Emma•ism

In this episode, it is held that love isn’t real, or at the very most, it could exist, but we will never know for sure if we have experienced it or not. With romantic love, we continually lack certainty. Three conditions for the satisfaction of romantic love are put forth, with 2 being targeted with objections as part of the argument. So what if romantic love doesn’t exist? There are a lot of othe...

In this episode, the game-theoretic and social choice-theoretic aspects of the popular TV series, “The Traitors” are discussed. Additionally, the asymmetric pliability of speech and accusation is explored. This is a special episode — a discussion with award-winning philosophy scholar, Euan Morgan.

Join Emma in conversation with London School of Economics classmate, Euan Morgan. Euan Morgan, award-winning philosophy scholar, takes us through his master’s dissertation, “Bending without Breaking: The Merits of Counterspeech.” The interview covers background on Speech Act Theory, Blocking as a counterspeech technique, Bending as a counterspeech technique, and the plausibility of unintentional b...

It’s time to talk about my disseration. This short teaser introduces the 4-part series that explains my Master’s dissertation from the London School of Economics. The dissertation was titled, “Going for Gold: A Proposal to Raise the Evidentiary Standard of Mechanisms in Rare Disease Medicine.” The four part series will be released as detailed below: Part 1: Introducing the Project & Offering a...

In this episode, Mathias Risse’s 2004 claim that “unless majoritarians present a more complete defense, it is irrational to grant majority rule its default status” is evaluated. It is argues that it is rational to grant majority rule the default status that it occupies. This is defended through disarming Risse’s 4 objections (argumentative content, preference intensity, omission of relevant inform...

In this episode, manipulability in the conclave voting procedure is discussed. Rest in peace to Pope Francis. This podcast comes as a discussion of the aggregation method used by cardinals in electing the next pope. The sequential supermajority voting system allows for manipulability at several levels, where there are clear cases when cardinals (voters) have incentive to falsify or misrepresent th...

In this episode, it is argued that the causal efficacy of an act is what matters to its evaluation, not its auspiciousness. Discussion of decision theories of Jeffrey and Savage are what motivates that claim. Further, an example of the Borough Market sandwich stand provides a nice illustration of act evaluation in practice.

In this episode, it is argued that no-platforming should be opposed on purely epistemic grounds because it deprives students of epistemic benefits that would have been realized had the contrarian (cancelled academic) been allowed to speak. This is motivated by raising the specific epistemic focus of higher education institutes. Also, the contrarian’s ability to push ‘apprentice’-like students to m...

In this episode, it is argued that it is not a reasonable goal for cooperative game theory to try to find a single privileged solution concept for bargaining games. Moreover, if it is a reasonable goal of cooperative game theory to try to find a single, unequivocal solution concept for bargaining games, then there would not be persisting and jutified irreconcilable variance in opinions about trade...

In this episode, mechanisms and research are discussed. The question, ‘if we have a randomized control trial (RCT), can we do without knowledge of a mechanism?’ is answered. It is held that mechanisms do make a substantive difference to the optimization of a RCT. This is defended through two cases — the failed Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Phase 3 trials in 2024 ran by Sarepta Therapeutics and Pfize...

In this episode, philosopher Ian Peeble’s 2021 article, “To Race or Not to Race: A Normative Debate in the Philosophy of Race,” is discussed. An argument is put forth that Peeble’s argument for the morally permissible use of race in medicine is not deductively sound. This opinion is held as I believe that Peebles misses an important fourth necessary condition for the permissible use of race in med...

In this episode, the resurgence of the traditional wife lifestyle on social media is examined. The recent outrage from women about this lifestyle and the receiving opposing reaction to that outrage is discussed. It is held that this reception boils down to the perception that these tradwives could be experiencing a case of adaptive preference that limits their boundless freedom (that which is the...

In this episode, an argument is put forth asserting that the baramin is a Boydian Natural Kind within the disciplinary matrix of baraminology. Listen to find out how this aspect of creation science seems to satisfy the epistemic access and accommodation conditions that Richard Boyd advanced in his 1999 work “Homeostasis, Species, and Higher Taxa.”

In this episode, contemporary caste in India is discussed. It is evaluated through the 4 criteria for qualifying an ideological state apparatus according to Althusser’s 1970 essay “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses.”

In this episode, the third of a four-part series is presented. Topics inclusde abortion, cloning, surrogacy, and IVF. Is being a human being enough to exact moral obligations from others?

In this episode, the second episode of a four-part series is presented. The Nuremberg Code, Declaration of Helsinki, and Belmont Report are all overviewed. How ought we respect individuals’ rights and interests in experiments involving human subjects?

In this episode, the first of a four-part series is presented. This episode covers the Nuremberg Trial (and Code), and human research ethics. In particular, the US human radiation experiments and the Guatemala STD studies are discussed.

In this podcast, informed consent is discussed. This discussion is organized by two article overviews. Beauchamp and Faden’s “The Concept of Informed Consent” and Katz’s “Informed Consent — Must it Remain a Fairy Tale?” are presented and evaluated with the progression of the history of bioethics in mind.

In this episode, medical confidentiality and privacy are discussed. Some of the highlighted authors include James Rachels, David C. Thomasma, and Shelly Schwartz. Is it ever okay to withhold the truth from patients? And, does the ideal conception of medical confidentiality actually exist? A discussion of the current scholarship on these questions may lead us to good answers.

In this episode, medical paternalism, the role of nurses, and truth-telling in clinical practice are discussed. This is the first episode of a three part short series. The articles of Goldman, Ackerman, Newton, and Kuhse are presented in order to adequately motivate the convictions being put forth.

In this episode, the connection between ideology and religious identity in India is discussed. Understanding practices of historicization, biased translation, and temple desecration as contributing to the religious ideological state apparatus can enhance our understanding of how ideology operated alongside identity in religion across India. Applying philosophy to historical concepts aids all stude...

In this episode, a crash course in bioethics is presented. Everything from argument (re)construction to moral theories and case studies is discussed.

In this episode, Denmark’s “Free Town” is discussed. Christiania is reflected on as a potential implementation of ideal libertarian principles, and thus, may be able to be analyzed as a real-life minimal state. Is Nozick correct in his argument about the positives of creating and maintaining of, and operating in a minimal state? In what ways do ideal libertarian principles characterize important a...

In this episode, the Barbie movie is discussed. I have a discussion with my mother about four core philosophical themes portrayed in the movie. These themes include existentialism, feminist political philosophy, the role of testimony in feminist epistemology, and questions of personal identity in relationship to others’ identities (especially within a unified and identity-centric community).

In this episode, the philosophical justification for the permissibility of race-blind affirmative action is discussed. Specifically, it is held that race-blind affirmative action in selective college admissions is not a racist institution. This argument is supported by the virtue ethics theory of racism put forth in J.L.A. Garcia’s “The Heart of Racism.” An AI Thought Experiment is presented on be...