213 - Slavoj Žižek: God, Marxism, Philosophy, and Quantum Mechanics

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Slavoj Žižek is international director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities at the University of London, visiting professor at New York University, and a senior researcher at the University of Ljubljana’s Department of Philosophy. This is Slavoj’s fourth appearance on the show. On episode 109, he and Robinson discussed wokeness and psychoanalysis. On episode 118, he, Sean Carroll, and Robinson discussed quantum physics, the multiverse, and time travel. And on episode 206 he, Lee Smolin, and Robinson discussed quantum physics. In this episode, Robinson and Slavoj talk about ancient philosophy, god, communism, quantum mechanics, and psychoanalysis.

OUTLINE

00:00 Introduction

02:47 Why Is Philosophy More important Now Than Ever?

11:08 On Socrates and the Importance of Philosophy

19:12 On Excrement, God, and Atheism

27:50 A Communist Paradise

34:18 Ukraine and Marxism

39:24 Philosophy and Quantum Mechanics

47:56 Is Lying the Point of Language?

55:49 Cursing as a Test for Artificial Intelligence

58:25 On Philosophers and Physicists

1:01:50 On Superpositions and Quantum Mechanics

1:09:28 On Analytic and Continental Philosophy 

Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com

Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, and everyone in-between.