Four Cubits

After a quick review of the Barbie movie, Jeff and Eli talk about a widely-circulated petition that seeks to link the Israeli judicial overhaul with the larger Israeli-Palestinian conflict. To read the open letter, click/tap here . To read about the open letter, click/tap here .

In this episode, Jeff and Eli discuss the principle of free speech and how it comes into conflict with the desire to regulate hate speech, or group libel. In an attempt to tease apart and examine the various ideas and values at play in this conflict, they look at Stanley Fish, Ronald Dworkin, and Jeremy Waldron. Show Notes: To read Stanley Fish on free speech, click/tap here . To read Ronald Dwork...

In this episode, Jeff and Eli discuss the issue of antisemitism. They examine and evaluate multiple definitions of the term, talk about the attempt of some to include anti-Zionism in their definitions, and reflect on the impact of social media on the spread of antisemitic ideas. They conclude with their own recommendations on best practices in the fight against antisemitism. Show Notes: To read Jo...

In this episode, Eli tells the story of a recent personal encounter he had with antisemitism and the intersectional bigotry that followed from it before he and Jeff discuss the meaning of patriotism. They then wade into the contemporary culture wars on race using Ross Douthat's recent OpEds in the New York Times as an access point to the controversies and dig a little deeper into the work of...

In this episode, Jeff and Eli discuss the Derek Chauvin verdict and its implications for the country and the criminal justice system. They then continue their deep dive into racism with an examination of  Lawrence Blum's concept of the moral asymmetries inherent in different kinds of racism. Show Notes: To read Lawrence Blum's "I'm Not A Racist But..." click/tap here .

In this episode, Jeff and Eli continue their discussion on the metaphysics of race with a quick review of Hardimon's biological realism and a discussion of social realism/constructionism and anti-realism. They examine the metaphysics of Sally Haslanger, Paul C. Taylor, and Joshua Glasgow as they discuss the merits and problems posed by social realism and anti-realism. Show Notes: To read Sall...

In this episode, Jeff and Eli begin by discussing a controversial SNL joke about Israel’s vaccination program. Next they discuss the devastating empirical problems faced by the classical racialist view of race before launching into a discussion of the different metaphysical camps in the philosophy of race. They start with Biological Realism using Michael Hardimon’s work as a model and talk about t...

In this episode, Jeff and Eli examine different definitions of racism. They look at Robin DiAngelo, Ibram X. Kendi, and Paul C. Taylor’s definitions and talk about the strengths and weaknesses of each before talking about the way in which Jeff thinks racism should be redefined. Show Notes: To read Robin DiAngelo’s book White Fragility, click/tap here .  To read Ibram Kendi’s book How To Be An Anti...

In this episode, Jeff and Eli wrap up their non-comprehensive stroll through the history of racial thinking and move on to talk about the role that religion played in the history of racism and slavery. Eli then argues for the centrality of racism to the Enlightenment project, while Jeff defends its honor. Show Notes: To read about the Curse of Ham, click/tap here .  For an excellent series of essa...

In this episode, Jeff and Eli take a moment to reflect on the end of the Trump era before jumping into a discussion on race. They talk about their personal connection to race and then talk about the history of racial thinking using Paul C. Taylor’s account as a guide. Show Notes: To watch The New Yorker’s video from inside the Capitol attack on January 6th, click/tap here . To see the cover of Tim...

In this episode, Jeff and Eli conclude their conversation about the empirical study of emotions by talking about the fall of the triune model of the brain and the developments in neuroscience that brought it about. They delve into Lisa Feldman Barrett’s model of emotions and talk about its metaphysical implications. Show Notes: To read about Paul MacLean, the inventor of the triune theory, click/t...

In this episode, Jeff and Eli continue their exploration of the empirical study of emotions. They track the public battle between Margaret Mead and Paul Ekman before making their way into Neuroscience where they meet Joseph Ledoux, Antonio Damasio, and finally begin a discussion of Lisa Feldman Barrett’s work. Show Notes: To read about the rivalry between Margaret Mead and Paul Ekman, click/tap he...

After a short discussion about the upcoming presidential election in the United States and the new data about how Jewish Americans will be voting, Jeff and Eli dive into their next topic which is the empirical study of emotions. Starting with the foundational 19th century texts by Charles Darwin and William James, they move into the 20th century and discuss the two dominant ways of thinking about...

In this episode, Jeff and Eli discuss Pamela Hieronymi’s seminal essay “Articulating an Uncompromising Forgiveness.” After a brief discussion about the revolution that Hieronymi wrought in moral philosophy, they dig into the differences between seeking forgiveness and apologizing. They then explore the areas in which Jeff’s account of apologies diverge from Hieronymi’s depiction. Show Notes: To re...

In this episode, Jeff and Eli think they’re done with anger, but anger isn’t done with them. They take stock of the different positions and talk about where they each fall. Jeff describes his concept of Dialogic Anger in more detail and they end with a discussion of the Kavanaugh hearings. Show Notes: For Agnes Callard’s essay “The Reason To Be Angry Forever” click/tap here . For Agnes Callard’s B...

In this episode, Jeff and Eli discuss Marshall Rosenberg’s take on anger and moralism as expressed in his system of Nonviolent Communication. They dive into the benefits and drawbacks of eliminating moralistic language from communication and consciousness and they discuss the efficacy of moral stance-taking and shame in shaping human behavior. Show Notes: To read Marshall Rosenberg’s book Nonviole...

In this episode, Jeff and Eli kick off a discussion on the subject of anger and resentment. They focus on two texts by the philosopher Agnes Callard and branch off into a discussion about Nietzsche, the foundations of morality, and the analytic-continental divide. Show Notes: For the Chomsky-Foucalt debate click/tap here . For Agnes Callard’s video on Socrates click/tap here . For Agnes Callard’s...

In their first episode back after a three and a half year hiatus, Jeff and Eli talk about the loss of Jeff’s father to the virus, the paradoxical information environment of 2020, and the various kinds of ethical responsibilities that emerge from living through a pandemic. Show Notes: For the New York Times’ coverage of the passing of Jeff’s father click here .  For CNN’s coverage of the passing of...

In this episode, Jeff and Eli continue their discussion of apologies, but they broaden the scope to include apologies made by groups, institutions, and countries. Show Notes: To read more about the Victoria's Secret apology, click here . To watch veterans ask forgiveness from Native Americans at Standing Rock, click here . To read President Obama's speech at Hiroshima, click here . To re...

After a short follow-up discussion about the role that misogyny played in the U.S. presidential election, Jeff and Eli begin a discussion on the subject of apology. Show Notes: To read Jeff's article, click here .

In this episode, Jeff and Eli discuss the election of Donald Trump and what that means for people who care about prejudices like racism, sexism, and Islamophobia. Show Notes: For Jeff's friend's book, click here . For more on the Southern Poverty Law Center, click here . To see Bernie Sanders' appearance at Liberty University, click here .

In this episode, Eli talks to Professor Zachary Braiterman about the legacy of Elie Wiesel. This interview is then followed by an in-depth conversation between Jeff and Eli on the subject of ethics, the Holocaust, and Wiesel's refusal to criticize the State of Israel.  Show Notes: To read more about Elie Wiesel's life and work click here . To read more from Professor Braiterman click her...

In this episode, Jeff and Eli talk a little bit about American politics before they dive into a discussion of Steven Salaita, Zionism, and Jewish-American identity. Show Notes: Dr. Salaita's lively Twitter account . The Jewish Daily Forward's exposé on the Jewish-American non-profit colossus. 

In this episode, Jeff and Eli discuss Barry Freundel, Marc Gafni and the dynamics of sexual scandal in the religious world. Show Notes: Mark Oppenheimer's New York Times piece on Marc Gafni. The Huffington Post piece on the anniversary of Barry Freundel's arrest.

In this episode, Jeff and Eli lay out the New Atheist argument against Islam in four parts. They then examine the weaknesses in the argument and explore their differences on the boundaries that ought to be imposed on would-be critics of religion. Show Notes: To see Bill Maher and Sam Harris go at it with Ben Affleck on Real Time click here . To read Glenn Greenwald's criticism of Sam Harris a...