Patterson in Pursuit

Do democracies really make the best decisions? Should we encourage everyone to vote, even if they don't understand the issues? I am joined today by Dr. Bryan Caplan, who is a professor of economics at George Mason University. He's also the author of "The Myth of the Rational Voter" ( http://amzn.to/1Wn9xi4 ), which takes a skeptical look at the reliability of voting. We also discuss the educationa...

Skepticism used to be a way of thinking, but nowadays, it's turned into a fashionable clique. Calling yourself a "skeptic" today means you identify with three core ideas - atheism, physicalism, and empiricism. The "skeptics movement" has crowded out people who dissent, and in the process, they've become more dogmatic than those they criticize. Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at steve...

Consciousness remains a metaphysical mystery. Scientists don't understand it, philosophers don't understand it, and neither does anybody else. Is everything in the universe fundamentally physical, or is there something more? Is the physicalist worldview incomplete? Why should first-person experience exist in the first place?  Dr. Emrys Westacott is a professor of philosophy at Alfred University. Y...

Is there objective truth, or is everything ultimately subjective? Can we know with certainty? These questions are central in philosophy, and it's where we begin the series.    Dr. Emrys Westacott is a professor of philosophy at Alfred University. You can get his excellent introductory book Thinking Through Philosophy  here:  http://amzn.to/242NO1B Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at s...

Introduction to the show. Who I am and what the show is about. Philosophy and interviews across the world. Talking with intellectuals and professors about big ideas. Covering philosophy, science, religion, politics, economics, mathematics, libertarian theory, and much more. Get full access to Steve Patterson's Substack at stevepatterson.substack.com/subscribe