Philosophy Talk

Do you them because they're lovable, or are they lovable because you love them?

A vintage program with John and Ken exploring the life and thought of William Edward Burghardt Du Bois, born February 23, 1868.

What do Ayn Rand, Martin Heidegger, and Samuel Beckett have to do with Silicon Valley?

Is it mathematically (im)possible to create a true democracy?

How can insights from the arts and humanities help us cope with anxious times?

How can insights from the arts and humanities help us cope with anxious times?

Because the un-examined year is not worth reviewing. 

Who is the more intellectually humble: the believer who puts their faith in a higher power, or the nonbeliever who sees no evidence for one?

What can the lives of animals teach us about consciousness and the mind?

If there is intelligent life beyond Earth, how would that change life ON Earth?

Can art be broadly accessible without sacrificing quality? Can it be cognitively challenging without being elitist?

What made Baruch Spinoza one of the most beguiling and influential thinkers of all time?

How much do we all contribute to big, systemic problems like racism and climate change?

Are games just a fun pastime, or is there something more important about them?   

A vintage episode with John and Ken ahead of Arendt's anniversary on October 14. 

Our understanding evolves over time – how can we explain that to impatient people who don't trust science?

Can Heidegger's contributions to Western philosophy and his active support for the German Nazi party be reconciled?

Is citizenship the best recipe for non-discrimination?

Do the people at the top really deserve their success? Do the people at the bottom really deserve to be there?

There's still time for deep and thoughtful reading this summer -- and our 500th episode.

Looking for summer movie options? Here are some from the past year (or so) that challenged our assumptions and made us think about things in new ways.

Are pets our partners, our property, or something in between?

What ethical dilemmas are people facing in their daily lives related to the pandemic or social distancing?

Was Machiavelli an unscrupulous theorist and advisor, or one of the most widely misunderstood political philosophers ever?

In an ideal society, would we even need money?

April is National Poetry Month, so a philosopher might ask: Can we come to know things poetically that we couldn't get at through other forms of thinking, writing, and talking?

Holy metapysics, Batman!

Is the midlife crisis nostalgia for lost youth, or the fear of old age (or both)?  

Do the things we call 'trash' say more about those things or about us?

Is the self just a fiction we create to make sense of a complicated world?