Philosophy For Our Times

What would you feel if you found out you are bad? Why?

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In our largely secular world, most think there is no afterlife, no reward or punishment in the hereafter. Yet most still wish to act morally and even ascetically, delaying or refusing gratification in favour of some higher ideal. Even though, without God or an afterlife, there is no-one watching and judging us, and 'right and wrong' are seen as merely human creations.

Are we living in the long shadow of a dead God, as Nietzsche suggested, and would we be better to break free? Is moral constraint a means of maintaining social order essential to the smooth running of society? Or can a merely human morality also be transcendent and ultimate?

Turkish journalist, author and activist Ece Temelkuran, Anglican priest and scholar Alison Milbank and philosopher of mind Peter Sjöstedt-H debate the existence of a secular morality. Mark Salter hosts.

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Sounds impossible? Listen to find out!

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Are the laws of nature nothing more than habits that natural systems have learned to repeat over time? While it might sound impossible, Rupert Sheldrake will be explaining the phenomenon in this episode. Rupert Sheldrake is a scientist, author, and parapsychology researcher. Best known for his 2012 book The Science Delusion and the controversial, viral TED talk he gave which was banned by the organisation.

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Can we hold multiple truths at once? Listen to find out!

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Many still remain convinced that their own views and opinions are not just culturally relative but are true and accurate accounts of the way things are.

Should we conclude that all forms of relativism are a mistake and insist on the importance and need to identify the true version of events, and the correctness of our own outlook? Alternatively, are some beliefs, such as morality and politics, contextual, while science remains objective? Or are all views essentially perspectival and we have no alternative to give up on the very possibility that we can be ultimately right about anything? 

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Don't look up?

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In this interview, philosopher Santiago Zabala details why the greatest emergency is the absence of emergency itself, the problem with freedom and our perception of postmodernism, and why we need to take warnings of emergencies far more seriously.

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Are we cheating ourselves?

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In our post truth age it seems that we can collect beliefs on a whim or a tribal fashion. And many are happy to hold contradictory views to suit their temporary desires.

Is this a dangerous approach that threatens not only the coherence of our own outlook but the stability and success of culture and society as whole? Do we need to apply reason to sort wild opinion from truth, eradicate our hypocrisies and build a better society? Or is the era of enlightenment reason over, and time to see its assertions as the prejudiced theories of a privileged class who used logic to promote a particular world view.

Distinguished philosophy professor Graham Harman, author of Oughts and Thoughts Anandi Hattiangadi and post-post-realist Hilary Lawson explore the difference between opinion and truth. Hannah Dawson hosts.

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Do your beliefs control you?

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Once faith was revered. Now in a secular age, it is seen by many as an irrational dedication to an unproven belief. Yet science, Marxism, and liberalism, all rely on core beliefs that are unprovable. And to live without belief in anything at all would be considered empty and meaningless.

Should we accept that an element of faith is required whatever our perspective, and embrace the comfort and purpose that stems from unqualified belief? Or is this to undermine the very idea of knowledge and progress, heralding a world where evidence means nothing and only rhetoric matters?

Former Director of Human Rights NGO Liberty, Shami Chakrabarti, groundbreaking physicist Carlo Rovelli, Consciousness expert Philip Goff, and world leader in relativity and cosmology George Ellis discuss the necessity and danger of belief. Isabel Hilton hosts.

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How much should we trust our leaders? Listen to find out!

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Great leaders promise to change the world. They claim to have the vision and the values to transform our lives. But rarely do they deliver. Again and again the promises are not kept, the transformation fails to arrive, and instead there is incompetence, deceit and duplicity.

Are leaders a singularly useless and malevolent bunch? Or could it be that the hypocrisy is in fact ours, demanding ethical standards we do not apply to ourselves and which none can live up to, and expecting leaders implausibly to solve intractable problems once and for all? Would we be better to stop vilifying our politicians and leaders and focus on the complexity and challenge of finding the best solutions, or is it simply the case that absolute power corrupts absolutely and we should redouble our oversight to ensure they remain in check?

In Association with Havas.

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Is consciousness all in the brain after all? Listen to find out!

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Have you ever made a decision and wondered why you made it? Or wondered where your morality comes from? Renowned philosopher of mind and founder of Neurophilosophy Patricia Churchland takes us on a journey into the brain, the nature and data of morality and the origins of nonconscious decision-making.

Patricia Churchland is a the distinguished founder of neurophilosophy. A pioneer of eliminative materialism, Patricia heralds a radically different way to understand the brain, arguing that ideas like pure morality and reason will eventually be abandoned in favour of a purely scientific view of the human mind.

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Is there more?

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Many despise the arrival of a post-truth world and fear politicians who blatantly manipulate facts and peddle falsehoods. But does this rely on assuming that truth is objective and falsehoods can be simply identified? Does the demise of truth mark the end of centuries of progress? Or is truth a construct of the powerful and post-truth a revolution against elites?

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When did we become MORE THAN...? And why?

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Many think fur coats immoral yet are happy to wear leather shoes. We fiercely protect tigers and pandas from extinction, while thousands of vital insect species get notably less attention and concern. Many claim to be concerned about the welfare of animals. But it is the cute and the charismatic that come first. The others are largely an after thought.

Should we end this hypocrisy by treating animal species equally, however difficult this might be? Should biodiversity be an end in itself and the basis for intervention? Or are we right to make distinctions based on the value we attach to the species along with the accident of human desire, fashion and aesthetics?

Philosopher, cultural critic and author of Aping Mankind Ray Tallis, writer, poet and podcaster Melanie Challenger, farmer, author, politician Jamie Blackett and Professor of Sociology at Kingston University Kay Peggs debate the hypocrisy of the way we treat animals. Myriam Francois hosts.

In association with Future Normal.

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