Donald Hoffman On Free Will, Positive Geometries of Consciousness & Spacetime [Ep. 455]

Into the Impossible With Brian Keating

Will physics ever be able to explain consciousness? What if our entire understanding of reality is just an illusion shaped by evolution? Could the universe be a sophisticated virtual reality created by our own minds for our own good? And does free will exist after all?

Joining me today to explore these profound questions is none other than Donald Hoffman! Donald Hoffman is a renowned philosopher, famous TED talk speaker, cognitive scientist, and deep thinker.

He is a professor in the Department of Cognitive Science at the University of California, Irvine, and the author of the provocative book The Case Against Reality. This is his third time on my show because we simply never run out of topics, and it’s always refreshing to hear his thoughts and ideas!

So, without further ado, let’s jump right in!

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Key Takeaways:

• 00:00:00 Intro
• 00:01:11 Sam Harris, Robert Sapolsky, and free will
• 00:07:59 Positive geometries of consciousness
• 00:17:17 Will physics ever be able to explain consciousness?
• 00:26:05 Stepping outside of spacetime
• 00:36:51 Markovian dynamics
• 00:48:10 Theory of perception
• 00:52:37 Audience questions
• 01:05:44 The future of academia
• 01:13:24 Outro

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Additional resources:

➡️ Learn more about Don Hoffman:

📚 The Case Against Reality: https://a.co/d/dy3tfCc

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✖️ Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrBrianKeating

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✍️ Check out my blog: https://briankeating.com/cosmic-musings/

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Into the Impossible with Brian Keating is a podcast dedicated to all those who want to explore the universe within and beyond the known.

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