Rational Realm

In this three-part series of talks, professional counsellor, Caroline Winzenried, takes us on an exploration of the intricate ties between religious teachings and emotion. In this second presentation, Caroline explores how spiritual ideas and practices are sometimes used to avoid or suppress emotions and the damage this can cause. Bio: Caroline Winzenried is a counsellor in Boronia, Victoria, Australia. She works from an existential-humanistic lens with individuals across the lifespan, from adolescent to older adults, on issues including anxiety, depression and interpersonal relationships. Her areas of special interest include working with religious trauma and grief and loss. Credit to https://www.FesliyanStudios.com for the background music.

In this three-part series of talks, professional counsellor, Caroline Winzenried, takes us on an exploration of the intricate ties between religious teachings and emotion. In this first presentation, Caroline examine how religious teachings can shape our emotional understanding by categorising emotions as "good" or "bad" creating implicit rules for how we should listen to, ignore, or even disown them. Bio: Caroline Winzenried is a counsellor in Boronia, Victoria, Australia. She works from an existential-humanistic lens with individuals across the lifespan, from adolescent to older adults, on issues including anxiety, depression and interpersonal relationships. Her areas of special interest include working with religious trauma and grief and loss. Credit to https://www.FesliyanStudios.com for the background music.

Stoicism has played a major role in shaping ethical considerations for over two millennia, profoundly influencing religious doctrines and renowned philosophers. Despite its frequent misinterpretations and critiques, Stoicism's fundamental principles can guide us to leading a purposeful life. At the heart of Stoic philosophy lies the conviction that our well-being and growth stem from living in accordance with nature and honing our logical skills regardless of our circumstances. In this talk, Joseph Bullock walks us through how pursuing virtue can contribute to human fulfillment and highlights some of the key theories that form the foundation of Stoic practices. Credit to https://www.FesliyanStudios.com for the background music.

Progress toward the development of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) has been accelerating in recent times. While much is contested about if and when AGI will be achieved, and even about what it is, its consequences for humanity, should AGI be realised, are profound. Among these consequences are deep questions about intelligence, consciousness, morality, and what it means to be human. In this session, Dr. Tony Carden shares his perspectives on some of the basic premises and history of AGI, progress toward it, and some of the foreseeable risks and benefits it is likely to bring. His address sets the scene for an interactive exploration with participants of the aforementioned philosophical implications of AGI. Credit to https://www.FesliyanStudios.com for the background music.

In this session, Buddhism expert and PhD candidate, Corey Jackson, explores the intersections between Buddhist practice and the science of mental health. What can 2,500 years of striving for Buddhist enlightenment tell us about mental health in the 21st century? Is there a place for science in the path to enlightenment and a place for Buddhist views in the scientific attempt to understand the mind? Corey enlightens us on why Buddhists still get angry, why psychology can't cure anxiety or depression, and how to strive for long term mental health while still reaping short-term rewards. Credit to https://www.FesliyanStudios.com for the background music.

Effective Altruism (EA) is a new movement around the not so new idea of combining evidence and reasons with charity and altruism. It focuses on using our limited time and resources to do as much good as we can. In this episode, Michael Dello-Iacovo introduces some of the key concepts of Effective Altruism and discusses some examples and the underlying philosophy. He also considers some of the common objections to aspects of Effective Altruism. Credit to https://www.FesliyanStudios.com for the background music.

In this series of sessions, professional counsellor, Caroline Winzenried, delves deeper into various aspects of religious trauma. Religion has very clear-cut explanations for our purpose on earth and for what happens when we die. When you leave a religion, you are suddenly unmoored from those meaning-making frameworks and are given the tremendous task of finding these answers for yourself. Many people feel lost and alone in this search for meaning. In this session, Caroline explores the challenges that religious trauma can pose in making sense of the world. Bio: Caroline Winzenried is a counsellor in Boronia, Victoria, Australia. She works from an existential-humanistic lens with individuals across the lifespan, from adolescent to older adults, on issues including anxiety, depression and interpersonal relationships. Her areas of special interest include working with religious trauma and grief and loss. Credit to https://www.FesliyanStudios.com for the background music.

In this series of podcasts, professional counsellor, Caroline Winzenried, delves deeper into various aspects of religious trauma. In this session, she explores the concept of "sin" as it is ever-present in many faiths. The emphasis placed on sin and the dire nature of its consequences can plant a pervasive, nagging or overwhelming fear that often follows people long after leaving a religion. Teachings around sin can also cause people to develop a deep-seated sense of shame around the idea that they are inherently "wrong" or "bad." Caroline discusses the traumatic shame and anxiety that can take root from a focus on sin. Bio: Caroline Winzenried is a counsellor in Boronia, Victoria, Australia. She works from an existential-humanistic lens with individuals across the lifespan, from adolescent to older adults, on issues including anxiety, depression and interpersonal relationships. Her areas of special interest include working with religious trauma and grief and loss. Credit to https://www.FesliyanStudios.com for the background music.

Is artificial superintelligence (ASI) imminent? In this episode, Adam Ford assesses the evidence and ethical importance of artificial intelligence; its opportunities and risks. Drawing on the history of progress in AI and how today it surpasses peak human capability in some domains, he presents forecasts about further progress. Adam also explores the notion of intelligence and what aspects are missing in AI now and how 'understanding' arises in biological intelligence and how it could be realised in AI over the next decade or two. He concludes with takes on ideal AI outcomes and some recommendations for increasing the likelihood of achieving them. Credit to https://www.FesliyanStudios.com for the background music.

Dictionaries often draw a distinction between the modern common meaning of skepticism and its traditional philosophical meaning, which dates from antiquity. The contemporary meaning of 'scientific skepticism' is different again. In this episode, Tim Harding discusses the commonalities and differences between the various meanings. He has a foot in both the scientific and philosophical 'camps'. Credit to https://www.FesliyanStudios.com for the background music.

Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) was an Austrian-British philosopher who taught and worked at Cambridge between 1912 and 1947. He is regarded as one of the leading philosophers of the 20th Century, noted for having adopted two very different philosophical stances in his time. Wittgenstein worked primarily in logic and the philosophy of language with an especial focus on language and the world, and secondarily in the philosophy of mind, the philosophy of mathematics and the philosophy of religion. In this podcast, Mark Newbrook presents a linguist's 'take' on his career and consider questions about language, thought and reality from Wittgenstein's two phases, referred to as W1 and W2. W1 was concerned with the logical relationships between propositions and the world; W2 held that the meaning of words is best understood as their use within a given 'language-game'. Can we really grasp the nature of reality in some kind of objective way as W1 claimed? Or do our linguistic structures determine thought, including our view of the structure of 'reality' and thus we cannot grasp the nature of reality in an objective way as W2 argued? Credit to https://www.FesliyanStudios.com for the background music.

Akiva Quinn presents the case for moral progress and the advance of social justice. He offers reflections on historical and contemporary issues from Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement, through Apartheid South Africa and Black Lives Matter, Post-Colonialism, LGBTQI+ and First Nations recognition to ongoing conflict, gender, racial and social inequality. Akiva also draws on examples, films and texts such as Selma (2014), Kenan Malik's "The Quest for a Moral Compass", Michael Shermer's "The Moral Arc", Steven Pinker's "Enlightenment Now" and Malcolm Gladwell's "Talking to Strangers". Credit to https://www.FesliyanStudios.com for the background music.

In this second of a two part session, Usha Sista explores an iconic movie trilogy of our generation, The Matrix. The Matrix juxtaposes and synthesises storytelling, philosophy and cognitive science through the cinematic medium. Usha examines some of the philosophical underpinnings of the trilogy. In this second session, she looks at The Matrix through the lens of contemporary cognitive science and philosophy of mind, such as the brain in the vat argument and simulated reality, free will and freedom. Credit to https://www.FesliyanStudios.com for the background music.

In this first of a two part session, Usha Sista explores an iconic movie trilogy of our generation, The Matrix. The Matrix juxtaposes and synthesises storytelling, philosophy and cognitive science through the cinematic medium. Usha examines some of the philosophical underpinnings of the trilogy. In this first session, she looks at The Matrix through the lens of classical philosophers such as Descartes, Plato, Socrates and others. Credit to https://www.FesliyanStudios.com for the background music.

In this episode, Leslie Allan begins by sharing how his early experiences shape his humanist outlook today. He then outlines what he considers to be the three core principles underlying the humanist world view: reason and evidence, compassion and equality, and autonomy and dignity. Leslie illustrates the application of these principles with historical and contemporary examples. He then draws upon each of these principles to tease out what it means to live a good life; a life of meaning and purpose. Credit to https://www.FesliyanStudios.com for the background music.

In this episode, Usha Sista explores what neuroscience tells us about ethics—what goes on in the human brain when presented with ethical dilemmas such as the famous trolley problem and how that informs our understanding of ourselves. Credit to https://www.FesliyanStudios.com for the background music.

In this episode, Leslie Allan and Akiva Quinn engage in dialogue in an exploration of the nature and grounding of human rights. Do they exist? If so, what justifies them? How can we best understand the nature and extent of human rights? Is the moral theory of utilitarianism an adequate underpinning of human rights, or are rights justified by ascriptions of human dignity or autonomy? Or something else? Credit to https://www.FesliyanStudios.com for the background music.

In this episode, Martin Coleman and Akiva Quinn debate the extent to which the law ought to limit free speech and free expression in order to prevent significant harms. Martin Coleman puts the case for free speech and free expression that forms the basis for an informed populace. Martin turns to such great writers as Voltaire, Christopher Hitchens, Thomas Paine and Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. in defence of the claim that no matter how great or abhorrent an idea is, the ability to share and discuss it is the pinnacle of modern democracy. Alternately, Akiva Quinn argues for restrictions on speech and expression that incite violence and is likely to lead to significant harms. In such cases, he argues, the clear and present dangers from this expression means that such 'free speech' does not warrant protection under the law as the harms to individuals or groups outweighs any benefit from unlimited freedom to express sentiments without regard for the predictable consequences. Credit to https://www.FesliyanStudios.com for the background music.

In this episode, Leslie Allan explores whether human beings can really have free will in a universe in which every thought and action is governed by universal physical laws of nature. The view that human beings do not exercise free will appears for many to be a consequence of a modern, scientific view of the universe and humankind's place in it. It is a view that is popular among humanists, atheists and other freethinkers. Leslie Allan endeavours to show how this myth is based on some fundamental errors of reasoning and an insufficient attention to how 'free will' language is used by ordinary folk. He garners ordinary usage and modern medical and legal practice to develop his '4C theory' of the requirements for acting freely in a world exclusively governed by physical, chemical and biological forces. Credit to https://www.FesliyanStudios.com for the background music.

In this series of podcasts, we explore what it's like to think and walk in someone else's shoes. You've given up on your mission of pleasing the divine being/s and saving others. So, what do you believe now, how do you live and what do you care about? There is a smorgasbord of world views and stances to choose from. In this session, we met with Karyn Robinson, who describes herself as a Pantheist. Our guest gives her Pantheist perspective on life with participants asking her a variety of questions. Karyn is a New Zealander who studied at University of Waikato and University of NSW. She has a degree in teaching, a Masters in Environmental Management and a Graduate Certificate in Developmental Trauma. Karyn now lives in Wollongong, NSW. She is a Senior Advisor with Australian Childhood Foundation providing consultation and training in developmental (childhood) trauma due to neglect/abuse/domestic violence. Karyn has been a self-confessed tree hugger and greenie all her life!. Credit to https://www.FesliyanStudios.com for the background music.