The Gray Area with Sean Illing
Society & Culture:Philosophy
Sean Illing talks with neuroscientist Gregory Berns, author of The Self Delusion. Berns claims that the idea of a unified, persistent self is a kind of illusion, and that we are better understood as multiple selves at different moments in time, tied together by a story — which is what we call our identity. Sean and Greg also talk about whether the brain is a computer, how perception works, the limits of thinking too much about thinking, and what psychedelics can do to disrupt and change the stories we tell about ourselves.
Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area
Guest: Gregory Berns (@gberns), author; professor of psychology and distinguished professor of neuroeconomics, Emory University
References:
Enjoyed this episode? Rate The Gray Area ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts.
Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear the next episode of The Gray Area. Subscribe in your favorite podcast app.
Support Vox Conversations by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
This episode was made by:
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
UFOs, God, and the edge of understanding
How to listen
Everything's a cult now
Fareed Zakaria on our revolutionary moment
Life is hard. Can philosophy help?
The American dream is a pyramid scheme
The chaplain who doesn't believe in God
Can a friend be our most significant other?
The power of climate fiction
The denial of death
A brief history of extinction panics
The new(ish) world order
The free-market century is over
Music and mysticism
The case for banning...millionaires?
The joy of uncertainty
A pro-worker work ethic
How psychedelics can reinvent learning
Seeing ourselves through the darkness
Living Mindfully
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Modern West
Today, Explained
Re/Code Decode
The Vergecast
The Weeds
Shutdown Fullcast