Science Weekly podcast: What is 'the self' and where exactly is it?

Continuing from yesterday's Julian Baggini article on the illusion of the unique self, here is an interview with Baggini from The Guardian. His new book is The Ego Trick: In Search of the Self.

There's other good stuff in the podcast as well - enjoy.

Science Weekly podcast: What is 'the self' and where exactly is it?

We attempt to explain 'the self' with Julian Baggini; Tim Flannery tells us how love can save the environment; Brian Cox answers the 'Hannaford question'; plus, fighting fire with electricity and cell transplants for nuclear workers.

• Presented by Alok Jha and produced by Andy Duckworth
• guardian.co.uk, Monday 4 April 2011




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It has baffled great minds for hundreds of years, so an ambitious question to tackle in just one segment of one podcast ... but we have given it a bash anyway: the concept of 'the self'.

Julian Baggini takes us through the latest thinking in neuropsychology on what it means to be "me". He interviewed the likes of Paul Broks and Daniel Dennett for his new book The Ego Trick.

We introduce a new feature to the show: 'the Hannaford question'. One of our listeners, Rob Hannaford, wanted us to ask Brian Cox, and all our guests, the following question.


'If you had one question in the world/universe that you could have answered, what would it be?'.

It's such a good question, we decided to adopt it. You'll hear one question every week. This week, Brian Cox asks his.

Professor Tim Flannery, Australia's first chief climate commissioner popped into our studios to explain some of the concepts in his new book Here on Earth: A New Beginning.

Nell Boase and Ian Sample join the pod to look at some of their favourite recent science stories. Nell was interested in how researchers are fighting fire with electricity, and Ian tells us about plans to help Japan's nuclear workers using transplants of their own cells.

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Tags: Science Weekly, podcast, The Guardian, What is the self, where exactly is it, The Ego Trick, In Search of the Self, Julina Baggini, philosopher, Philosophy, Self, brain, identity, no-self, consciousness, Alok Jha