In this episode, Brandon and Hale briefly sketch out skepticism within contemporary epistemology and explore one answer to radical skepticism: hinge epistemology. Following Michael Williams', they discuss the immediate appeal and ultimate failure of hinge propositions to answer skeptical challenges.

with:

Hale Rothery (Vancouver Island University)

Brandon Brownlee

Recorded June 3, 2024

There is no ethical obligation to obey laws

Michael will make a deductive argument with the unusual conclusion that although one might sometimes abide by laws for practical reasons, there are neither ethical nor principled reasons to do so.

with:

Brandon Brownlee (Vancouver Island University)

Michael Robert Caditz (University of British Columbia)

Recorded April 4th, 2024

Our Goals in Philosophy

In this discussion, we'll explore the way that one's aims and goals factor into and are a part of doing and studying philosophy.

with:

Hale Rothery (Vancouver Island University)

Brandon Brownlee

Recorded March 25, 2024

In this episode, Hale and Brandon discuss the notion of human rights and their competing justifications in religious and secular terms.

with:

Hale Rothery (Vancouver Island University)

Brandon Brownlee

Recorded March 20, 2024

Philosophy of Mind:

A discussion on monism and its current role in the philosophy of mind as a response to dualism. We'll raise the question of what these metaphysical theories are, and whether they're adequate responses to dualism (at least as monism is discussed within contemporary philosophy of mind).

with:

Brandon Brownlee (Vancouver Island University)

Michael Robert Caditz (University of British Columbia)

Environmental philosophy: The five pillars of nature's value.

An analysis of five philosophical reasons nature can be asserted to have value.

with:

Michael Robert Caditz (University of British Columbia)

Brandon Brownlee (Vancouver Island University)

The Herd, the Public, the They

In this episode, Brandon and Hale elaborate and discuss Heidegger's notion of the They, and explore two prior concepts anticipating this idea: Nietzsche's idea of the Herd and Kierkegaard's idea of the Public.

with:

Hale Rothery (Vancouver Island University)

Brandon Brownlee

Recorded March 3, 2024

Media and Rhetoric

with:

Hale Rothery (Vancouver Island University)

Brandon Brownlee (Vancouver Island University)

Recorded February 25, 2024

Cultural evolution does not exist

I will make a highly provocative and controversial claim based in logic that although biological "Darwinian" evolution may be indisputable, the popular notion of "cultural evolution"--which is the subject of much cutting-edge exploration and unsettled debate--is unlikely to exist.

with:

Michael Robert Caditz (University of British Columbia)

Brandon Brownlee (Vancouver Island University)

Recorded February 17, 2024

Continuation of Part 1 in the introduction to Philosophy of Law. This time, we discuss Dworkin's view, which builds upon the legal positivist view with reference to the natural law theorists mentioned previously. Two more cases are brought to bear on this debate.

Tagen Marshall (Vancouver Island University)

Brandon Brownlee

Recorded February 10, 2024