The second episode of our four part series on philosopher Kate Soper's book What Is Nature? In this episode, we examine the philosophical conceptions human and inhuman--what makes humans special and distinct from other animals and other life forms? Why do humans get judged differently that other animals when it comes to our impact on the environment? And what are the implications of defining some homo sapiens as less than fully human, subhuman, or inhuman?

Link to the first episode:

In this episode I mention a number of philosophers, about whose philosophy I routinely say, "But I don't want to get too deep into that here." If you would like to dig deeper into those philosophers and their ideas, here are some good places to start with further reading, viewing, and research:

Rene Descartes:

• Descartes and Animal Rights
• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Mind-Body Problem and Dualism

Immanuel Kant:

• The Noumenal and the Phenomenal - mind the gap

Hegel, Marx and Dialectics:

• Philosophy Tube: Intro to Hegel
• Hegel and Marx on Dialectic
• Encyclopaedia Britannica: Dialectical Materialism

Heidegger:

• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Martin Heideger -- Being in Time

Watts:

• Alan Watts -- You Are the Universe
• Alan Watts -- The Real You
• Alan Watts -- Deconstructing the Myths of Our Universe