TrueSciPhi

Podcast Profile: Philosophical Trials

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15 episodes
2020 to 2023
Median: 53 minutes
Collection: Philosophy

Description (podcaster-provided):

My name is Tedy Nenu and I am the host of the 'Philosophical Trials' podcast. This is a place where philosophers, mathematicians, linguists and other bright individuals share with us fascinating aspects of their work. Whether you are interested in the nature of mathematical reality or how language works, there will be an episode here that caters to your interests.

Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):

➤ philosophy, logic, epistemology, metaphysics • language evolution, semantics, possible worlds • mind, consciousness, AI, free will neuroscience • mathematics, set theory, infinity, Gödel • algorithms, complexity, P=NP, quantum computing • religion, atheism, morality • memory, attention

This podcast features long-form conversations with prominent thinkers in philosophy and adjacent fields such as mathematics, logic, linguistics, computer science, neuroscience, and cognitive science. Across episodes, the host interviews academics and other experts about foundational questions—what counts as knowledge, how truth and meaning work, and how formal methods like logic and mathematics illuminate (or complicate) philosophical problems.

A recurring theme is the relationship between mind, brain, and computation. Discussions connect debates about free will and agency to neuroscience and genetics, and explore whether minds can be explained or replicated by machines, drawing on arguments from artificial intelligence, computability, and Gödel-style limits on formal systems. Related conversations examine consciousness, attention, and memory, including how remembering works in practice and what it suggests about cognition.

The show also regularly turns to philosophy of language and linguistics: how language might have evolved, how semantics relates to internal mental structure, and how possible-worlds tools are used to model meaning. In epistemology and philosophical logic, topics include relativism about truth, vagueness, and the boundaries of what humans can know, often approached through analytic philosophy.

Mathematics and theoretical computer science appear both as subjects in their own right—covering set theory, infinity, major theorems, prime-number questions, algorithms, P vs NP, complexity theory, and quantum computing—and as resources for addressing philosophical questions about reality, explanation, and the limits of reasoning. The podcast also engages explicitly with philosophy of religion, including arguments around atheism and Christianity.

Episodes:

Robert Sapolsky vs Kevin Mitchell: The Biology of Free Will | Episode 15
2023-Nov-18
73 minutes

Noam Chomsky on Language Evolution and Semantic Internalism | Episode 14
2023-May-09
52 minutes

A.C. Grayling on Atheism and The Frontiers of Knowledge | Episode 13
2022-Jul-02
66 minutes

William Lane Craig on Christianity and Philosophy of Religion | Episode 12
2022-May-28
53 minutes

Vicky Neale on 'Why Study Mathematics?' and the Twin Prime Conjecture | Episode 11
2021-Jun-08
42 minutes

Peter Koellner on Penrose's New Argument concerning Minds and Machines | Episode 10
2021-Feb-03
47 minutes

Sara L. Uckelman on Medieval Logic, Onomastics and Teaching | Episode 9
2020-Oct-12
48 minutes

Timothy Williamson on Relativism and Vagueness | Episode 8
2020-Jul-29
70 minutes

Thomas Cormen on The CLRS Textbook, P=NP and Computer Algorithms | Episode 7
2020-Jun-24
43 minutes

Scott Aaronson on Computational Complexity, Philosophy & Quantum Computing | Episode 6
2020-Jun-19
85 minutes

Kai von Fintel on Language, Semantics and Possible Worlds | Episode 5
2020-Jun-16
74 minutes

Ed Cooke on Memory Competitions, The Art of Remembering and Attention | Episode 4
2020-May-29
35 minutes

Tim Crane on Minds, Artificial Intelligence and Consciousness | Episode 3
2020-May-16
63 minutes

Simon Blackburn on Philosophy, Truth and Morality | Episode 2
2020-May-16
52 minutes

Joel David Hamkins on Infinity, Gödel's Theorems and Set Theory | Episode 1
2020-May-16
76 minutes