Philosophy Talk

I can sell my house, the things I make, and the services I provide.  So why can’t I sell one of my kidneys?  What is the philosophical basis for the taboo against selling parts of our bodies?  There is an (illegal) market in body parts; shouldn’t we trust the wisdom of the market and make it legitimate?  Or would doing so undermine the very dignity of persons and human life?  Ken and John dissect...

Are there levels of reality, with each level emerging from the other in a way that provides a truly new aspect of reality?  The concept of emergence has been seen as an alternative to mere reducibility in discussion of the relation of the physical world to the biological world, consciousness, the social world, and God.  Ken and John probe the nature of reality with Tim O’Connor, Professor of Philo...

Gandhi is famous as the leader of the movement for Indian independence, which he based on his philosophy of non-violence, an important influence on Martin Luther King Jr. Gandhi’s ideas and the effects of his leadership continue to influence the world and its leaders.  What was the philosophical basis of these ideas?  Is non-violence a strategy for a certain purpose, or the basis for a way of life...

William James is one of the great American philosophers, historically important as a philosopher (pragmatism and radical empiricism), a student of religion (author of the monumental Varieties of Religious Experience), and psychology.  Ken and John examine the life and ideas of this towering figure with Russell Goodman, a leading scholar of Pragmatism and editor of Pragmatism: A Contemporary Reader...

When we make decisions we think we’re in control, making rational choices. But are we? This is the central question posed by Dan Ariely, Professor of Behavioral Economics at Duke University, in his book Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions. John and Ken discuss irrationality, its dangers, and perhaps also its benefits, with this philosophical and fascinating economist...

Second Life and dozens of other online adventures involve creating digital selves, and millions of users are taking advantage of the opportunity to develop new personas. Cyberpunk literature, like William Gibson’s Neuromancer, describes worlds in which the line between digital selves and real selves is hard to draw.  What makes your digital self you?  What does your choice of digital selves show a...

To many death is terrifying. But why? As David Hume pointed out, all the years we didn’t exist before we were born seemed painless enough. Why worry about future non-existence? Is the real worry that we will continue to exist? Ken and John confront mortality with psychiatrist and novelist Irv Yalom, author of Staring at the Sun: Overcoming the Terror of Death. This program was recorded before a li...

Veganism, freeganism, organic, sustainability, simplicity, biofuel, animal rights, worker’s rights, nutrition, preventing hunger, reducing waste and protecting the environment.  What obligations do we have when it comes to buying, eating and producing food?  How should we balance moral and practical concerns?  John and Ken chew on these questions with Michael Pollan from the UC Berkeley School of...

Can morality be quantified?  Can the good be calculated?  Utilitarianism says the right action is the one which leads to the most overall happiness -– a deceptively simple theory, but not without its detractors.  Is utilitarianism compatible with the idea that people have inalienable rights?  Should we be so focused on the consequences of our actions?  John and Ken welcome Wayne Sumner from the Un...

What constitutes a just society?  What are the obligations of liberal democracies to ensure the rights and well-being of the citizens of other countries?  What kinds of interventions and institutions are most suitable to the task of preventing war, disease, and poverty in the world today?  John and Ken discuss the requirements of justice with Helen Stacy from Stanford Law School.

What is the relationship between the mind and the brain?  Monists believe that there is only one substance or property in the Universe, be it physical (Materialists) or mental (Idealists).  But Dualists, like the 17th Century French philosopher Rene Descartes, hold that mental stuff exists side by side with physical stuff.  Can this view be defended, in light of modern science?  John and Ken probe...

From Star Trek and the Grateful Dead to South Park and Stephen Colbert, philosophical questions are everywhere in popular culture: Is time travel possible?  Can a person survive being disintegrated and reassembled?  Does humor enable the expression of deep truths, political or otherwise?  John and Ken look at the Big Questions in pop culture with Richard Hanley from the University of Delaware, aut...

How should people allocate their assets – however modest or grand – ethically and effectively?  What kinds of giving should the government encourage through tax incentives and other measures?  Is providing for loved ones more worthy than self-expression through philanthropy?  John and Ken are joined by Rob Reich, Associate Professor of Political Science and Ethics in Society at Stanford University...

Sometimes it isn’t possible to distribute goods evenly. When this happens, we often leave it up to randomness – in the form of lotteries – to decide who gets what.  Is this just?  Or is it merely the best we can do?  What distinguishes fair systems of randomization from unfair ones?  John and Ken take their chances with Stanford political scientist Peter Stone.

Are people genuinely altruistic, or is altruism just a type of selfish-behavior?  Are other animals altruistic? Should we strive to be altruistic, or is selfishness a higher virtue?  John and Ken take the moral high ground with their guest Jeff Schloss, Professor and Chair of Biology at Westmont College and co-editor of Altruism and Altruistic Love: Science, Philosophy, and Religion in Dialogue.

Hannah Arendt was one of the most original and influential philosophers of the 20th century.  Her work considered historical and contemporary political events, such as the rise and fall of Nazism, and drew conclusions about the relation between the individual and society. John and Ken tackle Arendt’s political philosophy and its enduring influence with Seyla Benhabib from Yale University, editor o...

Many religions tell us that God is perfect: all-knowing, all-powerful, and beneficent.  Why then do bad things happen?  John and Ken discuss the problem of evil with their guest, Michael Tooley from the University of Colorado at Boulder, co-author of Knowledge of God.

Summer’s just around the corner – what books are you going to pack with your Speedo? John and Ken leaf through some of this summer’s philosophy, fiction, and non-fiction reading with Danielle Marshall from Powell’s City of Books.

What is a promise: a prediction?  A statement of intention?  Is promising rational?  Does it create an obligation?  John and Ken promise to raise these issues and more with Sir Neil MacCormick from the University of Edinburgh, author of Rhetoric and the Rule of Law.

Philosophical reasoning relies on intuitions.  John Rawls called this method “reflective equilibrium.” But where do we get our data about “intuitions”? John and Ken welcome back Anthony Appiah from Princeton University, author of Experiments in Ethics.  They discuss psychological experiments that determine what people really think.

Is love a single thing, or just a word we use to express any number of unrelated emotions? Is love intrinsically irrational? What have philosophers said about love? Did they know what they were talking about? Christopher Phillips, author of Socrates in Love: Philosophy for a Die-Hard Romantic, joins John and Ken for a program recorded live at Powell’s City of Books in Portland, Oregon.

Can cognitive science explain the difference between liberals and conservatives?  Do we elect our presidents on the basis of stale metaphors and the manipulations of pernicious language mavens? We put these questions to George Lakoff, Professor of Linguistics at UC Berkeley and author of Thinking Points: Communicating Our American Values and Vision.

The discriminating wine palate: bouquet, nose, great vintages, genius vintners.  Are these just myths perpetrated by winemakers and taken up by snobs with too much money to spend?  John and Ken raise a philosophical glass with Barry Smith from the University of London, editor of Questions of Taste: The Philosophy of Wine.

Can you be sorry without intending to change your behavior in the future? Without being ashamed? Do other cultures have different concepts of sorrow and guilt? John and Ken unapologetically explore the language and philosophy of contrition with Nick Smith from the University of New Hampshire, author of I Was Wrong: The Meanings of Apologies.

Astronomy is science; Astrology is pseudo-science. Evolutionary Biology is science; Creationism is pseudo-science. How about cultural anthropology, abstract economics, string-theory, and evolutionary psychology – science or pseudo-science? Is pseudo-science just politically incorrect science? Or is there an objective difference? John and Ken tackle these questions with Stuart Vyse from Connecticut...