The boys drink and review a peanut butter porter, then wonder about the nature of the mind and the self.
We like to imagine that our minds are simple and unified — that we think, decide, and evaluate the world rationally. But the more we learn about the mind, the stranger that assumption becomes.
Psychology talks about the conscious and unconscious mind. Behavioral economics divides thinking into fast and slow systems. Neuroscientists debate left brain vs. right brain. Moral psychologists describe the “elephant and rider.” Even the Bible describes a divided inner life: Jeremiah says the heart is so deceitful that we can’t understand it, and Paul admits that the things he wants to do he often doesn’t do. There’s a war of flesh vs. spirit.
So which part of all that is actually “me”?
In this episode, P&C explore the mysteries of the self. For starters, our perceptions are filtered before we even become aware of them. That brains that process that filtered information are shaped by millions of years of evolution. Our reasoning is influenced by emotion, culture, and hidden motives. Even when we take a long time to think carefully about something, the mind doing the thinking may not be as unified as we imagine.
That raises an uncomfortable question: if our minds are jury-rigged systems shaped by survival, how can we honestly evaluate big questions like the existence of God?
Along the way we touch on ideas from psychology, philosophy, and theology, with some laughs and jokes along the way.
If the mind is divided and our perceptions are filtered, the mystery may not only be whether God exists.
The mystery might be what is this strange creature asking the question.
And yes, this episode is partially inspired by “The Logical Song.”
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