#53 Philosopher of Mind: Consciousness, Out-Of-Body Experiences & The Illusion of Self! Thomas Metzinger

Thomas Metzinger is a professor of theoretical philosophy, consciousness researcher, and author of The Ego Tunnel, Being No One and The Elephant and the Blind — some of the most radical books on the nature of the self and reality ever written.

Download a FREE copy of The Elephant And The Blind HERE: https://thomasmetzinger.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/

Metzinger_MIT_Press_2024-1.pdf

He’s spent decades exploring the hardest questions in neuroscience and philosophy: What is consciousness? Is the self an illusion? Could AI ever suffer? And what happens when our models of reality — including ourselves — break down?

Expect to learn why your “self” is just a transparent model your brain mistakes for reality, how out-of-body experiences (and virtual reality) reveal the fragility of personal identity, why conscious AI might be the greatest ethical threat of the next century, how meditation and psychedelics dissolve the illusion of “I”, why freedom of mind is under attack from attention-hacking technology, what it means to have a contentless conscious experience, why Metzinger believes we should ban synthetic consciousness — and what happens when you try to visit your girlfriend 85 kilometers away… without your body.

Timestamps:

00:02:50 Transformative Experiences and Their Impact

00:05:38 Exploring Out-of-Body Experiences

00:08:57 The Nature of the Self

00:11:43 Phenomenology of Consciousness

00:14:38 The Role of Mental Imagery

00:17:35 Ketamine and Consciousness

00:20:30 Therapeutic Aspects of Out-of-Body Experiences

00:23:24 Understanding the Self and Consciousness

00:26:38 The Complexity of Selfhood

00:29:27 Phenomenal Representations and Their Transparency

00:32:21 Cognitive Agency and Mathematical Operations

00:45:46 Mathematics and Psychoactive Substances

00:49:15 Exploring Inner Experience and Phenomenology

00:52:05 Suffering and Experience Sampling

00:58:25 The Eternal Playlist Thought Experiment

01:03:21 Reflections on Past Generations and Happiness

01:10:32 The Impact of Social Media on Connection

01:17:56 AI Companionship and Future Relationships

01:18:48 Cognitive Offloading and AI's Impact on Development

01:20:10 Teaching AI Philosophy: A Historical Perspective

01:21:34 The Influence of Industry on AI Regulation

01:22:57 The Attention Economy and Emerging Intimacy

01:23:28 Philosophical Discoveries Through AI Interactions

01:25:18 Social Hallucinations and AI's Role in Perception

01:28:55 Virtual Reality and the Blurring of Reality

01:31:08 The Future of Social Media and AI Avatars

01:33:34 Global Regulation Challenges in AI Development

01:35:55 The Risks of AI and Human Manipulation

01:39:15 The Uncertain Future of Humanity and AI

01:41:15 Finding Meaning in a Declining World

...

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