Freeman Dyson and Stephen Blackwood: On the Freedom of Thought and Nature

Stephen Blackwood speaks with Freeman Dyson, the late mathematical-physicist and renowned free thinker. They begin with a discussion of education and of the formative experiences that inspired Dyson's intellectual curiosity and courage. The conversation then ranges from evolution to particle physics to consciousness as they discuss the free and non-reductive character of both thought and nature. Along the way, Dyson shares many stories from his long and adventuresome life; this interview was one of his last. One can only be astounded by the depth and breadth and fearlessness of his intellect and the power of his insight and example.

Requiescat in pace.
Links of possible interest:

Dyson's Essay: "Biological and Cultural Evolution: Six Characters in Search of an Author"
https://www.edge.org/conversation/freeman_dyson-biological-and-cultural-evolution

Ralston College
https://www.ralston.ac

Stephen Blackwood
https://www.stephenjblackwood.com

Timeline
0:00 - Introduction
17:33 - Perversities of the PhD System
23:13 - Time at Winchester College; Education; Necessity of Boredom
28:58 - The Napoleonic and Tolstoyan Worldviews
33:46 - Role of Imagination in Discovery and Artistic Expression
43:22 - Independence of Mind; the Non-Coercive Nature of Truth
55:35 - The Non-Reductive Quality of Reality in its Richness
1:00:38 - And its Relation to Thought as a Bottom-Up Activity
1:10:39 - Coherence and Purpose in the World
1:15:29 - Consciousness as Free; The Limits of Reductivist Materialism
1:23:47 - Science as Subversion

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Видео Freeman Dyson and Stephen Blackwood: On the Freedom of Thought and Nature канала Ralston College