Philosophy Talk

What are the effects of immigration on culture in America?  Does it promote homogenization, diversity, or both?  Cultural enrichment, or assimilation? What challenges does immigration raise?  What immigration policies should the American government adopt, with respect to economics, culture, and ethics?  How can we justify denying privileges and protections to people based simply upon where they we...

What can we learn from studying philosophy?  What can we learn from reading great (or not-so-great) literature?  Some philosophers and literary theorists believe that philosophy and literature converge in a number of places.  Great literature is often deeply philosophical, and great philosophy is often great literature, sometimes in the form of fictional narrative.  Perhaps we can learn many of th...

People who predict the future well are sometimes said to be psychic. But we all make predictions about the future, with more or less success. We confidently predict the sun will rise tomorrow, that ice will be cold, etc. But maybe we’re not quite as good at predicting the future as we think. Is the stock market predictable? The weather? Political upheavals? Or is life just too random to make good...

Does faith obscure reason? Does reason obscure faith? Or perhaps their subject matters are different. Faith might address one area of our lives and reason and science another. Faith may allow us to see meaning, values, and God, while reason sees everything else, whatever that may be. Or perhaps faith and reason are fundamentally intertwined. Is faith void of reason? Is it irrational to be faithful...

For Plato, love and philosophy were closely related. Love of beauty causes one to contemplate the whole sea of beauties, including beautiful systems of justice and beautiful scientific theories. But Plato wasn’t such a fan of poetry, arguing that it merely evoked strong emotions in a way contrary to reason. Noted poet Troy Jollimore, winner of the 2006 National Book Critics Circle Award, disagrees...

How does a bunch of grey matter in our skulls have the ability to solve mathematical problems? Are we the only species that can? Does catching a baseball require doing calculations? Join John, Ken, and their guest, noted cognitive scientist and NPR’s “Math Guy” Keith Devlin, as they discuss the many ways our minds can do the math.

An art lover will argue that art brings beauty to our surroundings and provides occasions for intellectual and emotional reflection. But those who don’t appreciate art see it as unnecessary and frivolous – at any rate, certainly not something that tax dollars should go to support. In a time when school budgets for art programs are dwindling, John and Ken are joined by Cynthia Freeland, Chair of th...

In art, architecture, music, film, literature, sociology, communications, fashion and philosophy there is a contrast between “the modern” and “the post-modern.” But just what are the main hallmarks of the postmodern? How does the “postmodern” differ from the “modern?” Is the postmodern an improvement over the modern? John and Ken are joined by Gary Aylesworth, Professor of Philosophy at Eastern Il...

What is flirting? Can you flirt without intending to? Can you flirt by dressing a certain way, by walking a certain way? Is flirtatious behavior culturally relative? Could you flirt with a robot? With your own long-term partner? With an idea? Join John and Ken as they plumb the philosophical depths of flirting with Carrie Jenkins from the University of Nottingham, author of “The Philosophy of Flir...

Why did Nietzsche cross the road? To get beyond good and evil! How is a good joke like a good philosophical argument? Are philosophical tenets at the core of much of humor? To find out, join the philosophers and their guests, Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein, authors of Plato and A Platypus Walk Into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes.

The death penalty: An effective deterrent? A just retribution for horrendous crimes? Or a racist, classist form of state-sanctioned murder? Join John and Ken and their guest, Robert Weisberg, Director of the Stanford Criminal Justice Center, as they discuss the philosophical pros and cons of capital punishment.

Time is the most familiar thing in the world, and yet philosophically one of the most puzzling. Is the present what’s left when you subtract what has already happened, and what is yet to happen? Then it seems to vanish into a mere instant.  Are future events completely unreal? Or are they just the things we can’t know yet? Is time unreal, as many philosophers have thought? Columbia’s Dave Albert j...

Are there philosophers, philosophies, or philosophical issues you want to read up on over the summer? Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason probably isn’t the obvious choice to take to the beach (though it does make great radio), but there are a lot of readable, beach-friendly classics and non-classics to add philosophical depth to your Summer Reading. Plus, new and classic fiction books with a philosoph...

Aging is a physical process that will always be with us.  But conceptions of aging, views about the contributions older people can make to society, and what society owes them change from era to era and differ from culture to culture. In conjunction with the Stanford Humanities Center, John and Ken explore the issues involved in growing older with their guest, Stanford University psychologist Laura...

At least some versions of artificial intelligence are attempts not merely to model human intelligence, but to make computers and robots that exhibit it: that have thoughts, use language, and even have free will. Does this make sense? What would it show us about human thinking and consciousness? John and Ken uncover the philosophical issues raised by artificial intelligence with Marvin Minksy from...

Science is, on the one hand, a huge enterprise funded to a great extent by the government and by industry.  On the other hand, science is supposed to be the dispassionate, objective search for truth.  What happens when the search for truth conflicts with the needs and desires of the funders?  Should those funders be allowed to censor the science they pay for?  Should scientists be free to publish...

Philosophers call a person autonomous if she is responsible not just for what she does but also for the principles and rules that guide her. But does this really make sense? Aren’t we all just products of culture, education and genes? Join John and Ken as they investigate the nature of autonomy with John Christman from Penn State University., author The Politics of Persons: Individual Autonomy and...

Freedom of speech tells us the government shouldn’t restrict the journalist.  But should anything restrict the journalist?  Should the duty to inform be limited by the duty not to betray national security, not to injure the innocent, not to corrupt the jury pool, and similar considerations?  How do we draw the line?  John and Ken welcome Dale Jacquette from Pennsylvania State University to delve i...

Humans are conscious, billiard balls are not, and computers aren’t either.  But all three are just collections of molecules, aren’t they?  What is consciousness, and does it go beyond what science can explain?  John and Ken probe the limits of scientific accounts of consciousness with Joseph Levine UMass Amherst, author of Purple Haze: The Puzzle of Consciousness.

On this special pledge-week episode, John and Ken open the phones and the inbox to their listeners, answering questions about art, politics, proof, and philosophy itself.

Various forms of skepticism play important roles in the history of philosophy.  Do we really know there are external objects?  That there are other minds?  That there is a distant (or even a not-so-distant) past?  All the evidence we have for these things seems consistent with our being in a world in which they don’t exist.  What does this tell us about life?  About philosophy?  Our hosts discuss...

Many religions contemplate some form of personal continued existence after death: reincarnation in another body, or continued being in some vastly different place like Heaven or Hell. Do any of these conceptions make sense? If so, is there any evidence for any of them? And why do people want continued existence, even immortality? Wouldn’t it be a bore? John and Ken welcome back Anne Ashbaugh of Co...

People have strong but divergent opinions about the nature of animals’ minds.  Do dogs make plans?  Do they remember specific events?  Do they dream?  Do cats recognize their owners as unified wholes, or just as collections of parts, some warm, some capable of providing food.  Could it be that whales, dolphins, elephants, and various kind of monkeys have mental lives that approach — or surpass — t...

The Austrian/British philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein exercised enormous influence over philosophy in the middle third of the last century, and his view and his life continue to fascinate thinkers around the world.  What are the basic tenets of Wittgenstein’s philosophy, and what is their enduring legacy?  Join John and Ken as they investigate the ideas and implications of one of the great philosop...

In many democracies, the judiciary is protected, to one degree or another, from the voters.  Our federal judges, for example, though appointed by elected officials, then have lifetime tenure.  In more local venues, however, many judges are directly elected.  What is the role of the judiciary in a democracy, and how much protection from democratic processes is needed?  John and Ken probe the judici...