New Books Network
Philosophy
Philosophy April 20, 2021

Curiosity and Power

The Politics of Inquiry

Perry Zurn

Hosted by Sarah Tyson
Is curiosity political? Does it have a philosophical lineage? In Curiosity and Power: The Politics of Inquiry (University of Minnesota Press, 2021), Perry Zurn shows, consequentially, yes. He further asks …

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Philosophy April 9, 2021

Marcus Aurelius

John Sellars

Hosted by Carrie Figdor
Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations is one of the most popular philosophical works by sales to the public, while in academic philosophy he is considered somewhat of a philosophical lightweight. In Marcus …
Philosophy April 1, 2021

Being Evil

A Philosophical Perspective

Luke Russell

Hosted by Robert Talisse
Evil is among our everyday moral concepts. It is common to hear politicians and others condemn certain acts, purposes, people, or even populations as evil. But what does it mean …
Philosophy March 19, 2021

A Practical Guide to World Philosophies

Selves, Worlds, and Ways of Knowing

Monika Kirloskar-Steinbach and Leah Kalmanson

Hosted by Malcolm Keating
The first book in a new series, A Practical Guide to World Philosophies: Selves, Worlds, and Ways of Knowing (Bloomsbury Academic 2021), co-authored by Monika Kirloskar-Steinbach and Leah Kalmanson, introduces …
Philosophy March 10, 2021

Explaining Imagination

Peter Langland-Hassan

Hosted by Carrie Figdor
How do we think about situations and things do not exist but might, engage in pretense and fiction, and create new works of art? These are central cases in which …
History March 2, 2021

Calhoun

American Heretic

Robert Elder

Hosted by Lane Davis
In Calhoun: American Heretic (Basic Books, 2021), historian Robert Elder documents the life and thought of one of America's most controversial statesman, John C. Calhoun. A congressman, a vice president, and …
Indian Religions March 2, 2021

Yoga in Jainism

Christopher Chapple

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
Jaina Studies is a relatively new and rapidly expanding field of inquiry for scholars of Indian religion and philosophy. In Jainism, "yoga" carries many meanings, and this book explores the …
Philosophy February 19, 2021

Intersectionality as Critical Social Theory

Patricia Hill Collins

Hosted by Sarah Tyson
Is intersectionality a critical social theory? What must intersectionality do to be both critical and a social theory? Must social justice be a guiding normative principle? And what does or …
Literary Studies February 15, 2021

The Phenomenology of Love and Reading

Cassandra Falke

Hosted by Britton Edelen
In this episode, I interview Cassandra Falke, professor of English Literature ad UiT, The Arctic University of Norway, about her book The Phenomenology of Love and Reading (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2016). In …
Philosophy February 10, 2021

Philosophy of Immunology

Thomas Pradeu

Hosted by Carrie Figdor
Vaccines make us wholly or partly immune to disease, such as Covid-19. But what is it to be immune? What is an immune system, and what does it do? In …
Philosophy February 1, 2021

Overcoming Necessity

Emergency, Constraint, and the Meanings of American Constitutionalism

Thomas P. Crocker

Hosted by Robert Talisse
A core duty of government is keeping those it governs safe. However, in modern democratic states, government is structured by a Constitution, which establishes constraints and checks on the power …
Philosophy January 20, 2021

Revolutionary Time

On Time and Difference in Kristeva and Irigaray

Fanny Söderbäck

Hosted by Sarah Tyson
What is the relationship between time and sexual difference? Are the categories of linearity and circularity that have so dominated conceptions of time sufficient for the emancipatory aims of feminist …
Philosophy January 11, 2021

Wild Animal Ethics

The Moral and Political Problem of Wild Animal Suffering

Kyle Johannsen

Hosted by Carrie Figdor
Many sentient (or possibly sentient) wild animals follow a reproductive strategy whereby they have large numbers of offspring, the vast majority of which suffer and die quickly or suffer and …
Philosophy January 4, 2021

The Ethics of Microaggression

Regina Rini

Hosted by Robert Talisse
Seemingly fleeting and barely legible insults, slights, and derogations might seem morally insignificant. They’re the byproducts of ordinary thoughtlessness and insensitivity; moreover, insofar as they inflict harm at all, the …
Philosophy December 21, 2020

The Art of Chinese Philosophy

Eight Classical Texts and How to Read Them

Paul Goldin

Hosted by Alexus McLeod
Paul Goldin's book The Art of Chinese Philosophy: Eight Classical Texts and How to Read Them (Princeton UP, 2020) provides an unmatched introduction to eight of the most important works of …
Philosophy December 10, 2020

Causation in Psychology

John Campbell

Hosted by Carrie Figdor
Our practices of holding people morally and legally responsible for what they do rests on causal relationships between our mental states and our actions – a desire for revenge or …
Philosophy December 1, 2020

Unconscionable Crimes

How Norms Explain and Constrain Mass Atrocities

Paul C. Morrow

Hosted by Robert Talisse
The moral horrors of genocide and mass atrocity lead us to wonder how such things are even possible. A common and understandable reaction is to see events of this kind …
Philosophy November 20, 2020

Zhuangzi and the Becoming of Nothingness

David Chai

Hosted by Alexus McLeod
Zhuangzi and the Becoming of Nothingness (SUNY Press, 2018) offers a radical rereading of the Daoist classic Zhuangzi by bringing to light the role of nothingness in grounding the cosmological …
Philosophy November 10, 2020

Games

Agency As Art

C. Thi Nguyen

Hosted by Carrie Figdor
Monopoly, Solitaire, football and Minecraft are all games, but for C. Thi Nguyen they are also an art form – specifically, the art form of agency, our capacity to set …
Philosophy November 2, 2020

Lost in Thought

The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life

Zena Hitz

Hosted by Robert Talisse
We live in a culture that tends to view thought with a degree of suspicion. Thinking is frequently associated with uselessness, idleness, laziness. These suspicions can be somewhat allayed when …