May 13, 2020
In this episode, Wendy speaks with cognitive scientist Anil Seth about his work on consciousness and the mind. They discuss:
- the idea of the brain as a prediction machine,
- how perception is a kind of “controlled” hallucination,
- the self as a construction, and implications for psychiatric disorders,
- connections between this view of the mind and Buddhist ideas,
- how these views might inform our subjective experience,
- the important role of the body in perception,
- the connection between life and mind (and his views on panpsychism),
- emotions as prediction and interoception,
- the question of free will,
- communicating science to a public audience, and other topics.
