Robert Wright on Meditation, Mindfulness, and Why Buddhism is True

EconTalk

Library of Economics and Liberty

Ethics, Philosophy, Economics, Books, Science, Business, Courses, Social Sciences, Society & Culture, Interviews, Education, History

4.7 • 4.3K Ratings

🗓️ 2 October 2017

⏱️ 67 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Robert Wright, author of Why Buddhism Is True, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the psychotherapeutic insights of Buddhism and the benefits of meditation and mindfulness. Wright argues our evolutionary past has endowed us with a mind that can be ill-suited to the stress of the present. He argues that meditation and the non-religious aspects of Buddhism can reduce suffering and are consistent with recent psychological research.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Welcome to Econ Talk, part of the Library of Economics and Liberty.
0:09.3	I'm your host, Russ Roberts of Stanford University's Hoover Institution.
0:13.8	Our website is econtalk.org where you can subscribe, comment on this podcast, and find
0:18.9	links and other information related to today's conversation.
0:21.7	You'll also find our archives where you can listen to every episode we've ever done going
0:26.1	back to 2006.
0:28.3	Before you mail address ismailadycontalk.org, we'd love to hear from you.
0:34.7	Today is September 18th, 2017, and my guest is author Robert Wright.
0:39.2	His previous books include The Moral Animal and Non-Zero.
0:43.6	His latest book, Why Buddhism is True, argues that Buddhism and the practice of meditation
0:48.5	is consistent with evolution or biology and much of what we've learned from the latest
0:52.2	research and psychology.
0:54.4	And that's our topic for today.
0:55.8	Bob, welcome to Econ Talk.
0:58.0	Well, thanks for having me, Russ.
0:59.0	I'm really happy to be here.
1:00.6	Now despite the title, Why Buddhism is True, this is not really a religious book.
1:05.5	It reminds me a little bit about a story I've heard attributed to Enrico Fermi, but it's
1:10.0	probably been attributed to other scientists as well.
1:13.7	Supposedly, a student comes into Fermi's office and as he's leaving, he notices there's
1:18.3	a horseshoe over Fermi's door.
1:21.1	And the student turns back to Professor Fermi and says, Professor Fermi, you don't really
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

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

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