Bad Philosophy

Imagine you’re a teenager in the parking lot outside a grocery store. It’s hot, you’re tired, and you’re late. Your mother has strictly commanded you to be home in 5 minutes, and you have just enough time to make it. Suddenly, you spot an elderly woman struggling with a heavy cart of groceries. Cars honk at her as she shuffles toward her sedan. You see her flushing with anxiety. What do you do? Obey your mother and hope the woman is okay? Ignore your obligation to your mother and help her? Why? Why not?

Moral choices of various caliber arise for us daily. Maybe they’re not all as intense as this case, but nonetheless, how do we make our moral decisions? Where do our values originate? This episode Kevin and I revisit the question, examining our own moral compasses, a few case studies from our experiences, and some relevant philosophical perspectives. We highly recommend reading the show notes first. Enjoy!

“Torn” by Natalie Imbruglia

Genetic diversity is a crucial component any species’ survival. Could a similar principle apply to the creative potential of a a media entity? Specifically, is the Star Wars franchise at risk of inbreeding under Disney’s command? This Star Wars Day, Kevin and I tackle this and other questions related to our beloved cultural phenomenon. May the Fourth be with y’all!

Theme from “Checkmate” by John Williams

We seem to have painted ourselves into a corner. The utopian promises of consumer capitalism have failed to materialize. Today we are more financially unequal than ever. The global hegemony is a plutocracy, whose asset-based power shapes political policies, information flows, and social structures with unaccountable hands. True reform is elusive, despite what should have been a devastating financial crisis in 2008. Roberto Unger is angry about this! On today’s show, Kevin and I ask some simple, troubling questions about our predicament, ponder the role of the individual in global change, and dote on cats. Because cats. Have a listen (or watch)!

Zum Greifen nah by Bersarin Quartett

Well, we made it. A hundred and fifty episodes! Wow. If you’ve been with us since the beginning, OH MY GOD THANK YOU. And if you haven’t, well… we hope you enjoy us, stick around, and maybe say something to us from time to time. Anyways, Kevin and I have some mildly crazy ideas to share with you about the future of the show. Have a listen!

“Back to the Future Theme” (Spotify)

Nary a hipster conversation on the world of 21st century cinema goes by without mention of Shane Carruth’s chart-inducing indie film Primer. Carruth’s second film, Upstream Color, weaves a more subtly mind-bending narrative. Kevin and Brian having recently watched it prompted us to dive into the movie’s multi-layered thematic storytelling and explore some related (and not-so-related) tangents. Have a listen!

“Nobody Likes Me” by The Rockin’ Worms (Spotify)

What is Buddhism? More precisely, what does it mean to be “Buddhist?” Perhaps surprisingly, potential answers to this vary greatly whether one approaches Buddhism from a theoretical or a practical framework. Roughly representing these approaches respectively, Dr. Mark Webb and newcomer Sebastian Bentkowski joined me to explore, compare, and contrast. Does a dog have Buddha-nature? The answer might surprise you. Have a listen!

Another year has come and gone, y’all. Babies were born, folks passed away, and cats walked on two legs. The world kept spinning (at least we’re pretty sure it did). As always, this episode we bring you our annual round-up of last year’s predictions followed by our predictions for 2014. We’re happy to welcome back Matt Legler, who plans to scuba dive in the Caribbean several times in the upcoming year. Yep. Your life sounds pretty boring now, doesn’t it? Well anyways… enjoy the show, and Happy New Year!

“New Years End” by God is An Astronaut

Just in time for the conclusion of Finals Week, we bring you Part Deux of our “critically acclaimed” series on paternalism / maternalism in contemporary academia. BIG apologies for the delay on this one. I dropped the ball. Screwed the pooch. Zigged when I should’ve zagged. BUT the episode is here! We even got the venerable Shawn Brackett back on to reprise his role as our resident Expert on All Things Higher Education (eat your heart out, Rick Harrison). He even ran a whole marathon recently, so please send him some huge props for that. Enjoy the show…

Show Notes

This Week’s Post-Show Song

How did you feel about the staff at your university when they enforced policy? When they told you that something wasn’t in your best interest? When they offered to help you through tough times? It’s been a while since we’ve visited the subject of Higher Education, and we’ve perhaps never approached it from quite the same vector as this episode. Student Affairs veteran and resident synesthete Shawn Brackett joins me and Kevin for an insider’s look at institutionalized paternalist / maternalist practices in public universities, historical precedents for them, and some questions around the ethics of their implementation. So settle in for some free pizza, free condoms, and free thought in this week’s BF.

Contrary to our habits, we enjoyed this topic so much that we are bringing y’all a Part TWO hot on its heels in the next week (or two). We encourage you to peruse the links below for further reading / context. On Facebook or in the comments here we invite you to leave comments and questions which we’ll address in the next episode. Exciting!

Show Notes

(Via Shawn Brackett)

This Week’s Post-Show Song

“You Should Consider Having Sex with a Bearded Man” by The Beards

Space. It’s big. REALLY big. Also empty. And cold. And silent. Except for George Clooney. George Clooney could fill all of space with his voice. That wonderful… baritone voice……. um, what was I… OH! Right! Gravity. Kevin and I recently checked out this spectacle of a cinematic achievement to see what all the fuss was about. We laughed, we cried, we screamed. We enjoyed it? Well, just have a listen.

Show Notes

Post-Show Song