Alex O'Connor
Guest on On Purpose with Jay Shetty
Alex O’Connor is a British philosopher, author, and content creator best known for his work under the moniker "Cosmic Skeptic," where he explores questions about ethics, religion, and meaning. He gained prominence through his YouTube channel and podcast discussing philosophy, secularism, and critical thinking. He currently works as a public philosopher and commentator, creating digital content and giving talks on reason, morality, and belief.
Products they talk about
A Brief History of Time👍 Recommends
…discussing stephen hawking's perspective on limits of scientific explanation
“Stephen Hawking, at the end of A Brief History of Time, quite famously, I wish I could recite it from memory. It's so beautiful. He writes about how he hopes that maybe one day our basic scientific theories will condense into one great big theory of everything. But he says we'll still be left with the question of what breathes fire into the equations.”
on On Purpose with Jay Shetty
Principia Mathematica👍 Recommends
…discussing newton's mathematical work and limits of scientific explanation
“And he does all of this and it's brilliant in the Principia Mathematica. But then there remains this question, like why? And in the scolium, which is like an addendum to the Principia Mathematica, where Newton published these findings, he answers this explicitly.”
on On Purpose with Jay Shetty
Tractatus👍 Recommends
…discussing wittgenstein's philosophical work on agreement and understanding
“Ludwig Wittgenstein in his Tractatus, which is like a sort of very sort of mathematical, quite short work, has this introduction. And the first words he writes are, this book may only be of use to people who already agree with its contents.”
on On Purpose with Jay Shetty