Ep 236: Max Velthoven, legal science, AI and epistemology.
Max is a tax lawyer who is applying Popperian epistemology to legal science and issues in AI. Links to some more of his work, and the slides to accompany part of this video are below. Slides for Max's talk(s):
https://www.bretthall.org/popper-and-legal-science.html
Max’s journal article on AI with Eric Marcus (in NLFiscaal TaxTech): NLFiscaal | Problems in AI, their roots in philosophy, and implications for science and society:
https://www.nlfiscaal.nl/nlfiscaal-doc/BEEAD89DD9E44E81B23811716258A4C4
Slides to accompany: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7290619876879028225/
Made possible with support from, and In association with, https://nav.al
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Ep 235: The Simulation Hypothesis
This is a "megasode" combining two episodes from Youtube all about the Simulation Hypothesis. In the first part I provide the philosophical basis for the simulation hypothesis as explained especially by Nick Bostrom and compare it to other "ultimate" explanations of reality. In part 2 I discuss and evaluate the arguments made by Scott Adams and Joe Rogan who endorse some version of Bostrom's argument.
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Ep 234: On the Evolution of Reason
I recently had the opportunity to participate in "Spectrum Street Epistemology" with @drpeterboghossian and a number of others including @destiny . This episode was inspired by both that event and the many other conversations I had with Peter, Reid, David, Evan, Mia and Travis across the days I spent in Florida with those excellent people engaged in the important work of defending the Enlightenment. This is a sort of disjointed episode as I have in mind a particular audience of sophisticated thinkers on epistemology so I meander through my own worldview, take a historic look at why it is "belief" and "degrees of belief" or "strength of feeling", "confidence" and so on arose and became an important improvement on more primitive ways of thinking about the world. I compare all of that to what I argue is the most rational way of conceiving of "critical thinking". I end with some personal reflections. If you go to Peter's channel I imagine the many conversations we recorded together will be gradually released in the coming days and weeks. Compared to what I do here: their's is a very professional production! The videos accompanying the audio are a mixture of my own poorly shot camera work and stock footage - just so the viewer does not have to stare at nothing but my head for ~40 minutes.
00:00 Introductions
01:00 Are humans unique…just like every other species?
03:45 We are 98% the same as chimpanzees?
07:00 Was there an “Adam” - a first person?
09:00 The first creative minds
10:10 The evolution of authoritarianism
12:30 Medieval societies vs primitive tribalism
13:20 Early individualism, empiricism, rationalism and reason
16:10 Empiricism, rationalism and inductivism as “appeals to authority”
18:25 Belief and the weight of evidence
21:00 “Updating one’s priors”.
22:20 The God of the Subjectivism
23:30 Fossils
26:04 Better ways of thinking
29:00 Knowing and believing
31:00 Moving beyond “degrees of belief” and subjectivism
32:00 Knowledge: what it is
34:00 Knowing is binary
36:00 Reason is more than feeling
36:55 Reflecting on Spectrum Street Epistemology
41:05 Gratitude and acknowledgements
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Ep 233: David Deutsch’s ”The Fabric of Reality” Chapter 13 ”The Four Strands" Part 1
The first part of my discussion of the differing visions of science and how scientific knowledge "grows" (or not) according to Thomas Kuhn vs Karl Popper as outlined in this chapter of "The Beginning of Infinity". Kuhn's "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" explains the concept of a "paradigm" and "paradigm shifts" comparing "revolutionary" and "normal" periods of science. Kuhn's work remains the most cited in the social sciences and so far more people - especially in academia - are familiar with his work that Popper's. What explains this? What does Kuhn have to say? And what does a "critical rationalist" perspective on the growth of knowledge have to say in response to Kuhn?
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Ep 232: Karl Popper's "The Myth of the Framework" Sections IV to VI. "The Critical Method": deep dive
The second in the series on "The Myth of the Framework" paper.
Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction with some reflections on Joe Rogan and Gad Saad
05:14 Section IVa reading - on “Confrontations”
06:32 Section IVa reflection
09:48 Section IVb reading
10:17 Section IVb reflection
12:14 Section IVc reading - tolerance and respect
13:26 Section IV c reflection on Herodotus and tolerance
15:08 Section IV d reading. When should a discussion reach agreement?
16:39 Section IV d reflection. Quibbling with Popper? True Theories or Best Explanations?
28:54 Section IV e reading Goodwill
30:00 Section IV e Reflection on Goodwill, courtesy and politeness. And an anecdote about “professors”.
36:54 Interlude: Popper’s Introduction to “The Myth of the Framework” - expertise and authority 40:00 Section V a Reading Clash of civilisations
40:56 Section V a Reflection (including remarks on Piers Morgan and Tucker Carlson)
44:00 Section V b “Culture Clash” the impact on Greek Philosophy and Rationality - Reading and reflection interleaved.
57:15 Section VI a Reading - How we make the world understandable to ourselves 57:55 Section VI a Reflection on the task of “reason”.
59:23 Section VI b Reading: The invention of explanations and the two components of rationality. 1:00:13 Secton VI b Reflection on rationality
1:03:40 Section VI c Popper’s conjecture on the origins of the critical method I
1:05:08 Section VI c Reflection on Hesiod’s Theogony.
1:07:05 Section VI d Reading Popper’s conjecture part II 1:08:08 Reflection on Popper’s Conjecture 1:09:04 Section VI e Reading on Anixmander’s theory
1:10:12 Section VI e Reflection on Anixmander’s theory
1:11:25 Section VI f Conjecturing about conjectures and “The Critical Tradition I”
1:12:52 Section VI f Reflections on “The Critical Tradition”
1:13:16 Section VI g The Critical Tradition II
1:14:33 Section VI g Reflections on “The Critical Tradition II” and “schools” of philosophy.
1:15:30 Section VI h The Ionian School
1:16:36 Section VI h Reflections on the modern critical method and thoughts about Aristarchus and Parallax measurements
1:20:50 Section VI I Conclusion
UK