October 11, 2018 5:15 pm

Friday, Neil deGrasse Tyson and Sam Harris Explore Free Will, Psychedelics, and More

As you start to read this blog, ask yourself, do you have a choice to continue? Do you have a choice to stop? Or, are either of those choices already pre-determined by a force out of your control? (Please keep reading).

On this week’s episode of StarTalk Radio, we explore the philosophical and biological mysteries of the human brain. Neil deGrasse Tyson is joined neuroscientist, philosopher, and author Sam Harris, comic co-host Godfrey, neurotheologist Andrew Newberg, and author Robert Wright to investigate the unknown and known areas of neuroscience and our understanding of the mind.

We start by debating the idea that free will is an illusion. As you’ll hear, it depends on your definition of free will and how we factor in everything that’s happening around us when we make a decision. You’ll learn more about the ethical impact of free will. We also debunk the “you only use 10% of your brain” creed and discover more about its original origins.

Next, we dive into the science of morality as we look at religion and its attempt to guide us between right and wrong. Find out why science and religion should work in unison. You’ll also learn why religion is still around even though the number of atheists in the world is rising. Sam discusses meditation and enlightenment, and Robert explains why Buddhism is “true.” Also, Neil invents his own meditation that ends in all of our deaths at the hands of the Sun.

We also explore psychedelic experiences as we look at the use of drugs to understand the world around us. We also compare the effects of taking psychedelic drugs and doing deep meditation to see if there are any similarities in experience. All that, plus, we try and uncover the mysteries of consciousness and solve the moral dilemma of creating conscious artificial intelligence.

Please join us tomorrow night for The Illusion of Free Will, with Sam Harris at 7pm ET right here on our website, as well as on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and TuneIn. If you’re an All-Access subscriber, you can listen to this episode ad-free at 7pm, too.

That’s it for now. Keep Looking Up!
–Ian Mullen