Philosophy Talk - 10/12/11

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From the Minds of Babies

Consciousness, morality, meaning and truth have perplexed and puzzled generations upon generations of philosophers. But could it be that we have been looking in all the wrong places to solve these imponderable mysteries?  Could the minds of babies hold the key to philosophical progress?  John and Ken welcome back renowned developmental psychologist Alison Gopnik, author of The Philosophical Baby: What Children's Minds Tell us about Truth, Love, and the Meaning of Life, for a program recorded in front of a live audience at the Marsh theatre in San Francisco.

Philosophy Talk - 10/05/11

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Morality and the Self

Social psychologists have discovered that our self-images play a surprising role in our thinking about everyday moral matters.  People who feel they have already proven themselves to be morally good feel less pressure to do the right thing than someone whose moral credentials are still in question.  And people often resent, rather than applaud, the morally admirable actions of others if those actions threaten their own sense of moral adequacy.  John and Ken explore the surprising ways in which our own self-images influences our moral evaluations and reasoning with Stanford psychologist Benoit Monin. This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Marsh Theatre in San Francisco.

Philosophy Talk - 11/02/11

The Occult Philosophy

Philosophy Talk - 10/26/11

REPEAT PROGRAM: 07/13/11

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Philosophy Talk - 09/28/11

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Wisdom

Philosophy is the love of wisdom – or is it?  Is this traditional definition outmoded?  Is wisdom an anachronism, an elitist concept deployed by old learned people with nothing of practical value to say?  Do the professors of philosophy around the world (or on this program) love wisdom any more or less than anyone else?  John and Ken wise up with Valerie Tiberius from the University of Minnesota, author of The Reflective Life: Living Wisely With Our Limits.

Philosophy Talk - 09/21/11

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Latin-American Philosophy

Latin American Philosophy began centuries before anything of much philosophical consequence happened in North America.  Yet in our own time, Latin American Philosophy is undergoing a protracted identity crisis.  Is it just transplanted European philosophy?  A reaction to analytical philosophy?  A reflection of the themes of liberation theology?  John and Ken explore Latin America's philosophical traditions with Joesph Orosco from Oregon State University, author of Cesar Chavez and the Common Sense of Nonviolence.  This program was recorded in front of a live audience at OSU in Corvallis.

Philosophy Talk - 09/14/11

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War, Sacrifice, and The Media

The media often present a sanitized and one sided narrative of war, torture and other forms of violence that blots out the faces and silences the voices of many of the main victims: the refugees, the victims of unjust imprisonment and torture, and the immigrants virtually enslaved by their starvation and legal disenfranchisement.  John and Ken probe the limits of the media representations of war and other forms of violence with renowned UC Berkeley professor Judith Butler, author of Frames of War: When Is Life Grievable?  This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Marsh Theatre in San Francisco.

Philosophy Talk - 09/07/11

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Deconstructing The College Admissions Rat Race

America's elite colleges and universities spend millions of dollars to generate thousands of applicants, the vast majority of whom they reject.  High school students – and their parents – work hard to gain entry to such institutions, and can be devastated by the rejection. Is there a purpose to this rat race?  What values are implicit in the American college admissions process?  John and Ken offer admission to Mitchell Stevens from Stanford's School of Education, author of Creating A Class: College Admissions and the Education of Elites, for a program recorded with an audience of high school students in Palo Alto, California.

Philosophy Talk - 08/31/11

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Schizophrenia and The Mind

To be human, philosophers have often said, is to be rational.  But many people, for biological reasons, are clearly not rational.  Schizophrenia is not only a malady, it is also a window on how the human mind works, and what it means to be human.  John and Ken examine schizophrenia and its lessons for philosophers with John Campbell from UC Berkeley, author of Reference and Consciousness.

Philosophy Talk - 08/24/11

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Health Care: Right or Privilege?

Do we have a right to healthcare, and to good high quality healthcare, in any precise and defensible sense?  Or is the "right to healthcare" just a nice way to say it would be very nice if everyone had healthcare?  John and Ken take a philosophical lens to the alleged right to healthcare and health insurance with Laurence Baker from the Center for Health Policy at Stanford University.

Philosophy Talk - 08/17/11

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Time, Space, and Quantum Mechanics

Quantum physics is regarded by many as the most powerful predictive theory science has produced.  But there is no interpretation of what the theory means that all knowledgeable scientists and philosophers agree on.  For example, quantum mechanics delivers no very clear message about the difference between past, present and future. What are the implications for our everyday experience of space and time?  John and Ken welcome back Jenann Ismael from the University of Arizona, author of The Situated Self and many essays on the interpretation of quantum mechanics.

Philosophy Talk - 08/10/11

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Is Nothing Sacred Anymore?

Tribal societies lived in a world of the sacred and profane, ritual and taboo.  Is there anything left of this structure in the modern world?  Is anything really taboo, or are things just inadvisable, problematic, unhealthy, unwise, and less than optimal under the circumstances?  John and Ken consider what, if anything, is still sacred with Cora Diamond from the University of Virginia.  This program was recorded in front of a live audience at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon.

Philosophy Talk - 08/03/11

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Philosophy and Everyday Life

Philosophy isn't just about cosmic issues.  Every day is full of events that raise philosophical questions: why do we eat the things we eat, work the way we work, go to the places we go?  What ideas underlie our most basic activities?  John and Ken look for depth in the daily grind with Robert Rowland Smith, author of Breakfast With Socrates: An Extraordinary (Philosophical) Journey Through Your Ordinary Day.

Philosophy Talk - 07/27/11

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What Are Words Worth?

How do words shape our minds?  Do the French suffer because they have no word for berry or cozy?  Do we suffer because we have no word for schadenfreude?  Why do we adopt new words, or give old words new meaning?  Can we eliminate a concept by renaming it, or eliminating the word for it?  Ken and John welcome back Geoff Nunberg, author of The Years of Talking Dangerously, for a program recorded in front of a live audience at the Marsh theatre in San Francisco. 

Philosophy Talk - 07/20/11

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The Psychology of Evil

True evil seems easy to recognize: the killing of innocent children; assigning whole populations to death by gassing, or napalm, or aerial bombing.  These acts go beyond the criminal, the mean, the bad.  But what is the psychology of evil-doers?  Are they monsters among us just like the rest of us, with one screw a little loose, or are they radically unlike us?  John and Ken probe the evil mind with Simon Baron Cohen from Cambridge University, author of The Science of Evil: On Empathy and the Origins of Cruelty.