Our friends and the Institute of Art and Ideas have been busy. Here are some talks, debates, and articles that you may find interesting.
TALK: Perception as a fantasy – Donald Hoffman
https://iai.tv/video/perception-as-a-fantasy-donald-hoffman?_auid=2020
Donald Hoffman discusses his cutting-edge research about consciousness and perception, as well as its astonishing implications for the ultimate nature of reality.
DEBATE: Beauty and the meaning of life – Denis Noble, Suchitra Sebastian, George Ellis & Dominic Walliman
https://iai.tv/video/beauty-and-the-meaning-of-life?_auid=2020
For centuries the beauty of the universe was seen as evidence for a divine creator. Now we are more likely to see beauty as an adornment to life, a colourful addition but at root a side-show. But might our rejection of the importance of beauty be a profound mistake?
ARTICLE: Reality beyond materialism and idealism – David R Cerbone
https://iai.tv/articles/reality-beyond-materialism-and-idealism-auid-2759?_auid=2020
Realists and idealists argue about whether physical objects exist, whether they are real or just part of a world of ideas. But can they at root help us solve the most important philosophical questions? In this instalment of our idealism series, in partnership with the Essentia Foundation, David R. Cerbone argues that Wittgenstein can help us return to more substantive questions. Should we be Idealist or Realists in the first place?
ARTICLE: Nabokov and why the moral act is the free act – Dana Dragunoiu
https://iai.tv/articles/nabokov-and-why-the-moral-act-is-the-free-act-auid-2760?_auid=2020
We think the consequences of our actions are key to whether they are morally right or wrong. However, for Kant, acts of sacrifice, duty or courtesy are the most powerful testaments of freedom, because they are in opposition to what is consequentially good. No one understood this better than Vladimir Nabokov. His characters, especially in such infamous works as Lolita, are often labelled as simply morally repulsive. Yet Nabokov’s radical philosophical inquiry, as Dana Dragunoiu suggests, lies within his characters, who show moral excellence by managing to control their corrupt inclination, interests, or passions through Kantian acts of courtesy.
ARTICLE: The Great Right Brain debate – Iain McGilchrist & Scott Barry Kaufman
https://iai.tv/articles/the-great-right-brain-debate-auid-2755?_auid=2020
The idea of the brain being split into right and left hemispheres that do radically different things has entered the popular imagination. Following an article exchange on the IAI, Scott Barry Kaufman and Iain McGilchrist finally meet to investigate the remaining untouched ground in this mind-melding debate.
