Living on Earth: Forests, Corals, Consciousness, and the Making of the World with Peter Godfrey-Smith

Living on Earth: Forests, Corals, Consciousness, and the Making of the World with Peter Godfrey-Smith

Author: Indre Viskontas September 12, 2024 Duration: 48:45
In this episode of Inquiring Minds, Indre Viskontas sits down with Peter Godfrey-Smith, Professor of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Sydney and author of Living on Earth: Forests, Corals, Consciousness, and the Making of the World. Peter takes us on an enthralling journey through the evolution of culture and its impact on consciousness and society. Together they explore the crucial role culture plays in human development, especially how children absorb behaviors from their communities, the intriguing culture-like behaviors of non-human animals such as bowerbirds creating elaborate displays, and how various species, especially human behavior, shape their environments. Join us for a thought-provoking conversation about how living beings influence the Earth's evolutionary history and how our evolutionary standing as humans should not dictate specific choices for the future.

Hosted by neuroscientist and communicator Indre Viskontas, Inquiring Minds digs into the questions that shape our lives, where hard data meets human experience. This isn't just about lab results or abstract theories; it's about how scientific thinking directly influences our culture, our social structures, and the daily choices we all face. Every episode is a deep, thoughtful conversation that starts with curiosity and follows the evidence wherever it leads. You'll hear from researchers, thinkers, and sometimes skeptics, all in service of untangling complex issues with clarity and nuance. The goal is to move beyond headlines and hype to examine what we really know, what remains a mystery, and how that knowledge empowers us. Tuning into this podcast means joining a community that values rigor and open-minded inquiry, recognizing that understanding the mechanisms of our world is the first step toward navigating it more thoughtfully. It's for anyone who has ever wondered how science actually informs policy, art, relationships, and our sense of self, presented not as a lecture but as an engaging, ongoing exploration.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

Inquiring Minds
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