Can we ever be truly alone? In episode 146 of Overthink, Ellie and David talk with philosopher Dan Zahavi about his book, Being We: Phenomenological Contributions to Social Ontology. They discuss how the increase in communication through screens has shifted what it means to be together, the decline of social bonds in political life, and what phenomenological understandings of empathy tell us about being together. How do dyadic relationships such as romantic love and friendship shape our identities? Does there need to be a conception of the self that precedes sociality? What are the different types of "we"? In the Substack bonus segment, Ellie and David get into some juicy stories about their own experiences of togetherness in the beautiful city of Madrid.

Works discussed:

Alison Gopnik, The Philosophical Baby: What Children's Minds Tell Us About Truth, Love, and the Meaning of Life

Ivan Leudar and Philip Thomas, Voices of Reason, Voices of Insanity

Sherry Turkle, Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other

Gerda Walther, Toward an Ontology of Social Communities

Dan Zahavi, Being We: Phenomenological Contributions to Social Ontology

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Chat GPT, Gemini, Meta AI, and Grok. In episode 145 of Overthink, David and Ellie talk about AI chatbots. Are relationships between humans and AI valuable? Or should we shame people for using LLMs? And what are we doing when we use these technologies: expanding or outsourcing our cognition? They explore the dangers of using chatbots as romantic partners and therapists, considering how the how the principle of ‘Yes, And…’ at the core of LLMs can lead to delusion and even what’s now called “AI psychosis.” They discuss the fatigue surrounding the predominance of AI in our everyday lives and the negative environmental effects of it. In the bonus, your hosts dive deeper into the history of AI, its benefits and drawbacks, and the relationship between AI and embodiment.

Works Discussed:

Andrea Klonschinski and Michael Kühler, “Romantic Love Between Humans and AIs: A Feminist Ethical Critique”

Gavin Mueller, Breaking Things at Work: The Luddites Are Right About Why You Hate Your Job

Matteo Pasquinelli, The Eye of the Master: A Social History of Artificial Intelligence

Michael Wooldridge, A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence: What It Is, Where We Are, and Where We Are Going

N+1 Editors, “Large Language Muddle”

Enjoy our work? Support Overthink via tax-deductible donation: https://www.givecampus.com/fj0w3v

Join our Substack for ad-free versions of both audio and video episodes, extended episodes, exclusive live chats, and more: https://overthinkpod.substack.com/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Why does falling for someone so often feel like a painful obsession? In episode 144 of Overthink, Ellie and David discuss the unspoken difficulties of limerence, or the state of falling in love. What is the difference between love and limerence, and why do we confuse them so frequently? How does social media fuel limerent reactions? And is limerence inherently selfish? They discuss how limerence can be formative to our personal identities, whether a limerent object has ethical obligations to those who obsess over them, and how modern dating norms might direct us all towards limerence rather than love. In the Substack bonus segment, your hosts get into the relationship between self-worth and limerence and whether it’s possible to have reciprocal limerence.

Works Discussed:

Tom Bellamy, Smitten: Romantic obsession, the neuroscience of limerence, and how to make love last

Stendhal, On Love

Dorothy Tennov, Love and Limerence: The Experience of Being in Love

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2015-2019)

Enjoy our work? Support Overthink via tax-deductible donation: https://www.givecampus.com/fj0w3v

Join our Substack for ad-free versions of both audio and video episodes, extended episodes, exclusive live chats, and more: https://overthinkpod.substack.com/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.