Closer To Truth

Is there life after death? Death is the ultimate defeat. No matter our successes, we are all doomed to suffer the final failure. But some claim that death is not final. Can the defeat be defeated? In this episode, Robert Lawrence Kuhn speaks with Gregory A. Boyd, John Hick, Deepak Chopra, Warren Brown, and Eric Steinhart. For subscriber-only exclusives, register for free at closertotruth.com .

Donald Hoffman discusses the nature of reality, what is real, his theory of consciousness, and how this theory affects everything from artificial intelligence to alien life and the Fermi Paradox. Donald D. Hoffman is Professor Emeritus of Cognitive Sciences at the University of California, Irvine and author of Visual Intelligence: How We Create What We See and coauthor of Observer Mechanics: A For...

What is the world fundamentally, deeply made of? What is life? We are always searching for Scientific Breakthroughs: those leaps in knowledge and jumps in understanding that change how we see the world. Now, we focus on Biology. Featuring interviews with Geoffrey West, Stuart Kauffman, V.S. Ramachandran, Antonio Damasio, and Michio Kaku. Register for free at CloserToTruth.com for subscriber-only e...

Sabine Hossenfelder talks about if the past exists, how the universe began and how it will end, information, math as reality, time, and consciousness. She also discusses her new book, Existential Physics: A Scientist’s Guide to Life’s Biggest Questions. Order Sabine's new book now from our Bookshop.org shop . Sabine Hossenfelder is an author and theoretical physicist who researches quantum gravity...

How does the subconscious affect us? There is more to our mental lives than the current content of our awareness. Our subconscious affects what we sense, think, feel and do. How does the subconscious work its magic? Featuring interviews with David Eagleman, Elizabeth Loftus, Nicholas Humphrey, Patrick McNamara, and Julia Mossbridge. For subscriber-only exclusives, register for free at www.closerto...

Stephon Alexander, cosmologist and professor of theoretical physics at Brown University, discusses his most recent book, Fear of a Black Universe: An Outsider's Guide to the Future of Physics, an important guide to both science and society. Alexander's book is available for purchase now . Stephon Alexander is a professor, established jazz musician, and an immigrant from Trinidad. He is the 2020 pr...

What is philosophy of biology? Biology has big questions: What is life, language, race, gender, morality, wisdom, religion, extraterrestrial intelligence? A new field of inquiry seeks underlying structure and coherence. Featuring interviews with Michael Ruse, Francisco J. Ayala, Celia Deane-Drummond, and Louis Caruana.

Closer To Truth is proud to present this four-part miniseries with distinguished theoretical linguist, analytic philosopher, and cognitive scientist Noam Chomsky. In our final part, Chomsky offers his thoughts and opinions on Closer To Truth's "big questions": Does God exist? Why is there something rather than nothing? What are the limits of science? What are the major issues in philosophy of mind...

Closer To Truth is proud to present this four-part miniseries with distinguished theoretical linguist, analytic philosopher, and cognitive scientist Noam Chomsky. In Part 3, Chomsky discusses linguistic theories for human sentience and cognition (most notably a Universal Grammar), the evolution of language, and the mystery of consciousness. Often referred to as "the father of modern linguistics”,...

Closer To Truth is proud to present this four-part miniseries with distinguished theoretical linguist, analytic philosopher, and cognitive scientist Noam Chomsky. In Part 2, Chomsky discusses generative and transformational grammar, deep structure paradigm, minimalism, and the relationship between syntax and meaning. Often referred to as "the father of modern linguistics”, Chomsky helped bring abo...

Closer To Truth is proud to present this four-part miniseries with distinguished theoretical linguist, analytic philosopher, cognitive scientist, political critic, and social activist Professor Noam Chomsky. In Part 1, we speak with Chomsky about his initial interest in theoretical linguistics, transformational and universal grammar, his early published works, and his reflections on his discussion...

Sir Roger Penrose joins Closer To Truth to discuss consciousness and new physics. Can the known laws of physics explain consciousness? Can the mind be duplicated by a computer? What is the argument against Strong A.I.? What is consciousness and how does it relate to Penrose's Search for a Missing Science of Consciousness? And what are the implications of a New Science of Consciousness for the Thre...

Sir Roger Penrose talks about the work that earned him a Nobel prize in physics, developing mathematics to analyze spacetime, his 1965 paper "Gravitational Collapse and Space-Time Singularities", Cosmic Censorship Hypothesis, Conformal Cyclic Cosmology, and his thoughts on Quantum Mechanics and General Relativity.   See more interviews with Sir Roger Penrose:  https://bit.ly/3UvbYkw   Sir Roger Pe...

Sir Roger Penrose shares his thoughts on mathematics and world reflections. He discusses his “three worlds and three deep mysteries” theory, pure mathematics, the “Impossible Penrose Triangle”, M.C. Escher, Penrose tiling, astrophysics, and consciousness.   See more interviews with Sir Roger Penrose:  https://bit.ly/3UvbYkw   Sir Roger Penrose is a mathematical physicist and philosopher. He is the...

COSMOS - Are there revolutionary discoveries yet to be made? Radical revelations and shocking secrets? Does physical reality go beyond what we know today? Far beyond? Featuring Lawrence Krauss, Michio Kaku, Rupert Sheldrake, Paul Davies, and David Chalmers.

CONSCIOUSNESS - What is happening in our brains when we perceive and appreciate the arts? What are the neural substrates of artistic sensations, feelings and emotions? How do diverse arts affect the brain?

CONSCIOUSNESS - What is the nature of art? What makes something “art”, and why should we value it? What is aesthetics and art theory? Can philosophy of art enhance appreciation and practice of the arts?

COSMOS - How does metaphysics contribute to our understanding of the world? It asks the most profound questions: What kinds of things exist? How does causality work? Sound too abstract? How about: Does God exist? Are you a soul? Featuring Michio Kaku, Bede Rundle, John Leslie, Richard Swinburne, and Hubert Dreyfus.

COSMOS - Call all-that-exists “something.” Why is there “something” rather than “nothing”? The question haunts me. Why is there anything at all? Featuring Colin McGinn, Peter van Inwagen, Philip Clayton, George Lakoff, and Dean Zimmerman.

CONCIOUSNESS - Can art inform the classic mind-body problem? While the relationship between mental activity and physical brain continues to baffle (especially consciousness), can the existence and process of art provide insight?

COSMOS - Of what is reality made? What are the most basic building blocks from which the cosmos is constructed? Particles? Mass-Energy? Forces? Fields? A new candidate is ‘Information’—‘IT from BIT’. Featuring Seth Lloyd, Sean Carroll, Raphael Bousso, Alan Guth, and Christof Koch.

CONSCIOUSNESS - What is free will? Do we have free will? The ‘Big Questions in Free Will’ project tackles these issues in a multi-year study. In Part I, scientists and philosophers research, test, and advance thinking on free will. Featuring Alfred Mele, Galen Strawson, John Searle, Peter van Inwagen, Christof Koch, Uri Maoz, Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, Thalia Wheatley, and Peter Tse.

COSMOS - What’s the ultimate stuff of reality? What’s absolutely fundamental and non-reducible — the fewest number of categories within which every specific thing, of every general kind, can be classified? Featuring Barry Loewer, David Albert, Luke Barnes, Raymond Tallis, and George Ellis.

COSMOS - Perhaps we cannot know the reason for the universe, if there is any. But is it even possible for the universe to have a reason? If yes, how would natural regularities and rules compare with some kind of goal or God? Featuring Alexander Vilenkin, John Polkinghorne, Michael Shermer, Stephen Wolfram, and Stuart Kauffman.

CONSCIOUSNESS - What is it about the brain that enables some scientists to claim they can explain mind? And what is it about scientific explanations that some philosophers reject? Featuring Christof Koch, Rodolfo Llinas, Raymond Kurzweil, John Searle, and David Chalmers.