The Panpsycast Philosophy Podcast

Hey everyone, Today I have to break some sad news. After ten years of The Panpsycast, we have taken the difficult decision to bring the show to an end. We started this project in 2016. Since then, we have released over 400 instalments of the show; never (not once) missing our schedule to bring you your Sunday philosophy. That's an extraordinary accomplishment. One that I owe entirely to our phenom...

Hey Everyone, I'm delighted to present our third and final live show from The Mystery of Existence series at the Royal Institution Theatre, London. People travelled from far and wide to join us, and for our final event we brought together four intellectual heavyweights: Slavoj Žižek, Sabine Hossenfelder, William Lane Craig, and Rowan Williams. In a two vs two debate, they explored the existence of...

Hey everyone, Jack here with another special episode – my recent conversation with Peter Godfrey-Smith, Professor in the School of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Sydney. Peter is best known for his bestselling book Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness – a landmark work on animal intelligence and the philosophy of mind. In this interview,...

This week's episode is a live debate we hosted recently at The Royal Institution Theatre in London. The topic is 'The Story of Everything' – a discussion between four different belief systems on the existence of God. William Lane Craig defends traditional theism; Jessica Frazier represents Hinduism; Joseph Folley argues for agnosticism; and Philip Goff defends a God of limited powers. Long-time li...

Welcome to a special Episode 160 – a conversation / debate between Jack Symes and Philip Goff. Philip Goff and Jack Symes have known each other since 2011, when Philip taught Jack's very first philosophy lecture. In the years since, they've both arrived at views that sit awkwardly between God and atheism – but in very different ways. Philip defends a God of limited powers and a form of Christianit...

This episode brings together Jack and Rowan Williams, the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury and one of the world's most distinguished theologians. As they explore the intersection of faith, politics, and ethics, they confront Christian nationalism, the morality of war, the value of animal life, and the nature of God. A sweeping philosophical and theological exchange! We hope you enjoy the show. Links...

This episode brings together two leading voices in philosophy of religion: William Lane Craig, one of the world's foremost Christian apologists, and Alex O'Connor, one of today's most prominent atheist thinkers. As they confront the arguments for and against belief in God, they seek to break the long-standing impasse between God and atheism. Hosted by Jonny Thomson and Jack Symes – we hope you enj...

"Hey, it's Jack here – I'm still out in the van writing up my travel book. The wind and rain coming down hard in France, as you might hear in the background. We're recording an old-school show and another interview at the end of the month, which we're really excited to produce and share. In the meantime, I'm happy to release a one-to-one conversation with me and John Nelson – author of Jesus' Phys...

Hey everyone, it's Jack here. I'm still out in the camper van writing a travel book – I'm really excited to share more on this soon. At the same time, we've been producing live events and YouTube videos – so there's been a lot going on. We'll be sharing audio from the live shows soon, as well as recording an old school Panpsycast episode at the end of May. In the meantime, I'm excited to share ano...

Hey, it's Jack here – I'm currently in the snowy hills of Switzerland, recording this from the back of my campervan, so forgive the audio quality. (It won't be like this beyond the introduction.) I've been busy producing new content for YouTube, with some exciting conversations coming your way – one of which, was with Ed Winters, which I'm excited to share with you today. We had a really interesti...

The meaning of life is, as Albert Camus put it, the most urgent question in philosophy – the one on which everything else depends. Yet, when Western philosophy looks to answer this question, it paces up and down the same old libraries – the same shelves filled with the same assumptions about what counts as a self, a good life, and what happens after death. African philosophy of religion has been n...

The meaning of life is, as Albert Camus put it, the most urgent question in philosophy – the one on which everything else depends. Yet, when Western philosophy looks to answer this question, it paces up and down the same old libraries – the same shelves filled with the same assumptions about what counts as a self, a good life, and what happens after death. African philosophy of religion has been n...

Hello, it's Jack here! I'm excited to share that I'll soon be launching a new YouTube video series, interviewing previous guests from The Panpsycast – along with a few new faces. The series launches at the end of March. Head to www.youtube.com/@DrJackSymes – or simply search Dr Jack Symes on YouTube – and subscribe so you're ready for the first release. In the meantime, I'll be releasing a few of...

The supreme being of classical theism is unlimited in power, knowledge, and goodness – a being distinct from the world, who creates it out of nothing and governs it from beyond. On this picture, we are not identical with God. God's consciousness is not our consciousness – and our identity is not theirs. That picture has long been challenged by schools of Hindu philosophy and, more recently, by Wes...

The supreme being of classical theism is unlimited in power, knowledge, and goodness – a being distinct from the world, who creates it out of nothing and governs it from beyond. On this picture, we are not identical with God. God's consciousness is not our consciousness – and our identity is not theirs. That picture has long been challenged by schools of Hindu philosophy and, more recently, by Wes...

In the beginning, there was nothing but air. The supreme being breathed upon it, and the air became water. Air and water moved together, forming mud. Seeing its shape, the supreme being breathed again – and life began. Today, we'll be exploring this creation story – born of Afro-Brazilian philosophy – forged under conditions of extreme violence, displacement, and resistance. During the transatlant...

In the beginning, there was nothing but air. The supreme being breathed upon it, and the air became water. Air and water moved together, forming mud. Seeing its shape, the supreme being breathed again – and life began. Today, we'll be exploring this creation story – born of Afro-Brazilian philosophy – forged under conditions of extreme violence, displacement, and resistance. During the transatlant...

Slavoj Žižek, Friedrich Nietzsche, Kehinde Andrews – the world has never been short of bad philosophers. But of all the minds who have graced, tortured, or otherwise afflicted human history, which one truly deserves the title: The World's Worst Philosopher? That's not an easy question; after all, philosophy has given us so many options. When Dan Dennett denied consciousness, was that the silliest...

Slavoj Žižek, Friedrich Nietzsche, Kehinde Andrews – the world has never been short of bad philosophers. But of all the minds who have graced, tortured, or otherwise afflicted human history, which one truly deserves the title: The World's Worst Philosopher? That's not an easy question; after all, philosophy has given us so many options. When Dan Dennett denied consciousness, was that the silliest...

Jainism, along with Buddhism and Hinduism, is one of India's great dharmic traditions – though far less well known than its siblings. Emerging around the second century BCE, it is best-known for valuing ahimsa in pursuit of liberation – a devout practice of non-violence. Yet there is far more to Jain philosophy than liberation and ahimsa. Jainism offers a rich way of understanding the self, the co...

Jainism, along with Buddhism and Hinduism, is one of India's great dharmic traditions – though far less well known than its siblings. Emerging around the second century BCE, it is best-known for valuing ahimsa in pursuit of liberation – a devout practice of non-violence. Yet there is far more to Jain philosophy than liberation and ahimsa. Jainism offers a rich way of understanding the self, the co...

Most people believe in moral facts – that is, there's something about torturing and murdering innocent people that makes it wrong, which goes beyond just a feeling. Yet it's hard to locate morality anywhere in the natural world. For this reason, many have understood God to be the source and arbiter of moral truth. But can morality depend on divine decree – or would that make goodness a matter of c...

Most people believe in moral facts – that is, there's something about torturing and murdering innocent people that makes it wrong, which goes beyond just a feeling. Yet it's hard to locate morality anywhere in the natural world. For this reason, many have understood God to be the source and arbiter of moral truth. But can morality depend on divine decree – or would that make goodness a matter of c...

Across the world, belief in God continues to be widespread and, among philosophers, has long been considered one solution to the problems of the world's origin, fine-tuned nature, and purpose. However, in the West, very few people have considered alternative concepts of God credible. That, though, may be beginning to change. One such alternative – pantheism – tells us that the universe and God are...

Across the world, belief in God continues to be widespread and, among philosophers, has long been considered one solution to the problems of the world's origin, fine-tuned nature, and purpose. However, in the West, very few people have considered alternative concepts of God credible. That, though, may be beginning to change. One such alternative – pantheism – tells us that the universe and God are...