Egg Timer Philosophy

Do the Gods love the good because it is good or is something good because the Gods love it?  That's the dilemma that Plato posed through the voice of Socrates in his dialogue Euthyphro and the topic for this episode of the egg timer.

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On today's episode we delve deeper into the ethical conundrum of the trolley problem.

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Image Attribution: By 04_15_09_162xp_-_Flickr_-_drewj1946.jpg: Drew  Jacksich from San Jose, CA, The Republic of Californiaderivative work:  Bruce1ee - This file was derived from:  04 15 09 162xp - Flickr -  drewj1946.jpg:, CC BY-SA 2.0,  https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19584033

Imagine you are conducting a trolley and the break gets stuck.  If you do nothing the trolley will kill five workman on your path.  But you can quickly switch tracks where the trolley will kill one person.  Should you pull the lever and switch tracks?  That's the question on this episode of the egg timer.

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Image Attribution: By 04_15_09_162xp_-_Flickr_-_drewj1946.jpg: Drew Jacksich from San Jose, CA, The Republic of Californiaderivative work: Bruce1ee - This file was derived from:  04 15 09 162xp - Flickr - drewj1946.jpg:, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19584033

How would you respond to the offer to live life again forever exactly as you have lived it?  That's the question Nietzsche poses with his eternal recurrence thought experiment.  This episode explores how the notion of regret plays a strong role in how this offer is treated.

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Art Attribution: Edvard Munch, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Is eating meat a moral practice?  Today's episode explores this question with specific attention given to a very interesting analogy between eating meat and swinging a baseball bat into a cow's skull offered by Robert Nozick.

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This episode of the egg timer explores James Rachels's influential essay, 'Active and Passive Euthanasia'.  Rachels suggests that the distinction based upon the difference between killing and letting die that has shaped medical policy surrounding euthanasia in the United States is deeply flawed.  Tune in to find out why Rachels holds this position.

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This episode of the egg timer is devoted to the Platonic Dialouge of Crito.  In this Dialouge Socrates finds himself in prison awaiting a death sentence and his friend Crito has come to visit.  Crito comes with the enticing offer of helping Socrates escape from prison.  Listen to why find out why Socrates rejects the offer and accepts his sentence of death.

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Does weakness of will exist?  It sure seems like the answer is yes but as we will see, by looking at the basic views of Plato and Aristotle, the answer is more nuanced and interestingly complex than it first appears.  

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This episode of the egg timer considers the distinction between threats and offers.  Many people typically think that offers are morally permissible and threats are not. This thought is normally right but as we will explore things are more complicated than they first appear.

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Can human nature and freedom coexist?  Maybe, but if so a new way to look at both ideas will probably be needed.  Enjoy this episode of the egg timer as the topic of how human nature and freedom might relate with one another is explored.

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Image Attribution: By TonyTheTiger - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20006688