Philosophy Talk

Most people enjoy music daily and have strong listening preferences. Music – along with love – is often thought of as a universal language. But what makes a collection of sounds a piece of music as opposed to just noise? Can music teach us anything? And is the value of music objective? John and Ken explore what philosophy has to tell us about music – and vice versa – with Peter Kivy from Rutgers U...

In war, people do awful things to other people. But the concept of ‘war crime’ suggests that some things are worse than others. How do we disentangle what’s fair play from what’s criminal? What are the ethical justifications for regarding some of the evils of war as worse than others? John and Ken bring on noted guest David Luban to explore the challenging subject of war crimes.

Edward Gibbon and James Madison both noted how liberties in Rome were among the victims of its growing empire.  Is our society facing a similar problem, given what some public figures have said about choosing between how much liberty and how much security we want?  Or is this a false choice put forward by those in power?  John and Ken take a philosophical lens to the relationship between liberty a...

It’s our anniversary!  Join the philosophers for a celebration of the program that questions everything – except your intelligence – with a look back on the issues and the people that have made Philosophy Talk a hit.

How do we communicate ideas with language? Where does the literal meaning of a word end and the subtle connotation begin? John and Ken tackle the semantics, pragmatics, and mysteries of meaning with Dan Sperber, co-author of Relevance: Communication and Cognition.

Figure skating is athletic and beautiful.  How about a bone-crunching tackle?  Or a  spikes-high slide into second?  Or a slam-dunk?  Or an overweight sixty-year-old at a bowling alley?  John and Ken discuss the nature of athletic beauty with Hans Gumbrecht, author of In Praise of Athletic Beauty.

The concept of equality is as important to America’s self-conception as it is confusing.  What sort of equality?  Equality before the law; equality of opportunity; equal access to all the benefits of modern society?  If we treat everyone the same, how can we take account of inequities due to race, class, gender and other factors?  Guest Elizabeth Kiss from Duke University joins John and Ken in fro...

Ken and John discuss the future of philosophy with three rising stars in American philosophy: Elizabeth Harman from New York University, Brian Weatherson from Cornell University, and Sean Kelly from Princeton University. This program was recorded live at the American Philosophical Association Meetings with an audience of cranky and opinionated philosophers in Portland, Oregon.

People who don’t seem affected by emotions are often called “stoic.”  But there’s a lot more to Stoicism than simply being unaffected.  Stoicism dates back to ancient Greece and Rome and offers a comprehensive approach to living life.  Who were the original Stoics?  What were their arguments?  And is being stoic a good idea?  John and Ken delve deep into Stoicism in this episode with John Cooper f...

At certain crucial times, such as the American Revolution, the Civil War, and World War II, America was blessed with great leaders.  But now?  What is leadership?  How is it cultivated?  What political processes bring great leaders to the top of the heap?  And what processes will keep demonic leaders, like Hitler, from gaining ascendance?  Can philosophy help us understand the nature of and limits...

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel is without doubt one of the most influential philosophers of all time. He has, however, been largely ignored by American “analytic” philosophers of the twentieth century. John in particular, and Ken to a lesser extent, don’t know nearly as much about Hegel and his philosophy as they should. They will be lively if somewhat obtuse students for Allen Wood, Stanford’s res...

A lot of our thinking, and even our perception, has to do not only with what is, but what might be, and what would have been. That is, the imagination is an important part of our intellectual life. And learning to use our imaginations without losing sight of reality is part of growing up. What is the imagination, and what led Mother Nature to make it such an important part of our make-up? John and...

Are there some philosophers, philosophies, or philosophical issues you want to bone up on over the Summer?  Hegel’s Phenomenology of the Spirit probably isn’t a very good choice to take to the beach, but there are a lot of readable, beach-friendly classics and non-classics to add philosophical depth to your Summer Reading.  Ken and John discuss some of their favorites and pass on suggestions from...

Philosophical conceptions of justice have most often been directed at the nature of a just state. But many contemporary issues of justice reach across boundaries. Are our immigration policies fair and just? Can a just state invade another state in order to outfit it with a more just government? Can we defend economic policies that improve the lives of our citizens but an adverse impact on economie...

Being and Nothingness, the for-itself and the in-itself, bad faith, and the existential predicament; these Existentialist concepts were central to the philosophical scene in Europe and America after World War II. Join the Philosophers as they examine the ideas of Existentialism with Lanier Anderson from Stanford University.

Anything someone wants to call art?  Or are there some objective criteria, that not every instance of paint smeared on canvas and not every murder mystery meets?  What are the main philosophies of art?  Are any of them plausible?  John and Ken talk about the nature of art with Alexander Nehamas from Princeton University.

With what right do governments make and enforce laws? To what extent are citizens obligated to obey the law, even if a law is unjust? John and Ken talk about philosophy and the law with Jules Coleman from Yale University.

The pursuit of truth is often thought to be “intrinsically” valuable. Scientists and philosophers, who eschew religious rationales for their life’s work, take the pursuit of truth to be obviously a worthwhile enterprise. But what’s so great about truth? Sure, it’s good to know what’s for lunch, or the nature of the disease that plagues you, but is there any intrinsic or instrumental value in knowi...

Basketball, an American invention but a world-wide phenomenon, is sometimes characterized as the most athletic and aesthetic of sports. What makes a sport interesting? Valuable? Fun? Entertaining? What values does sport exemplify, and does basketball really measure up? Does commercialization undermine the values of sport? Ken and John discuss the philosophy of basketball with Frank Deford, one of...

Taking human life is wrong. But what if it is one’s own life? Is suicide worse or less bad than murder? Is it wrong at all? Can suicide be rational? How about helping another commit suicide? The Philosophers discuss the metaphysics and morality of taking one’s own life.

Plato claimed that numbers exist in some mind-independent abstract heaven. Nominalists claim that there is no such heaven. Clearly, we can’t see, hear, taste or feel numbers. But if there are no numbers what is mathematics all about? John and Ken count on a great discussion with Gideon Rosen from Princeton University, co-author of A Subject With No Object: Strategies for Nominalistic Interpretatio...

Being funny isn’t easy. Figuring out what makes things funny is even harder. Still, a number of psychologists (e.g., Freud) and philosophers (e.g., Bergson) have tried. Now computer scientists are trying to learn enough about humor to construct programs that can write good jokes; maybe an artificial stand-up comedian is on the way. Ken and John discuss the art, philosophy and science of humor with...

Monogamy is traditional in most cultures, and it is the law throughout America since Utah gave up polygamy to acquire statehood. Is there any philosophical basis for favoring monogamy over polygamy? Or any reasons grounded in clear empirical facts or social needs? With a looming shortage of females relative to males in large parts of Asia, is it time to question this traditional assumption about m...

Sociologist, historian, philosopher, editor, writer, and activist, W.E.B. Du Bois was one of the most influential intellectuals of the twentieth century. The first African-American Ph. D. from Harvard University, Du Bois died in Ghana after having renounced his American citizenship. In between he co-founded the NAACP and wrote The Souls of Black Folk (1903) as well as a number of other influential...

How should we decide what laws to pass? Should majority rule, even when they are legislating values? Ken thinks this results in tyranny. What kinds of values are there? There are values that are essential to democracy, e.g. education. Ken introduces the guest, Anna Eshoo, congresswoman of the 14th district of California. Are we in a culture war? What are the casualties like in a culture war? Is th...