Curt Jaimungal: Why Neil deGrasse Tyson Gets "Belief" Wrong

Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal

Curt Jaimungal

Physics, Philosophy, Society & Culture, Science

4.6 • 606 Ratings

🗓️ 2 March 2026

⏱️ 15 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Curt Jaimungal argues that astrophysicists like Neil deGrasse Tyson and spiritual gurus Deepak Chopra and Thomas Campbell can’t logically claim they don’t hold beliefs. This “Theories of Everything” with Curt Jaimungal episode uses analytic philosophy to show why belief’s vital for understanding physics and consciousness, countering what Thomas Campbell and NASA scientist Nathalie Cabrol say. I personally subscribe to The Economist. TOE listeners get 35% off the annual subscription. No other podcast has this! https://economist.com/TOE TIMESTAMPS: - 00:00 - The "No Belief" Fallacy - 03:00 - Faith vs. Propositional Belief - 04:57 - Implicit Belief in Hypotheses - 07:10 - van Fraassen’s Constructive Empiricism - 11:51 - Fallibilism and Epistemic Virtue SUPPORT: - Support me on Substack: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/subscribe - Support me on Crypto: https://commerce.coinbase.com/checkout/de803625-87d3-4300-ab6d-85d4258834a9 - Support me on PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=XUBHNMFXUX5S4 JOIN MY SUBSTACK (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.com LISTEN ON SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e LINKS MENTIONED: - Neil deGrasse Tyson [TOE]: https://youtu.be/HhWWlJFwTqs - Kierkegaard: The Most Terrifying Philosopher I've Encountered [TOE]: https://youtu.be/BWYxRM__TBU - Curt Interviews NASA Scientist on NPR: https://youtu.be/C8zrfZq1XEs - Bayesian Epistemology: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/epistemology-bayesian/ - Belief: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/belief/ - The Norm Of Assertion: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29684696/ - Truth And Objectivity [Book]: https://amazon.com/dp/0674910877?tag=toe08-20 - Constructive Empiricism Now [Paper]: https://www.princeton.edu/~fraassen/articles/pdfs/CE_Now.pdf - Willard Quine: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/quine/ SOCIALS: - Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt - Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs Guests do not pay to appear. Theories of Everything receives revenue solely from viewer donations, platform ads, and clearly labelled sponsors; no guest or associated entity has ever given compensation, directly or through intermediaries. #science 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	When Neil deGrasse Tyson says that I don't believe anything,
0:03.2	I know that you believe that there is fear-mongering over AI.
0:06.2	I don't believe anything.
0:08.1	It's not, don't say I believe anything.
0:10.2	Your wincing is indeed justified.
0:13.1	Now, it's not just the scientist.
0:14.8	The insidious disdain for the usage of the word belief is echoed,
0:18.6	even here in this infamous Deepak Chopra exchange.
0:21.1	Now, you stated before that, all belief is a cover up for insecurity, right?
0:27.3	Who?
0:28.0	Do you believe that?
0:29.0	Yes.
0:29.9	Thank you.
0:31.2	I see.
0:33.1	The statement that I don't believe anything is said so self-assuredly, so swiftly, so loudly,
0:39.4	and with a tinge of condescension that you know something else is going on.
0:44.9	It's a semaphore for, hey, look how enlightened I am.
0:48.9	Aren't I so rational, unlike those poor, unsound, religious folk?
0:53.7	So the phrase, I don't have beliefs, is either trivially true, which you can read as empty.
0:58.9	It's semantically confused, which is equivocating between belief and faith,
1:03.8	or it's completely demonstrably false.
1:06.9	Now let's work through this rigorously.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Curt Jaimungal, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Curt Jaimungal and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.