PodcastsPhilosophyWithin Reason

Within Reason

Alex J O'Connor
Within Reason
Latest episode

146 episodes

  • Within Reason

    #150 Materialist AND Panpsychism are True - Galen Strawson

    08/04/2026 | 57 mins.
    Get Huel today with this exclusive offer for New Customers of 15% OFF with code alexoconnor at https://huel.com/alexoconnor (Minimum $50 purchase).For early, ad-free access to videos, and to support the channel, subscribe to my Substack: https://www.alexoconnor.com.Galen Strawson is a British analytic philosopher and literary critic who works primarily on philosophy of mind, metaphysics, John Locke, David Hume, Immanuel Kant and Friedrich Nietzsche.TIMESTAMPS:00:00 - Is Radical Emergence Possible?08:15 - Can Physics Describe Consciousness?12:01 - Is Everything Made of Consciousness?18:34 - Why Are People Resistant to Panpsychism?21:19 - Can Experience Alone Tell Us What Consciousness Is?23:50 - Does Consciousness Require Complexity?29:03 - Panpsychism vs Idealism: What’s the Difference?36:08 - The Combination Problem40:03 - What is the “Self”?43:16 - Do We Even Need to Explain Consciousness?48:25 - Is Consciousness a Scientific or Philosophical Question?53:25 - Is It Possible for AI to Become Conscious?
  • Within Reason

    #149 My Problem With C.S. Lewis - Philip Pullman

    02/04/2026 | 1h 27 mins.
    Philip Pullman is one of England's most cherished and celebrated writers. Author of the popular His Dark Materials series of books (later adapted into a film, The Golden Compass (2007), and a 2019 HBO/BBC drama series), his novels are dripping with philosophical and religious themes.Get Philip Pullman's Books here.
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    TIMESTAMPS:0:00 - C.S. Lewis Tells Filthy Lies5:12 - Childhood Innocence is Overrated10:09 - Religion in Philip’s Novels21:26 - How to Improve the Story of Jesus and the Gospels27:43 - The Connection Between Music and Fiction36:24 - Books vs Movies43:38 - Consciousness in The Book of Dust50:05 - Should Novelists Go Back and Update Their Books?56:11 - The Omniscient Narrator1:00:12 - How Movies Changed Novels1:05:49 - Why Subtitles Are So Popular Now1:10:56 - The Role of Philosophy in Philip’s Novels1:13:27 - Philip’s Writing Process1:20:11 - The Fear of AI in Creative Industries
  • Within Reason

    #149 Blaise Pascal: Philosopher, Mathematician, Genius - Graham Tomlin

    25/03/2026 | 1h 34 mins.
    Get Huel today with this exclusive offer for New Customers of 15% OFF with code alexoconnor at https://huel.com/alexoconnor (Minimum $50 purchase).For early, ad-free access to videos, and to support the channel, subscribe to my Substack.Graham Tomlin is a British theologian, author and former Church of England bishop.LINKS:Get Graham's book, Blaise Pascal: The Man Who Made the Modern WorldGraham's organisation, Seen and Unseen TIMESTAMPS:00:00 - Can Blaise Pascal Be Categorised?03:05 - Who Was Blaise Pascal?11:12 - Pascal’s First Conversion17:19 - Pascal’s “Night of Fire”21:59 - Did Pascal Reject Reason?31:45 - Pascal’s War With Descartes42:31 - Did Pascal Invent the Bus?45:42 - The Heart Has Its Reasons, Of Which Reason Knows Nothing50:03 - How Pascal Invented Probability Theory52:29 - Pascal’s Wager1:15:35 - The Pensées1:18:30 - Pascal’s “Two Minds”1:22:39 - The Importance of Boredom1:26:58 - Why Should Atheists Read Pascal?1:31:34 - What Would Graham Ask Pascal?
  • Within Reason

    #147 What is PURE Consciousness? - Thomas Metzinger

    18/03/2026 | 2h 3 mins.
    Get Huel today with this exclusive offer for New Customers of 15% OFF with code alexoconnor at https://huel.com/alexoconnor (Minimum $50 purchase).
    For early, ad-free access to videos, and to support the channel, subscribe to my Substack: https://www.alexoconnor.com.
    Thomas Metzinger is a German philosopher and Professor Emeritus of theoretical philosophy at the University of Mainz. His primary research areas include philosophy of mind, philosophy of neuroscience, and applied ethics, particularly focusing on neurotechnology, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence.
    Get The Elephant and the Blind: The Experience of Pure Consciousness: Philosophy, Science, and 500+ Experiential Reports
    TIMESTAMPS
    0:00 - The Minimal Phenomenal Experience Project
    11:34 - Is MPE New Age Meditation?
    17:07 - Collecting Reports of Pure Consciousness
    25:48 - Lucid Deep Sleep - Thomas’ Experience
    32:19 - Does Consciousness Require Complexity?
    39:29 - The Power of Meditation
    45:32 - Is Meditation Always a Positive Experience?
    53:13 - Is a MPE Actually an Experience?
    01:11:21 - Your Brain is Not Telling You the Truth
    01:20:08 - Analysing Minimal Conscious Experiences
    01:27:26 - Is Meditative Enlightenment Unethical?
    01:32:37 - Western Ignorance of Eastern Tradition
    01:40:13 - “Coming Home”
    01:44:29 - The Political Implications of MPE
    01:52:40 - Should Ketamine Be Legalised?
  • Within Reason

    #146 The Most Complicated Thing in the Universe: What is the Brain?

    08/03/2026 | 2h 24 mins.
    Matthew Cobb is a British zoologist and Emeritus professor of zoology at the University of Manchester.
    Get his book, The Idea of the Brain: A HistoryCloser to Truth's Map of Consciousness: loc.closertotruth.com/mapTIMESTAMPS:0:00 The Heart or the Head?4:13 Medicine in the Ancient World12:25 Why Don’t We Accept Evidence?18:34 From Ancient to Modern Understanding29:29 When Did We Reach a Consensus on the Brain?37:41 Electricity in the Brain39:58 Our Metaphors for the Brain44:15 Is the Brain Segmented or Whole?01:05:20 Why is Speech Governed by the Left Hemisphere?01:18:55 Why is the Brain Split Into Two Hemispheres?01:23:06 Where in the Brain Does Consciousness Originate?01:32:46 The Ladybug Robot01:35:08 Back to Consciousness01:45:27 What is a Neuron?01:56:04 Why is Smell Connected to Memory So Strongly?02:02:14 Do London Cab Drivers Have Larger Hippocampi?02:10:11 The Limits of MRI and CT Scans02:19:24 Will We Ever Be Able to See Consciousness in the Brain?

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About Within Reason

For the curious. A philosophy podcast that sometimes flirts with other disciplines, Within Reason has featured guests including Richard Dawkins, Douglas Murray, William Lane Craig, Peter Singer, Konstantin Kisin, and Neil deGrasse Tyson.
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