Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

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Dr Donna Thomas joins me to discuss children’s extraordinary experiences and the deeper ontological assumptions shaping how we interpret them.

Social science typically begins with the assumption that consciousness is generated by the brain. But what happens when children report experiences that don’t fit that framework?

In this conversation we explore:
- Ontology in social research
- The meaning of self and subjectivity
- Why certain experiences are dismissed as “impossible”
- Explanatory power vs. default assumptions
- How institutions categorise identity

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00:00:00 – Introduction: Philosophy, Assumptions & Research with Children
00:04:12 – Social Science and the “Biological Machine” Assumption
00:09:18 – What Do We Mean by Self, Identity, and Subjectivity?
00:14:42 – Extrasensory Experiences and Institutional Dismissal
00:21:05 – Explanatory Power vs. Default Materialism
00:27:30 – Categorisation, Identity Construction & Social Systems
00:34:10 – Children’s Reported Experiences in Research Context
00:41:22 – Methodology: Listening Without Pre-Filtering
00:49:03 – Physicalism, Consciousness & Alternative Models
00:56:40 – Intellectual Humility, Uncertainty & Future Research Directions
01:03:55 – Closing Reflections

#Consciousness #ChildrenResearch #Ontology #PhilosophyOfMind #ExtrasensoryExperience #SurvivalResearch #SeekingI