Wandering Thoughts

In this episode, Dr. Stephen Hicks and I discuss postmodernism and its relationship to truth, meaning, and culture. We explore what postmodernism really is, its connection to nihilism, and how these ideas shape society from the top down and bottom up. We dive into poststructuralism, Jacques Derrida, and how writing styles reflect the philosophies they are trying to express. We also touch on impressionism and expressionism, before tackling the central question: is there objective truth? Finally, we discuss the human search for meaning, and the importance of engaging with philosophical ideas from a young age.

In this episode, Prof. Keith Frankish and I discuss illusionism, a theory of consciousness that says we’re mistaken in thinking our experiences have special inner “what-it’s-like” qualities (qualia). We talk about philosophical zombies, artificial consciousness, and whether science can truly account for subjective experience. We also reflect on the idea of God, the future of education, and Prof. Frankish’s admiration for and relationship with Daniel Dennett.

In this episode, Kwame Anthony Appiah and I explore identity, race, and culture. Prof. Appiah shares his backstory, growing up in Ghana and eventually living in the UK and the US, and his journey from medicine to philosophy. We discuss the philosophy of language, social ontology, cosmopolitanism, cultural values, race, and nationality, and how to maintain cultural identity while respecting each other’s differences—ending with ideas on global citizenship and peaceful coexistence.

In this episode, Hakwan Lau shares his thoughts on the direction the field of consciousness studies is heading. We explore key neuroscience concepts such as blindsight, neural feedback, and information pathways, alongside core ideas like attention and perception, and why philosophy remains a useful tool for defining these terms. The conversation then turns to the growing issue of sensationalism in the field—why it happens and how we can encourage more rigorous scientific thinking. The episode closes with Prof. Lau’s reflections on the future of consciousness research.

In this episode, Professor Tim Maudlin explains the great rift in physics. He talks about the violation of Bell’s inequality and explains the historical development of general relativity and quantum physics. We explore the collapse of the wave function, non-locality versus locality, and deterministic and non-deterministic theories. He shares his thoughts on free will, compatibilism, string theory, and loop quantum gravity. We discuss the terms observer and measurement, and the notions of eternalism and the block universe. He discusses his own current work and shares his thoughts on why philosophy is valuable and what it has to give to a person. Lastly, he explains how he personally learns and works best, and we talk about the power of asking simple questions.

Nikos Louka, recently a parliamentary candidate with Direct Democracy Cyprus, joins me to talk about learning, curiosity, and why the education system fails. We explore ideas around self-organization, evolution, trust in human nature, and how open-endedness fosters creativity and innovation. The conversation then moves into the history of the Gagauz people, where we explore ethnic identity, the intersection of language and culture, and how language shapes the way we understand the world. Later, the discussion shifts to politics, where we talk about direct democracy, transparency, and how changes in the technology we use to communicate, reshapes governments and politics.

In this episode, Michael Graziano discusses what consciousness and subjective experience are, followed by his journey toward developing Attention Schema Theory. He explains how the brain builds schematic models, controls internal processes, and how attention evolved, also touching on ADHD and what traits make a being conscious. The conversation then moves to the evolution of consciousness, theory of mind, and whether animals or AI could be conscious or deserve rights. Later, they discuss artificial neural networks, the history of AI, Professor Graziano’s current work on AI, and his views on illusionism. The episode ends with reflections on belief in a “magic” essence of consciousness, his thoughts on God, and why consciousness feels mysterious to humans.

In this episode, Dr. Laouris discusses the insights he has gained from systems science and how they apply to other fields such as politics, where he is currently a parliamentary candidate for Direct Democracy Cyprus. We also explore his interdisciplinary journey, the importance of balancing depth with breadth, and the value of trial and error and giving people responsibility. The conversation touches on social media, memes, and their potential role in direct democracy, before concluding with the three phases of science and how systems thinking can help reshape education.

In this episode, Professor Axel Cleeremans explains his radical plasticity thesis and talks about implicit learning. We explore how much of our knowledge is unconscious and automatic, and how consciousness may emerge through learning about our own mental processes. We also discuss the role of language, metarepresentation, and memory in developing higher levels of awareness. We consider whether consciousness increases over time, from newborns to adults, and compare human consciousness with AI. Finally, we reflect on philosophical issues such as the hard problem of consciousness and the distinction between access and phenomenal consciousness.

In this episode, 22-year-old parliamentary candidate Ioannis Damianou explains a different form of governance—direct democracy. As a member of the new political party Direct Democracy Cyprus, he discusses how giving people direct influence over decisions could reshape modern politics, and why current systems often fail to represent those affected by them. We then move into education, where he challenges fixed curriculums and emphasises curiosity-based learning—learning how to utilise information instead of just memorising it. We end the episode by discussing the key lessons Ioannis has learned about human behaviour and psychology through his past work as a video editor for Fidias, the founder of the party, whose channels have generated millions of subscribers and viewership. Lastly, Ioannis shares the transferable skills and strategic thinking he has developed through chess, where he was national champion in 2019.

In this conversation, Professor Barry Loewer discusses laws of nature, probability, and the Mentaculus. He explains the distinction between objective and subjective probability, examines the concept of chance, and engages with the work of David Lewis, and considers why the world exhibits patterns, introducing the Humean mosaic.He outlines the Mentaculus and its origins, and explains entropy and the past hypothesis in relation to the arrow of time and the emergence of structure. He also addresses determinism, free will, and counterfactuals, and we end the episode with a discussion of travel, cultural experience, and physical disciplines such as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, wrestling, and table tennis.

This episode features a conversation with Professor Adrian Moore. We begin with Professor Moore’s background and a discussion of what philosophy and metaphysics are. The conversation then looks at the evolution of modern metaphysics and the distinction between analytic and non-analytic philosophy. We discuss Immanuel Kant and the limits of knowledge, followed by Kurt Gödel, his theorem, and the Goldbach conjecture, including some of the philosophical repercussions of Gödel’s work. The episode also includes an introduction to the proof of Gödel’s theorem, a discussion of Wittgenstein, and ends with Professor Moore speaking about his life mission.

In this episode, Genia Schoenbaumsfeld explains the Ethics of Doubt project, which studies the relationship between skepticism and virtue epistemology. We explore how doubt functions in belief formation, including Søren Kierkegaard’s idea that doubt arises from anxiety, and discuss Ludwig Wittgenstein’s ideas such as picture theory and language games. We also talk about intellectual courage and curiosity as virtues that help protect us from misinformation.

The podcast explores consciousness through Integrated Information Theory (IIT) and Dr. Barrett’s view that science can support a form of spirituality. Dr Barrett explains the notion of eternalism, the idea that past, present, and future all equally exist, and discusses how these ideas relate to meditation, death, illusionism, panpsychism, and broader questions about the nature of the universe and consciousness.

In this episode, Prof. Gerard J. Milburn explores the foundations of quantum mechanics—wave function collapse, measurement, and the meaning of the observer—before connecting these ideas to spacetime, irreversibility, and the relational nature of time. The conversation then moves into quantum technologies, revealing how quantum computers differ fundamentally from classical machines, why they can achieve dramatic efficiency gains, and what entirely new possibilities they may unlock. Prof. Milburn closes by discussing his work on quantum gravity and quantum learning machines, and reflects on how grappling with quantum theory reshaped his understanding of reality itself—offering powerful advice for the next generation of physicists stepping into one of the deepest intellectual frontiers of our time.

Professor James Yorke is a pioneer in Chaos theory and coined the term chaos in Mathematics. In this episode, he explains the importance of asking questions and creating original problems to solve, as a way to provide worldwide impact in the age of AI. He explains Chaos Theory by inviting everyone to play a simple game and shares his views on how to better education.

How do you change the world without making things worse somewhere else?   In this episode, Finn and I discuss Thinking in Systems by Donella H. Meadows and explore how systems thinking can create maximum positive impact. After reading the book, we make our own attempt at building a system, applying ideas like feedback loops and leverage points to something real.   We reflect on why quick fixes fail, how complex systems behave, and what ethical, meaningful change might actually look like.

Dr. Matthews is a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Southampton, studying the relationship between virtue epistemology, scepticism, and conspiracy theories as part of the Ethics of Doubt project. Join us for a conversation about knowledge, courage, and much more.

Finn and I explore the Myth of Sisyphus, a man punished to push a rock up a mountain for eternity, only to fall down when he reaches the top. We talk about the double marathon I ran to put my self into the shoes of Sisyphus. 

Finn and I continue our talk on artificial intelligence. We talk about Ian Banks’s novels of a future world that integrates AI well, we touch on what brings meaning to us in a world where AI does most jobs, and question if humans will date AI robots.  Join us!

Finn and I talk about Artificial Intelligence.  We touch on the AI race, Demis Hassabis, AGI and what would make an AI conscious. Join us!

In this episode, Finn and I explore consciousness. We walk through different philosophical frameworks of reality—such as materialism and idealism—and examine how our understanding of AI changes when we view it through these different lenses.

Finn and I talk about attachment theory. Attachment theory, developed by John Bowlby, explains how early relationships with caregivers shape our expectations of safety and connection. It argues that the need for closeness is a basic biological drive, not a weakness. Join us for this fun discussion  

Finn and I discuss the book Nothing by Frank Close. Better audio next time.