Things You Can Do

Lee Adama's speech in the trial of Gaius Baltar from the show Battlestar Galactica leads us to reconsider what it is that makes someone guilty, and what guilt really is. We'll consult some good German philosophers - Immanuel Kant, Hannah Arendt, and Karl Jaspers - to see if we can't find a good answer to that question. Thanks to Matthias Austin and Producer of the Show Meg for their...

Content Warning: In this episode I’m going to be talking about the recent investigative report by CNN into the traffic and activity on a website called Motherless.com. While the episode’s focus is not sexual assault itself, there still will be frank conversation about it, and about the harm done by men who prey on others for their own gratification. If that’s not something you’re looking to hear a...

In this inaugural "Great Speeches in Ethics," we'll reflect on how Mal Reynolds's resolve to speak for others represents a mode of speech in classical antiquity that French philosopher Michel Foucault calls "fearless speech." 6:15 | Fearless Speech , 18. 9:05 |  Who am I -- Alfie Boe (Les Miserables in Concert -The 25th Anniversary)   10:10 | Ramin Karimloo - Valjean&...

In today's episode, Matthias Austin from the Lord of the Rings AMA Podcast and I talk about Gollum. What motivates him? What's wrong with him? Should we pity him or fear him? Or something else? Come along for a journey into the ethics of Middle Earth where we'll discuss good and evil, pain and addiction, love and pity, and incontinence. Also, Frodo and Sam's Special Boat for Bo...

In today's Extra Credit, I talk a little (okay, a LOT) more about utilitarianism, some of its strengths and weaknesses, some important thinkers in its history, and my view on why the way that we currently teach it is missing something. 10:05 | RM Hare, "Ethical Theory and Utilitarianism " 14:16 | JJC Smart, "Extreme and Restricted Utilitarianism," pg. 353 15:34 | Ibid., pg...

Ever wished that I would hang out more with Matthias Austin, host of the acclaimed* podcast The Lord of the Rings AMA Podcast? Well, turns out - me too! Matthias and I sit down and talk about Gollum, a figure regarded with suspicion and hatred, a form cloaked in shadow and deceit. What makes him tick? How should we feel about him? What was JRR Tolkien thinking when he wrote this character? Matthia...

Today we take on the question, "Is it okay to change my values to fit in?" We talk about Utilitarian ethics, Kant's "An answer to the question: What is enlightenment?" and Rabbi Akiva bar Joseph. Also, peep the new segments: Moment of Latin and Ein Moment des Deutsche! 14:10 | An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation by Jeremy Bentham 16:05 | Ibid. 18:22...

What is up with ethical relativism? How do you know what the right thing to do is when you have multiple conflicting ethical systems across different cultures? What is the Prime Directive? 13:40: Nussbaum, Creating Capabilities , pg. 18. 19:55:  Gross Edward and Altman, Mark A. (1993) Captain’s Logs: The Complete Star Trek Voyages. London: Boxtree, pg 220.

Enjoy this first crack at a new little mini episode format called "Extra Credit," where I dive a little deeper into some of the things in a recent episode that didn't make the cut for the full podcast. 01:45 | The Heart of Whiteness: Normal Sexuality and Race in America, 1880-1940 by Julian B. Carter. Pg. 1 07:35 | Carter, pg. 42. I accidentally wrote this as "Barbarians aren&a...

What do teeth have to do with ethics? Well, strap in and take a ride through my childhood, the history of dentistry, and several dozen references to 90's children's cartoons to find out! If you’ve got a smooth groove you’d love to have featured on the podcast, or are interested in exchanging your voice talents for trinkets, homemade trophies, and one-digit amounts of dollars, email me at...

Let's do some philosophy of our own! We'll work on some inductive arguments for why being a billionaire might be morally problematic, and what it says about us when we try to think about this stuff. Also, bussin' it down, ARISTOTLE STYLE.  00:23 Head of UN's World Food Programme Warns of Famines without more international aid 01:31 COP26: Billionaires must step up, says the Wor...

Let's explore ethics and ethical reasoning through Hume, Alan Turing, and 16th century Japanese martial arts training!

Is it morally defensible to be a billionaire? What do philosophers across history think? And how many corrupt rich rulers can a yeongno eat? References: Elaine Schwartz, Degree in a Book: Economics, Arcturus Publishing, 2023. 22:53: David Graeber, Debt: The First 5000 Years, pgs. 23 and 28 33:10: Ed. and Trans by Robin Hard, Diogenes the Cynic: Sayings and Anecdotes, with Other Popular Moralists ,...

Today we talk about what I mean when I say, "Ethics is deeply personal." We'll also touch on formal logic, what "epistemology" means, and why Geordi is always ejecting perfectly good warp cores out of the Enterprise. References: 10:30 Black Feminist Thought , p. 270. 12:20 Black Feminist Thought , p. 271 15:55 Black Feminist Thought , p. 284

It's a bite-sized nugget of tasty ethics! Chew on this ten minute romp through space, time, and ethics where we discuss WK Clifford's "The Ethics of Belief," an influential 1877 paper about moral and epistemic responsibility. You can read the whole paper here for free! Or you can read the Wikipedia article about it.

What is public health, and what does it have to do with philosophy? Paul Starr, "Seductions of Sim: Policy as a Simulation Game,"  The American Prospect  no. 17 (Spring 1994): 19-29. Benjamin Svetkey, "SimEarth,"  Entertainment Weekly , January 13, 1995. P. Gatseva, M. Argirova, "Public health: the science of promoting health,"  The Journal of Public Health , 30 March...

How do you navigate the dilemma of personal liberty and social responsibility? And who is Hippocrates? References: WHO: Vaccines are safe CDC: Vaccines are safe 13:52 "On the Sacred Disease" from the Hippocratic Corpus 32:14 "The Problem of Abortion and the Doctrine of the Double Effect" by Philippa Foot 37:40 Guillan-Barre Syndrome 41:50 Jane Lawrence, 2000. The Indian Health...

A dive into the listener mailbag! THis episode deals with: - Is it wrong to bring the dead back to life? - Is it possible to go backwards, or only go the other way? - Why are swear words bad? - *muffled chicken queries* 00:00 “Diego Rivera Rondo” by Peter Owens 00:30 Labastida, Jaime (1993). Encuentros Con Diego Rivera . El Colegio Nacional. pp. 260–261. 03:27 “Frankens-dyin’” by Peter Owens 09:41...

What do Ken Ham, Bill Nye, Charlie Kirk, and Alcibiades all have in common? I'm not quite sure but I think we'll figure out on this episode of  Things You Can Do . "The Debate Style that Propelled Charlie Kirk's Movement" by Ken Bensinger and Charlie Smart "epimeleomai" in  A Greek-English Lexicon (LSJ) "Ken Ham vs. Bill Nye - The Short Version" "B...

How do we know which are the "okay" ways to break the rules, and which aren't? Does playing a game mean that you only follow the game's rules and don't have to act like a normal, "responsible" member of society? In this inaugural episode of Things You Can Do, we explore what it means for something to be "ethical," what it means for something to be &quot...