A Philosophical Shout-Out
April 1, 2007
On this special pledge-week episode, John and Ken open the phones and the inbox to…
Democracy By Numbers
November 1, 2026
Despite adhering to the principle of “one person, one vote,” elections in the United States are often highly contentious: presidents can be elected after losing the popular vote, there is widespread gerrymandering and voter purging, and not everyone has equal representation in the Senate. So…
Wittgenstein
March 4, 2007
The Austrian/British philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein exercised enormous influence over philosophy in the middle third of…
Language of Fiction
February 25, 2007
What are we talking about when we talk about Sherlock Holmes or Santa Claus? Something…
Reconciliation
February 18, 2007
Justice, truth, and identity; race, society, and law—these all come into dramatic play as South…
Confucius
December 31, 2006
Confucius laid down a pattern of thinking followed by more people for more generations than…
Moral Dilemmas and Moral Ambiguity
December 24, 2006
It would be nice if we always knew the morally right thing to do, if…
Philosophy and Film
December 17, 2006
Despite the crass commercialism that drives the production of many movies, there’s no doubt that…
American Pragmatism
December 3, 2006
Pragmatism is perhaps America’s most distinctive contribution to philosophy. Developed by Pierce, Dewey, and James…
The Indispensable Emotions
November 26, 2006
Where would we be without emotions? Many philosophers throughout history have thought the emotions serve…
What is a Child?
November 19, 2006
Back in the middle ages, people thought of children simply as little adults. Modern psychology…
Dreaming
November 12, 2006
A scary dream brings all the fears that a scary real situation can, and a…
The Strange World of Quantum Reality
October 15, 2006
Quantum mechanics is an astoundly successful, mathematically elegant, explanatorily deep, even beautiful scientific theory. Yet…
Forgiveness
September 26, 2006
Justice is a virtue and so, many claim, is forgiveness. But they seem inconsistent. Is…
Schopenhauer
September 19, 2006
Arthur Schopenhauer, the great Nineteenth Century philosopher, had a pessimistic vision of the world as…
The Philosophy of Music
September 19, 2006
Most people enjoy music daily and have strong listening preferences. Music – along with love –…
Global Poverty and International Aid
September 12, 2006
Does a hungry child in a far away land have any less of a demand…
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