Brain in a Vat

Were you outraged when Cecil the lion was killed by a hunter? Are you against rhino poaching? Do you order extra bacon with your cheese burger? Are some animals more equal than others? Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/braininavat  IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12490350/  Thumbnail Art: Jeff Lemire from Sweet Tooth

Can God exist if the world is filled with suffering? And are there compelling arguments for or against God's existence? Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/braininavat  IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12490350/ Thumbnail Art: Terry Gilliam from Monty Python's The Meaning of Life

What is art? Why is art valuable? If enough people feel hurt by a piece of art or public monument, should we hide or destroy the work? Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/braininavat  IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12490350/   Thumbnail Art: Octavia Roodt http://www.octaviaroodt.com/

"Defund the police. Violent protests are justified. Anyone against Black Lives Matter is a Nazi." How would you engage with these views? We ask Peter Boghossian how to have impossible conversations.   Peter's Book: http://bit.ly/ConversationsBook  New Discourses: https://newdiscourses.com/translations-from-the-wokish/     Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/bra...

Do you live in a simulation? And if you do, could you live a valuable life?   We talk with Kenny Pearce this week to find out.  Read Kenny's Berkeley book here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/language-and-the-structure-of-berkeleys-world-9780198790334   And his book about Idealism here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/idealism-9780198746973   Podcast: http...

Does the colour of your skin, the texture of your hair, or the shape of your nose make you part of a racial group? Is race a social construct based on collective perception? Do the members of a race share beliefs, cultures and attitudes?  Facebook Discussion Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/braininavat  Thumbnail art: By Amazing Ameziane from Muhammad Ali Graphic Novel

When Tuvok and Neelix accidentally merge into a single man in a transporter accident, Captain Janeway has to make a tough decision:  Should she kill Tuvix to restore Tuvok and Neelix? We discuss the philosophy of Star Trek, transporters, and personal identity. 

Are lockdown regulations lawful? Do we have a duty to obey the law? What if the law is immoral, contradictory or unknowable?  The famous philosopher Lon Fuller wrote a thought experiment about King Rex  who failed to make law in eight different ways.  1) A failure to achieve rules at, all so that every issue must be decided on an ad hoc basis. 2)A failure to publicize, or at least make available t...

Imagine you build a time machine. Is it possible for you to travel back in time, meet your grandfather before he produces any children, and kill him?  Time travel is a sci-fi staple. Is Back to the Future philosophically accurate? Did J.K Rowling crack the secret of time travel in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban? As a bonus we explain why Rick and Morty's The Vat of Acid Episode isn'...

Your brother has been missing for months and there is mounting evidence that he is dead. Is it rational to hope that he is alive and keep searching for him?   Is it rational to have faith in the existence of God because, if he turns out to exist, your faith may let you into heaven while a lack of faith could condemn you to hell?   Liz Jackson's public interviews: http://liz-jackson.com/p...

Language is ambiguous at the best of times, think about how much gets lost in translation. Imagine hearing a tribesman in a remote land utter the word "gavagai" upon seeing a rabbit. A speaker of English could do what seems natural and translate this as "Lo, a rabbit."   But other translations would be compatible with all the evidence she has: "Lo, food"; "Let's go hunting"; "There will...

What can eating Marilyn Monroe's thigh and the pain of teenage heartbreak tell us about the value of human life? We discuss what makes life worth living and ending.

John Rawls thought we needed to wear a veil of ignorance to remove our biases before deciding on the rules of a just society. Are his ideas useful in a world where the elderly and the vulnerable are exposed to higher risks? Should the healthy and the well off accept limits on their freedom?

An out-of-control trolley is rumbling toward five innocent people trapped on a track. You can divert the trolley onto another track by pulling a switch, but the other track has one person on it. Do you pull the switch?  Governments around the world have used lockdowns to save lives, but this choice has had severe economic consequences. Did they pull the right switch? Hosted by Dr Jason Werbel...