Brain in a Vat

Is it possible for us to lead meaningful lives? Is there an ultimate point to our existence? Can we enrich our lives with the pursuit of love, knowledge and friendship? 

Will technology improve or worsen our lives? And should social media and AI be used to prevent hurtful speech?

Why do we laugh at some jokes but not at others? Is dark humor always funnier? Should some comedians be censored?

Should we implement affirmative action when determining which students are admitted to universities? Should affirmative action be based on race or socio-economic status? Is diversity important when deciding on university admissions? And should we think about race and gender in the same way when considering affirmative action?

Were indoctrinated or brainwashed Nazi soldiers morally responsible for their actions? Were they responsible for their repugnant beliefs? And were Nazi soldiers obligated to be conscientious objectors even if that meant they would be killed as a result?

Should you be required to get a parental license from the State before you can raise your own children? Do the wishes of parents matter at all – or should we only care about the best interests of their children?

Should you fear future pain even if your future self will not remember who you are now? If an identical copy of you is created, would you survive through that copy? And is it possible to survive gaps in your existence?

In a world where machines can seemingly generate art instantly, and often better than humans can, should we feel sorry for artists? But is AI really generating art - or is it something else? And if it is art, who is the artist - the AI or the prompter? James's covers for sale:  https://www.goonwrite.com/ Conversations about Philosophy books:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0987XX8M2 Jas...

How do we weigh the needs of cats to roam freely, with the millions of birds they kill each year? What duties do we owe our pets? And are some animals more valuable than others?

Buy the books on Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0987XX8M2 What are your favorite episodes of Brain in a Vat? We've taken ours and made them into books. With special forewords from leading philosophers and exclusive debates between guests, these books bring you the best content we have in an easily digestible format. Buy your books now:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0987XX8M2

Kershnar presents a dilemma: we’re responsible for our decisions because they’re caused by our psychology. But do we choose our psychology? If we do, then it seems that choice couldn’t have been a morally responsible choice, since our psychology didn’t choose it. But if we didn’t choose our psychology, then we can’t be responsible for the choices that come from our psychology. Presenters: Mark Opp...

Mark and Jason join their producer in this retrospective season finale.   Presenters: Mark Oppenheimer and Jason Werbeloff  Editor and Producer: Jimmy Mullen Brain in a Vat bookshop (Shopify): https://smarturl.it/BrainShop  Brain in a Vat bookshop (Amazon): https://smarturl.it/BrainAmazonShop

What does it all mean? If we live on a pail blue dot in a vast and uncaring universe can our lives have cosmic meaning? Is it better never to have been born? Presenters: Mark Oppenheimer and Jason Werbeloff  Editor and Producer: Jimmy Mullen  Brain in a Vat bookshop (Shopify): https://smarturl.it/BrainShop Brain in a Vat bookshop (Amazon): https://smarturl.it/BrainAmazonShop

Do we have a right to sex, and is there an obligation to sexually fulfill the disabled? Should sex work be not only legal, but obligatory?   Presenters: Mark Oppenheimer and Jason Werbeloff  Editor and Producer: Jimmy Mullen

Should we remove offensive monuments at the cost of erasing history? Is there an unacceptable cost to open borders? And what would a just tax system look like? Hosts: Mark Oppenheimer and Jason Werbeloff Producer: Jimmy Mullen

Are moral facts baked into reality, the way facts about socks or rocks are? Or should we think about morality in a more pragmatic way: that it doesn’t matter whether ethics are ‘in the world’ – only that ethics guide our actions effectively?    Andrew’s Book, ‘Pragmatist Quietism’: https://www.andrewsepielli.com/book-pragmatist-quietism Presenters: Mark Oppenheimer and Jason Werbeloff&nb...

Why should we punish the guilty? Is it because they’ve done something wrong, to remove them from society, or to dissuade others from wrongdoing? Presenters: Mark Oppenheimer and Jason Werbeloff  Editor and Producer: Jimmy Mullen

Utilitarians and Kantians struggle to account for the care we should provide loved ones over strangers.   Can Ubuntu, or African Ethics, provide a framework that resolves this problem?   Presenters: Mark Oppenheimer and Jason Werbeloff  Editor and Producer: Jimmy Mullen

Could we be systematically mistaken about the world around us? Would we be wrong about everything if we turned out to be a brain in a vat, a mind manipulated by an evil demon, or born into a virtual simulation? Presenters: Mark Oppenheimer and Jason Werbeloff  Editor and Producer: Jimmy Mullen

Is lying ever justified? Is it permissible to kill one innocent person to save many others? Learn more about the views of one of the greatest philosophers of the 20th Century. Presenters: Mark Oppenheimer and Jason Werbeloff Editor and Producer: Jimmy Mullen Philosophy as Dialogue:  https://www.amazon.com/Philosophy-as-Dialogue-Hilary-Putnam/dp/0674281357/

Is racial profiling always wrong, even if used by an AI to decrease crime? Should we use AI to judge criminal cases,  recommend sentences for the guilty, or decide parole for prisoners?

Do reporters have special moral obligations? Is it ever justified for governments to shut down newspapers? Should private companies like Paypal be allowed to deplatform journalists? Presenters: Mark Oppenheimer and Jason Werbeloff  Editor and Producer: Jimmy Mullen

Dan Shahar defends the view that eating meat is permissible, even though meat farming is not. Is this a coherent position?   Presenters: Mark Oppenheimer and Jason Werbeloff  Editor and Producer: Jimmy Mullen

Is gender a social construct? Is gender distinct from sex? And can you be wrong in your beliefs about your own gender? Presenters: Mark Oppenheimer and Jason Werbeloff Editor and Producer: Jimmy Mullen

Should Judges decide if and when women are entitled to abort their pregnancies? Should this choice be left up to congress? If abortion is immoral, should it be illegal? Presenters: Mark Oppenheimer and Jason Werbeloff  Editor and Producer: Jimmy Mullen   Brain in a Vat bookshop (Shopify): https://smarturl.it/BrainShop Brain in a Vat bookshop (Amazon): https://smarturl.it/BrainAmazonShop...