Philosophy Bites

Most people think it is acceptable to advantage their children, but how far should this go? Adam Swift  discusses the limits of parental partiality in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

Keith Frankish discusses consciousness, subjective experience and the brain in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

In this episode Ted Honderich  sketches his theory of the nature of consciousness. 

Genomics is a new approach to understanding our biology, one with far-reaching consequences for our understanding of what we are and where are responsibilities lie. Philosopher of biology  John Dupre  explains in this episode of the Philosophy Bites  podcast.

Many people have claimed that one of the benefits of reading writers like Dostoevsky and Shakespeare is that they convey important truths about the human condition. Peter Lamarque  is sceptical about this way of speaking about literature. He explains why in this episode of the Philosophy Bites  podcast.

Knowledge is part of our everyday lives. We know all kinds of things without even thinking about them. But what is going on here? Jennifer Nagel  discusses our intutions about knowledge with Nigel Warburton  for this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast

Why do philosophers use examples? Tamar Gendler  explores this question in conversation with Nigel Warburton  in this episode of the Philosophy Bites  podcast.

Does it matter where our ideas came from? Friedrich Nietzsche famously diagnosed the origin of Christian morality in what he thought of as a slave mentality. Amia Srninivasan  discusses genealogical reasoning with Nigel Warburton  in this episode of the Philosophy Bites  podcast.

Why is it morally wrong to target civilians in war? Can civilians be distinguished clearly from combatants? Seth Lazar  discusses these issues in this episode of the Philosophy Bites  podcast.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau's insights into moral psychology and its impact on how we live are the subject of this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

Is there any place for a notion of the sacred in contemporary life? Roger Scruton  believes that there is. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites  podcast he discusses his understanding of the sacred and the part it plays in our experience of each other.

What can experimental psychology contribute to our self-development as moral agents? Philosopher Regina Rini  explores this question in this episode of the Philosophy Bites  podcast.

Vanity, smugness, narcissism - they're not good, but they're not all the same thing. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites  podcast Simon Blackburn  explores what's wrong with narcissism and how it differs from related concepts.

Should we be striving to reduce health inequalities? If so, how? Harvard philosopher  Norman Daniels  discusses this question in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

George Berkeley was famous for arguing that objects are really just ideas. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast Tom Stoneham  clarifies what he meant by this. 

Michael Ignatieff  was an academic with a keen inerest in political theory before he learnt the hard way about politics in practice. He was an academic who became leader of the opposition in Canada then lost heavily in the 2011 Prime Ministerial election. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast he discusses the relationship between theory and practice in politics with Nigel Warburton .

Moral accountability is at the heart of moral obligation and it reveals much about the attitudes we hold to each otehr. Yale professor Stephen Darwall  explains what this means in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

David Papineau  discusses a range of specific sporting incidents that are of philosophical interest in this episode of the Philosophy Bites  podcast. David Papineau has a weblog on philosophy and sport:  'More Important Than That'

Roberto Unge r  argues that contemporary political progressives have abandoned what 19th century liberals knew: that some ways of living are better than others. In this conversation with Nigel Warburton  he argues that we need a different concept of freedom, one that will allow humans to thrive.

H.L.A. Hart made significant contributions to legal philosophy. Nicola Lacey  discusses his legal positivism in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. 

Some statements are descriptive, such as ' Philosophy Bites is a podcast series'; others are normative, such as 'You ought to tell the truth'. But what exactly is normativity? John Skorupski explores this question in conversation with David Edmonds.

Is a concern for inequality of wealth just a form of envy? Are there good reasons for objecting to inequality? Harvard philosopher  Tim Scanlon discusses these questions in converation with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

How much of the meaning of what we say depends on its context of utterance? Is there a role for literal meaning. Emma Borg discusses these questions with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. 

Neurophilosopher Pat Churchland discusses the insights that neuroscience can give us into the nature of self control in this episode of the Philosophyh Bites podcast. 

Implicit biases are tricky. We all have them, apparently, but we don't realise we have them. What are the implications of these biases? Does it, perhaps, go some way to explaining why there are so few women in academic philosophy? Jennifer Saul discusses these questions with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.