Philosophy Talk Starters

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/religion-and-secular-state.

Can committed believers and committed non-believers share a common political life in the context of a secular state? Committed believers may want the policies of the state to reflect their deeply held religious convictions and values. Committed non-believers may not want the state imposing religiously inspired values in the absence of any purely secular justification. Must religion retreat from the public sphere or can religion find a place in the public sphere, even in a purely secular state? John and Ken welcome Robert Audio from the University of Notre Dame, author of "Democratic Authority and the Separation of Church and State."

Can committed believers and committed non-believers share a common political life in the context of a secular state? Committed believers may want the policies of the state to reflect their deeply held religious convictions and values. Committed non-believers may not want the state imposing religiously inspired values in the absence of any purely secular justification. Must religion retreat from the public sphere or can religion find a place in the public sphere, even in a purely secular state? John and Ken welcome Robert Audio from the University of Notre Dame, author of "Democratic Authority and the Separation of Church and State."

More at: http://philosophytalk.org/shows/religion-and-secular-state

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

David Hume's was a superb essayist, a brilliant philosopher, and a world-class bon vivant. His philosophical views in ethics, epistemology, aesthetics, and the philosophy of religion, though shocking to many in his own time, are enduring touchstones of modern philosophy, still required reading of every student of philosophy. Join John and Ken for a tour of a few of Hume's most startling ideas with Don Garrett from NYU, author of "Cognition and Commitment in Hume’s Philosophy".

David Hume's was a superb essayist, a brilliant philosopher, and a world-class bon vivant. His philosophical views in ethics, epistemology, aesthetics, and the philosophy of religion, though shocking to many in his own time, are enduring touchstones of modern philosophy, still required reading of every student of philosophy. Join John and Ken for a tour of a few of Hume's most startling ideas with Don Garrett from NYU, author of "Cognition and Commitment in Hume’s Philosophy".

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

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/erotic-vs-pornographic.

Erotic experience is a human good. Mature, consenting adults should be able to explore the erotic realm freely, without outside interference. Pornography is illicit and destructive. But what is the real difference between the erotic and the pornographic? Is there a bright line? In our attempts to regulate pornography do we run the risk of infringing upon the erotic freedoms of consenting adults? John and Ken draw the line with Anne Ashbaugh from Colgate University.

Erotic experience is a human good. Mature, consenting adults should be able to explore the erotic realm freely, without outside interference. Pornography is illicit and destructive. But what is the real difference between the erotic and the pornographic? Is there a bright line? In our attempts to regulate pornography do we run the risk of infringing upon the erotic freedoms of consenting adults? John and Ken draw the line with Anne Ashbaugh from Colgate University.

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/erotic-vs-pornographic

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/ethics-sport.

Once upon a time, student athletes were students first, athletes second; the Olympics was about amateurism and the pursuit of excellence, not the pursuit of endorsements; and professional athletes enhanced the physics through rigorous work-outs, not through performance enhancing substances. No doubt athletic excellence is at an all time high, but are ethics in athletics at an all time low? John and Ken explore ethics in sport with Myles Brand, President of the NCAA.

Once upon a time, student athletes were students first, athletes second; the Olympics was about amateurism and the pursuit of excellence, not the pursuit of endorsements; and professional athletes enhanced the physics through rigorous work-outs, not through performance enhancing substances. No doubt athletic excellence is at an all time high, but are ethics in athletics at an all time low? John and Ken explore ethics in sport with Myles Brand, President of the NCAA.

More at: http://philosophytalk.org/shows/ethics-sport

Is there such a thing as pure evil in the world? How should we confront evil? Can evil ever be finally overcome? If the universe was created by a supremely good, supremely powerful, supremely loving deity, why is there evil in the world to begin with? On the other hand, if there is no God and everything is permitted, what distinguishes the truly evil from the purely good? John and Ken weigh good and evil with Peter van Inwagen from the University of Notre Dame.

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

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

Is there such a thing as pure evil in the world? How should we confront evil? Can evil ever be finally overcome? If the universe was created by a supremely good, supremely powerful, supremely loving deity, why is there evil in the world to begin with? On the other hand, if there is no God and everything is permitted, what distinguishes the truly evil from the purely good? John and Ken weigh good and evil with Peter van Inwagen from the University of Notre Dame.