Coffee and Philosophy

For the last episode of the first series of this podcast, I break down a response to scepticism not covered on the A Level specification: Semantic Externalism, the theory that the meaning of words is at least in part constituted by the connection between us language users and our environment - and explain how according to the semantic externalist, saying 'I am a brain in a vat' is self-ref...

In this episode, I'll be giving you an introduction to social epistemology, something not covered on the specification (though Zagzebski's virtue epistemology brushes quite closely with it) and making an argument for why it would be great to include on the A-Level spec- and why it might be a bad thing that it isn't already included. Assessed introduction to this podcast episode as writ...

In this episode I'll be summarising everything I've covered in the podcast so far in terms of the specification points A Level students need to know and the episodes in which you can find each little bullet point on the spec- one out of four sections of the course down! If you have the time, I would very much appreciate you dropping a comment on any particular content you've struggled...

In this episode I will be covering empiricist responses to scepticism including that of Bertrand Russell's realist 'best hypothesis' response, Berkeleys' idealist 'no world? no problem!' response, and the reliabilist approach to the problem of scepticism.

In this episode: A run-down of Descartes' response to the problem of scepticism, including an explanation of his wax analogy for the concept of physical objects, his argument for the possibility of physical objects and, inevitably, his argument for the existence of the external world. Also, some empirical crits as well as a bonus criticism from Amanda Bryant's paper 'Keep The Chickens...

In this episode, I will be introducing the topic of scepticism- what it is, the differences between local and global scepticism, Descartes' three waves of doubt, Hilary Putnam's version of the brain-in-a-vat sceptical problem, and a whole bundle of examples from the media, with a focus on the truman show and a horror platformer video game rendition of Alice in Wonderland. Social Media instagram: @...

In this episode I'll be going over the criticisms of the arguments explained in the last three episodes, and along the way going on some rambles involving unwarranted relationship advice, ill-advised pet names, nerdy songs, how much it sucks when a good tv show ends, and getting covered with ants. content warning: discussion of death [12:23-15:49]

In this episode I'll be going over the ontological argument- explaining what exactly 'ontology' is with reference to sandwiches, considering some context from Descartes' fourth meditation, considering what it means for something to be true by definition, explaining the idea of existence as a perfection with the help of a side ramble about greek myths, and hopefully helping you understand why Desca...

In this episode, I will be covering Descartes' Cosmological Argument for the existence of God, provided by him as an alternative argument for God's existence in case his empirical adversaries weren't already convinced enough by the first one. Can't knock him for being thorough. Also, references to Taylor Swift's eras tour as a surprisingly helpful analogy for a life divided into independent parts,...

In this episode I will be covering Descartes' Trademark Argument for the existence of God, as a way to attempt to prove the existence of the external world through reason alone- featuring surprisingly relevant rambles on the sims and a recent horror movie that got me spooked. (New intro, outro and interlude done by: me, a failed musician in Carnap's eyes <3) TIME STAMPS: 0:00 - intro + introduc...

In this episode I'll be going over the cogito argument- and also discussing hive minds, intrusive thoughts, and karen from mean girls. CW: general discussion of intrusive thoughts- [tbd] twitter: coffeenphilo email: coffeenphilosophy@gmail.com

In this episode, we begin looking at Descartes' approach to reason as a source of knowledge by introducing the 'Intuition and Deduction Thesis', and considering the concept of clear and distinct ideas. I also ramble about my favourite little personality test, a strange intuitive connection between best friends, and a rather horrifying sci-fi story from the sixties that provides to be a...

In this episode, I'll be going over criticisms of the empiricist theory of concepts covered in the last episode- and also rambling about the mandela effect, sartre, tattoos, and other such weird things I've managed to turn into analogies. TIME STAMPS: 00:00 - Introduction Bits 02:47 - Shades of Blue argument 16:35 - Leibniz criticisms 28:36 - Berkeley on Substance 33:11 - Concluding Bits

In today's episode, I'll be covering the alternate empiricist account to innatism, a few criticisms of the innatist theory, and leibniz's take on locke's attack on innatism. Also, I read a section of a dr. seuss poem to help visualise simple and complex ideas, and talk about how rad miley cyrus's new song is whilst describing impressions and ideas. Two philosophers actually show some appreciation...

In this episode we'll be covering some basic terms relevant to this section of epistemology, then starting on innatism. Also stay tuned for weird analogies involving vampires, quantum mechanics, and wine.

In this episode, I cover Berkeley's argument for idealism and the criticisms posed against it. Brace for a banging book series recommendation, a painfully hesitant use of NFTs as an example, and a history of my injuries :) time stamps: [0:00] - intro & episode summary. [2:53] - context on berkeley's beliefs. [3:50] - second dialogue tldr, berkeley's idealism argument. [10:47] - solipsism criticism...

In this episode, I cover Cockburn's defense of indirect realism, before moving on to look at Berkeley's idealism + his own critique of indirect realism. also, stay tuned for references to tumblr culture, marmite peanut butter and koalas.  time stamps: [0:00] - intro & episode summary. [03:16] - cockburn's defense of indirect realism. [06:30] - berkeley's critiques of sensible qualities. [...

In this episode, I review the sceptic's criticism of indirect realism, and dive into responses from Russell and Locke. Time Stamps: [0:00] - intro & episode summary [2:52] - the sceptic's criticism [4:35] - response from russell [12:53] - response from locke [28:36] - on catharine trotter cockburn [30:50] - conclusion & next episode notes.

In this episode we'll be covering indirect realism and sense data, comparing indirect realism to direct realism, and then looking at Locke's Distinction between primary and secondary qualities. Here are the time stamps: [0:00- Introduction and Episode Summary] [4:40- Indirect Realism] [6:40- Sense Data] [10:40- Locke]

In this episode a rather raspy me goes over the chunky problem of hallucination, and the response provided by disjunctivists!

In this episode we'll be looking at the first of three theories regarding perception as a source of knowledge- direct realism- and be going over three out of four of the criticisms towards it. Additionally, I get worried about the amount of candles my mom has burning at a time, and act insensitively towards dead stars.

the final section in the what is knowledge topic! in this episode we go over the theories brought up as a response and as solutions to the tripartite theory, and we discuss if they themselves surpass the criticisms mentioned in prior episodes and how effective they are in practise!

In this episode, I'll be going over the first half of 'What is Knowledge?', the first section of the AQA Philosophy Course. This episode reviews the types of knowledge, purposes and kinds of definitions, the tripartite view, conditional statements and whether each condition of the tripartite view is indeed necessary.

In this episode, I'll be going over the issues with the tripartite theory- the 2 Gettier Counterexamples (The Job Interview and The Ford Car/Brown in Barcelona) and the Fake Barn case of Godman- explaining how these demonstrate the flaws of the Tripartite theory of knowledge.