Philosophy Talk Starters

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371: The Art of Non-Violence

01.17.2022

More at philosophytalk.org/shows/art-non-violence. We all hope for peace. Yet in the face of violence, it often seems the only recourse is more violence. Advocates of non-violence claim it’s not necessary to respond to war in kind, and that responding violently, ...

Philosophy Talk Starters episodes:

01.17.2022 371: The Art of Non-Violence More at philosophytalk.org/shows/art-non-violence. We all hope for peace. Yet in the face of violence, it often seems the only recourse is more violence. Advocates of non-violence claim it’s not necessary to respond to war in kind, and that responding violently, ...
01.07.2022 538: Could Robots Be Persons? More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/could-robots-be-persons. As we approach the advent of autonomous robots, we must decide how we will determine culpability for their actions. Some propose creating a new legal category of “electronic personhood” for any sufficiently advanced robot that can learn ...
01.02.2022 482: J.S. Mill and the Good Life More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/mill-and-good-life. John Stuart Mill was one of the most important British philosophers of the 19th century. As a liberal, he thought that individuals are generally the best judges of their own welfare. But Mill was also a utilitarian ...
12.27.2021 537: The Examined Year – 2021 More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/examined-year-2021. What happened over the past 12 months that challenged our assumptions and made us think about things in new ways? • The Year in Political Insurrection with former co-host and current Stanford Dean Debra Satz • The ...
12.19.2021 481: The Limits of Tolerance More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/limits-tolerance. In order to reach compromise, people try to be tolerant of others with different beliefs. Despite its value, there are numerous factors that may hinder our exercise of tolerance. As the schisms between our beliefs grow larger, ...
12.12.2021 536: What Can Virtual Reality (Actually) Do? More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/what-can-virtual-reality-actually-do. VR transports users into all kinds of different realities, some modeled on the real world, others completely invented. Though still in its infancy, the technology has become so sophisticated, it can trick the brain into treating the ...
12.05.2021 480: What Is Religious Belief? More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/what-religious-belief. Many people profess to believe in an all-powerful, all-knowing, benevolent God. Yet psychological data shows that people often think and reason about God in ways contrary to their professed religious beliefs. So, are these so-called religious beliefs ...
11.29.2021 535: Should All Ages Be Equal? More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/should-all-ages-be-equal. Age determines a lot about your position in society—what activities you can do, what benefits you can access, and what rights and responsibilities you have. While it seems appropriate to treat people at different stages of life ...
11.21.2021 479: Is Philanthropy Bad for Democracy? More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/philanthropy-bad-democracy. In a liberal democracy, individuals should have the freedom to give money to charities of their choice. But there’s a difference between charitable giving from ordinary individuals and philanthropic giving from extremely wealthy individuals. Whose interests are ...
11.12.2021 534: The Social Lives of Robots More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/social-lives-robots. Machines might surpass humans in terms of computational intelligence, but when it comes to social intelligence, they’re not very sophisticated. They have difficulty reading subtle cues—like body language, eye gaze, or facial expression—that we pick up on ...
11.07.2021 533: Frege and the Language of Reason More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/frege-and-language-reason. At the end of the 19th Century, the German philosopher Gottlob Frege invented a new language, based on mathematics, designed to help people reason more logically. His ideas have had a lasting impact on philosophy, math, computer ...
10.31.2021 237: The Occult Philosophy More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/occult-philosophy. The occult is routinely dismissed in our times as the province of quacks, the irrational, and the superstitious. But during the Renaissance, many of the best minds in Europe studied the philosophy and science of the occult. ...
10.24.2021 532: Akan Philosophy and Personhood More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/akan-philosophy. The Akan people of West Africa have developed a system of metaphysics, epistemology, and moral philosophy with a special focus on personhood. For the Akan, their conception of a person is not just a matter of theoretical ...
10.17.2021 417: John Dewey and the Ideal of Democracy More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/john-dewey. John Dewey is regarded by some as the American philosopher. In the first half of the 20th century, he stood as the most prominent public intellectual whose influence reached into intellectual movements in China, Japan, and India. ...
10.12.2021 531: The Mysterious Timelessness of Math More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/mysterious-timelessness-math. Math is a really useful subject—at least, that's what your parents and teachers told you. But math also leads to scenarios, like Zeno's paradoxes, that seem to inspire skepticism. So why do we believe in math and ...
10.03.2021 476: Immigration and Multiculturalism More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/immigration-and-multiculturalism. Whether for economic reasons or to flee violence and persecution, immigration rates continue to climb globally. At the same time, opposition to immigration and intolerance of multiculturalism is also growing. Should cultural or ethnic identity ever be ...
09.26.2021 177: Gandhi as a Philosopher More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/gandhi-philosopher. Gandhi is famous as the leader of the movement for Indian independence, which he based on his philosophy of non-violence, an important influence on Martin Luther King Jr. Gandhi's ideas and the effects of his leadership continue ...
09.19.2021 474: What Do We Owe Future Generations? More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/what-do-we-owe-future-generations. We talk about owing future generations a better world. We might also think that we should do things for future generations even if our actions might not benefit present-day people. But is it possible to have obligations ...
09.12.2021 478: Authority and Resistance More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/authority-and-resistance. Authority can refer to people or institutions that have the political power to make decisions, give orders, and enforce rules. It can also refer to a certain kind of expertise or knowledge that we might defer to. ...
09.05.2021 526: (End of) Summer Reading List 2021 More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/summer-reading-list-2021. As some parts of our lives return to some kind of normal, Josh and Ray ask authors and philosophers about what's been on their summer reading lists. • Cory Doctorow on "Making Hay," his short story in ...
08.29.2021 530: The Ethics of Awesomeness More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/ethics-awesomeness. The word “awesome” once meant inspiring extreme fear or dread. Nowadays it’s mostly used as a general purpose exclamation of approval. So when we describe a person as awesome, are we saying that they exemplify some general ...
08.22.2021 473: Envy – Vice or Virtue? More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/envy-vice-or-virtue. Bertrand Russell said that envy was one of the most potent causes of unhappiness, and it's well known as one of the seven deadly sins. But is envy always a bad thing? Is it simply a petty ...
08.15.2021 529: Microaggressions More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/microaggressions. Microaggressions are small comments or questions that may be insulting or hurtful to another person because of their race, gender, sexuality, and so on. Some people consider microaggressions to be a phantom symptom of political correctness and ...
08.08.2021 469: The Creative Life More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/creative-life. Parents and students alike often think that a college major defines possible career options. Yet what distinguishes today's work world from bygone times is that it's quite common for adults to have a variety of different careers ...
08.01.2021 521: The 2021 Dionysus Awards More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/2021-dionysus-awards. After a year in which "entertainment" took on a whole new meaning, what were the movies that challenged our assumptions and made us think about things in new ways? Josh and guest co-host Jeremy Sabol talk to ...
07.27.2021 528: Referring to the World — Ken's Final Work More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/referring-world. On December 2, 2019, Ken Taylor announced that he finally had “an almost complete draft” of a book he had been writing for years. “I think I'll pour a glass of wine to mark the occasion, before ...
07.18.2021 471: Foreign Aid – or Injury? More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/foreign-aid-or-injury. Many of us might think that developed nations should lead the effort to end global poverty. But decades of foreign aid—from governments and non-governmental organizations—has failed to produce sustainable growth in the developing world. How can we ...
07.09.2021 527: Your Brain on Literature More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/your-brain-literature. Cognitive science has revolutionized our understanding of the brain and how it functions. Researchers have even used fMRI to detect differences in the way people engage with literature. But can contemporary science really teach us anything about ...
07.04.2021 470: Foucault and Power More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/foucault-and-power. Michel Foucault was a 20th century philosopher known for his work concerning power and knowledge. Foucault is often cited for his theory of knowledge and power, which are inextricably linked. But what exactly is Foucault's philosophy of ...
06.27.2021 468: Does Reputation Matter? More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/does-reputation-matter. We think about about our own reputation all the time, and we constantly reference the reputations of the people we meet and interact with. But why do we care so much about reputation? Is it rational for ...
06.13.2021 467: Can Reason Save Us? More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/can-reason-save-us. To an optimist, things are constantly getting better: disease and extreme poverty are down; life expectancy, literacy, and equality are up; and it’s all thanks to the glory of human reason. But a pessimist would point to ...
06.06.2021 525: Nonduality and the Oneness of Being More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/nonduality-and-oneness-being. Some branches of Hindu philosophy propose that reality is nondual in nature. Such schools of thought—called advaita schools, from a Sanskrit word meaning “not two”—see the material world either as an aspect of ultimate reality (“Brahman”) or ...
05.30.2021 465: The Psychology of Cruelty More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/psychology-cruelty. Throughout history, people have committed all kinds of cruel, degrading, and evil acts toward other people. Many believe that for evil acts like genocide to be even possible, the victims must first be dehumanized by the perpetrators, ...
05.24.2021 524: The Lives and Ideas of the Vienna Circle More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/vienna-circle. The Vienna Circle was a group of early twentieth-century philosophers, mathematicians, logicians, and scientists, best known for developing the theory of scientific knowledge called logical positivism. Although positivism as a project has been largely abandoned, the group's ...
05.16.2021 464: The Athlete as Philosopher More as https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/athlete-philosopher. For the ancient Greeks, sport was an integral part of education. Athletic programs remain in schools today, but there is a growing gap between the modern sports experience and enduring educational values such as self-discovery, responsibility, respect, ...
05.07.2021 523: Disinformation and the Future of Democracy More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/disinformation-and-future-democracy. The 2020 election and startling events that followed show that the US is as polarized as ever. Not only is there fundamental disagreement over values and goals, but people can’t seem to agree on the most basic, ...
05.02.2021 461: Radical Markets - Solutions for a Gilded Age? More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/radical-markets. Many people think that growing inequality, the rise of populism and nativism, and the decay of democratic institutions all have the same cause—the overreach of markets. The solution, they believe, is to limit the market through regulation. ...
04.25.2021 522: Montaigne and the Art of the Essay More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/montaigne-and-art-essay. French thinker Michel de Montaigne invented a whole new genre in which to do philosophy: the essay. But in his use of that form, Montaigne repeatedly digresses and contradicts himself. So why did he think the essay ...
04.18.2021 463: The Ethics of Algorithms More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/morality-algorithms. Recent years have seen the rise of machine learning algorithms surrounding us in our homes and back pockets. They're increasingly used in everything from recommending movies to guiding sentencing in criminal courts, thanks to their being perceived ...
04.04.2021 462: Does Science Over-reach? More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/does-science-over-reach. We've all heard the phrase, "You can't argue with science." Appealing to scientific fact as a way to settle a question makes sense given the amazing advancements science has brought us in understanding how the world works. ...
03.28.2021 458: Repugnant Markets – Should Everything Be For Sale? More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/repugnant-markets. We might ban buying or selling horse meat in the US not for the protection of horses, but because we find it morally repugnant. Yet this moral repugnance is clearly not universal, and on some level may ...
03.21.2021 520: What Is Masculinity? More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/what-masculinity. Strong, in control, and stoic—these are traits of the ideal masculine man. Men who fail to conform to this ideal are often penalized, particularly if they are men of color, queer men, working-class men, or men with ...
03.14.2021 451: Misogyny and Gender Inequality More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/misogyny. With the recent #MeToo viral campaign, along with the wave of prominent male figures toppled for being serial sexual harassers or worse, the topic of misogyny has come into sharp focus. But what exactly is misogyny? And ...
03.07.2021 459: The Value of Care - Feminism and Ethics More at www.philosophytalk.org/shows/value-care. We sometimes think of the domains of ethics and morality as divorced from feeling and emotion. You keep your promises because it maximizes good. But what if care were thought of as the bedrock of morality? While ...
03.01.2021 519: What Has Replaced Freud? More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/what-has-replaced-freud. Although the concept that we can have thoughts and desires hidden from consciousness can be traced back to antiquity, it was Freud who truly popularized it in the twentieth century. Now Freud’s theory of the unconscious mind ...
02.21.2021 180: John Rawls More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/john-rawls. John Rawls was one of the most influential political philosophers of the twentieth century. In his book "A Theory of Justice" he articulated a concept of justice as fairness, which won many fans among liberals, and provoked ...
02.14.2021 280: What Is Love? More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/what-love. It may seem doubtful that philosophers have much to tell us about love (beyond their love of wisdom). Surely it is the poets who have the market cornered when it comes to deep reflection on the nature ...
02.06.2021 80: W.E.B. Du Bois More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/web-du-bois. Sociologist, historian, philosopher, editor, writer, and activist, W.E.B. DuBois was one of the most influential intellectuals of the twentieth century. The first African-American Ph.D. from Harvard University, DuBois died in Ghana after having renounced his American citizenship. ...
01.27.2021 518: The Rhetoric of Big Tech More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/rhetoric-big-tech. Big Tech is known for its "disruption" of established industries and changing fundamental aspects of our lives from shopping and delivery to communication and transit. While many welcome these changes, there are also worries about privacy, fairness, ...
01.24.2021 455: Trolling, Bullying, and Flame Wars - Humility and Online Discourse More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/trolling-bullying-and-flame-wars. Open up any online comments section and you’ll find them: internet trolls, from the mildly inflammatory to the viciously bullying. It seems that the ease of posting online leads many to abandon any semblance of intellectual humility. ...

Older episodes

Philosophy Talk Starters

What's Philosophy Talk Starters about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Philosophy Talk Starters episodes:

371: The Art of Non-Violence

538: Could Robots Be Persons?

482: J.S. Mill and the Good Life

537: The Examined Year – 2021

481: The Limits of Tolerance

536: What Can Virtual Reality (Actually) Do?

480: What Is Religious Belief?

535: Should All Ages Be Equal?

479: Is Philanthropy Bad for Democracy?

534: The Social Lives of Robots

533: Frege and the Language of Reason

237: The Occult Philosophy

532: Akan Philosophy and Personhood

417: John Dewey and the Ideal of Democracy

531: The Mysterious Timelessness of Math

476: Immigration and Multiculturalism

177: Gandhi as a Philosopher

474: What Do We Owe Future Generations?

478: Authority and Resistance

526: (End of) Summer Reading List 2021

530: The Ethics of Awesomeness

473: Envy – Vice or Virtue?

529: Microaggressions

469: The Creative Life

521: The 2021 Dionysus Awards

528: Referring to the World — Ken's Final Work

471: Foreign Aid – or Injury?

527: Your Brain on Literature

470: Foucault and Power

468: Does Reputation Matter?

467: Can Reason Save Us?

525: Nonduality and the Oneness of Being

465: The Psychology of Cruelty

524: The Lives and Ideas of the Vienna Circle

464: The Athlete as Philosopher

523: Disinformation and the Future of Democracy

461: Radical Markets - Solutions for a Gilded Age?

522: Montaigne and the Art of the Essay

463: The Ethics of Algorithms

462: Does Science Over-reach?

458: Repugnant Markets – Should Everything Be For Sale?

520: What Is Masculinity?

451: Misogyny and Gender Inequality

459: The Value of Care - Feminism and Ethics

519: What Has Replaced Freud?

180: John Rawls

280: What Is Love?

80: W.E.B. Du Bois

518: The Rhetoric of Big Tech

455: Trolling, Bullying, and Flame Wars - Humility and Online Discourse