The Theory of Anything
Bruce Nielson and Peter Johansen
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Recent Episodes
S1E141 Episode 141: Probability and Reality (with Sam Kuypers)
This week we are joined for the 4th time by physicist Sam Kuypers. From his Conjecture Institute profile: “Quantum physicist, interested in foundational questions. In his research, published in…
S1E140 Episode 140: Immunizing Stratagems
Ad hoc saves and immunizing stratagems are phrases Karl Popper used to describe moves humans make when we try to protect our theories from refutation. We all do this every day in one way or…
S1E139 Episode 139: The Rational Doomers
This week we talk about doomers, specifically AI doomers. Why has it become such a popular notion, especially amongst those who consider themselves the most rational kinds of people, that this kind…
S1E138 Episode 138: "Popperian" vs "Deutschian" Epistemology
Bruce has made a controversial claim on this show: today's "CritRats" (Critical Rationalists on X) have drifted from what Popper intended. And surprisingly, some of the drift traces back to David…
S1E141 Episode 137: Ray Scott Percival on Incurable Mind Viruses
This week we were honored to interview Ray Scott Percival, a significant but also woefully under-appreciated figure in critical rationalism. Percival has been active in critical rationalist forums,…
S1E136 Episode 136: Michael Golding on Mental Illness and Universal Explainers
This week we had the pleasure of interviewing Michael Golding, M.D, who is a psychiatric physician. He is also heavily influenced by the philosophical ideas of David Deutsch and Karl Popper. At one…
S1E135 Episode 135: Coercion and Critical Rationalism
Bruce examines how effectively critical rationalism can ground the non-aggression principle (NAP)—the libertarian idea that, in some formulation, it is morally wrong to initiate violence.But does it…
S1E134 Episode 134: The Deutsch Slot Machine
In this video podcast, Bruce makes his boldest statement yet about probability. He dives into David Deutsch’s lecture “Physics Without Probability”—as well as our Episode 100 interview with…
S1E133 Episode 133: The Constitution of Knowledge
This week Bruce takes a deep dive into the epistemological ideas in Jonathan Rauch’s book The Constitution of Knowledge. Rauch is a fan of Karl Popper and a former guest on this show. He makes the…
S1E132 Episode 132: Roughly Testable Theories (and Ancaps)
This week, Bruce looks at how much critical rationalists do—and do not—subject their proposed best theories to critical testing. Bruce wrestles with how we apply the tools of critical…
S1E131 Episode 131: Knowledge as a Concept
In our shortest episode ever, Bruce continues his exploration of the concept of concepts by looking at "knowledge" as a concept rather than a theory. And of course along the the way he pushes back…
S1E130 Episode 130: The "Pseudo Deutsch Theory of Knowledge"
Bruce looks at what makes sense—and doesn’t—about popular theories on knowledge promoted by CritRats (critical rationalists on X). He looks at how much these theories align, and don’t align, with…
S1E129 Episode 129: Is Probability Real?
A curious Twitter exchange with David Deutsch prompts Bruce to explore what Deutsch and other critical rationalists mean when they assert that randomness doesn’t truly exist.Support us on Patreon
S1E128 Episode 128: Induction’s Immunizing Strategy
In this episode, Bruce explores his extended conversation with philosopher and inductivist Kieren, focusing on Kieren’s claim that Popper’s Critical Rationalism ultimately depends on induction.Bruce…
S1E127 Episode 127: Hofstadter vs Popper on Concepts
Here Bruce starts with Popper’s assertion that theories are 100x more valuable than concepts and compares it to Douglas Hofstadter’s ideas on creativity and consciousness. But if concepts matter so…
S1E126 Episode 126: The Concept of Concepts
What is a concept? What is a theory? And was Karl Popper right when he said theories are “100 times more valuable” than concepts? But where do conjectures come from?We go over Popper's own writing…
S1E125 Episode 125: Our Lovecraftian Universe?
This week we welcome back Micah Redding of the Christian Transhumanist podcast. We had a joyful conversation touching on religion, science fiction, and teleology. We look at the ways science fiction…
S1E124 Episode 124: Popper's Evolutionary Theory of Knowledge
aka "The Popper vs Campbell Beatdown!"At long last! The showdown you've all been waiting for! These two giants of epistemology meet in the ring and fight it out for dominance!Bruce continues his…
Episode 123: Campbell vs Deutsch: Incremental vs Cosmic Significance
Bruce compares Donald Campbell’s evolutionary epistemology and David Deutsch’s ideas on infinite knowledge growth. What is knowledge growth? Is it a rare thing limited to only biological evolution…
S1E122 Episode 122: The Case Against Logical Fallacies
In this shorter episode Bruce takes a deep dive into logical fallacies. How useful are logical fallacies? Does pointing out a logical fallacy help correct errors? Does doing so make us more rational?…
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The Theory of Anything has published 142 episodes since February 2020, covering topics in Philosophy, Society & Culture.
The Theory of Anything is currently highly active with new episodes every 2 weeks. Average episode length is 1h 31m.
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