James Robert Brown: Thought Experiments Reveal Mathematical Reality
2 tim 45 min•27 september 2020
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James Robert Brown (University of Toronto) on mathematical Platonism, the Continuum Hypothesis, moral realism, and free will.
0:00 Introduction
1:17 Math and ethics
3:05 Thick and thin mathematical concepts
16:33 The continuum hypothesis
19:23 Counter proof to CH
24:45 Probability zero (measure zero)
33:50 Platonism and "thick" concepts
34:39 Moral realism without God
36:59 Does 2+2=5?
40:43 Moral intuitions as correctness markers
46:42 What makes a theory correct beyond predict/explain?
47:54 Libertarian Free Will and physics
53:13 VIEWER TEST: Platonism
54:53 Did Shakespeare invent or discover Hamlet?
56:09 What created the Platonic world?
57:42 Eternal vs Sempiternal
59:12 Thought experiments as probes of physics
1:00:39 Galileo's falling-objects thought experiment
1:03:39 Relative motion thought experiment
1:05:01 The Tower thought experiment
1:09:43 VIEWER TEST: Newtonian absolutist or Leibnizian relationalist?
1:12:45 Why Brown chose philosophy of math
1:13:20 Have philosophical problems been solved?
1:14:47 Is God good, or is goodness independent of God?
1:15:41 Descartes vs Leibniz on God's power
1:18:43 Parochialism of physicists/mathematicians
1:22:31 Newton on the necessity of space
1:24:45 Einstein's variation
1:31:35 Brown on Wolfram and Weinstein TOEs
1:32:40 Gisin on real numbers and free will
1:33:02 Non-classical foundations of physics
1:39:05 Mathematical Realism without Platonism
1:45:31 Physical laws as abstract causal entities
1:55:55 Smolin's Principle of Precedence
1:59:01 Deriving "ought" from "is"
2:03:29 Brown on Sam Harris
2:06:45 Math: discovered or invented?
2:10:18 Does Platonism entail God?
2:14:49 Theism vs Deism
2:16:34 The Sokal Affair and Postmodernism
2:22:01 Limits of free speech
2:27:41 Commercializing research
2:33:09 Peterson's "Darwinian" truth
SPONSORS:
- Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal
- PayPal: https://bit.ly/2EOR0M4
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt
- iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/better-left-unsaid-with-curt-jaimungal/id1521758802
- Pandora: https://pdora.co/33b9lfP
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e
- Google Podcasts: https://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/ps/Id3k7k7mfzahfx2fjqmw3vufb44
RESOURCES:
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NV7BQZy1A6o
- http://betterleftunsaidfilm.com
0:00 Introduction
1:17 Math and ethics
3:05 Thick and thin mathematical concepts
16:33 The continuum hypothesis
19:23 Counter proof to CH
24:45 Probability zero (measure zero)
33:50 Platonism and "thick" concepts
34:39 Moral realism without God
36:59 Does 2+2=5?
40:43 Moral intuitions as correctness markers
46:42 What makes a theory correct beyond predict/explain?
47:54 Libertarian Free Will and physics
53:13 VIEWER TEST: Platonism
54:53 Did Shakespeare invent or discover Hamlet?
56:09 What created the Platonic world?
57:42 Eternal vs Sempiternal
59:12 Thought experiments as probes of physics
1:00:39 Galileo's falling-objects thought experiment
1:03:39 Relative motion thought experiment
1:05:01 The Tower thought experiment
1:09:43 VIEWER TEST: Newtonian absolutist or Leibnizian relationalist?
1:12:45 Why Brown chose philosophy of math
1:13:20 Have philosophical problems been solved?
1:14:47 Is God good, or is goodness independent of God?
1:15:41 Descartes vs Leibniz on God's power
1:18:43 Parochialism of physicists/mathematicians
1:22:31 Newton on the necessity of space
1:24:45 Einstein's variation
1:31:35 Brown on Wolfram and Weinstein TOEs
1:32:40 Gisin on real numbers and free will
1:33:02 Non-classical foundations of physics
1:39:05 Mathematical Realism without Platonism
1:45:31 Physical laws as abstract causal entities
1:55:55 Smolin's Principle of Precedence
1:59:01 Deriving "ought" from "is"
2:03:29 Brown on Sam Harris
2:06:45 Math: discovered or invented?
2:10:18 Does Platonism entail God?
2:14:49 Theism vs Deism
2:16:34 The Sokal Affair and Postmodernism
2:22:01 Limits of free speech
2:27:41 Commercializing research
2:33:09 Peterson's "Darwinian" truth
SPONSORS:
- Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal
- PayPal: https://bit.ly/2EOR0M4
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt
- iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/better-left-unsaid-with-curt-jaimungal/id1521758802
- Pandora: https://pdora.co/33b9lfP
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e
- Google Podcasts: https://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/ps/Id3k7k7mfzahfx2fjqmw3vufb44
RESOURCES:
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NV7BQZy1A6o
- http://betterleftunsaidfilm.com
Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal features long-form, technically detailed interviews with leading researchers in physics, mathematics, consciousness, and philosophy, exploring topics at the level of active research. For academics, graduate students, and anyone seeking depth beyond popular science.
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