Philosophy Club!

The Butterfly Effect is the common term for a system where small changes to initial conditions create outsized impacts. Logan, Katie and Ben discuss the "Baggage Claim Effect," to describe a system where for a limited time, changes to initial conditions—even large ones—have no impact whatsoever. When we rush to catch a connecting flight, there is one thing that may hold us back. We may speed off t...

After a six-month hiatus, Logan and Ben come back to dismiss "Consent of the Governed" and move on to what happens next. If consent of the governed does not dictate good governance, what does? We rollick through ideas from John Rawls, Jean-Jacque Rousseau, John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Socrates (by the way, it was the Dialogue of Crito, in case you were wondering) and Charles Tilly before comparing o...

Is Justice getting what you deserve? Is it perhaps the balance of wisdom moderation and courage? Or is Justice a chimerical idea we are fed to go along with authority? Beau, Ben and Logan begin to tackle this timeless question. We explicitly reference Plato's Republic, Batman and John Austin's Command Theory of Law to make sense of this question. Beau will allude to H.L.A. Hart's Core and Penumbra...

No question so concerns our collective humanity as that of freedom. Unsatisfied with our first conclusions on the subject, Ben and I reframe the question of Liberty. Perhaps it is not choice maximizes freedom (to the credit of Kitty as well from the last episode, no quantity of colorful consumer choices which line the shelves of our stores and line our streets with briefly used garbage add even an...

Logan asks Kitty, Mike and Ben "what is Liberty? Is it the most choice? Is it the least obligation? Is it the least arbitrary system?" There is perhaps no concept so central to humanity as freedom. Every choice is an inherently human exercise of the will. The four Philosophers' discussion of what Liberty means ranges from Cherry Blossoms and John Denver to slavery and John Rawls' veil of ignorance...

Can you take an oath that changes your moral obligations? Can you make a personal decision to follow a specific set of moral guidelines? Why do Veterinarians and soldiers take an oath but not (typically) data analysts? Should Philosophy Club members take an oath and what would it sound like? Sara, Ben and Logan discuss all these and more!

Would Casablanca have been as good if it started in Paris? Ben, Logan and Sara ask why you should tell a story out of order, using flashbacks, flash-forwards and a handful of stranger options. Naturally, Christopher Nolan Films feature prominently, but so too do classics from the Godfather Part II to Mozart's Don Giovanni. We consider the pitfalls that make a brilliant use of time in one film an u...

Sara, Ben, Mike and Logan embark on a broad discussion that goes to the heart of public policy making and comes back again. We begin by taking a situational test designed to assess the social skills of prospective Veterinarians. And we continue by asking the hard questions that get to the marrow of the issue. Should a veterinarian treat a patient with sub-standard care if their client (the owner)...

In this first of its kind episode, Kyra and Mackenzie revisit the "Mansplaining" episode of Philosophy club. Mackenzie initially argues against the usefulness of the term and bemoans that the label Mansplaining tends to end conversations and close minds. Kyra counters that the label Mansplaining contributes to an ongoing journey of cultural self-discovery. Kyra refers to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther Kin...

Sara, Logan and Ben ask "What is mansplaining?" "Why is it so aggravating?" and "How do you avoid mansplaining?" Along the way we discuss Essentialism and Bell Hooks, relevant knowledge, and we discover what a male Gynecologist and a Veterinarian have in common!

In this special episode of Philosophy Club, Evan, a practicing Therapist (and roommate of Kitty), helps Aaqib, Ben, Kitty, Logan, Mackenzie and Mike to answer what makes a good therapist? As it turns out, there may not be a single good answer to the question. But that doesn't discourage them! The group also discusses: why do people come to therapy? Should everyone go to therapy? What makes a thera...

Ben, Katie, Logan and Mike discuss why we call one way of speaking proper and another colloquial. Along the way, we learn about Ben's hardships at an Orioles' game, David Foster Wallace and Descriptive vs. Prescriptive dictionaries, what Wittgenstein imagines construction workers are like, John McWhorter's Theory of Creole. We also ask about the benefits and tradeoffs of having many different ways...

Beau, Ben and Logan first discuss how to find a what to read, and Ben introduces the question: What makes a classic? It seems endurance, quality and popularity have something to do with it. And surely having someone to talk to about a book makes it all the more fun. But is the best of all time the same as the most popular? What is the role of genre in ranking them? Can you be someone who likes a l...

Ben, Mike and Logan ask what it means "to take something back." They stumble into the topics of opinions versus facts, the value of a promise, and the proper way to crack an egg.

Happy Independence Day! In this episode, Aaqib, Ben, Ian, Logan, Mackenzie and Michael discuss what makes a government a government, and how in a moment of crisis, taking up the mantle of power gives an initial semblance of legitimacy. Or is legitimacy just a Phony-Bologna concept? They argue over whether there is a meaningful distinction between gangs and a government, and what that might come fr...

Aaqib, Ben, Ian, Logan and Mike ask if the 2000-2010 was a tough time for music. Opinions vary wildly. They discuss what is complexity in music now? How can music theory encompass the increasing importance of production? And how does technology of a given time change the how we should view its art?

Ben, Ian and Logan discuss the how to evaluate policy decisions and the wisdom of playing catch with a bowling ball from a tall building. It's hard to evaluate policy based on the consequence, but it seems ludicrous to evaluate it with another set of ethics. The higher up the boss, the further they are from things actually happening. So the most powerful are also the most powerless. Ian compares l...

Ben, Logan and Mike exam what your moral obligation is in given scenarios. They discuss Peter Singer's famous shallow pond thought experiment, and consider whether that obligates you to be a lifeguard. They look at the moral obligations of Oscar Schindler and Peter Parker and try to decide what they would think of a coworker with an absurdly large cake.

In one of our most contentious episodes yet! Beau, Mike, Logan and Ben try to reconcile radically different views of what is Law, what is a State (or a state) and what claims a state has on its citizens (if any). They will discuss the command theory of law, the social contract, Max Weber's definition of a state and disagree of the concept and relevance of Legitimacy. It's an exciting Philosophical...

Mike begins by asking Katie, Ben and Logan if, after a decade of meeting to discuss philosophy, they have gotten any better at Philosophy? The four of them discuss the skills of thinking deeply, as well as the art of listening deeply to create philosophical conversations. Later, Logan asks "when is it reasonable to believe something we do not know to be true?" He thinks that many things, our exist...

Johny Mac rescues a floundering Ben and Mike and they continue to explore the conservation and destruction of culture. They ask how much sharing will destroy uniqueness? Is the erasure of cultures inevitable? How do we feel about Bluegrass Music?

Katie's visit to an Ancient Egyptian exhibit spawns a discussion with Mike and Ben: is it valuable to conserve and protect your own culture and thereby potentially sacrifice diversity? The three veteran Philosophers shed some light on American Culture, inherent cultural invisibility and wish aloud that our Anthropologist friend Johnny Mac were there to help.

Ben, Logan and Mike ask how much can you edit and alter a photo before it becomes a lie? What crosses the line when using video to create a fictional digital medium? Are there lower and higher orders of truth to abide by? How much does intention matter when making alterations?

Logan, Ben and Mike ask what makes a good gift? What is the difference between a gift and transaction? How explicit should you make your Holiday gift list? What does Dostoevsky's account of an execution tell us about giving presents?

Aaqib, Ben, Katie and Mike dance around the question: What is the purpose of education? Is it the "vibes"? They discuss what makes a good education; what are the most memorable moments; and what do you even remember afterwards?