Philosophy For Our Times

Is pantheism more radical than atheism? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Pantheism is the radical belief that reality and god are one and the same thing. Why has it been so feared for 400 years? Philosopher and author of Strange Wonder, Mary-Jane Rubenstein shows how the idea threatens much more than just religion. Mary-Jane Rubenstein is Pr...

Are 'facts' a tool for manipulation? Listen to find out! Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Facts and reason are essential if we are to make progress and create a better world. At least that's how it used to be. But now it seems everyone has their own 'facts'. Our political leaders have 'alternative' facts, but so, it is also claimed, do the l...

Can we be sure there is a physical reality? Our philosophers and scientists debate. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes  No-one who has ever stepped on a Lego brick could doubt the reality of physical objects. Yet from Heraclitus to George Berkeley, many philosophers claimed to have disproven the existence of things. Now even high-energy p...

Does nature always know best? Yuval Noah Harari and Slavoj Žižek debate. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Most think of nature as good, while humans and human interventions are often seen as problematic and even on occasion evil. From eradicating e-numbers from our diets to refusing vaccines, many are motivated by the idea that nature knows...

Are we living in a simulation? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Modern technology has ushered in a new era of augmented reality - one so sophisticated that some argue within a century we will be unable to distinguish the 'real' from the 'virtual'. Yet with increasing concerns that virtual reality is simply a flawed escapism, could we imagine...

Is government responsible for people's happiness? Paul Dolan tells us how to reach happiness and how public policy could get involved. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes From ancient philosophers to modern scientists we have been perplexed by happiness. In this interview, Professor of Behavioural Science at the LSE, Paul Dolan, discusses what...

Should we see nature as a divine source, or will doing so lead to self-annihilation? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes From Greece’s Gaia to the Hindu Prithvi, many cultures have seen the Earth as a divine being. Christianity and Western culture however removed god from nature deriding such outlooks as 'pagan'. The earth was recast as a resou...

How our brains lie to us and science follows. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes With a background in psychiatry, neuroimaging, and philosophy, Iain McGilchrist has a unique perspective on the world, the mind, and everything in between. Here, he discusses his new book, The Matter with Things: Our Brains, Our Delusions, and the Unmaking of the...

Is rationality productive or is it a method for manipulation? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Rationality, once revered, has had a bad press. Increasingly derided as the rhetorical bluster of the educated elite, typically powerful and male. And seen as the prejudiced claim of those who are sure they are right. Yet in its absence public deba...

Should we be scared of AI? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Joanna Bryson discusses how she became interested in the ways different species use intelligence, how the typical tropes in science fiction misunderstand AI and the problem of anthropomorphism. In this interview, Bryson discusses the most pressing ethical challenges concerning the f...

Will science ever come on top? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes  In a survey of academic philosophers 85% identified as atheists. In Europe established religion has been in decline for a century; even in the States attendance is falling. Yet globally religion remains a potent force, and predictions of its demise have not materialised. A...

Can you be an atheism 'expert'? And if you are, what do you have to say? Listen to find out. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes The first decade of the 21st century saw an extraordinary rise in confident atheism. Now the whirlwind has settled, what does the future of belief look like? In this talk philosopher and author of Atheism: A Very Shor...

Are scientific metaphors a real description of reality? A discussion between our scientists and philosophers. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes From string theory to the Big Bang, black holes to dark matter, our big scientific theories are increasingly conveyed through metaphor. Yet from Newton to the latest theories, science is largely found...

The case for nihilism, demons of materialism, and jazz?! Join us for a fascinating discussion. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes On this week’s episode we are joined by Professor of Metaphysical Philosophy at Keele University, James Tartaglia, to discuss the meaning of life and common misconceptions surrounding nihilism. We dive into a fascin...

Should the origins of ideas matter as much as their substance? Our experts discuss. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes There has always been dispute over which ideas are most significant. But at least there used to be broad agreement about the hallmarks of quality and the great works in each field. Now, from literature to the social sciences,...

Are you ready for a different kind of 'trip'? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes We have a very special episode for you today, a truly fascinating (and at times even funky) philosophical discussion. From Silicon Valley to the treatment of depression, psychedelics have entered the mainstream. And with them come new political, economic and philo...

Is the brain just a computer? Are AI conscious? Or could they be? Our experts debate. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes  The idea of the brain as a computer is everywhere. So much so we have forgotten it is a model and not the reality. It’s a metaphor that has lead some to believe that in the future they'll be uploaded to the digital eth...

Has science become the philosophical belief of our time? Leading scientists and philosophers discuss. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes In less than a lifetime, the first half of the twentieth century brought a series of life changing inventions. In combination with the all encompassing new stories of physics, science, once a branch of philos...

Can science accommodate human subjectivity? Sabine Hossenfelder responds. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes In this interview, leading physicist and author, Sabine Hossenfelder, discusses the relationship between physics and philosophy. She examines the scientific community’s desire to find a unified theory of everything, and contemplates how...

Is our obsession with data healthy or dangerous? Our specialists discuss. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes  Look to the science' was the call from politicians and the public alike throughout the pandemic. As if science has a single definitive view, and the data one interpretation. Yet science is full of competing and sometimes contradic...

Does philosophy really have an impact on our daily life? Timothy Williamson explains. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes In this interview, professor of Logic at the University of Oxford, Timothy Williamson examines how common sense can sometimes not be fully self-consistent and can even lead us into certain logical paradoxes. The philosopher...

What do memes really mean? Listen to find out! Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Memes are everywhere. But the term was coined only a few decades ago by Richard Dawkins to describe ideas and cultural behaviour that can be passed on from one individual to another. He argued that memes are a stage in evolution, and just as humans are carriers f...

All the questions. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes What exists? Why is there anything at all? Are there realities beyond physics? What is consciousness, personal or cosmic? Robert Lawrence Kuhn, host of the long-running 'Closer to Truth' television series and acclaimed website, has spent over 20 years interviewing the greatest thinkers and...

Is our obsession with enhancing ourselves leading to the end of humankind? Luke Robert Mason explains. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes The transhumanist dream, the merging of humans with machines, may soon be a reality. Elon Musk's NeuraLink is developing quickly, and before long, with the rise of more forms of human biotechnology, we may f...

Has contemporary culture abandoned the quest for the sublime? Our experts try to find out. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes From Rembrandt to Rothko, Mozart to Wagner, art and music have the capacity to give us a feeling of the sublime and transcendent wonder. Yet in contemporary culture the sublime is rare and for the most part not even des...