Philosophy For Our Times

Neuroscience?! Quantum Physics?! Is new data on the horizon? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes We are uncovering a new science of consciousness. A theory that is getting closer to solving the problem of the self once and for all. Or at least so claim leading neuroscientists. Some argue the reality we perceive is a controlled hallucination as...

How do we know if a story is worth telling? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes In this interview, award-winning writer and author of 'How I Live Now', Meg Rosoff, provides an insight into her writing philosophy. She discusses her origins in advertising, why the theme of adolescence fascinates her, and how a passion for horse-riding inspired th...

Should we give up the dream of certainty? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes We look for certainty to know where we are, to feel safe. Descartes founded modern Western philosophy on the search for certainty. And in our daily lives we have institutions to create the illusion of certainty, marriage in the precarious world of relationships, schoo...

Can science and religion coexist? Listen to find out! Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes In this interview, Alister McGrath, the Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion at the University of Oxford, explores the relationship between science and certainty. He charts his path from atheism to Christianity, and discusses how his faith is c...

Have mundane setbacks become catastrophic? Our experts discuss. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Trauma was traditionally associated with events such as war, assault and natural disasters. Now it is increasingly used to describe everyday experiences like personal criticism or romantic rejection, and of becoming an empty therapeutic buzzword....

Beyond right and wrong? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Politicians, scientists, experts, specialists and even philosophers frequently claim to be right and to have understood how things ultimately are. Yet at the same time they know this can't plausibly be the case. In the history of humankind there is no theory that has been shown to be d...

Are we right to abandon objective truth? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes It has been forty years since postmodernism swept through the academy changing the character of the arts and social sciences, impacting everything from literary criticism to anthropology, art history to sociology. Soon after it invaded culture generally and technical t...

Are we incarcerating the innocent? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Note: this episode was recorded live at our philosophy festival HowTheLightGetsIn. Some argue behaviour is a product of our genes. Others that upbringing and environment play the primary role in determining who we are. So do we carry no responsibility for our actions? Courts...

Is it bad if we are? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes From the evening news to the latest films and novels - we are attracted to crises and the trials and tribulations of life. The pandemic brought stories of human suffering, whether from illness, isolation or joblessness, which we readily consumed. But the healthiness of this fascination wi...

How did consciousness come into existence? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes 'Steven Pinker and Sam Harris have argued "the emergence of consciousness is simply incomprehensible". While recent neuroscientists have concluded "there is no convincing function to be found for consciousness". But if so, why are we conscious? Is consciousness an ac...

Do we need suffering to lead a meaningful life? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes From the plots of Hollywood movies to the roots of Christianity, many see value in adversity and suffering. Be it in character building boot camps or overcoming the trials of a difficult childhood or adult life. Yet the great majority of us do our very best to a...

Is language capable of communicating experience? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes We think sharing experience is essential to being human. At an individual level, we share experiences to get to know others and understand them. Yet from the taste of an apple to giving birth, we know we cannot fully describe the experience to someone who has n...

Can empirical observation lead us to the truth? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes From Newton to Darwin, Curie to Einstein, science has been built on empirical observation. Now the very idea of neutral observation is under threat. In a postmodern world it is claimed all observation is perspectival, everything we see influenced by what we alre...

Is pantheism more radical than atheism? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Pantheism is the radical belief that reality and god are one and the same thing. Why has it been so feared for 400 years? Philosopher and author of Strange Wonder, Mary-Jane Rubenstein shows how the idea threatens much more than just religion. Mary-Jane Rubenstein is Pr...

Are 'facts' a tool for manipulation? Listen to find out! Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Facts and reason are essential if we are to make progress and create a better world. At least that's how it used to be. But now it seems everyone has their own 'facts'. Our political leaders have 'alternative' facts, but so, it is also claimed, do the l...

Can we be sure there is a physical reality? Our philosophers and scientists debate. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes  No-one who has ever stepped on a Lego brick could doubt the reality of physical objects. Yet from Heraclitus to George Berkeley, many philosophers claimed to have disproven the existence of things. Now even high-energy p...

Does nature always know best? Yuval Noah Harari and Slavoj Žižek debate. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Most think of nature as good, while humans and human interventions are often seen as problematic and even on occasion evil. From eradicating e-numbers from our diets to refusing vaccines, many are motivated by the idea that nature knows...

Are we living in a simulation? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Modern technology has ushered in a new era of augmented reality - one so sophisticated that some argue within a century we will be unable to distinguish the 'real' from the 'virtual'. Yet with increasing concerns that virtual reality is simply a flawed escapism, could we imagine...

Is government responsible for people's happiness? Paul Dolan tells us how to reach happiness and how public policy could get involved. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes From ancient philosophers to modern scientists we have been perplexed by happiness. In this interview, Professor of Behavioural Science at the LSE, Paul Dolan, discusses what...

Should we see nature as a divine source, or will doing so lead to self-annihilation? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes From Greece’s Gaia to the Hindu Prithvi, many cultures have seen the Earth as a divine being. Christianity and Western culture however removed god from nature deriding such outlooks as 'pagan'. The earth was recast as a resou...

How our brains lie to us and science follows. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes With a background in psychiatry, neuroimaging, and philosophy, Iain McGilchrist has a unique perspective on the world, the mind, and everything in between. Here, he discusses his new book, The Matter with Things: Our Brains, Our Delusions, and the Unmaking of the...

Is rationality productive or is it a method for manipulation? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Rationality, once revered, has had a bad press. Increasingly derided as the rhetorical bluster of the educated elite, typically powerful and male. And seen as the prejudiced claim of those who are sure they are right. Yet in its absence public deba...

Should we be scared of AI? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Joanna Bryson discusses how she became interested in the ways different species use intelligence, how the typical tropes in science fiction misunderstand AI and the problem of anthropomorphism. In this interview, Bryson discusses the most pressing ethical challenges concerning the f...

Will science ever come on top? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes  In a survey of academic philosophers 85% identified as atheists. In Europe established religion has been in decline for a century; even in the States attendance is falling. Yet globally religion remains a potent force, and predictions of its demise have not materialised. A...

Can you be an atheism 'expert'? And if you are, what do you have to say? Listen to find out. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes The first decade of the 21st century saw an extraordinary rise in confident atheism. Now the whirlwind has settled, what does the future of belief look like? In this talk philosopher and author of Atheism: A Very Shor...