Language is ambiguous. If you want to communicate effectively, you must understand that different people have different meanings for the same words. 

Far too many rationalists waste their time arguing for objective definitions, instead of stating their intended meaning for words.

Can the whole be greater than the sum of its parts? Does consciousness require that we split the world between mind and body? Can free will exist in a naturalistic worldview?

Dr. David Kelley joins me on this episode to give his Objectivist perspective on these questions. As Dr. Kelley explains, many ideas in Objectivism are heavily influenced by Aristotelian thinking.

Many thinkers are more concern with how their ideas look, rather than how accurate they are. They want to appear intelligent, rather than have true beliefs. I call them the "fashionable thinkers," and this is my rant against them.

I've noticed many common traits among fashionable thinkers. Have you?

Do we see reality as it is? Or, are we stuck inside our own mental representations of the world?

My guest this week is Dr. Donald Hoffman, who believes that there's a 0% chance that we accurately perceive the world. He believes that mental phenomena - consciousness, experience, qualia - is the real stuff that makes up the world, not physical objects.

It's tempting to dismiss anybody who claims they've been abducted by aliens or seen Bigfoot in the forest. However, simple dismissal might not be the most rational response.

Extreme cases can actually help us understand the relationship between the mind and the world? What exactly do these people see/experience, and how can we know?

Part four of my conversation about race with TK Coleman. In this episode, we talk about the intersection of race, politics, and economics in America.

It's impossible to understand how the world works without understanding economics, and once you grasp the fundamentals, economics will change your worldview - especially your political theory.

TK understands economics and has a political solution that everybody should be able to agree on. We don't have to argue about the extent of racism anymore; we can agree on a solution, regardless of the severity of the problem.

Is the world composed of one thing or many things?

Some thinkers believe that the universe is one object that our minds chop up into many pieces.

I believe that the universe is many objects that our minds unify into one whole.

It might seem abstract, but regardless of your conclusion, it's got big implications.

Is it racist to notice cultural differences among groups? Can we make judgments about those differences?

Without a doubt, race is one of the most taboo subjects to talk about in America.

To help me grapple with these sticky questions, I'm talking with T.K. Coleman. We spoke in episodes 40 and 41 about race relations, and we continue the conversation today.