Jenann Ismael's guest appearances

Jenann Ismael

Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas

The Free Will Show

Extrapolator

Condensed Matter

James Ladyman

Daryl Morey

David Eagleman

Robert Sapolsky

Jane McGonigal

Ezra Klein

Michael Mann

David Rosen

Carol Tavris

Cory Doctorow

Carlo Rovelli

J. Kenji López-Alt

Kate Darling

Michael Levin

Gary Marcus

OwlTail

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Click <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5749/j.ctv5cg8vk.10?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a> for the article. If you are enjoying Condensed Matter, please consider supporting the show on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/CondensedMatter" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a>. In recognition of your support, you'll get the opportunity to suggest articles and guests for future episodes. You'll also now get access to PDF scripts of the solo episodes! You can carry on the discussion on <a href="https://twitter.com/KimptonNye" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and there's even an <a href="https://www.instagram.com/condensed_matter_podcast/?hl=en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Instagram</a> page. Thanks for listening!       <a href="https://www.patreon.com/CondensedMatter" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">Support the show</a> (<a href="https://www.patreon.com/CondensedMatter" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.patreon.com/CondensedMatter</a>)

Episode 21: "Causal Content and Global Laws: Grounding Modality in Experimental Practice", Jenann Ismael

In this episode, Geoff Allen speaks with Jenann Ismael about puzzles surrounding subjectivity. They discuss topics like time, pain, colour and spatial navigation. In all of these cases, there is a puzzle about how subjective experiences can be reconciled with objective descriptions. Jenann’s treatment of perspectives and points of view is wonderfully insightful. She frames the metaphysical question in terms of ‘frames of reference’. Certain experiences (pain, colour, the flow of time) only exist within the ‘frame’ of a particular system. They are frame-dependent phenomena. We should not expect frame-independent descriptions to capture these phenomena. Such descriptions are not only incomplete but incompletable! As Jenann puts it: ‘Physics doesn’t just *allow* for frame dependence, physics *entails* that there will be frame-dependent quantities – if there are, on the one hand, intrinsic quantities and, on the other hand, observers of those intrinsic quantities.’ *** Going deeper, there is also a puzzle about the metaphysics of subjects in the world: ‘We aren’t separate from the world; we are enacting the world as we’re representing it, and that partly means that we have an effect on what is the case,’ Jenann argues. ‘We see both reflections of ourselves in the world and reflections of the world back at us. The world… it pushes back on you, just as you push into the world.’ What does this mean for objectivity and realism? How can we reconcile the place of subjective experience in the world? Tune in, folks!! *** Jenann Ismael is a Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University. She has also taught at Stanford University (1996–1998) and the University of Arizona (1998–2018). She received her PhD from Princeton University in 1997. Jenann is the author of the books Essays on Symmetry (2001), The Situated Self (2007), How Physics Makes Us Free (2016) and Time: A Very Short Introduction (2021). Jenann’s work falls into two rough classes. First, there are concerns drawn from the philosophy of physics – for example, the structure of space and time, the foundations of quantum mechanics, the role of simplicity and symmetry in physics, the nature of probability, natural laws and causal relations. Second, questions surrounding mind, cognition, phenomenology and the nature of perspective. Jenann has been described, by John Perry, as ‘a leading philosopher of her generation’. https://www.jenanni.com

In this episode, Geoff Allen speaks with Jenann Ismael about puzzles surrounding subjectivity. They discuss topics like time, pain, colour and spatial navigation. In all of these cases, there is a puzzle about how subjective experiences can be reconciled with objective descriptions. Jenann’s treatment of perspectives and points of view is wonderfully insightful. She frames the metaphysical question in terms of ‘frames of reference’. Certain experiences (pain, colour, the flow of time) only exist within the ‘frame’ of a particular system. They are frame-dependent phenomena. We should not expect frame-independent descriptions to capture these phenomena. Such descriptions are not only incomplete but incompletable! As Jenann puts it: ‘Physics doesn’t just *allow* for frame dependence, physics *entails* that there will be frame-dependent quantities – if there are, on the one hand, intrinsic quantities and, on the other hand, observers of those intrinsic quantities.’ *** Going deeper, there is also a puzzle about the metaphysics of subjects in the world: ‘We aren’t separate from the world; we are enacting the world as we’re representing it, and that partly means that we have an effect on what is the case,’ Jenann argues. ‘We see both reflections of ourselves in the world and reflections of the world back at us. The world… it pushes back on you, just as you push into the world.’ What does this mean for objectivity and realism? How can we reconcile the place of subjective experience in the world? Tune in, folks!! *** Jenann Ismael is a Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University. She has also taught at Stanford University (1996–1998) and the University of Arizona (1998–2018). She received her PhD from Princeton University in 1997. Jenann is the author of the books Essays on Symmetry (2001), The Situated Self (2007), How Physics Makes Us Free (2016) and Time: A Very Short Introduction (2021). Jenann’s work falls into two rough classes. First, there are concerns drawn from the philosophy of physics – for example, the structure of space and time, the foundations of quantum mechanics, the role of simplicity and symmetry in physics, the nature of probability, natural laws and causal relations. Second, questions surrounding mind, cognition, phenomenology and the nature of perspective. Jenann has been described, by John Perry, as ‘a leading philosopher of her generation’. <a href="https://www.jenanni.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.jenanni.com</a>

#14 - Jenann Ismael: Puzzles of Perspective

Physics is simple; people are complicated. But even people are ultimately physical systems, made of particles and forces that follow the rules of the Core Theory. How do we bridge the gap from one kind of description to another, explaining how someone we know and care about can also be “just” a set of quantum fields obeying impersonal laws? This is a hard question that comes up in a variety of forms — What is the “self”? Do we have free will, the ability to make choices? What are the moral and ethical ramifications of these considerations? Jenann Ismael is a philosopher at the leading edge of connecting human life to the fundamental laws of nature, for example in her recent book How Physics Makes Us Free. We talk about free will, consciousness, values, and other topics about which I’m sure everyone will simply agree.Support Mindscape on Patreon.Jenann Ismael received her Ph.D. in philosophy from Princeton University. She is currently Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University. Her work includes both the foundations of physics (spacetime, quantum mechanics, symmetry) and the philosophy of mind and cognition. She has been awarded fellowships from Stanford University, the Australian Research Council, the Scots Philosophical Association, and the Center for Advanced Study in Social and Behavioral Sciences, as well as an Essay Prize from the British Society for the Philosophy of Science.Web siteColumbia web pagePhilPeople profileAmazon author pageCloser to Truth interviewWikipedia“Well-Being and Time,” David Velleman (mentioned in the episode)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Physics is simple; people are complicated. But even people are ultimately physical systems, made of particles and forces that follow the rules of the <a href="http://www.preposterousuniverse.com/blog/2015/09/29/core-theory-t-shirts/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Core Theory.</a> How do we bridge the gap from one kind of description to another, explaining how someone we know and care about can also be “just” a set of quantum fields obeying impersonal laws? This is a hard question that comes up in a variety of forms — What is the “self”? Do we have free will, the ability to make choices? What are the moral and ethical ramifications of these considerations? Jenann Ismael is a philosopher at the leading edge of connecting human life to the fundamental laws of nature, for example in her recent book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BK1XOYQ/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">How Physics Makes Us Free.</a> We talk about free will, consciousness, values, and other topics about which I’m sure everyone will simply agree.Support Mindscape on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/seanmcarroll" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a>.Jenann Ismael received her Ph.D. in philosophy from Princeton University. She is currently Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University. Her work includes both the foundations of physics (spacetime, quantum mechanics, symmetry) and the philosophy of mind and cognition. She has been awarded fellowships from Stanford University, the Australian Research Council, the Scots Philosophical Association, and the Center for Advanced Study in Social and Behavioral Sciences, as well as an Essay Prize from the British Society for the Philosophy of Science.<ul><li><a href="https://www.jenanni.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Web site</a></li><li><a href="https://philosophy.columbia.edu/directories/faculty/jenann-ismael" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Columbia web page</a></li><li><a href="https://philpeople.org/profiles/jenann-ismael" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">PhilPeople profile</a></li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Jenann-Ismael/e/B001H6V8Y8/smcarroll-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Amazon author page</a></li><li><a href="https://www.closertotruth.com/interviews/2465" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Closer to Truth interview</a></li><li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenann_Ismael" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a></li><li><a href="https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/138420" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">“Well-Being and Time,” David Velleman</a> (mentioned in the episode)</li></ul> See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

80 | Jenann Ismael on Connecting Physics to the World of Experience