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Noam Chomsky: Why Consciousness Cannot Be Reduced to Brain Activity
Episode 31

Noam Chomsky: Why Consciousness Cannot Be Reduced to Brain Activity

Patreon for conversations on Theories of Everything, Consciousness, Free Will, and God: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal Help support conversations like this via PayPal: https://bit.ly/2EOR0M4 Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/better-left-unsaid-with-curt-jaimungal/id1521758802 Pandora: https://pdora.co/33b9lfP Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e Google Podcasts: https://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/ps/Id3k7k7mfzahfx2fjqmw3vufb44 0:00 Introduction 0:32 Chomsky's views on consciousness and free will (and marijuana) 6:04 Views on "God" (do you believe in it? how do you define it?) 8:02 Chomsky's views on Moral Relativism vs Objectivism 9:55 Views on mythology, and religious upbringing 13:30 Personal story on Chomsky's childhood (religion is based on the assumption that "God is an idiot") 17:53 True Christianity is pacifism and the US squelched Liberation Theology 22:12 The most important activism is the liberation of the poor 24:02 Where does Neoliberalism come from and what's it maintained by? 30:40 Having a job is placing yourself under the control of an autocrat, worse than Stalin 36:48 What can be done to make education more democratic? 39:32 The Neoliberal "crisis" 42:20 Do schools run counter to our evolutionary "learning instinct"? 49:00 What's wrong with Illich's "de-schooling"? 52:15 Why not allow multiple competing school systems? 54:52 The problems with Charter Schools 57:36 Is there such a thing as too much openness / diversity / equality? (thoughts on Black Lives Matter) 1:00:28 Chomsky was afraid of being imprisoned. Why didn't it happen? 1:01:38 The war crimes of Trump * * * Subscribe if you want more conversations on Theories of Everything, Consciousness, Free Will, God, and the mathematics / physics of each. * * * I'm producing an imminent documentary Better Left Unsaid http://betterleftunsaidfilm.com on the topic of "when does the left go too far?" Visit that site if you'd like to contribute to getting the film distributed (in 2020) and seeing more conversations like this.

Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal · Theories of Everything

September 5, 20201h 7m

Show Notes

Curt Jaimungal interviews Noam Chomsky, diving into consciousness, free will, and the nature of God before tackling moral relativism, activism, and the challenges of modern education. The conversation also examines neoliberal influences, Black Lives Matter, and Chomsky’s personal reflections on religion and politics.

- 0:00 - Introduction
- 0:32 - Consciousness and free will
- 6:04 - Views on God
- 8:02 - Moral relativism vs objectivism
- 9:55 - Mythology and religious upbringing
- 13:30 - Childhood and religion comment
- 17:53 - Christianity as pacifism, liberation theology
- 22:12 - Liberation of the poor activism
- 24:02 - Neoliberalism origins
- 30:40 - Job as autocrat control
- 36:48 - Democratic education ideas
- 39:32 - Neoliberal crisis
- 42:20 - Schools vs learning instinct
- 49:00 - Illich de‑schooling critique
- 52:15 - Multiple school systems
- 54:52 - Charter schools problems
- 57:36 - Openness, diversity, BLM
- 1:00:28 - Imprisonment fear
- 1:01:38 - Trump war crimes

SPONSORS:

- Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal
- PayPal: https://bit.ly/2EOR0M4
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt
- iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/better-left-unsaid-with-curt-jaimungal/id1521758802
- Pandora: https://pdora.co/33b9lfP
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e
- Google Podcasts: https://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/ps/Id3k7k7mfzahfx2fjqmw3vufb44

RESOURCES:

- Better Left Unsaid documentary: http://betterleftunsaidfilm.com

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.

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