Jennifer Nagel: Why Universal Skepticism Defeats Itself episode artwork

EPISODE · Apr 19, 2025 · 2H 43M

Jennifer Nagel: Why Universal Skepticism Defeats Itself

from Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal · host Theories of Everything

Philosopher Jennifer Nagel argues that universal skepticism is philosophy’s greatest deception, claiming that doubt is an illusion and knowledge is a primitive instant recognition. We explore the nature of knowledge, different forms of skepticism, the Gettier problem, and how these ideas relate to consciousness and free will.- 00:00 - Introduction- 01:28 - The Nature of Knowledge- 10:58 - Philosophers and the Skeptical Mindset- 16:57 - Types of Skepticism- 22:27 - Exploring Knowledge Attribution- 29:51 - The Illusion of Knowledge- 34:16 - Knowing Without Knowing- 38:10 - Writing About Knowledge- 46:10 - Analyzing Knowledge- 55:08 - The Gettier Problem and Its Challenges- 1:01:10 - The Functionality of Knowledge- 1:11:23 - Collaborative Understanding of Knowledge- 2:10:00 - Understanding and Consciousness- 2:26:32 - Truth and Its Nature- 2:32:16 - Superposition and Contradictions- 2:32:19 - ConclusionSPONSORS:- The Economist: 20% off discount https://www.economist.com/toe- Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/SpotifyTOE- YouTube Membership: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdWIQh9DGG6uhJk8eyIFl1w/join- Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungalRESOURCES:- Knowledge: A Very Short Introduction (book): https://www.amazon.com/Knowledge-Very-Short-Introduction-Introductions/dp/019966126X- Knowledge and its Limits (book): https://www.amazon.ca/Knowledge-its-Limits-Timothy-Williamson/dp/019925656X- Very Short Introductions (series): https://www.google.com/search?q=a+very+short+introduction+to+series&sca_esv=3da4db664be6b3a1&ei=ypX6Z6flHsDniLMP2v2QkQk&ved=0ahUKEwin8oSB9tKMAxXAM2IAHdo-JJIQ4dUDCBA&uact=5&oq=a+very+short+introduction+to+series&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiI2EgdmVyeSBzaG9ydCBpbnRyb2R1Y3Rpb24gdG8gc2VyaWVzMgUQABiABDILEAAYgAQYhgMYigUyCxAAGIAEGIYDGIoFMgsQABiABBiGAxiKBTIIEAAYogQYiQUyCBAAGIAEGKIEMggQABiABBiiBDIFEAAY7wVIqBRQxAtYwBBwAXgAkAEAmAFZoAGtAqoBATS4AQPIAQD4AQGYAgSgAocCwgIKEAAYsAMY1gQYR8ICDRAuGIAEGLADGEMYigXCAg0QABiABBiwAxhDGIoFwgIPEAAYgAQYQxiKBRhGGPsBwgIbEAAYgAQYQxiKBRhGGPsBGJcFGIwFGN0E2AEBwgIGEAAYBxgemAMAiAYBkAYKugYGCAEQARgTkgcBNKAHph6yBwEzuAf_AQ&sclient=gws-wiz-serp#wgvs=e- Time: A Very Short Introduction (book): https://www.amazon.ca/Time-Short-Introduction-Jenann-Ismael/dp/0198832664- Laplace meets Godel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZB3tS7j7nNU- Flexible Goals (paper): https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/cogs.13195- The Legend of the Justified True Belief Analysis (paper): https://philpapers.org/archive/DUTTLO-3.pdf- Lay Denial of Knowledge for Justified True Beliefs (paper): https://philpapers.org/archive/NAGLDO- TOE’s Consciousness Iceberg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDjnEiys98o- Matt Segal on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeTm4fSXpbM- Curt reads Plato’s Cave: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PurNlwnxwfY- David Bentley Hart on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEAgVvW9i10- Donald Hoffman on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmieNQH7Q4w&t=1s- Iain McGilchrist on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-SgOwc6Pe4&t=6326s&ab_channel=CurtJaimungal- Geoffrey Hinton on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_DUft-BdIE- John Vervaeke on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVj1KYGyesI&t=1s- Wolfgang Smith on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vp18_L_y_30- Polymath’s Ai panel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abzXzPBW4_s- Donald Hoffman and Philip Goff on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmaIBxkqcT4- Robert Sapolsky on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0IqA1hYKY8&pp=ygUUY3VydCByb2JlcnQgc2Fwb2xza3k%3D- Curt debunks the “all possible paths” myth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcY3ZtgYis0&t=46s- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt- Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal features long-form, technically detailed interviews with leading researchers in physics, mathematics, consciousness, and philosophy, exploring topics at the level of active research. For academics, graduate students, and anyone seeking depth beyond popular science. FOLLOW: Substack | Spotify | YouTube | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Jennifer Nagel: Why Universal Skepticism Defeats Itself

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This episode is 2 hours and 43 minutes long.

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This episode was published on April 19, 2025.

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Philosopher Jennifer Nagel argues that universal skepticism is philosophy’s greatest deception, claiming that doubt is an illusion and knowledge is a primitive instant recognition. We explore the nature of knowledge, different forms of skepticism,...

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