David Deutsch: The Era of Man, Popper, and Western Civilization

David Deutsch: The Era of Man, Popper, and Western Civilization

November 11, 2024 · 1h 29m

About this episode

Arjun Khemani interviews David Deutsch about human history, civilization, and the challenges facing Western civilization.

I had the pleasure of sitting down with David Deutsch in his lovely garden in Oxford a few months ago. Here’s our conversation. Topics we discuss are well captured by the timestamps below. Watch on YouTube or X . Listen on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or any other podcast platform. Follow me on X for updates on future episodes. Click here to support my work. Timestamps 1:01 - A tragic view of human history 7:04 - Why did it take so long for civilization to arise? 13:31 - Fallibilism 21:32 - Cultural relativism denies improvement 24:03 - Richard Dawkins and indigenous ways of knowing 26:49 - Chemical scum that dream of distant quasars 31:38 - The era of man 37:55 - People are unlike any other force of nature 42:51 - The dangers of regulating AI 48:09 - Are we running out of resources? 54:21 - Everything in existing educational theory is wrong 1:11:30 - When David met Richard Feynman 1:17:33 - Everyone is a Popperian 1:20:16 - Only progress is sustainable 1:26:00 - The biggest threat to Western civilization Follow me on X . Follow David on X . This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.arjunkhemani.com

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Host: Arjun Khemani

Guest: David Deutsch

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