Episode 267: The Thickness of Reality
Very Bad Wizards
Tamler Sommers & David Pizarro
4.8 • 3K Ratings
🗓️ 22 August 2023
⏱️ 73 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
David and Tamler return to the work of old favorite William James and argue about the 6th lecture (inspired by the French philosopher Henri Bergson) of his 1909 book “A Pluralistic Universe.” James attacks the philosophical habit of elevating unchanging concepts over the continuous ever-changing flux that characterizes raw experience. Concepts, James argues, carves joints where there are none. But why does James trust pure perception (unmediated by concepts) as a true window into reality? Does he want us to return to the blooming buzzing confusion of our infancy? Is his mystical side superseding his pragmatism?
Plus, a new study on generosity after receiving a $10,000 windfall leads to a discussion of what we can interpret from null results, and lots more.
A Pluralistic Universe by William James (Lecture VI)
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Very bad wizards is a podcast with a philosopher, my dad, and a psychologist, Dave Pizarro, |
| 0:05.9 | having an informal discussion about issues in science and ethics. |
| 0:09.4 | Please note that the discussion contains bad words that I'm not allowed to say, |
| 0:13.6 | and knowing my dad, some very inappropriate jokes. |
| 0:17.0 | Preparation, preparation, preparation. |
| 0:19.5 | As far as the actual job's concerned, it's a piece of piss and monkey could do it, as well as all of you. |
| 0:30.0 | Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain. |
| 0:40.0 | Who are you? |
| 0:42.0 | Who are you? |
| 0:44.0 | I'm very bad man. |
| 0:46.0 | I'm a very good man. |
| 0:48.0 | Good man. |
| 0:50.0 | Placing teeth lost. |
| 0:52.0 | And with no more brains than you have. |
| 0:54.0 | Pay no attention to that man. |
| 0:58.0 | Anybody can have a brain. |
| 1:02.0 | You're a very bad man. |
| 1:06.0 | I'm a very good man. |
| 1:08.0 | Just a very bad wizard. |
| 1:12.0 | Welcome to very bad wizards. |
| 1:14.0 | I'm Tamler Summers from the University of Houston. |
| 1:16.0 | Dave, a few days ago, I was in Roswell, New Mexico. |
... |
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