OVERTHINK

In episode 146 of Overthink, Ellie and David chat with philosopher Dan Zahavi about his book, Being We: Phenomenological Contributions to Social Ontology. They discuss how the increase in communication through screens has shifted what it means to be together, the decline of social bonds in political life, and what phenomenological understandings of empathy tell us about being together. How do dyadic relationships such as romantic love and friendship shape our identities? Does there need to be a conception of the self that precedes sociality? What are the different types of wes? And how can phenomenology help us think about the importance of face-to-face interactions?

In episode 145 of Overthink, David and Ellie talk about AI chatbots. Should we shame people for using LLMs? In what ways have we begun to outsource our cognition? Are relationships between humans and AI real? They explore how perceived relationships with chatbots can turn into AI psychosis and how the principle of ‘yes, and’ plays out in chatbot systems. They discuss the fatigue surrounding the predominance of AI in our everyday lives and the negative environmental effects of it. And they look into what AI chatbots actually are.

In episode 144 of Overthink, Ellie and David discuss the unspoken difficulties of limerence, or the state of falling in love. What is the difference between love and limerence, and why do we confuse them so frequently? How does social media fuel limerent reactions? And is limerence inherently selfish? They discuss how limerence can be formative to our personal identities, whether a limerent object has ethical obligations to those who obsess over them, and how modern dating norms might direct us all towards limerence rather than love.