjqmw3vufb44- Anil Seth's Links WEBSITE: https://anilseth.com- TWITTER: https://twitter.com/anilkseth- TED TALK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyu7v7nWzfo- http://betterleftunsaidfilm.com Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal features long-form, technically detailed interviews with leading researchers in physics, mathematics, consciousness, and philosophy, exploring topics at the level of active research. For academics, graduate students, and anyone seeking depth beyond popular science. FOLLOW: Substack | Spotify | YouTube | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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1:03.4	There's a lot of questions.
1:05.2	This is like some sort of super hard interview for something.
1:08.6	I hope you then expect me to have answers for all of them.
1:17.6	I'm here with Professor Anil Seth of Neuroscience at the University of Sussex.
1:21.6	There aren't many people who are brave enough to tackle consciousness scientifically.
	...

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