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March 21, 2023

Eric Kaplan: Does Everything Happen for a Reason?

Eric Kaplan (EP on The Big Bang Theory, Co-EP on Young Sheldon, M.A. in philosophy) joins us to break down the funniest moments from The Big Bang Theory, philosophy as it relates to mental health, and practical ways to avoid being consumed by fear. He shares the differences between spirituality and religion, his experience as a monk for a brief period of time, and his concerns about selling out when he became a tv writer. Eric opens up about the passing of his older brother and how it affected his family and Eric’s own relationship with his parents, his obsession with death and dying that led him to study philosophy, and his "meditation on emptiness" practice. He explains different types of philosophy, how the concept of a higher power fits into his philosophical belief systems, and helps us answer important questions like "Why do people believe in God?" and "Does everything happen for a reason?" Eric discusses the potential benefits of psilocybin and LSD, the potential origins of climate change denialism, and what he thinks is going right in the world. Mayim and Eric consider how transgenerational trauma can inform cultural traditions, how cultural traditions can provide solutions to that trauma and grief.

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Eric Kaplan

Writer

ericlinuskaplan
Mayim Bialik

Host

@missmayim
Jonathan Cohen

Co-Host

@jonathancohenofficial

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Does Everything Happen for a Reason?

Eric Kaplan (EP on The Big Bang Theory, Co-EP on Young Sheldon, M.A. in philosophy) joins us to break down the funniest moments from The Big Bang Theory, philosophy as it relates to mental health, and practical ways to avoid being consumed by fear. He shares the differences between spirituality and religion, his experience as a monk for a brief period of time, and his concerns about selling out when he became a tv writer. Eric opens up about the passing of his older brother and how it affected his family and Eric’s own relationship with his parents, his obsession with death and dying that led him to study philosophy, and his "meditation on emptiness" practice. He explains different types of philosophy, how the concept of a higher power fits into his philosophical belief systems, and helps us answer important questions like "Why do people believe in God?" and "Does everything happen for a reason?" Eric discusses the potential benefits of psilocybin and LSD, the potential origins of climate change denialism, and what he thinks is going right in the world. Mayim and Eric consider how transgenerational trauma can inform cultural traditions, how cultural traditions can provide solutions to that trauma and grief.

Guest References

Terrifying Questions (and How Not to Be Terrified by Them)

Eric Kaplan, a comedy writer (Futurama, Big Bang Theory) and doctor of philosophy, and Taylor Carman (Barnard College, Columbia University), a distinguished but humble authority on matters of existence and existentialism, host a philosophy podcast that addresses the most unsettling questions concerning human life and the nature of things and finds a path to courage using comedy, imagination, and far-ranging intellectual philosophical investigation. Along the way they grapple with the deep uncanniness of being.

Confessions of a Dating Profile by Eric Kaplan
My boss’s demands were very, very persuasive, appealing to the deep human need to share and be seen. I know because I wrote them.
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Eric Kaplan's Personal Blog
Keep up Eric Kaplan's posts that he's been logging since 2014...
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Does Santa Exist? by Eric Kaplan
Emmy award–winning comedy writer and philosophy scholar Eric Kaplan brilliantly turns a search for the truth about Santa into a laugh-out-loud metaphysical romp.
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