Philosophy Talk Starters

More at www.philosophytalk.org/shows/self-illusion.

Most of us think it’s obvious that we have a self, but famously, both Buddhism and British philosopher David Hume are skeptical that such a thing exists. What in the world could it mean to deny that the self exists? Could ‘the self’ just refer to a series of perceptions and feelings we have over time? If so, then whose perceptions and feelings are they? Is there any way Buddhism could have influenced Hume’s thinking on the illusory nature of the self? The philosophers question their selves with Alison Gopnik from UC Berkeley, author of " The Philosophical Baby" and "How David Hume Helped Me Solve My Midlife Crisis."

More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/heidegger.

Best known for his work "Being and Time," Martin Heidegger has been hailed by many as the greatest philosopher of the twentieth century. He has also been criticized for being both nearly unreadable and a Nazi. Yet there is no disputing his seminal place in the history of Western thought. So what did Heidegger mean when he wrote about world, being, and time? What significance does he still hold as a thinker today, especially as a philosopher of modern technology? Should we even read the works of a Nazi? John and Ken are present and ready with Thomas Sheehan from Stanford University, author of "Making Sense of Heidegger: A Paradigm Shift."

More at www.philosophytalk.org/shows/hobbes-and-ideal-citizen.

Seventeenth century philosopher Thomas Hobbes believed that without government to control our worst impulses, life would be 'solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.' Consequently, he thought that absolute monarchy is the best form of government. So is Hobbes’ ideal citizen simply someone who is willing to submit to absolute authority, or are there other features the ideal citizen must have? What flaws would make a subject bad, or worse, a threat to peace in the realm? And are there any lessons modern democracies can learn from Hobbes’ political philosophy? The Philosophers submit to Stanford political scientist Alison McQueen, author of "Political Realism in Apocalyptic Times."

More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/summer-reading-list-banned-books-edition.

The American Library Association reports that last year 1,597 books were challenged or removed from libraries, schools, and universities, a record high number (compared to 273 books in 2020). Most of the challenged or removed books deal with themes relating to race or sexuality and gender, and challenges come from both the right and the left. What are the implications for your thought-provoking summer reading? Josh and Ray talk to Stanford English professor Paula Moya about attempts to remove Toni Morrison's "The Bluest Eye" from schools; activist Chaz Stevens about his crusade to ban the Bible from Florida schools; and Jennifer Ruth & Michael Bérubé about their new book, "It's Not Free Speech: Race, Democracy, and the Future of Academic Freedom."

More at www.philosophytalk.org/shows/death-sentence.

A child’s first sentence is a pivotal moment in her development when she is recognized as now capable of communicating complete thoughts. But in the twenty-first century, thoughts have become increasingly mediated by technology, and language more careless and informal as a result. Are texts, emails, tweets, and emojis responsible for the decline of the formal, grammatical sentence? Are our writing standards getting worse, or are they simply changing with the times? And what effect—good or bad—will new communicative styles have on participation in the democratic polity? The philosophers share complete thoughts with Jan Mieszkowski from Reed College, author of "Crises of the Sentence."

More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/2022-dionysus-awards.

What movies of the past year challenged our assumptions and made us think about things in new ways? Josh and guest co-host Jeremy Sabol present our annual Dionysus Awards for the most thought-provoking films of 2021, including:

• Best Attempt to Redeem 80+ Years of Questionable Ethics

• Best Film about Complicated Mothers Telling Uncomfortable Truths

• Best Adapted Novel about Trauma, Marginalization, Self-Deception AND the Gap Between Appearance and Reality

More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/walter-benjamin.

Walter Benjamin was a German Jewish critical theorist, essayist, and philosopher who died tragically during the Second World War. His thoughts about modernity, history, art, disenchantment, and re-enchantment are still discussed today. So who was Benjamin, and what is his intellectual legacy? Why did he believe that Enlightenment values, such as rationality and modernization, brought about disenchantment in the world? Did he think there was a way to find re-enchantment without abandoning these values? And what would he have had to say about social media and its power to distract? The hosts have an enchanting time with Margaret Cohen from Stanford University, author of "Profane Illumination: Walter Benjamin and the Paris of Surrealist Revolution."

More at www.philosophytalk.org/shows/comedy-and-culture-wars.

Comedy can often give offense, especially when it concerns such sensitive topics as race, gender, and sexuality. Should comedy like that be shunned, boycotted, even banned? Can it be enjoyed without danger? Or could it even, at its best, be the road to a better society? Could it somehow help us all to live together, and to come to terms with intractable social issues we’ll never fully put behind us? The Philosophers have a laugh with Jeff Israel from Williams College, author of "Living with Hate in American Politics and Religion: How Popular Culture Can Defuse Intractable Differences."

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/leibniz.

The intellectual domain of Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz cannot be captured in a single word. For most of his life, he was a jurist, a courtier, a diplomat, and a librarian; he also made huge contributions to the study of logic, geometry, physics, botany, physiology, linguistics, and of course, the infinitesimal calculus. And yet, many of his ideas remain obscure to the modern reader. What in the world is a Monad? Why does Leibniz care so much about the so-called Principle of Sufficient Reason? And how could he claim that this is the Best of all Possible Worlds? John and Ken discuss the most important philosopher you know the least about with Daniel Garber from Princeton University, author of "Leibniz: Body, Substance, Monad."

More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/changing-face-antisemitism.

Antisemitism is an old problem with roots that reach back to medieval Europe. While earlier forms focused more on religious bigotry, antisemitism in the modern period became increasingly racialized and politicized. So what is the connection between older ideas about Jews and Judaism, and contemporary antisemitic tropes and stereotypes? How are conspiratorial fears about Jewish invisibility and global control related to the emergence of finance capitalism? And what can history teach us about how to confront antisemitism today? Josh and Ray ask historian Francesca Trivellato from the Institute for Advanced Study, editor of "Jews in Early Modern Europe" (forthcoming), in a program recorded live at the Stanford Humanities Center.