Explanation at Its BestMore at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/explanation-its-best. In science as well as everyday life, we often feel the pull of simpler, more elegant, or more beautiful explanations. For example, you notice the street is wet and infer the best explanation is that it rained earlier. But are we justified in assuming these tidy explanations are most likely to be true? What makes an explanation “simple” or “elegant” in the first place? And can the “lovelin...
Reading the Troubled PastMore at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/reading-troubled-past. Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe lambasted Joseph Conrad’s novel Heart of Darkness as a deeply racist work that should be removed from the Western canon. Defenders of Conrad say the novel is simply an expression of its time and not an endorsement of the racist attitudes it represents. So how do we judge the moral legitimacy of older works of literature and philosophy? Should we shun writers for h...
Conscious MachinesMore at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/conscious-machines. Computers have already surpassed us in their ability to perform certain cognitive tasks. Perhaps it won’t be long till every household has a super intelligent robot who can outperform us in almost every domain. While future AI might be excellent at appearing conscious, could AI ever actually become conscious? Would forcing conscious machines to work for us be akin to slavery? Could we design AI that spe...
Death of the SentenceMore at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/death-sentence. A child’s first sentence is a pivotal moment in her development when she is recognized as now capable of communicating complete thoughts. But in the 21st century, thoughts have become increasingly mediated by technology, and language more careless and informal as a result. Are texts, emails, tweets, and emojis responsible for the decline of the formal, grammatical sentence? Are our writing standards gett...
Why Money MattersMore at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/why-money-matters. Money, they say, does not buy happiness; but having none can make life extraordinarily hard. Whether we have a little or a lot, we are all familiar with how much money matters in our daily lives. But what exactly is money? Is it a commodity that evolved spontaneously from systems of barter? Or is it purely an invention of government, used as a means to pay off tax liability? What difference would the answer...
Time For Summer ReadingMore at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/time-summer-reading. When John and Ken began shopping around their idea for a philosophy-on-the-radio show nearly 20 years ago, many believed it would never work, let alone stay on the air. Nearly two decades later, the program that questions everything (except your intelligence) has hit 500 episodes—just in time for current co-hosts Josh and Ray to spend our annual summer reading special thinking about time and books...
Pet EthicsMore at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/pet-ethics. Many of us, even the staunchest animal activists, usually take it for granted that keeping a pet is morally acceptable. But regardless of how well we treat our animal “companions,” by keeping pets we are declaring ownership and paternal authority over other living creatures, and confining them to our homes. Is there any good moral justification for the keeping of pets? What makes some, if any, animals suitable as pet...
The Ethical JerkMore at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/ethical-jerk. Ethics philosophers are more ethical than the average person — right? Well, maybe not. Studies show that philosophy professors are just as biased as the rest of us, and no more generous in their charitable giving. So does that mean they’re not any more ethical too? What’s the point of doing moral philosophy if it’s not to make ourselves more ethical? How can we make ourselves better people? Or are we doom...
Are Rules Meant to Be Broken: Roving Philosophical ReportWe sent our Roving Philosophical Reporter, Sheryl Kaskowitz, to talk to a group of people whose lives are perhaps the most governed by rules, and hear the surprising things to say. More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/are-rules-meant-be-broken.
The Merits of MeritocracyMore at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/merits-meritocracy. For centuries, the promise of the “American Dream” has been that as long as someone buckles down and works hard, she can achieve her goals. In other words, we’ve perpetuated the meritocratic notion that the more effort one puts in and the more ability one possesses, the more success one can attain. But is this really the case? Given the historical and societal disadvantages that certain group...
Citizenship and JusticeMore at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/citizenship-and-justice. Securing citizenship to a developed country could guarantee people enormous privileges and opportunities. Some condemn those who try illegally to reap the benefits that come with such citizenship. But are our ways of determining who gets to enter borders arbitrary and unfair? Should we grant border access to people born in a nation’s territories, or also on people whose parents were citizens? ...
609: Iris MurdochMore at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/iris-murdoch. Iris Murdoch may be best known for her works of fiction, but her philosophical contributions were equally significant. A moral realist influenced by Plato and Simone Weil, she developed theories in virtue ethics and care ethics. So what is the relationship between Murdoch's works of fiction and her philosophical writings? Why did she believe that "nothing in life is of any value except the attempt to be virtuous...
Why We HateMore at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/why-we-hate. The Southern Poverty Law Center reports that the number of hate groups operating in the U.S. has risen to a record high. There has also been a corresponding increase in hate crime violence. So where does all this hate come from? Do we hate others because we feel a deeper sense of alienation or fear towards them? Is hating always the wrong response, or is there an appropriate kind of hate? Can we love and hate at the sa...
What's in a Game?More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/whats-game. Games have been an integral part of human society since the earliest civilizations. They are played around the world by people at every rank and station, at every stage of life, from childhood to old age. Why do we love games so much? Are they just a pleasant way of whiling away some empty hours or escaping the daily grind? Or do we play games to form social bonds and build important life skills? Are there some ga...
Are We All to Blame?More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/are-we-all-blame. It’s easy to identify the pressing issues facing our world today, but it’s much more difficult to assign responsibility for them. Often the blame is placed on collectives — on entire governments, nations, and societies. But does the responsibility truly all fall to them? How can we identify precisely whose fault it is, for example, that we are experiencing climate change, or that hate crimes occur, ...
Altered StatesMore at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/altered-states. Aldous Huxley explains his conception of the brain as a "reducing valve" of consciousness in his provocative book, The Doors of Perception. His famous experiment with the psychedelic substance mescaline was an attempt to open this valve and expand his capacity for knowledge. However, many drugs and psychedelics today are seen as simply tools for pleasure or the source of bad habits. Do drugs possess the capabilit...
What Has Replaced Freud?
What Is Masculinity?More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/what-masculinity. Strong, in control, and stoic—these are traits of the ideal masculine man. Men who fail to conform to this ideal are often penalized, particularly if they are men of color, queer men, working-class men, or men with disabilities. So how do we create different visions of masculinity that make room for all kinds of men? Should we abandon the idea of masculinity altogether, or would that be throwing out the...
Are Rules Mean to Be Broken?More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/are-rules-meant-be-broken. Rules exist for a reason: they tell us what to expect, they help us coordinate our actions, and they stop us from exploiting one another. But isn't it possible to be too much of a rule follower? Aren't some rules arbitrary, unjust, or just plain inefficient? When should we exercise our judgment to reinterpret the rules, and when should we ignore them altogether? Josh and Ray break all rul...
Philippa FootMore at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/philippa-foot. Philippa Foot invented the thought experiment that famously became known as the Trolley Problem. Despite the vast industry of “trolleyology” it inspired, Foot’s goal to illuminate debates on abortion and euthanasia often gets lost in the mix. So, how did Foot use this thought experiment to distinguish between doing versus allowing? What did she mean by the "Doctrine of Double Effect"? Why did she think that c...
The Lives and Ideas of the Vienna CircleMore at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/vienna-circle. The Vienna Circle was a group of early twentieth-century philosophers, mathematicians, logicians, and scientists, best known for developing the theory of scientific knowledge called logical positivism. Although positivism as a project has been largely abandoned, the group's ideas continue to have profound influence on contemporary philosophy of science. So what philosophical theories were...
Are Rules Meant to Be Broken?More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/are-rules-meant-be-broken. Rules exist for a reason: they tell us what to expect, they help us coordinate our actions, and they stop us from exploiting one another. But isn't it possible to be too much of a rule follower? Aren't some rules arbitrary, unjust, or just plain inefficient? When should we exercise our judgment to reinterpret the rules, and when should we ignore them altogether? Josh and Ray break all ru...
Nonduality and the Oneness of BeingMore at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/nonduality-and-oneness-being. Some branches of Hindu philosophy propose that reality is nondual in nature. Such schools of thought—called advaita schools, from a Sanskrit word meaning “not two”—see the material world either as an aspect of ultimate reality (“Brahman”) or as a mere illusion. So how do we make sense of the appearance of variety in a metaphysics of oneness? Is there room for individ...
Your Brain on LiteratureMore at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/your-brain-literature. Cognitive science has revolutionized our understanding of the brain and how it functions. Researchers have even used fMRI to detect differences in the way people engage with literature. But can contemporary science really teach us anything about how novels, poems, and movies work? Do new understandings of the unconscious help us appreciate the brilliant magic tricks that writers pull off? And cou...
MicroaggressionsMore at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/microaggressions. Microaggressions are small comments or questions that may be insulting or hurtful to another person because of their race, gender, sexuality, and so on. Some people consider microaggressions to be a phantom symptom of political correctness and a further sign that society has become “soft,” while others see them as a problematic way of normalizing bigotry. So how do microagressions compare to other types o...
Iris Murdoch: Roving Philosophical ReportWe sent our Roving Philosophical Reporter, Sheryl Kaskowitz, to look into the relationship between Murdoch’s novels and her philosophical writing. More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/iris-murdoch.
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