Exploring questions of cosmology and consciousness with Eric Schwitzgebel
Air Dates: April 28-May 4, 2025
When philosophers grapple with the nature of human consciousness or the cosmos, they are asking fundamental questions about human existence and the very nature of the universe. Eric Schwitzgebel paints a stunning portrait of the weirdness of our reality and some of the bizarre implications that follow.
Schwitzgebel teaches philosophy at the University of California, Riverside. His research interests include connections between empirical psychology, philosophy of mind, and the nature of belief and Classical Chinese philosophy. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, under the supervision of Elisabeth A. Lloyd, Alison Gopnik, and John Searle. He has run the online blog, 鈥淭he Splintered Mind鈥 since 2006.
On this episode of 鈥Story in the Public Square,鈥 Schwitzgebel discusses his provocative new book, 鈥淭he Weirdness of the World.鈥 With a mother who was a scientist and statistician, he recalls growing up in a household that celebrated 鈥渟cience, philosophy and strangeness.鈥 His new book dives into fundamental questions in cosmology, including how big the universe is, what it鈥檚 made from and how human consciousness fits into the cosmos.鈥 Schwitzgebel argues the tools of ordinary science and common sense leave us 鈥渦nable to determine where the truth lies among various bizarre possibilities, adding, 鈥渢he one thing we know for sure is that our commonsense view of the world can鈥檛 be right.鈥
鈥淪tory in the Public Square鈥 broadcasts each week on public television stations across the United States. In Rhode Island and southeastern New England, the show is broadcast on Rhode Island PBS on Sundays at 11:00 a.m. and is rebroadcast Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. Check your local public television listings for air times near you! An audio version of the program airs Saturdays at 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. ET, Sundays at 2:30 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. and Mondays at 4:30 a.m. ET on SiriusXM鈥檚 popular P.O.T.U.S. (Politics of the United States), channel 124. 鈥淪tory in the Public Square鈥 is a project of the Pell Center at 黑料网. The initiative aims to study, celebrate and tell stories that matter.