Episode 122

Terrence Deacon: How Consciousness Emerges from Entropy Gradients

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Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal · Theories of Everything

December 22, 20223h 8m

Original episode page

Show Notes

Terrence Deacon examines the origins of life, consciousness, entropy and sentience, arguing that meaning emerges from symbol grounding in far‑from‑equilibrium processes. He connects mental representations, the language problem, universal grammar and thermodynamics to explain how value and cognition arise.

- 00:00:00 - Introduction
- 00:03:50 - Overview and autobiography
- 00:07:28 - Mental representations
- 00:16:37 - Living in a world of symbols
- 00:23:11 - Indexical relationships
- 00:26:49 - Language problem
- 00:29:47 - Molecular binding & covariant relationships
- 00:39:45 - Structural information & recursion
- 00:44:26 - Chomsky, universal grammar basics
- 00:51:19 - Chomsky universals & Turing machines
- 01:02:15 - Gödel and ambiguity reduction
- 01:10:13 - Reference and meaning
- 01:14:59 - Noise and signals
- 01:20:08 - Symbol grounding problem
- 01:30:06 - Origin of value
- 01:37:28 - Life far from equilibrium
- 02:14:46 - Homeodynamics & teleodynamics
- 02:17:02 - Sentience vs consciousness
- 02:39:55 - Epistemology tied to ontology
- 02:45:31 - Universal grammar down to chemistry
- 02:51:48 - Absence and nothingness

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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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