For most scientists, the mind is little more than a machine. With the rise of AI, some now claim that computers may themselves become conscious. For acclaimed neuroscientist, psychiatrist, and philosopher Iain McGilchrist, this is a profound mistake. The attempt to explain the mind in purely mechanistic terms reflects the flawed assumptions of materialism and reductionism – both symptoms of a civilisation dangerously dominated by left-hemisphere thinking. To understand mind and matter, he argues, we need to restore the right hemisphere to its rightful primacy and move beyond materialism.

Iain McGilchrist is a distinguished British neuroscientist, psychiatrist and philosopher. A former Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, Iain McGilchrist also worked as a consulting psychiatrist, and is known for his influential work on the relationship between the structure of our brains, human cultures and our understanding of the world.

Oliver Adelson is Philosophy Desk Lead at the Institute of Art and Ideas. He is also Head of Speaker Booking for the IAI's HowTheLightGetsIn Festival.

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Is anxiety something to be embraced, rather than fixed? Why are more and more of us feeling the 'soul's itch'? How we can start living more meaningfully?

Anxiety is often understood as a problem to fix. But Sarah Wilson argues that it can be a vital signal - a "soul's itch" calling us to deeper attunement with our moral purpose. In this talk, Sarah describes how technological acceleration, neoliberal society and disconnection from nature can cause us to miss these signs, and how we can live more defiantly and meaningfully.

Sarah Wilson is multi-New York Times bestselling author, social philosopher and philanthropist. She edited Cosmopolitan Australia at 29 and founded the global I Quit Sugar movement.

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Is beauty a reliable indicator of scientific truth? Or is it merely a distraction?

Some of the best scientists throughout history have equated beauty with truth. But is this a mistake? Join pioneering physicist Lisa Randall to discuss the allure and dangers of equating beautiful advances with scientific achievement. Specifically, the talk will cover the subjective nature of beauty, and instances where beauty succeeded and where it failed, bringing in notions of symmetry and symmetry breaking.

One of the most daring theoretical physicists alive today, Lisa Randall is the Frank B. Baird, Jr. Professor of Science at Harvard University. Randall's books Warped Passages and Knocking on Heaven's Door have both been on the New York Times 100 notable books lists

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Is this the end of liberalism, or just another temporary crisis? If it is the end, what will follow it? And where did it all go wrong?

Since the end of WWII, the Western world has been governed by liberal principles. But as faith in liberalism fades, many are asking: what deeper vision should guide our societies going forward? Join Blue Labour founder Maurice Glasman and author of Tyranny Inc., Sohrab Ahmari, as they diagnose the roots of the current crisis and explore possibilities for what lies beyond the faltering liberal world order. Both Glasman and Ahmari's diverging visions call for ideas and morality to lead politics, not the other way around.  

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What does originality mean in the age of AI? Why should artists resist the temptation to fear AI? What role will human creativity play in the future we're building?

Jaron Lanier, a visionary computer scientist, artist, composer, futurist, and writer, discusses his latest artistic ventures and the importance of originality in art. Lanier shares insights into how technology intersects with creativity, the challenges of maintaining authenticity in a digital age, and the evolving role of the artist in shaping the future. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from one of the most forward-thinking minds of our time as he reflects on the future of art and innovation.

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What makes you 'you'? If scientists made a digital replica of your mind, would this new 'you' be conscious? And what does this all mean for what it means to exist?

Whole-brain emulation (often called “mind uploading” in science fiction) refers to the possible future ability to scan a human brain in such detail that a digital replica could be created, capable of functioning, and perhaps even experiencing the world, like the original. While we are far away from this now (the current record is a fruit fly) an increasing number of neuroscientists and entrepreneurs are betting that we may be closer than most think. What is happening in the world of computational neuroscience, and will the world be ready for it?

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Is materialism mistaken in its understanding of consciousness? How can dividing experience into the phenomenal and the transcendent provide a new angle from which to view consciousness? Have you ever wondered what philosophical jazz sounds like?

The world's greatest minds have struggled over the question of consciousness for centuries. Idealism, the idea that reality is the product of the mind, was a popular idea in the 19th century. But over the last hundred years, materialism became the dominant metaphysics. With faith in materialism starting to wane, philosopher James Tartaglia breaks down the consciousness misconceptions and discusses why he believes that idealism is making a comeback. 

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Is this the end of Britain's two-party system? How has Reform brought together seemingly contradictory left- and right-wing ideas? Why do they think that we should get used to climate change instead of trying to fix it?

The world has seemingly grown tired of liberal ideas, and the populist right is in the ascendant. They are winning elections, leading polls, and gaining political influence everywhere from the US to Italy, Argentina, France, Germany, and the UK. Join the next most powerful man in Reform UK after Nigel Farage, Deputy Leader Richard Tice, as he argues that the renewal of right-wing thinking and common-sense ideas will continue to reshape and transform global politics for the next century.  

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Does philosophy still matter in today's world? If so, why are students less and less interested in studying in it?

In a special episode from the IAI archives, Mary Midgley addresses the declining interest in philosophy among young people. Instead of an outdated discipline for old people with too much time on their hands, Midgley argues that philosophy is more important than ever if we wish to understand the world around us, beyond the narrow spheres of the traditional sciences.

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Why has gender identity become such a controversial talking point in modern politics?

Judith Butler, pioneering gender theorist whose changed the way we think about gender and sexuality, explores the topic of their most recent book, Who's Afraid of Gender? (March 2024). Butler offers a compelling and powerful diagnosis of the anxieties and fears that make up today's wars over gender. In this talk, Butler will explore how, despite 'gender' being the most fraught issue of our times, there is still cause for hope. This timely and timeless intervention continues to imagine new possibilities for freedom and solidarity. 

Judith Butler is Distinguished Professor in the Graduate School and formerly the Maxine Elliot Chair in the Department of Comparative Literature and the Program of Critical Theory at the University of California, Berkeley. They are most well-known for their ground-breaking book Gender Trouble (1990) and their theory of performativity.

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Nadine Dijkstra is a Principal Investigator at the Institute of Neurology at UCL. Her research in Imaging Neuroscience explores how the brain generates mental images and differentiates them from actual perception. Utilizing neuroimaging, psychophysics, machine learning, and computational modeling, Dijkstra addresses fundamental questions about the overlap between perception and imagery.

Recently, Dijkstra has been leading the Imagine Reality Lab at UCL's Department of Imaging Neuroscience, focusing on the intersection of imagination and reality. Dijkstra's 2023 paper in Nature Communications showed the brain evaluates images against a 'reality threshold' to distinguish between images and perception. Her work also investigates how changes in these neural processes could impact mental health.

Check out our new series, Ideas for Our Time: https://youtu.be/nYS4FylZJ2Q

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