#320 — Constructing Self and World

Sam Harris speaks with Shamil Chandaria about how the brain
constructs a vision of the self and the world. They discuss the
brain from first principles; Bayesian inference; hierarchical
predictive processing; the construction of vision; psychedelics
and neuroplasticity; beliefs and prior probabilities; the
interaction between psychedelics and meditation; the risks and
benefits of psychedelics; Sam’s recent experience with MDMA;
non-duality; love, gratitude, and bliss; the self model; the
Buddhist concept of emptiness; human flourishing; effective
altruism; and other topics.


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