#191 – Daniel Schmachtenberger: Steering Civilization Away from Self-Destruction

About this episode

<p>Daniel Schmachtenberger is a philosopher interested understanding the rise and fall of societies and individuals. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:<br /> &#8211; <b>Ground News</b>: <a href="https://ground.news/lex">https://ground.news/lex</a><br /> &#8211; <b>NetSuite</b>: <a href="http://netsuite.com/lex">http://netsuite.com/lex</a> to get free product tour<br /> &#8211; <b>Four Sigmatic</b>: <a href="https://foursigmatic.com/lex">https://foursigmatic.com/lex</a> and use code LexPod to get up to 60% off<br /> &#8211; <b>Magic Spoon</b>: <a href="https://magicspoon.com/lex">https://magicspoon.com/lex</a> and use code LEX to get $5 off<br /> &#8211; <b>BetterHelp</b>: <a href="https://betterhelp.com/lex">https://betterhelp.com/lex</a> to get 10% off</p> <p><b>EPISODE LINKS:</b><br /> Daniel&#8217;s Website: <a href="https://civilizationemerging.com/">https://civilizationemerging.com/</a><br /> The Consilience Project: <a href="https://consilienceproject.org/">https://consilienceproject.org/</a></p> <p><b>PODCAST INFO:</b><br /> Podcast website: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/podcast">https://lexfridman.com/podcast</a><br /> Apple Podcasts: <a href="https://apple.co/2lwqZIr">https://apple.co/2lwqZIr</a><br /> Spotify: <a href="https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8">https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8</a><br /> RSS: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/">https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/</a><br /> YouTube Full Episodes: <a href="https://youtube.com/lexfridman">https://youtube.com/lexfridman</a><br /> YouTube Clips: <a href="https://youtube.com/lexclips">https://youtube.com/lexclips</a></p> <p><b>SUPPORT &#38; CONNECT:</b><br /> &#8211; Check out the sponsors above, it&#8217;s the best way to support this podcast<br /> &#8211; Support on Patreon: <a href="https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman">https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman</a><br /> &#8211; Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/lexfridman">https://twitter.com/lexfridman</a><br /> &#8211; Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman">https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman</a><br /> &#8211; LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman</a><br /> &#8211; Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman">https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman</a><br /> &#8211; Medium: <a href="https://medium.com/@lexfridman">https://medium.com/@lexfridman</a></p> <p><b>OUTLINE:</b><br /> Here&#8217;s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.<br /> (00:00) &#8211; Introduction<br /> (08:05) &#8211; Aliens and UFOs<br /> (26:50) &#8211; Collective intelligence of human civilization<br /> (34:46) &#8211; Consciousness<br /> (46:08) &#8211; How much computation does the human brain perform?<br /> (49:47) &#8211; Humans vs ants<br /> (57:04) &#8211; Humans are apex predators<br /> (1:04:08) &#8211; Girard&#8217;s Mimetic Theory of Desire<br /> (1:24:05) &#8211; We can never completely understand reality<br /> (1:27:29) &#8211; Self-terminating systems<br /> (1:37:52) &#8211; Catastrophic risk<br /> (2:08:04) &#8211; Adding more love to the world<br /> (2:35:29) &#8211; How to build a better world<br /> (2:52:41) &#8211; Meaning of life<br /> (3:00:23) &#8211; Death<br /> (3:06:04) &#8211; The role of government in society<br /> (3:23:29) &#8211; Exponential growth of technology<br /> (4:09:10) &#8211; Lessons from my father<br /> (4:14:46) &#8211; Even suffering is filled with beauty</p>