On Wisdom
What does science tell us about wisdom?
We found 10 episodes of On Wisdom with the tag “emotions”.
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61: Beyond Bias: Group Identity, Wisdom, and the Climate Crisis (with Leaf Van Boven and David Sherman)
November 10th, 2024 | 1 hr 8 mins
activism, activists, climate change, climate crisis, collective action, covid-19, david sherman, emotions, environmental policy, group dynamics, happiness, leaf van boven, meaning, misperceptions, philosophy, political identity, politicians, psychology, public, public health, public policy, purpose, reasoning, social norms, social science, the media, tribalism, well being, wisdom
Can our political identities get in the way of wise action, even on existential issues like climate change? Leaf Van Boven and David Sherman join Igor and Charles to unpack how we perceive environmental policy through the lenses of group identity and social norms, revealing how misperceptions fuel inaction. Igor considers how group beliefs can override personal values, Leaf explores the power of asking, “What if I’m wrong?”, David suggests we may be following louder voices over wiser ones, and Charles wonders if we’re wired to stick to our “tribe” or if we can really think beyond our social bubbles. Welcome to Episode 61.
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60: Wisdom, Love, and the Lexical Fallacy (with Alan Fiske)
October 20th, 2024 | 1 hr 13 mins
alan fiske, emotions, happiness, jingle jangle fallacy, kama muta, meaning, philosophy, psychology, purpose, reasoning, social science, the lexical fallacy, well being, wisdom
Why do we have such a hard time figuring out what we’re feeling? Alan Fiske joins Igor and Charles to unravel the mystery of emotions, revealing why your gut feeling might not be as clear-cut as you think. Drawing from his research into Kama Muta—a heartwarming rush of connection—and his critiques of how we label emotions, Alan sheds light on why most of us are pretty terrible at naming what we feel. Igor tackles the complexities of universal emotions, Alan shares why cultural differences make this even trickier, and Charles wonders if anyone truly knows what’s going on inside their head. Welcome to Episode 60.
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59: Shaping Reality and Relationships: The Science of Connection and Expectation (with David Robson)
September 23rd, 2024 | 49 mins 40 secs
amae, david robson, emotions, expectation effect, happiness, loneliness, meaning, philosophy, psychology, purpose, reasoning, social connection, social science, the beautiful mess effect, the fast-friendship procedure, the liking gap, the nocebo effect, the novelty penalty, the placebo effect, well being, wisdom
Can our expectations about ourselves and others reshape our lives? Science writer David Robson returns to explore how our expectations don’t just change personal outcomes—they influence how we connect with others. Drawing from his books The Laws of Connection and The Expectation Effect, David reveals the hidden psychology behind social interactions and how our misconceptions about what others think can hold us back. Igor delves into how expectations can foster or hinder meaningful relationships, David explains how small mindset shifts can help overcome social anxiety, and Charles reflects on why connecting with strangers can be easier (and more rewarding) than we think. Welcome to Episode 59.
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58: The Social Robots are Coming! (with Kerstin Dautenhahn)
November 1st, 2023 | 49 mins 2 secs
ai, artificial life, assistive technology, chatgpt, emotions, happiness, human-robot interaction, kerstin dautenhahn, llm, meaning, philosophy, psychology, purpose, reasoning, robot-assisted interventions, robotics, robotiquette, social anxiety, social robots, social science, well being, wisdom, wise robots
Can we create wise robots? Kerstin Dautenhahn joins Igor and Charles to dive into the intriguing world of social robots, the finer points of “Robotiquette,” and the potential role such robots can play in supporting therapeutic treatments. Igor reflects on the limits of robot-based wisdom, Kerstin reveals the potential of Generative AI like ChatGPT to generate false information about her own professional identity, and Charles considers the perils of socially awkward machines. Welcome to Episode 58.
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57: The Epic Challenge of Knowing Thyself (with David Dunning)
October 7th, 2023 | 1 hr 3 mins
ai, checklists, dale carnegie, david dunning, dunning-kruger, emotions, happiness, how to win friends and influence people, jury service, justin kruger, meaning, metacognition, philosophy, psychology, purpose, reasoning, self-assessment, self-awareness, social science, well being, wisdom
Can we ever really know ourselves, or are we destined to always make overly optimistic self-assessments? David Dunning joins Igor and Charles to discuss the Dunning-Kruger effect, the importance of asking the right questions, why arriving at an accurate view of ourselves is so challenging, and the implications for teaching, medicine, and even scientific research. Igor explores the possible reemergence of group assessments in education as a result of advances in AI, David shares why conversations with smart people often end up as competitions to ask the most questions, and Charles reflects on the wisdom-enhancing experience of jury service. Welcome to Episode 57.
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56: Awe Reloaded (with Dacher Keltner)
August 29th, 2023 | 50 mins 8 secs
awe, awe walk, dacher keltner, emotions, happiness, horror, meaning, meta awareness, moral beauty, philosophy, psychology, purpose, reasoning, social science, terror, uc berkeley, well being, wisdom
Have we overlooked a major source of awe, right under our collective noses? Dacher Keltner returns to the On Wisdom studio to discuss his new book "Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life", the power of moral beauty, the desire for connection, and the importance of wandering. Igor suggest that awe can also entail feelings of terror, Dacher reflects on the perils of awe being used against us, and Charles shares his experience of an awe walk-around-the-bloc. Welcome to Episode 56.
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55: Wise of the Machines (with Sina Fazelpour)
August 5th, 2023 | 1 hr 4 mins
ai, algorithms, alignment, alphago, artificial intelligence, bias, chatgpt, constitutional ai, diversity, emotions, god’s touch, happiness, large language model, lee sedols, llm, machine learning, meaning, philosophy, psychology, purpose, reasoning, sina fazelpour, social science, well being, wisdom
How can we make AI wiser? And could AI make us wiser in return? Sina Fazelpour joins Igor and Charles to discuss the problem of bias in algorithms, how we might make machine learning systems more diverse, and the thorny challenge of alignment. Igor considers whether interacting with AIs might help us achieve higher levels of understanding, Sina suggests that setting up AIs to promote certain values may be problematic in a pluralistic society, and Charles is intrigued to learn about the opportunities offered by teaming up with our machine friends. Welcome to Episode 55.
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54: Emotions Are Not What You Think (with Lisa Feldman Barrett )
May 30th, 2023 | 49 mins 4 secs
affect, allostasis, anthropology, cognition, complex signal ensembles, computer science, context, developmental biology, emotions, engineering, evolutionary biology, happiness, history of science, how emotions are made, inside out movie, linguistics, lisa feldman barrett, meaning, motivation, neuroscience, philosophy, philosophy of science, physiology, predictions, psychology, purpose, reasoning, relational meaning, social science, theory of constructed emotion, well being, wisdom
What actually are “emotions” and how are they made? Lisa Feldman Barrett joins Igor and Charles to discuss what we’ve got right and what we’ve got completely wrong about the nature of our emotional lives. Igor grapples with the idea that red apples aren’t necessarily red, Lisa shares that anger doesn’t always look like anger, and Charles learns that a racing heartbeat can be interpreted in fundamentally different ways. Welcome to Episode 54.
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53: Moral Reframing and The Science of Political Persuasion (with Robb Willer)
April 10th, 2023 | 59 mins 36 secs
activist’s dilemma, covid-19, emotions, happiness, matthew feinberg, meaning, metaperceptions, moral reframing, partisan animosity, philosophy, political persuasion, psychology, purpose, reasoning, robb willer, social science, well being, wisdom
How can you persuade someone who disagrees with you on everything? In this episode, we discover the secrets of political persuasion with Robb Willer, a leading expert on political persuasion and moral reframing. Igor grills Robb on the ethics of activism in social science, Robb defends his mission to make a difference in the world, and Charles is amazed to find out that he can fix his misperceptions with a few simple tricks. Don’t miss this inspiring and ground-breaking conversation that will transform how you communicate with others. Tune in to Episode 53 now!
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52: World Wide Wisdom (with Deepak Ramola)
January 5th, 2023 | 55 mins 12 secs
deepak ramola, emotions, happiness, life lessons, meaning, morality, perspective-taking, philosophy, project fuel, psychology, purpose, reasoning, social science, well being, wisdom, wise wall project, world wisdom map
Imagine gathering hard-earned lessons from survivors of human trafficking in Nepal, middle school children in Afghanistan, refugees in Europe, and even a man who has witnessed over 12,000 deaths. Deepak Ramola has been on such a lesson-gathering mission for a while, and he joins Igor and Charles to discuss the life lessons he has collected, who gets to define moral behaviour, and how we might change our culture to encourage more perspective-taking. Igor highlights the challenge of stepping outside ourselves in the heat of the moment, Deepak asks some challenging questions about love, and Charles learns the surprising value of proverbs as tools of reflection.