Is the world we experience truly real, or is it more like a dream we haven't yet woken up from? Michael James, a leading scholar and translator of the teachings of Sri Ramana... video What Is the World According to Sri Ramana? CTT Chat 34:16 Watch
How do Buddhism, Chinese traditions, and Hinduism address the essence of human sentience? What is consciousness? What is the self? What is qi? Do humans have souls or... playlist The Nature of the Human Person (Part I) Topic Series 5 videos 46:14 Watch
What does it mean to be a ‘self’? What characteristics distinguish a self from a non-self? What are the boundaries between self and non-self? Is there a... playlist What are Selves? (Part II) Topic Series 6 videos 49:39 Watch
Look at an old photo. Then look in the mirror. Those two images are of the same person, right? How so? They don’t look the same. Their memories are different. And... playlist What is the Nature of Personal Identity? Topic Series 9 videos 1:25:29 Watch
Personal identity seems so strong. We have the same sense of ourselves throughout our lives, even though everything about our physical bodies and brains is changing... playlist What makes Personal Identity Continue? Topic Series 8 videos 1:08:54 Watch
What makes one a person or a self? If he or she sees, hears, thinks and feels, is that a person or a self? How can separate perceptions bind together into a coherent mental... playlist What carries our Personal Identity? Topic Series 7 videos 1:09:38 Watch
Think back 5, 10, 20 years—50 if you’re old enough. Physically, you are completely different. Mentally, you feel pretty much the same. Decades roll by and every... playlist How does Personal Identity Persist Through Time? Topic Series 6 videos 49:38 Watch
How does Personal Identity Persist through Time? [Consciousness] Is the self an illusion? Decades roll by; every molecule of my body changes many times. Yet I sense myself... video How does Personal Identity Persist through Time? Episode 05 Season 12 26:46 Watch
What does it mean to be a “self”? Look at an old photo. Then look in the mirror. Those two images are of the same person, right? How so? They don’t look the... video How do Persons Maintain Their Identity? Episode 11 Season 05 26:46 Watch
Religions offer life after death. Many people are skeptical. Evidence for post-mortem survival? Again, skeptics abound. Can death ever be defeated? Are these possible ways? video Death Disrupted? Episode 01 Season 17 26:48 Watch
Virtual immortality is the theory that when the fullness of our mental selves can be uploaded with first-person perfection to non-biological media, then when our mortal... playlist Virtual Immortality Topic Series 7 videos 1:19:36 Watch
Stories of ‘near death experiences’ (NDEs) are legion, affecting all cultures and peoples. NDEs have similarities—white lights, tunnels, spirit beings, feelings... playlist What do Near Death Experiences Mean? Topic Series 4 videos 53:06 Watch
Death is the ultimate defeat. No matter our successes, we are all doomed to suffer the final failure. But some claim that death is not final. Can the defeat be defeated? video Is Death Final? Episode 06 Season 13 26:47 Watch
What does it mean to have an ‘afterlife’? Are there different kinds of afterlives? What would it feel like to be in an afterlife? If one samples the various... playlist What is an Afterlife? Topic Series 50:03 Watch
Death is the ultimate defeat. No matter how many successes we have, we are all doomed to suffer the final failure. But some claim that death is not final. How can they do so?... playlist Is Death Final? Topic Series 4 videos 28:59 Watch
Is a soul required to make a person? If there is no soul, is there no person? Almost all scientists and most philosophers find no need for a soul. Certainly, souls are not... playlist Can a Person Be a Soul? Topic Series 1:20:33 Watch
Is the ‘real you’ a special substance that is nonphysical and immortal? Most regular people would agree, but most scientists would not. What are you? A body alone... playlist Do Persons Have Souls? (Part I) Topic Series 9 videos 1:24:23 Watch
The claim that human beings have or are an ‘immortal soul’ goes back to the ancient Greeks, if not further. In a pre-scientific world, it would seem absurd for... playlist Is the Soul Immortal? Topic Series 44:36 Watch
Is the ‘real you’ a special substance that is nonphysical and immortal? Most regular people would agree, but most scientists would not. What are you? A body alone... playlist Do Persons Have Souls? (Part II) Topic Series 10 videos 1:28:54 Watch
If we imagine that immortal souls exist, we then ask ourselves why do they exist. What is the purpose of a soul that exists into eternity? playlist Why Immortal Souls? Topic Series 6 videos 50:17 Watch
Is there a soul? Is there an afterlife? The two questions are likely related. No soul, no afterlife. Is there any evidence for either? Any argument? However, the two... playlist Does a Soul have an Afterlife? Topic Series 7 videos 53:43 Watch
Humans are obviously far more capable than other animals. There’s no comparison in personal capacities and social achievement. But what physically distinguishes humans?... playlist How are Humans Unique? (Part II) Topic Series 7 videos 47:00 Watch
How can aesthetics be explained by the brain and its underlying biological, chemical, and physical processes? Neuroscience is explaining ever more about art, but will... playlist Aesthetics: Physics and Neuroscience Topic Series 10 videos 1:11:49 Watch
Humans are obviously far more capable than other animals. There’s no comparison in personal capacities and social achievement. But what physically distinguishes humans?... playlist How are Humans Unique? (Part I) Topic Series 5 videos 41:24 Watch
Physically, humans and animals seem similar. Mentally, humans seem so superior. What’s so special about human nature? Language? Culture? Compare brain structures and... playlist How Humans Differ from Other Animals Topic Series 10 videos 1:18:22 Watch
Physically, humans and animals seem similar. Mentally, humans seem so superior. What’s so special about human nature? video How do Humans Differ from Other Animals? Episode 02 Season 12 26:45 Watch
Got sex? As a society, we certainly are obsessed with sex, but despite the hype, some experts claim that as individuals we’re finding less pleasure and fulfillment.... video Who Needs Sex Therapy? Roundtable 27:15 Watch
Creativity is exciting, but also demanding, consuming, frustrating, and addicting. It’s inspiring, but also fickle, erratic, tricky, and risky. Experts gather to... video What’s Creativity and Who’s Creative? Roundtable 27:39 Watch
From brain development to culture, music pervades the human psyche. A neuroscientist, musicologist and an educator discuss music’s universal appeal and its importance to... video Why is Music So Significant? Roundtable 26:12 Watch
For years we thought that in order to be creative you had to “be born with it.” Now, new thinking on the subject reveals that everyone can learn to be more... video Can You Learn to be Creative? Roundtable 27:12 Watch
The man-made creations we call art and music have the amazing ability to make you happy, to bring you to tears, to raise your passion and soothe your soul. But why is it that... video Why Are Music & Art So Exhilarating? Roundtable 27:34 Watch
Creativity forms something from nothing, but innovation shapes that something into practical products and services. Today’s panelists discuss the connection between... video Does Creativity Work At Work? Roundtable 27:22 Watch
How can music take us beyond ourselves, generating a sense of wonder and amazement, opening up new ways of knowing and revealing new kinds of understanding? Why do only... playlist What Makes Music Transcendent? Topic Series 7 videos 1:16:57 Watch
What can music reveal about how the mind works? How does cognitive science study the human capacity for, and experience of, music? How to tease apart the elements of music:... playlist Can Music Probe Mentality? (Part II) Topic Series 5 videos 45:32 Watch
What can music reveal about how the mind works? How does cognitive science study the human capacity for, and experience of, music? How to tease apart the elements of music:... playlist Can Music Probe Mentality? (Part I) Topic Series 6 videos 1:04:31 Watch
How can the three pounds of wet tissue inside our skulls create and appreciate the grandeur and psychic power of music? Musical feel, beauty and emotion seem so radically... playlist How do Brains Make Music? (Part I) Topic Series 5 videos 41:37 Watch
How can the three pounds of wet tissue inside our skulls create and appreciate the grandeur and psychic power of music? Musical feel, beauty and emotion seem so radically... playlist How do Brains Make Music? (Part II) Topic Series 4 videos 29:18 Watch
Can the arts go beyond entertainment and aesthetic appreciation and convey knowledge and understanding that cannot be attained with language and words? What is the nature of... playlist Epistemology: Can the Arts Inform the Nature of Knowledge and Understanding? Topic Series 4 videos 25:46 Watch
Can art go beyond the pleasures of experience to convey knowledge or even understanding? If so, what could be the kinds of knowledge or understanding made manifest by art?... video Can Art and Knowledge Enhance Each Other? Episode 07 Season 20 26:47 Watch
Can art go beyond the pleasures of experience to convey knowledge or even understanding? If so, what could be the kinds of knowledge or understanding made manifest by art?... playlist Art and Epistemology Topic Series 9 videos 1:01:48 Watch
Can humans have knowledge of God? Between humans and God, between finite and infinite, there seems an unbridgeable gap. So what can it mean to “know God”? There are... video Epistemology: How Can We Know God? Episode 08 Season 19 26:48 Watch
Can we know God? If so, how? We can we believe in God. But is such belief justified? How to apply the principles of epistemology to knowledge of God and belief in God? What... playlist Theological Epistemology: How Can We Know God? (Part II) Topic Series 6 videos 50:41 Watch
How can we have confidence in what we know or believe? What is knowledge? What is belief? How is belief justified? And is justified belief knowledge? How can we not doubt... video Epistemology: How Do I Know? Episode 07 Season 18 26:48 Watch
Why do people believe the things they do? We like to think that we are rational, that what we believe is true. But often we come to our beliefs, unknowingly, as a product of... playlist How Belief Systems Affect Believers (Part II) Topic Series 8 videos 1:01:58 Watch
Everyone has beliefs—some are simple and basic (e.g., my name, age), others complex and controversial (e.g., God? Soul? Politics? Morality?). But what is the concept of... playlist What is Belief? Topic Series 5 videos 43:53 Watch
Why are ‘belief systems’ so powerful? How do they control religion and politics and all ways of thinking from a scientific worldview to conspiracy theories? What... playlist How Belief Systems Work Topic Series 8 videos 1:04:17 Watch
Why do people believe the things they do? We like to think that we are rational, that what we believe is true. But often we come to our beliefs, unknowingly, as a product of... playlist How Belief Systems Affect Believers (Part I) Topic Series 7 videos 55:41 Watch
We like to think that we are rational, that what we believe is what is true. But we often believe because of our “belief systems”-“how we believe” may... video How Belief Systems Work Episode 10 Season 10 26:46 Watch
As two practitioners for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) square off with a traditionally-trained medical doctor and a leading public health advocate, their... video Who Gets to Validate Alternative Medicine? Roundtable 26:10 Watch
Society is composed of human minds working collectively. By appreciating consciousness can we understand society better? Conversely, by appreciating society can we understand... playlist Human Mind and Society Topic Series 9 videos 1:16:30 Watch
In the last thousand years, we’ve been transported from knights on horses to kids on computers. Life and how we live has been incredibly transformed, but humanity has... video How Did We Think in the Last Millennium? Roundtable 27:33 Watch
Everyone knows it’s important to think ahead—but just how far do you need to go? Some say we should be looking up to 1,000 years into the next millennium, at what... video Can We Imagine the Far Future? Roundtable 27:31 Watch
Light-speed technology is accelerating, and even changing the way we think. So much so that you’re irritated when there a 10-second delay in downloading a Internet site... video How Does Technology Transform Thinking? Roundtable 27:27 Watch
Close you eyes. Now fast-forward 25 years. Open your eyes. What do you see? Humanity has moved through the agrarian age to the industrial age and now, the information age.... video Can We See the Near Future – 25 Years? Roundtable 27:31 Watch
The word “community” may sound archaic, a social remnant of the idyllic 1950s. But paradoxically, in our high-tech age of instant information,... video New Communities for the New Millennium? Roundtable 27:55 Watch
We are privileged to be living when science is making astounding progress. Humanity has learned so much, so quickly. What will science achieve in another hundred years? A... playlist Science and the Future of Humanity Topic Series 4 videos 21:38 Watch
Humankind has learned so much, so fast. What are the risks of scientific knowledge? Look to the future. Artificial intelligence. Genetic engineering. Benefits? Dangers? video Science and the Future of Humanity Episode 13 Season 17 26:48 Watch
Experts wrestle with the ethics of clinical trials. A doctor specializing in HIV medicine, a bioethics lawyer, and a top FDA official outline the complex issues surrounding... video Testing New Drugs: Are People Guinea Pigs? Roundtable 26:12 Watch
A physicist, a defense contractor, and an air force general link laboratories and battlefields. Three experts from different areas in the national defense establishment take... video How Does Basic Science Defend America? Roundtable 26:13 Watch
A group of biologists examine the multitude of unseen bacteria and viruses that inhabit every part of the globe, as well as the distinct differences between “good” and... video Microbes – Friend or Foe? Roundtable 26:11 Watch
It’s unstoppable and unavoidable, and it’s blowing to bits communication, business and life as we know it. Technology is making prettier television pictures,... video Can Technology Transform Society? Roundtable 27:00 Watch
