Philosophy For Our Times

Is it time to abandon the search for reality? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Nietzsche famously declared 'God is dead' in the late nineteenth century. Outspoken critic of philosophical realism Hilary Lawson observes that today we have replaced God with ‘reality’. He urges us to abandon this elusive and unattainable concept, offering a...

Is human-like AI a pipe dream? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes A future with human-like AI is no longer limited to the pages of sci-fi, it’s now the dream of Big Tech too. But is this just a pipe dream? Join philosopher of perception Mazviita Chirimuuta as she argues that human-like AI is and will remain a fantasy.  There are thousands of bi...

Is it time for the English-speaking world to move on from analytic philosophy? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Focusing on logic and the meaning of words, analytic philosophy sought to put philosophy on a scientific footing. Yet a century on and critics argue the core questions about the relationship between language and the world have been...

Should we see art as a means of getting closer to the essence of what it is to be alive? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Art is most often seen as an adornment to everyday life. An entertainment, a delightful distraction perhaps, but not an uncovering of the essential character of the world. To uncover reality, we instead focus on accurate...

Is knowing oneself even possible? Listen to find out. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes From the self-help industry to the contemporary focus on mental health, the ancient Greek maxim ' Know Thyself ', is very much in fashion. But many would argue it is an  impossible dream.  We can't catch sight of ourselves, and the attempt to do...

Should we all engage in a radical cull? Listen to find out. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes We are attached to things. Our dwellings are packed with items we rarely throw out. Things have traditionally given us comfort but they also give us status. The wealthy often collect things for no other purpose than to own them. But in an age when th...

Must we give up on our current ideas of the self and identity? Listen to find out! Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes We laugh at the medieval view that disease is due to an imbalance in the four humours. Instead we see infectious illness as an attack by something external. But this can't be the whole story. After all, not everyone got Covid o...

What are the moral limits today? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes We think we should be concerned for the well being of farm animals and those used in experiments. But where should we draw the line? Mosquitoes? Plants? Rivers? Join philosopher and bestselling author Peter Godfrey-Smith as he argues we should draw new limits for our moral con...

Can we change the world? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Camus and Kafka have both been central to 20th century writing and thought. Both wrote about the relationship of the individual to society. But they had very different visions. Camus saw the individual as having the power to change and influence society. While Kafka honed in on the li...

Opening a path towards more enlightened societies with Rebecca Roache. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Philosophy is not just about armchair thinking. It can help us live better lives and find meaning. In this talk philosopher of mind Rebecca Roache shows us that philosophy can be the key to creating better lives, and more enlightened socie...

An interview with CosmisSkeptic Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes What is scepticism? How do we deal with our own coginitive dissonance? Can veganism ever be justified purely by reason? These are just some of the questions that Alex O'Connor, AKA CosmicSkeptic, has been grappling with on his youtube channel, viewed by over 40 million people,...

Should we go back to a world before civilisation? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes With high rates of infanticide, senicide and disease, not many of us pine for the era before human civilization, farms and nations. Yet anthropologists Yuval Harari and Jared Diamond have called the agricultural revolution a"trap"and humanity’s "worst mistake”...

Neuroscience?! Quantum Physics?! Is new data on the horizon? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes We are uncovering a new science of consciousness. A theory that is getting closer to solving the problem of the self once and for all. Or at least so claim leading neuroscientists. Some argue the reality we perceive is a controlled hallucination as...

How do we know if a story is worth telling? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes In this interview, award-winning writer and author of 'How I Live Now', Meg Rosoff, provides an insight into her writing philosophy. She discusses her origins in advertising, why the theme of adolescence fascinates her, and how a passion for horse-riding inspired th...

Should we give up the dream of certainty? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes We look for certainty to know where we are, to feel safe. Descartes founded modern Western philosophy on the search for certainty. And in our daily lives we have institutions to create the illusion of certainty, marriage in the precarious world of relationships, schoo...

Can science and religion coexist? Listen to find out! Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes In this interview, Alister McGrath, the Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion at the University of Oxford, explores the relationship between science and certainty. He charts his path from atheism to Christianity, and discusses how his faith is c...

Have mundane setbacks become catastrophic? Our experts discuss. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Trauma was traditionally associated with events such as war, assault and natural disasters. Now it is increasingly used to describe everyday experiences like personal criticism or romantic rejection, and of becoming an empty therapeutic buzzword....

Beyond right and wrong? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Politicians, scientists, experts, specialists and even philosophers frequently claim to be right and to have understood how things ultimately are. Yet at the same time they know this can't plausibly be the case. In the history of humankind there is no theory that has been shown to be d...

Are we right to abandon objective truth? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes It has been forty years since postmodernism swept through the academy changing the character of the arts and social sciences, impacting everything from literary criticism to anthropology, art history to sociology. Soon after it invaded culture generally and technical t...

Are we incarcerating the innocent? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Note: this episode was recorded live at our philosophy festival HowTheLightGetsIn. Some argue behaviour is a product of our genes. Others that upbringing and environment play the primary role in determining who we are. So do we carry no responsibility for our actions? Courts...

Is it bad if we are? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes From the evening news to the latest films and novels - we are attracted to crises and the trials and tribulations of life. The pandemic brought stories of human suffering, whether from illness, isolation or joblessness, which we readily consumed. But the healthiness of this fascination wi...

How did consciousness come into existence? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes 'Steven Pinker and Sam Harris have argued "the emergence of consciousness is simply incomprehensible". While recent neuroscientists have concluded "there is no convincing function to be found for consciousness". But if so, why are we conscious? Is consciousness an ac...

Do we need suffering to lead a meaningful life? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes From the plots of Hollywood movies to the roots of Christianity, many see value in adversity and suffering. Be it in character building boot camps or overcoming the trials of a difficult childhood or adult life. Yet the great majority of us do our very best to a...

Is language capable of communicating experience? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes We think sharing experience is essential to being human. At an individual level, we share experiences to get to know others and understand them. Yet from the taste of an apple to giving birth, we know we cannot fully describe the experience to someone who has n...

Can empirical observation lead us to the truth? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here:  https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes From Newton to Darwin, Curie to Einstein, science has been built on empirical observation. Now the very idea of neutral observation is under threat. In a postmodern world it is claimed all observation is perspectival, everything we see influenced by what we alre...