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):

➤ Analytic philosophy interviews and debates • logic, epistemology, metaphysics • philosophy of language: semantics, vagueness, possible worlds, language evolution • philosophy of mind: consciousness, AI • mathematics: set theory, infinity, primes • computation: algorithms, complexity, P=NP, quantum computing • religion: atheism, Christianity • neuroscience of free will • memory and attention

This podcast features in-depth conversations with prominent thinkers across philosophy, mathematics, logic, linguistics, computer science, neuroscience, and related fields. The host interviews (and sometimes stages debates between) academics and other specialists about core questions that sit at the intersection of human understanding and formal theory: what minds are, how language and meaning work, what mathematical and logical truths amount to, and what science can tell us about agency and behavior.

A recurring emphasis is on foundational issues in philosophy and the formal sciences. Discussions explore topics in philosophical logic and metaphysics such as truth, relativism, and vagueness, alongside questions about infinity, set theory, and Gödel-style limits on formal systems. Several conversations connect these themes to computation, covering algorithms, computational complexity, and major open problems, as well as the conceptual and technical challenges raised by quantum computing. The podcast also returns to classic puzzles about whether minds can be mechanized, and what the relationship is between intelligence, computation, and consciousness.

Language is another major strand, with episodes focused on semantics, possible-worlds style approaches to meaning, and debates about how language evolved and how linguistic content is represented. The human mind is approached from multiple angles—philosophical, psychological, and biological—through discussions of memory and attention, and through neuroscience-informed examination of free will and the extent to which human choices are shaped by brain mechanisms and broader causal forces.

Religion and worldview questions also appear, including treatments of atheism and the philosophy of religion, and engagement with arguments for and against Christian theism. Across these areas, the show tends to foreground expert explanations of active research programs, the motivations behind influential theories, and how different disciplines frame shared problems about knowledge, reality, and human cognition.

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