Robinson's Podcast Robinson Erhardt
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- Ciencia
Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between.
https://linktr.ee/robinsonerhardt Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/robinson-erhardt/support
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213 - Slavoj Žižek: God, Marxism, Philosophy, and Quantum Mechanics
Patreon: https://bit.ly/3v8OhY7
Slavoj Žižek is international director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities at the University of London, visiting professor at New York University, and a senior researcher at the University of Ljubljana’s Department of Philosophy. This is Slavoj’s fourth appearance on the show. On episode 109, he and Robinson discussed wokeness and psychoanalysis. On episode 118, he, Sean Carroll, and Robinson discussed quantum physics, the multiverse, and time travel. And on episode 206 he, Lee Smolin, and Robinson discussed quantum physics. In this episode, Robinson and Slavoj talk about ancient philosophy, god, communism, quantum mechanics, and psychoanalysis.
OUTLINE
00:00 Introduction
02:47 Why Is Philosophy More important Now Than Ever?
11:08 On Socrates and the Importance of Philosophy
19:12 On Excrement, God, and Atheism
27:50 A Communist Paradise
34:18 Ukraine and Marxism
39:24 Philosophy and Quantum Mechanics
47:56 Is Lying the Point of Language?
55:49 Cursing as a Test for Artificial Intelligence
58:25 On Philosophers and Physicists
1:01:50 On Superpositions and Quantum Mechanics
1:09:28 On Analytic and Continental Philosophy
Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com
Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, and everyone in-between.
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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/robinson-erhardt/support -
212 - Deborah Gordon: Ants, Myrmecology, and Collective Behavior
Patreon: https://bit.ly/3v8OhY7
Deborah Gordon is Professor of Biology at Stanford University. She is a myrmecologist—an entomologist who studies ants—focusing on how complex behavior emerges from ant colonies, which have no central control. In this episode, Deborah and Robinson discuss some of the distinctive features of ants, how pheromones help to determine their behavior, examples of fascinating ant species, collective ant behavior, and the life cycle of an ant colony. For more of Deborah’s work on collective behavior, check out her book The Ecology of Collective Behavior (Princeton, 2023).
The Gordon Lab: https://web.stanford.edu/~dmgordon/
Ants at Work: https://a.co/d/7bpokYU
The Ecology of Collective Behavior: https://a.co/d/1bBT1h7
OUTLINE
00:00 Introduction
02:33 Ants and Embryology
05:29 General Features of Ants
13:14 Some Fascinating Ant Species
28:20 Pheromones and Ant Behavior
38:17 Ant Slavery
41:30 Collective Ant Behavior
47:04 A Colony’s Life Cycle
59:01 Revisiting Embryology
Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com
Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, and everyone in-between.
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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/robinson-erhardt/support -
211 - Jay Chandrasekhar: Comedy, Creative Integrity, Super Troopers, & Jackass
Patreon: https://bit.ly/3v8OhY7
Jay Chandrasekhar is a director, writer, stand-up comic, and actor. Some of his works include directing Super Troopers, Beerfest, and Dukes of Hazzard. He has also directed episodes of Arrested Development, Community, and New Girl. Jay also wrote Mustache Shenanigans (2017) and co-hosts the podcast Mustache Tales. In this episode, Robinson and Jay discuss his growth as a writer, the importance of purpose in comedy and film, creative integrity in Hollywood, working on Supertroopers, and his time with Johnny Knoxville and the Jackass crew.
Mustache Tales: https://www.mustachetales.com
Mustache Shenanigans: https://a.co/d/8DZscAT
Opening Scene of Super Troopers: https://youtu.be/-wdVF_zJS4s?si=goQsJLqLqvBbMyF0
OUTLINE
00:00 Introduction
02:58 Jay’s Name Means…What?
5:22 Mustache Shenanigans
7:54 The Importance of Strong Beginnings in Comedy
20:41 The Importance of Purpose in Comedy and Film
24:39 Keeping Creative Integrity in Hollywood
32:20 On Writing a Novel
36:32 How to Have a Good Podcast
41:34 On Working with the Jackass Crew
59:20 Developing the Talent of a Storyteller
1:12:20 Breaking Down the Raiders of the Lost Ark
Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com
Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, and everyone in-between.
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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/robinson-erhardt/support -
210 - David Albert & Tim Maudlin: A Discussion of Niels Bohr, Measurement, & Quantum Mechanics
Patreon: https://bit.ly/3v8OhY7
David Albert is the Frederick E. Woodbridge Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University, director of the Philosophical Foundations of Physics program at Columbia, and a faculty member of the John Bell Institute for the Foundations of Physics. Tim Maudlin is Professor of Philosophy at NYU and Founder and Director of the JBI. This is David’s seventh appearance on Robinson’s Podcast. He last appeared on episode 189 with Barry Loewer to talk about the Mentaculus, their joint project on the foundations of statistical mechanics. This is Tim’s sixth appearance on the show. He last appeared on episode 188 with Sheldon Goldstein to discuss Bohmian mechanics. Tim and David last joined Robinson together for episode 67, which gave an overview of the foundations of quantum mechanics. In this episode, Robinson, David, and Tim talk about the measurement problem, the role of philosophy in physics, various thought experiments, like Schrödinger’s cat and Wigner’s friend, and Niels Bohr’s effects both on quantum mechanics and the philosophy of science. If you’re interested in the foundations of physics, then please check out the JBI, which is devoted to providing a home for research and education in this important area. Any donations are immensely helpful at this early stage in the institute’s life.
A Guess at the Riddle: https://a.co/d/6qcsidl
Tim’s Website: www.tim-maudlin.site
The John Bell Institute: https://www.johnbellinstitute.org
OUTLINE
00:00 Introduction
04:04 Einstein, Bell, and Pearl on the Measurement Problem
13:00 On “Measurement” in Quantum Mechanics
25:34 What IS the Measurement Problem?
34:42 John Bell on the Measurement Problem
40:32 An Example of the Measurement Problem
43:08 Von Neumann on the Measurement Problem
45:38 Niels Bohr and the Measurement Problem
57:54 Niels Bohr’s Drastic Revision of Physics
1:08:36 Quantum Measurement and the Philosophy of Physics
1:22:52 On Schrodinger’s Cat and Wigner’s Friend
1:38:34 On Consciousness and Quantum Mechanics
1:45:40 The Measurement Problem, Solved?
1:51:04 On the Role of Philosophy in Physics
Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com
Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, and everyone in-between.
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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/robinson-erhardt/support -
209 - Peter Singer: Controversial Ideas, Utilitarianism, and Animal Liberation
Patreon: https://bit.ly/3v8OhY7
Peter Singer is Ira W. DeCamp Professor Emeritus of Bioethics in the Department of Philosophy at Princeton University. He is among the most influential living philosophers, and among the most influential moral philosophers of the last century. Peter is best known for his work in applied ethics on animal welfare and global poverty. In this episode, Robinson and Peter discuss these topics after first introducing his more general views on moral philosophy, including those on utilitarianism and meta-ethics. Throughout their conversation they also touch on Peter’s new podcast, Lives Well Lived, co-hosted with Kasia de Lazari Radek, the Journal of Controversial Ideas, Peter’s Substack, Bold Reasoning with Peter Singer, and his latest and next books, which are respectively The Buddhist and the Ethicist (Shambhala, 2023) and Consider the Turkey (Princeton, 2024).
Peter’s Website: https://www.petersinger.info
Lives Well Lived Podcast: https://shows.acast.com/6628460c6b51e80012b834c2
The Life You Can Save Organization: https://www.thelifeyoucansave.org.au
The Journal of Controversial Ideas: https://journalofcontroversialideas.org
Peter’s Substack: https://boldreasoningwithpetersinger.substack.com
The Buddhist and the Ethicist: https://a.co/d/38DOmbK
Consider the Turkey: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691231686/consider-the-turkey
OUTLINE
00:00 Introduction
04:14 Peter Singer’s Entry into Philosophy
08:54 What Is Utilitarianism?
10:58 On Consequentialism vs Deontology
13:12 On Trolley Problems and Moral Facts
16:40 On Moral Realism and Anti-Realism
20:51 On Hedonistic Utilitarianism
26:17 The Lives Well Lived Podcast
33:43 A Puzzle About Trolley Problems
38:48 On the Origin of Peter Singer’s Concern for Animals
49:38 Is It Ever Morally Permissible to Eat Meat?
55:32 Consider the Turkey
1:03:07 Famine, Affluence, and Morality
1:09:08 The Life You Can Save
1:10:50 The Buddhist and the Ethicist
1:18:08 The Journal of Controversial Ideas
1:25:50 Peter’s Substack
Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com
Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, and everyone in-between.
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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/robinson-erhardt/support -
208 - Victor Davis Hanson: Annihilation, Genocide, and World War III
Patreon: https://bit.ly/3v8OhY7
Victor Davis Hanson is a renowned classicist, military historian, and political commentator. He is the Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow in Residence in Classics and Military History at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. Among numerous other awards, Victor was presented the National Humanities Medal in 2007. In this episode, Robinson and Victor discuss his latest book, The End of Everything: How Wars Descend into Annihilation (Basic Book, 2024), which was released on May 7th. More particularly, they cover the historical connection between annihilation and genocide, how we should interpret the past through today’s moral standards, genocides in the present, and the likelihood of World War III. Victor appeared as a guest on episode #112, in which he and Robinson talked about what was at the time Victor’s latest book, The Dying Citizen. He was also a guest on episode #191, which covered Victor’s views on the current crisis in Israel and Palestine. Keep up with Victor on Twitter, through his website, and on his podcast, The Victor Davis Hanson Show.
Victor’s Website: https://victorhanson.com
Victor’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/VDHanson
The Victor Davis Hanson Show: https://art19.com/shows/the-victor-davis-hanson-show
The Dying Citizen: https://a.co/d/dPocUJg
The End of Everything: https://a.co/d/46O0mMB
OUTLINE
00:00 Introduction
03:41 On Annihilation, Extinction, and Genocide
09:31 What Causes Genocide?
16:38 The Applicability of Military Strategy to Everyday Life
24:00 On Alexander the Great
36:26 Should We Judge the People of the Past by the Moral Standards of the Present?
44:29 Uyghurs, Jews, and Genocides of the Present
50:45 What Are the Biggest Existential Threats to America?
59:28 Is World War III on the Horizon?
Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com
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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/robinson-erhardt/support