Brain in a Vat

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...

What exactly makes us feel disgusted? Is disgust for a person or group ever justified? And is disgust useful, or should we try to eliminate it? Presenters: Mark Oppenheimer and Jason Werbeloff Editor and Producer: Jimmy Mullen

Do defectors generally do something wrong when they contradict their group's values or beliefs? And is it permissible for the group to silence them, especially if it's a minority group? Presenters: Mark Oppenheimer and Jason Werbeloff Editor and Producer: Jimmy Mullen

Are transathletes a minority group that warrant special protection?  Is the purpose of sport to be inclusive or fair? Should the Olympics exclude the best athletes because they are professionals? Presenters: Mark Oppenheimer and Jason Werbeloff  Editor and Producer: Jimmy Mullen

If most voters are misinformed, is democracy legitimate? What sort of voting system should we have in its place? And should some votes count more than others? Presenters: Mark Oppenheimer and Jason Werbeloff  Editor and Producer: Jimmy Mullen

Is immortality a blessing or a curse? Would eternal life be boring, meaningless, and amoral? Presenters: Mark Oppenheimer and Jason Werbeloff  Editor and Producer: Jimmy Mullen 

Why is free speech valuable? Should there be any limits on what we are allowed to say? Should we tolerate words that are hateful? Hosted by Mark Oppenheimer and Jason Werbeloff Produced and Edited by James Mullen

How do scientists and philosophers work together to make progress on the nature of the cosmos, the meaning of life, and what it means to flourish? The John Templeton Foundation funds work on the intersection of philosophy and science in some of the most important questions of our time. Hosted by Mark Oppenheimer and Jason Werbeloff Edited and Produced by James Mullen