Philip Pullman is one of England's most cherished and celebrated writers. Author of the popular His Dark Materials series of books (later adapted into a film, The Golden Compass (2007), and a 2019 HBO/BBC drama series), his novels are dripping with philosophical and religious themes.Get Philip Pullman's Books here.

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TIMESTAMPS:0:00 - C.S. Lewis Tells Filthy Lies5:12 - Childhood Innocence is Overrated10:09 - Religion in Philip’s Novels21:26 - How to Improve the Story of Jesus and the Gospels27:43 - The Connection Between Music and Fiction36:24 - Books vs Movies43:38 - Consciousness in The Book of Dust50:05 - Should Novelists Go Back and Update Their Books?56:11 - The Omniscient Narrator1:00:12 - How Movies Changed Novels1:05:49 - Why Subtitles Are So Popular Now1:10:56 - The Role of Philosophy in Philip’s Novels1:13:27 - Philip’s Writing Process1:20:11 - The Fear of AI in Creative Industries

Get Huel today with this exclusive offer for New Customers of 15% OFF with code alexoconnor at https://huel.com/alexoconnor (Minimum $50 purchase).For early, ad-free access to videos, and to support the channel, subscribe to my Substack.Graham Tomlin is a British theologian, author and former Church of England bishop.LINKS:Get Graham's book, Blaise Pascal: The Man Who Made the Modern WorldGraham's organisation, Seen and Unseen TIMESTAMPS:00:00 - Can Blaise Pascal Be Categorised?03:05 - Who Was Blaise Pascal?11:12 - Pascal’s First Conversion17:19 - Pascal’s “Night of Fire”21:59 - Did Pascal Reject Reason?31:45 - Pascal’s War With Descartes42:31 - Did Pascal Invent the Bus?45:42 - The Heart Has Its Reasons, Of Which Reason Knows Nothing50:03 - How Pascal Invented Probability Theory52:29 - Pascal’s Wager1:15:35 - The Pensées1:18:30 - Pascal’s “Two Minds”1:22:39 - The Importance of Boredom1:26:58 - Why Should Atheists Read Pascal?1:31:34 - What Would Graham Ask Pascal?

Get Huel today with this exclusive offer for New Customers of 15% OFF with code alexoconnor at https://huel.com/alexoconnor (Minimum $50 purchase).

For early, ad-free access to videos, and to support the channel, subscribe to my Substack: https://www.alexoconnor.com.

Thomas Metzinger is a German philosopher and Professor Emeritus of theoretical philosophy at the University of Mainz. His primary research areas include philosophy of mind, philosophy of neuroscience, and applied ethics, particularly focusing on neurotechnology, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence.

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11:34 - Is MPE New Age Meditation?

17:07 - Collecting Reports of Pure Consciousness

25:48 - Lucid Deep Sleep - Thomas’ Experience

32:19 - Does Consciousness Require Complexity?

39:29 - The Power of Meditation

45:32 - Is Meditation Always a Positive Experience?

53:13 - Is a MPE Actually an Experience?

01:11:21 - Your Brain is Not Telling You the Truth

01:20:08 - Analysing Minimal Conscious Experiences

01:27:26 - Is Meditative Enlightenment Unethical?

01:32:37 - Western Ignorance of Eastern Tradition

01:40:13 - “Coming Home”

01:44:29 - The Political Implications of MPE

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