Philosophy For Our Times

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Many believe that porn's dark fantasies risk corrupting relationships and society. Has this arisen because pornography is largely created by men? Or is porn fundamentally incompatible with intimacy and a problem for all of us until its abolished? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, feminist thinker F...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Brooke Magnanti is best known by her pen name Belle de Jour, from the blog behind Secret Diary of a Call Girl. In this exclusive interview, Brooke explains how we should free ourselves from the shackles surrounding sex from shame, to guilt and toxic femininity. In association with the New College of the Human...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes 'Dare to know' was the radical rallying cry of the Enlightenment. But since then, philosophers from Nietzsche to Derrida have argued there are limits to knowledge so profound that truth is an impossible goal. Is the enlightenment dream over? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, A Short History of Trut...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Hilary Lawson is a post realist philosopher, known for his theory of Closure. In this exclusive interview, Hilary explains how we should understand truth in a post truth world and why we need Enlightenment thinking now more than ever. In association with the New College of the Humanities bit.ly/2FdPgLD There...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes The fundamental problem of philosophy, argued Heidegger, is 'why is there something rather than nothing?'. Now, some scientists claim nothing doesn't exist and that even deepest space is full of virtual particles. Have we misunderstood the very idea of nothing? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, Tem...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Rupert Sheldrake is a renowned author and biologist, known for his research into parapsychology. In this exclusive interview, Rupert shares with us the secrets of consciousness, putting forward a panpsychist view of what it is to be conscious and debunking why materialism has failed. In association with the N...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes There are many who see Trump and Putin as a threat to world peace. But are they in power because we believe that strong leaders are good for us? Is it a mistake to imagine that leaders can solve all of our problems? Can we imagine a politics where we voted for policies rather than personalities? In this episo...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Jon Barnes is a guest lecturer at the world's top business schools, innovator and author. In this exclusive interview, Jon shares with us how technology is already being used to shape the way we vote, organise and think about politics. From Democracy Squared to Tech Monopolies, Jon's work has focused on the r...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes How have ideas across the world shaped the places from which they emerged? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, author and philosopher Julian Baggini explores global thinking and its varied influence on our cultures, our ideals and how we see ourselves. In association with the New College of the Human...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Can our legal system ever keep its promise of justice? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, author of ‘In Your Defence’ Sarah Langford tells her story of a life in the courtroom, and shows us how our attitudes and actions can shape not only the outcome of a case, but the legal system itself. In associ...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes From medieval legends to Hollywood endings to the horoscope, we are led to believe that lifelong love means happiness. But a recent survey of 814 separate studies showed single people to be happier, more fulfilled and less stressed. Is it time to stop seeing romantic love as all-important? In this episode of...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Where once we made sense of the world using the idea of God, most of us now believe in a more scientific story, of an unfolding universe and evolution. Yet scientists increasingly see their theories as useful models rather than ultimate accounts. Is science then just another human description limited by langu...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes We think everyone should be treated equally. Yet we also think we are right to care most about our family, our friends and our lovers, and 82% of charitable donations in the UK are given to the causes closest to home. Should we just accept that our ethics are in practice tribal? In this episode of Philosophy...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Most think that social progress should be driven by ideas and persuasion not force. Yet from the French and Russian Revolutions to the Suffragettes, violent action has been instrumental to generating change. Is violence ever justified as a political strategy? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, Enlig...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Britain is one of the wealthiest nations in the world, so why do so many feel short-changed? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, Labour MP and former minister Angela Eagle sees an urgent need to protect social cohesion and makes a case for radical economic reform. In association with the New College...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes The big bang theory won out over the Steady State alternative 50 years ago because we discovered the universe was expanding. But now we know that the universe is in fact accelerating away from us. Might the whole big bang theory be mistaken? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, eminent mathematician R...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes 'Innocent until proven guilty' is a core principle of democracy. Yet from the BBC's coverage of the Cliff Richard raid to the social media storms around MeToo, it seems we are increasingly happy to destroy reputations and careers before the proof is in. Can trial by media be more effective than the legal syst...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Our worlds were once human and solid, but now our lives are increasingly virtual. What place has reality in this fantasy world? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, ‘Picnic Comma Lightning’ author Laurence Scott explores the challenges of finding meaning amidst the digital noise. In association with t...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Besides being illegal, LSD has not had good press, associated with bad trips and psychological breakdown. But with a new craze for microdosing acid amongst Silicon Valley whizz kids and management gurus, and respected scientists claiming antidepressant benefits, might we have been too quick to ban psychedelic...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Is there a universal morality, and if not, are moral beliefs actually the cause of some of the greatest human suffering? To debate this issue, we have on our panel literary theorist Stanley Fish, writer, broadcaster and SOAS researcher Myriam Francois, and journalist and former speech-writer to Tony Blair Phi...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Deaths from heart disease have fallen by almost two thirds since the 1960s, yet outcomes for those with mental illness have not improved for decades. Is this because we have the wrong categories and the wrong diagnoses? Might neuroscience enable more precise descriptions and more effective treatment? Or is it...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Ten years ago, the US elected its first black president. Yet race-related hate crime has increased 216% in the last year. Are we wrong to suppose that racial prejudice will be overcome by equal opportunity? Should we dream of a world where race is not a basis for social identity? Or are social groupings inevi...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Suicide is a terrible but commonplace event amongst all societies within the human race. But at what point in our evolution did suicide come into being, and for what purpose? Can suicide be explained, and if so, can we provide an answer to those who become so desperate? Neuropsychologist and author of A Histo...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes We think love an indisputable force for good. Yet from Jihadi John to Anders Breivik, extremists often cite love of creed or country to justify atrocities. Might love of a person or group also be the origin of prejudice and hatred towards others? Are love and hatred forever entwined, as Freud suggested? Or ca...

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes In the wake of the Weinstein scandal, many called for a boycott of the films of Roman Polanski and Woody Allen. Yet 20th century literary critics encouraged us to look at the text alone, citing "the death of the author." Can and should we separate the artist from the art? Are the misdeeds of writers, thinkers...