Philosophy Talk

In the Early Modern period many philosophers took ideas to be mental images of the objects they stood for.  During the 20th century, that notion fell into considerable disrepute.  Yet recent cognitive science has revived the idea that at least some of our mental representations are highly imagistic in character, not just mental representations tied to vision and perception generally.   Join John,...

Everywhere we look — in the media, in our political campaigns, in the hallowed halls of the academy — we are confronted with an endless stream of BS, spin, propaganda, half-truths, and even outright lies.  Yet for centuries, philosophers have argued that the pursuit of truth is both intrinsically good and instrumentally useful.  But if truth is really both good and useful, then why is there so muc...

Lawyers are often thought to be hardly better than hired guns, who, in the words of Plato, are paid to “make the weaker argument the stronger” — like the sophists of old.  In fact, lawyers are legally and morally bound by stringent codes of ethics.  Noted philosopher of law David Luban of Georgetown University is the guest as Philosophy Talk explores the ethical obligations of lawyers to their cli...

Does the hijacking of words by political forces tell us something interesting about the nature of language and meaning?  Would liberals by some other name smell sweeter, or are they really tax-raising, latte-drinking, sushi-eating, Volvo-driving, New York Times-reading, body-piercing, Hollywood-loving, left-wing freaks?  Ken and John welcome back Philosophy Talk favorite Geoff Nunberg, author of T...

John and Ken welcome their special guest, noted scientist and entrepreneur, Craig Venter.  From the mapping of the human genome, to the patenting of synthetic life forms, to bio-prospecting for genetic gold in the depths of the oceans and the deepest reaches of the world’s rain forests, Craig Venter has been at the forefront of a revolution in genomics.  Join the hosts and their guest as they expl...

Despite the crass commercialism that drives the production of many movies, there’s no doubt that film is a distinctive and distinctively powerful art form.  Cinematic representations move us in ways that few others do.  Film has also proven to be an outstanding vehicle for conveying philosophical ideas.   Join John and Ken as they explore both the philosophy of film and philosophy within film.

Philosophers have always been concerned with the mind.  What is consciousness? Representation?  Emotion?  Now that neuroscience is making headway on these same questions, we should ask: how should philosophy and neuroscience relate?  John and Ken discuss this question and more as they delve into neuroscientifically-minded philosophy with Patricia Churchland from UC San Diego, author of Neurophilos...

Pragmatism is perhaps America’s most distinctive contribution to philosophy.  Developed by Pierce, Dewey, and James in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, pragmatism holds that both the meaning and the truth of any idea is a function of its practical outcome.  The pragmatists rejected all forms of absolutism and insisted that all principles be regarded as working hypotheses that must bear frui...

Back in the middle ages, people thought of children simply as little adults. Modern psychology has destroyed that theory.  But then, what is a child?  How are their minds different?  And what are the moral implications of these differences for how we should treat them?  Join John and Ken as they reflect on the nature of childhood.

A scary dream brings all the fears that a scary real situation can, and a happy dream can make us feel truly happy. But what are dreams? Where do they come from? And why do they feel so real? Thinkers from Descartes to Freud have been fascinated by dreams and their philosiphical significance. Join John and Ken as they explore one of the mind’s greatest mysteries.

In America, there’s not just one governing body, there are three: executive, legislative, and judicial. You might think that separating those powers is just less efficient.  But the founding fathers put a lot of philosophical thought into coming up with a system of checks and balances.  In this episode, John and Ken discuss the separation of powers with Stanford law professor Kathleen Sullivan in...

Some have argued that there aren’t any good arguments for believing in God. Is belief in God just an act of faith without reason? Plenty of philosophers would disagree. Why are philosophers so divided on the matter? In this episode Ken and John discuss the rational arguments for believing in God with Philip Clayton from the Claremont School of Theology.

You might think our thoughts simply determine what we say. But maybe the language we speak is what really determines the thoughts we can have. As Wittgenstein famously wrote, “The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.” And Benjamin Lee Whorf held that the language you speak has a systematic influence on how you think about and interact with reality. John and Ken wrestle with the relat...

Karl Popper is a landmark figure in the philosophy of science.  His notion of “falsifiability” endures to this day and even appears in arguments about creation versus evolution.  But what does it mean for a theory to be falsifiable? And where does the idea stand in contemporary philosophy of science?  John and Ken test a few ideas on Popper and falsifiability with their Stanford colleague Denis Ph...

Rabbis and Talmudic scholars have spent centuries puzzling over theology, texts, and life.  In the process they came up with many philosophical ideas that have inspired the work of more recent philosophers such as Martin Buber and Emmanuel Levinas.  Who or what is God?  By what rules should people live?  And what does Maimonides have to say about diets and bathing? John and Ken investigate the pas...

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...