TrueSciPhi

Podcast Profile: Philosophical Trials

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15 episodes
2020 to 2023
Median: 53 minutes
Collection: Philosophy

Description (podcaster-provided):

My name is Tedy Nenu and I am the host of the 'Philosophical Trials' podcast. This is a place where philosophers, mathematicians, linguists and other bright individuals share with us fascinating aspects of their work. Whether you are interested in the nature of mathematical reality or how language works, there will be an episode here that caters to your interests.

Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):

➤ philosophy, logic, and epistemology • philosophy of mind, consciousness, free will, neuroscience • linguistics: semantics, language evolution, possible worlds • mathematics: infinity, set theory, Gödel, twin primes • computation: algorithms, P=NP, complexity, quantum computing • religion: atheism, Christianity

This podcast features in-depth conversations and debates with prominent thinkers across philosophy, mathematics, linguistics, computer science, neuroscience, and related areas. Guided by the host, guests explain central ideas from their research and public-facing writing, often aiming to clarify how technical work connects to broader questions about knowledge, mind, language, and reality.

A recurring focus is philosophy of mind and cognitive science, including how brains produce behavior, what (if anything) could ground free will, and how to understand consciousness and mental representation. These discussions often intersect with artificial intelligence and the prospects and limits of modeling or mechanizing thought, including arguments that draw on logic and the foundations of mathematics.

Language is another major theme. The podcast explores core questions in linguistics and philosophy of language such as how meaning is represented, how semantics relates to possible-worlds style theories, and what it might mean for linguistic content to be “internal” to a speaker. Alongside this, there are more formal philosophical topics in logic and epistemology, including disputes about truth, relativism, and vagueness, as well as historical perspectives that bring medieval logical traditions into view.

Mathematics and theoretical computer science appear frequently, with attention to why mathematics is worth studying, how mathematicians think about proof and infinity, and what foundational results (including Gödel-style incompleteness phenomena) suggest about mathematical knowledge. In computer science, conversations touch on computational complexity, famous open problems such as P versus NP, quantum computing, and the design and analysis of algorithms, often linking these topics to philosophical interpretations of computation and explanation.

The podcast also engages philosophy of religion and broader “frontiers of knowledge” questions, including discussions of atheism, Christianity, and arguments in analytic philosophy of religion. Across topics, the format emphasizes careful argumentation, conceptual clarification, and making specialized debates accessible without avoiding their intellectual depth.

Episodes:

Robert Sapolsky vs Kevin Mitchell: The Biology of Free Will | Episode 15
2023-Nov-18
73 minutes

Noam Chomsky on Language Evolution and Semantic Internalism | Episode 14
2023-May-09
52 minutes

A.C. Grayling on Atheism and The Frontiers of Knowledge | Episode 13
2022-Jul-02
66 minutes

William Lane Craig on Christianity and Philosophy of Religion | Episode 12
2022-May-28
53 minutes

Vicky Neale on 'Why Study Mathematics?' and the Twin Prime Conjecture | Episode 11
2021-Jun-08
42 minutes

Peter Koellner on Penrose's New Argument concerning Minds and Machines | Episode 10
2021-Feb-03
47 minutes

Sara L. Uckelman on Medieval Logic, Onomastics and Teaching | Episode 9
2020-Oct-12
48 minutes

Timothy Williamson on Relativism and Vagueness | Episode 8
2020-Jul-29
70 minutes

Thomas Cormen on The CLRS Textbook, P=NP and Computer Algorithms | Episode 7
2020-Jun-24
43 minutes

Scott Aaronson on Computational Complexity, Philosophy & Quantum Computing | Episode 6
2020-Jun-19
85 minutes

Kai von Fintel on Language, Semantics and Possible Worlds | Episode 5
2020-Jun-16
74 minutes

Ed Cooke on Memory Competitions, The Art of Remembering and Attention | Episode 4
2020-May-29
35 minutes

Tim Crane on Minds, Artificial Intelligence and Consciousness | Episode 3
2020-May-16
63 minutes

Simon Blackburn on Philosophy, Truth and Morality | Episode 2
2020-May-16
52 minutes

Joel David Hamkins on Infinity, Gödel's Theorems and Set Theory | Episode 1
2020-May-16
76 minutes