November 2014
November 2014
Hypocrisy
John Perry
26
Nov 2014
There’s certainly a lot of hypocrisy around, especially in politics. But how bad is it? Is it a simply necessary evil for an effective politician? Or is it really one of the worst kinds of vices? I suppose we ought to start by trying to get clear on what exactly hypocrisy is. The word ‘hypocrisy’ comes from a Greek word meaning “playing a theatrical role”. So, we might start with: A hypocrite is someone who pretends to be something he's not. That definition probably fits a lot of cases, but I don’t think it's quite right.
Read moreThe Moral Costs of Climate Change
Laura Maguire
20
Nov 2014
The topic of climate change is timely and important, but it’s also one that's difficult to talk about. We’re making such a mess of this planet—chopping down forests and burning carbon-based fossil fuels, polluting our air, soil, and water, causing polar ice caps to melt and sea levels to rise. We’re already beginning to see the devastating effects of climate change around the globe, and it’s only going to get worse—especially if we pass the 2 degrees celsius tipping point, which seems inevitable at this point.
Read moreTransformative Experiences
Ken Taylor
15
Nov 2014
Some events in a person’s life are so powerful, so life-altering, that there’s a sense in which he or she may not be the same person before and after the event. Now I’m not talking about winning a mega-lottery, for example. Doing that would, of course, change my life. I could buy more stuff. Maybe I would work less. Certainly, I would travel more. Those kinds of changes aren’t really what we have in mind, though. Those are just changes in the external circumstances of my life.
Read moreIdentities Lost and Found in a Global Age
Laura Maguire
05
Nov 2014
In this week’s show, we’re thinking about the role place and culture play in shaping identity. There was a time when identities were much more tied to geography than they are now. Most people in the world spent their entire lives living in or close to the place in which they were born. Take the 18th century German philosopher Immanuel Kant, for example, who in 79 years of life, never strayed further than a few miles outside his hometown of Königsberg!
Read moreThe Philosophy of Humor (And the Humor of Philosophy)
John Perry
03
Nov 2014
A skeleton walks into a bar. It says, “Give me a beer and a mop.” That’s my idea of a great joke. It’s short. The first line creates a vivid image. Then with nothing further you get the punchline. It takes most people a couple of seconds to get it; the clearer the initial image, the sooner one starts laughing. Or groaning. But some people hate this joke. Not subtle. Not cerebral. No one has yet told me it is offensive to skeletons, but that’s just a matter of time. Here is another of my favorites.
Read moreIntuitions Are a Guide to…Look Here!
Neil Van Leeuwen
02
Nov 2014
A debate rages in philosophy about whether intuitions can help us know the truth. The intuitions in question are psychological states that arise in response to real or hypothetical examples. A classic example (mentioned on the recent intuitions show): imagine Jewish people are in your basement and a Nazi is at your door in 1942. Is it right to lie to the Nazi? Intuition in this case favors lying. But is this intuition really showing us the truth? Do intuitions tell the truth in general?
Read moreThe Fairness Fixation
Ken Taylor
02
Nov 2014
This week our topic is what we’re calling fairness "fixation." The choice of the word ‘fixation’ is a little bit tongue in cheek. But it is meant to convey the serious thought that maybe, just maybe, we are too concerned with fairness. There are definitely those – especially, I think, on the right, but perhaps not only them – who seem to think that we definitely are.
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