Episode Details

Does the universe explode when I go to sleep?

This week, Steve and Christabel try their very best to get to the bottom of what happens to the world when we aren’t directly observing it. Steve reports his daughter’s posit that the world explodes when she falls asleep, only to reform upon her waking back up. Christabel examines how this theory fares against three major ontologies: Cartesian dualism, materialism and the idealism of George Berkeley.  

Along the way, Christabel struggles to pronounce the word ‘tautologous’, Steve advances a new (and very pigeon-centred) ornithology, and our hosts compile their dream philosopher zombie guestlist for a day trip to Chingford’s model railway. They opt to bring David Lewis, Simone de Beauvoir and David Hume. Walt Disney isn’t invited, as he’s already made the visit. 

Christabel compares A.J. Ayer’s verification principle to Karl Popper’s falsification principle, and Steve founds the cult of Blorons, which are ubiquitous but unobservable conscious particles. Christabel remarks that this reminds her of the panpsychist theory advanced by noted philosopher and optical manufacturer Baruch Spinoza. Steve wonders if he’d let Spinoza grind his lens.

The episode ends with a discussion of the position that Margret Dauler Wilson dubs ‘phenomenal realism’, or the view that we cannot (technically) ever be wrong about the phenomenal character of our own experiences. It’s concluded that though we can’t be sure of much about the external world, two dependable pieces of advice emerge: don’t relax your guard around windows in Prague, and decline any drink offered by Bishop Berkeley, especially if it smells like pine needles.

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