For the Love of Sophia!

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on hermeneutic issues: What exactly happens to us when we engage with a text? What is the relationship between text, author, and understanding? What even is a 'text' in the first place? What is a symbol? Is there a distinction between symbols and other kind of representations? Is the relationship between symbols and reality truly ar...

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony begin to discuss a number of general questions pertaining to this thing we call "understanding": What exactly does it mean to understand something? What does it have to do with context and connections between things? What does is mean when someone says that they _don't_ understand something? How does it relate to hermeneutic vantage points and horizons? How do...

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on the nature of AI -- this time, focusing on the implications it has for ethics and political philosophy: What are the results of granting AI systems authority with regard to the issue of truth? How are digital representations of things different from the things themselves -- are they? If a thing produces real effects, should we co...

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony begin to discuss a number of fundamental questions concerning the nature of AI with a little "help" from the source itself -- ChatGPT: How is artificial intelligence distinct from "organic" intelligence? What exactly can it do? What are its limitations? What does all of this mean for the future? For questions or suggestions for future episodes: PublicPhilProje...

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on ethical questions surrounding the use of violence: Are there any situations where there is universal agreement about whether the use of violence is warranted? Can an action that violates rights nevertheless be considered morally justified? What is the difference between personal acts of violence and the acts of violence conducted...

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony begin to discuss the nature of violence and its ethical implications: Is violence a strictly physical phenomena that pertains to the body, or can it go beyond that? What is the relationship between violence and violation? What does a violation of the mind look like? To what extent is our language steeped in metaphors pertaining to violence, and how -- if at al...

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on Plato's theory of forms: Are the forms just a metaphor for ideas and the activity of thinking? Or should the realm of forms be interpreted as a literal "place?" What is the allegory of the cave, and what are its metaphysical and epistemological implications? How exactly do numbers fit into all of this? What is the ontological sta...

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony delve into this thing commonly referred to as Plato's "Theory of Forms." In what sense is it supposed to be a theory of everything? How exactly does it account for the structure and origin of the universe? What does it have to do with the distinction between appearance and reality? How does the concept of imitation factor into this? What is a demiurge and how...

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation about human nature: Can human nature be anything other than the mere having of a frontal lobe? To what extent can religiosity be considered part of human nature? How about morality? What is this whole "nature vs. nurture" debate anyway that everyone likes bringing up? Can Giuseppe and Anthony agree on any human universals?

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony discuss the nature of this thing we call -- well, human nature. What exactly is it? What about nature in general? Are these things fixed? To what extent? Does human nature even actually exist as something other than a mere epistemological indicator? If it does, then what are the minimum criteria needed in order for something to be accurately considered "human?...

What exactly is "un-grading," and what cases do people make for it? What problems are present in these arguments? Are there more moderate versions of the arguments that we should take into account? What are some common negative attitudes that students take towards grades? How do we approach trying to change these attitudes? And the end of the day -- what are grades?

'Tis the season... grading season. In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony discuss several philosophical questions underlying the grading process. What are grades? What exactly is it that's getting graded? How does the grading process differ between oral and written exams? To what extent is cumulative individual process relevant during the grading process? How can instructors differ completely with...

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on the nature of politics, this time focusing on the concept of war: What exactly is war? Is war the most political thing, or the least political? Can politics exist without war? Is war the natural state of things? What is the relationship between war and consciousness? What is the telos of war? For questions or suggestions for futu...

What type of thing does politics deal with? What is the goal of politics? Is political philosophy a branch or ethics, or is ethics a branch of political philosophy? Can politics exist outside of the State? For questions or suggestions for future episodes: PublicPhilProject@gmail.com.

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on consciousness: What happens when our technological interface with the world becomes the world itself? What are the philosophical and psychological consequences of this shift? How does it affect conceptions of the self? How does it affect the embodied nature of consciousness? How does it affect interpersonal relationships? How doe...

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony discuss a number of fundamental questions pertaining to this thing we call "technology": Is technology a thing or a process? What is the relationship between technology and the Ancient Greek "techne?" What is the purpose of technology? How is technology distinct from art? What do tools and machinery have to do with all of this? What things even count as techno...

In this conversation, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on personal identity: Are idiosyncrasies part of what makes a person? Can changeable things be part of something's essence? What is the relationship between personhood and rights? What rights does personhood entail? At what point exactly do things cross the threshold into the category of "having personhood?" For questions or su...

In this conversation, Giuseppe and Anthony discuss a number of fundamental questions pertaining to the nature of personal identity: What exactly is a person? How might "person" be distinct from "human?" Is a person defined by behavior, mental phenomena, both, or something else? For questions or suggestions for future episodes: PublicPhilProject@gmail.com.

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on learning and teaching, this time focusing on the latter half: Is teaching distinct from explanation? What is the connection between learning and danger? How does the role of a teacher differ from the role of a guide? For questions or suggestions for future episodes: PublicPhilProject@gmail.com. Support us on Patreon: www.patreon....

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony begin to discuss a number of questions pertaining to the fundamental nature of learning: What exactly does it mean to learn something? Is human learning distinct from function-gaining in a computational sense? If so, how? How can we tell whether someone has actually learned something? For questions or suggestions for future episodes: PublicPhilProject@gmail.co...

In this episode, Anthony and Giuseppe continue their conversation about sensation, this time starting by focusing on parosmia -- an abnormality in the sense of smell -- that Anthony now experiences chronically as a result of having COVID in the past. What exactly happened? What did things smell like before and after COVID? What scents changed the most? What do they smell like now? How do these cha...

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony strike up an impromptu conversation about sensation: What exactly is a sensation? How does each sense differ from one another? Are there more interesting distinctions beyond the "obvious" ones lurking in the background? How do the senses connect? Can the senses be arranged in a hierarchy of complexity? What does this mean? What universal truths about sensation...

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on the the nature of memory, this time focusing on the metaphysical side of things. Where do memories come from? Where are they stored? Where do they “take place” when we’re actively experiencing them? Are they physical things? Are memories necessarily internal to the subject? Or do they exist in external objects? Both? Is a memory...

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony discuss a number of fundamental questions pertaining to memory: What exactly is it? How do past memories affect our perception of the present and future? To what extent can emotion be detached from memories? Does collective memory exist? What ethical issues surround these questions? For questions or suggestions for future episodes: PublicPhilProject@gmail.com....

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on the divide between "analytic" and "continental" philosophy: How do analytic and continental philosophers see themselves in relation to the past? Why and how do continental philosophers play with language when expression their ideas? How can continental philosophy become more like idol worship and ideology? Why is continental phil...