Brain in a Vat

We recently aired an episode with Stephen Kershnar on sexual taboos. A clip from that episode has been viewed over a million times on Twitter, and on many news channels. We address the controversy surrounding Stephen's position.

Should there be an age of consent? Is it wrong to fantasize about someone against their will? Is it wrong to lust after someone because of their race?    Brain in a Vat bookshop (Shopify): https://smarturl.it/BrainShop Brain in a Vat bookshop (Amazon): https://smarturl.it/BrainAmazonShop

What makes the 'you' of yesterday the same 'you' today? Should we care about future people who don't yet exist, and should we prevent climate change if it means preventing people from coming into existence?

Is there a core to who we are that is unchanging or unique? Do people have characters, personalities, or neither? Brain in a Vat bookshop (Shopify): https://smarturl.it/BrainShop Brain in a Vat bookshop (Amazon): https://smarturl.it/BrainAmazonShop

In our final episode for 2021, we reveal a surprise we've been working on all year, and tell you about the exciting episodes planned for 2022.

Destructive forces have been eroding the University of Cape Town, Africa’s leading university. David Benatar tells the sad, true tale of what has been transpiring. It is a saga of lunacy, criminality, pandering, and identity politics. The mad and the bad – the deranged, deluded, the depraved – have been granted endless latitude in bullying and abusing others.

What are possible worlds? Could you have been born to different parents, and could the laws of physics be different? Barry Lam explains how David Lewis’s views on possible worlds can help us understand everything from the nature of time to free will. Listen to more of Barry’s episodes on David Lewis on Hi-Phi nation here: https://hiphination.org/season-5/

Is it possible to hope for something good, but feel despair that it won't happen? Is it virtuous to feel hopeful? Can hoping make you act recklessly? 

In a world where we disagree about pretty much everything - about borders and abortion, marriage and monogamy, wars and meat-eating - how do you maintain confidence in your own moral position? And can you convince the moral nihilist you're right?

Marginalized people, animals, found objects, wires and childlike drawings inhabit the unlocatable worlds presented in Ballen's artworks. Ballen describes his works as existential psychodramas that touch the subconscious mind and evoke the underbelly of the human condition. They aim to break through the repressed thoughts and feelings by engaging him in themes of chaos and order, madness or unruly...

Rebecca Tuvel, Dan Cullen and Eric Samson interview Peter Singer about pandemic ethics. Are lockdowns and mandatory vaccines morally justified? What should governments have done differently? Why were there calls to cancel this lecture?   https://leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2021/09/peter-singer-invited-to-give-a-zoom-talk-about-pandemic-ethics-by-the-philosophy-department-at-rhode.html&nbsp...

Should you disobey the law, at least some of the time? If justice isn’t simply enforcing the law, then what is it? And what sorts of laws would we have in a just society?

Should certain weapons be banned from use in war? Are there limits on the amount of force countries should use to protect their citizens? Is it ever justified to kill innocent civilians to end a war? ICJ Advisory Opinion: https://www.icj-cij.org/en/case/95

Is Democracy the best political system? Plato thought not. But what is the best alternative? Clif Mark, from the podcast Good in Theory , joins us this week to discuss Plato’s Republic. https://goodintheorypod.com/

Is the art separate from the artist? Can a moral defect in a film undermine its aesthetic quality?

What would a world without imagination be like? Why do we feel sympathy, fear or excitement for fictional characters? And can imaginary actions be morally wrong?

Are human being merely sophisticated robots? Do we have mental states or can we be understood only through our behavior?

There's a growing trend to distrust scientists. Sometimes they get the facts wrong, or align with a political party. What should we do in the face of conflicting expertise? Who should we trust?

Andy Kuper, the founder and CEO of LeapFrog Investments, tells us how his PHD in philosophy led him to marry profit with purpose, by creating investment funds with deep impact on the lives of 200 million low-income people worldwide, while generating strong returns for its investors and the companies in which it invests. https://leapfroginvest.com   Andy's Book Democracy Beyond Borders: https:...

Is cryonics a viable route to immortality? Is immortality desirable, or would it present us with endless boredom and meaninglessness?

Is being addicted to love or chocolate the same as being addicted to cocaine?

Would it be better to live forever than to die? Is the goodness or badness of death dependent on the future quality of our lives? Is death so bad that it would be better never to have been born?     Travis' Book: Exploring the Philosophy of Death and Dying https://www.amazon.com/Exploring-Philosophy-Death-Dying-Contemporary/dp/1138393584/ Contact us: Mark. Oppenheimer[at]gmail and J...

What is forgiveness, and when is it appropriate? What does it mean to apologize to a group of people, and for that group to forgive? Is forgiveness ever obligatory, or is forgiveness irrational or even immoral?

John Rawls is widely regarded as the greatest modern liberal philosopher. Does his theory of justice lead to a fair society?    Contact us: Mark. Oppenheimer[at]gmail and Jwerbe[at]gmail

Should you sacrifice one innocent person to save many? Can you justify killing one annoying politician to save millions of people from suffering a minor headache? And is morality a matter of degree rather than a clear distinction between right and wrong?