Philosophy Talk Starters

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/deconstructing-college-admissions-rat-race.

America's elite colleges and universities spend millions of dollars to generate thousands of applicants, the vast majority of whom they reject. High school students – and their parents – work hard to gain entry to such institutions, and can be devastated by the rejection. Is there a purpose to this rat race? What values are implicit in the American college admissions process? John and Ken offer admission to Mitchell Stevens from Stanford's School of Education, author of "Creating A Class: College Admissions and the Education of Elites," for a program recorded with an audience of high school students in Palo Alto, California.

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/time-space-and-quantum-mechanics.

Quantum physics is regarded by many as the most powerful predictive theory science has produced. But there is no interpretation of what the theory means that all knowledgeable scientists and philosophers agree on. For example, quantum mechanics delivers no very clear message about the difference between past, present and future. What are the implications for our everyday experience of space and time? John and Ken welcome back Jenann Ismael from the University of Arizona, author of "The Situated Self" and many essays on the interpretation of quantum mechanics.

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/state-public-philosophy.

In the 18th and 19th Century, philosophers and intellectuals were immersed in politics and popular culture. Even in the early 20th Century some of the leading academic figures of the time, like Bertrand Russell, also wrote for a broader public. Where have the public philosophers and public intellectuals gone? Can philosophers and intellectuals still speak to a broad public? If they speak will the public listen? Or is the public intellectual a thing of the past? John and Ken contemplate the place of the public intellectual in the modern world with Hans Gumbrecht, author of "Reading Moods: On Literature's Different Reality."

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/philosophy-and-everyday-life.

Philosophy isn't just about cosmic issues. Every day is full of events that raise philosophical questions: why do we eat the things we eat, work the way we work, go to the places we go? What ideas underlie our most basic activities? John and Ken look for depth in the daily grind with Robert Rowland Smith, author of "Breakfast With Socrates: An Extraordinary (Philosophical) Journey Through Your Ordinary Day."

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/psychology-evil.

True evil seems easy to recognize: the killing of innocent children; assigning whole populations to death by gassing, or napalm, or aerial bombing. These acts go beyond the criminal, the mean, the bad. But what is the psychology of evil-doers? Are they monsters among us just like the rest of us, with one screw a little loose, or are they radically unlike us? John and Ken probe the evil mind with Simon Baron Cohen from Cambridge University, author of "The Science of Evil: On Empathy and the Origins of Cruelty."

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/atheism-and-well-lived-life.

Atheists don't believe in God – does that mean they don't find life meaningful? Are atheists doomed to be grouchy nihilists, finding meaning only in criticizing theists? Or does a world without God offer its own meanings and values to structure a well-lived life? John and Ken search for a meaningful atheism with Louise Antony from UMass Amherst, editor of "Philosophers Without Gods: Meditations on Atheism and the Secular Life."

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/whodunit-language-responsibility.

Who is responsible for the broken vase in the foyer? How harshly should criminals be punished for their crimes? Did Justin Timberlake mean to disrobe Janet Jackson during her infamous ‘wardrobe malfunction’? Cognitive scientists have recently discovered some surprising ways in which the language we use influences how we think about responsibility and agency. John and Ken are joined by Stanford psychologist Lera Boroditsky for a probing look at cross cultural variations in the language of responsibility.

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/gay-pride-prejudice.

The question of gay rights has become a hot button issue, with opposition taking on the air of a moral panic and support taking on the air of a righteous crusade. John and Ken attempt to dispassionately examine the competing scientific, religious, and philosophical visions of the nature of gayness. They explore the consequences of those competing arguments for and against gay rights with cultural and psychological anthropologist Gilbert Herdt, author of "Moral Panics, Sex Panics: Fear and the Fight over Sexual Rights."

Summer's just around the corner – what philosophers, philosophies, or philosophical issues do you want to read up on? Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason" may not be the obvious choice to take on vacation, but there are lots of readable, beach-friendly classics and non-classics to add philosophical depth to your summer reading. Not to mention new and classic fiction books with a philosophical bent. John and Ken share some of the philosophically-minded titles on their reading list and take suggestions from listeners and special guests.

More at: http://philosophytalk.org/shows/summer-reading-list-2011

More at: http://philosophytalk.org/shows/cities-gentrification-and-inequality.

In the 1960s, as many American cities burst and burned, the upper and middle classes fled to the suburbs, leaving behind a decaying infrastructure and a socially isolated urban underclass. In more recent times, many urban centers have undergone re-gentrification, and with it the return of the upper classes, safer neighborhoods, and better services. But gentrification often drives poor and working class people from the very places they had called home. Is gentrification on balance a morally and socially good thing or bad thing? Does it serve more to increase inequality or to lessen the isolation of the urban underclass? John and Ken assess the moral cityscape with Stanford sociologist Frederic Stout, co-editor of "The City Reader."