Rupert gave a talk entitled The Science Delusion at TEDx Whitechapel, Jan 12, 2013. The theme for the night was Visions for Transition: Challenging existing paradigms and redefining values (for a more beautiful world). In response to protests from two materialists in the US, the talk was taken out of circulation by TED, relegated to a corner of their website and stamped with a warning label.
Tag: lectures
Plant Communication with Pam Montgomery
Plants and trees give us our very life. Without them, we wouldn’t have our breath, tissue, food, cognitive abilities of “higher mind,” emotional stability, and spiritual guidance.
Because of our close symbiotic relationship, we share a common ground with the plants that surround us. Our life-giving connection with the green beings is inherent in our humanness and our birthright is to be intimately related.
Communicating effectively is one of the foundations in a relationship that builds to a co-creative partnership. We all know how to communicate with plants… this innate knowledge lives within us, but has been forgotten due to the chaotic nature of our day to day lives.
Animal emotions and empathy with Frans de Waal
Do animals show empathy? Are there any signs of morality in animal societies? Can a monkey distinguish right from wrong? And what are the standards of what is right and what is not? Does morality evolve in time both for human societies and animal societies?
It is hard to imagine that empathy—a characteristic so basic to the human species that it emerges early in life, and is accompanied by strong physiological reactions—came into existence only when our lineage split off from that of the apes. It must be far older than that. Examples of empathy in other animals would suggest a long evolutionary history to this capacity in humans. Over the last several decades, we’ve seen increasing evidence of empathy in other species. Emotions suffuse much of the language employed by students of animal behavior — from “social bonding” to “alarm calls” — yet are often avoided as explicit topic in scientific discourse. Given the increasing interest of human psychology in the emotions, and the neuroscience on animal emotions such as fear and attachment, the taboo that has hampered animal research in this area is outdated. The main point is to separate emotions from feelings, which are subjective experiences that accompany the emotions. Whereas science has no access to animal feelings, animal emotions are as observable and measurable as human emotions. They are mental and bodily states that potentiate behavior appropriate to both social and nonsocial situations. The expression of emotions in face and body language is well known, the study of which began with Darwin. Frans de Waal will discuss early ideas about animal emotions and draw upon research on empathy and the perception of emotions in primates to make the point that the study of animal emotions is a necessary complement to the study of behavior. Emotions are best viewed as the organizers of adaptive responses to environmental stimuli. If you like this kind of stuff you should read: Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?
Two robots debate the future of humanity
Hanson Robotics Limited’s Ben Goertzel, Sophia and Han at RISE 2017. Now for something that’s never been done onstage before. While they may not be human, our next guests are ready to discuss the future of humanity, and how they see their types flourish over the coming years.
Welcome to the The Wandering, Winding Way of the Wound: Bayo Akomolafe
The Wandering, Winding Way of the Wound or the Politics of Cure, the Shadows of Harm Reduction, and Transgressive Networks of Care at World End was a webinar hosted by Bayo Akomolafe at SAND in 2022.
Probing Process & Reality – “Why Whitehead?”
“Probing Process & Reality” is a six-week course, John B. Cobb, Jr. and Tripp Fuller provide an introduction to Alfred North Whitehead’s masterpiece. In this introduction to the course, Dr. Cobb responds to the question of why Whitehead’s work worth exploring today.
Roman Krznaric | The Good Ancestor: A Radical Prescription for Long-Term Thinking | Talks at Google
Philosopher Roman Krznaric discusses his most recent book “The Good Ancestor: A Radical Prescription for Long-Term Thinking”. Krznaric explores six ways we can expand our time horizons to confront the long-term challenges of our age— from the threats of climate change to the lack of planning for a global pandemic. Do we have what it takes to become the good ancestors that future generations deserve?
Roman Krznaric writes about the power of ideas to change society. Named by The Observer as one of Britain’s leading philosophers, his writings are widely popular amongst political and ecological campaigners, education reformers, social entrepreneurs and designers. His books, including Empathy, The Wonderbox and Carpe Diem Regained, have been published in more than 20 languages. His new book, “The Good Ancestor: A Radical Prescription for Long-Term Thinking”, was published in July 2020, and has been described by U2’s The Edge as ‘the book our children’s children will thank us for reading’.
Meditation and Going Beyond Mindfulness – A Secular Perspective
This public talk from 19 April 2018 was held at the London School of Economics Old Theatre in London, England, UK.
Joy of Living Meditation Program: Learn meditation under the skillful guidance of Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche at your own pace. https://joy.tergar.org/
Vajrayana Online: Study and practice of the Tibetan Buddhism with Mingyur Rinpoche. https://learning.tergar.org/
Peter Diamandis -The Future Is Faster Than You Think
Emerging technologies have unprecedented potential to solve some of the world’s most pressing issues. Among the most powerful — and controversial — is the gene-editing tech, CRISPR-Cas9, which will improve agricultural yields, cure genetic disorders, and eradicate infectious diseases like malaria. But CRISPR and other disruptive technologies, like brain-machine interfaces and artificial intelligence, also pose complex philosophical and ethical questions. Perhaps no one is better acquainted with these questions than Peter Diamandis, founder of the XPRIZE Foundation and co-founder of Singularity University and Human Longevity Inc. In this session, Peter will give a state of the union on the near future and explore the profound ethical implications we will face in the ongoing technological revolution.