Philosophy

Philosophy

episodes

Interviews with philosophers about their new books.

Stephen Harris, "Buddhist Ethics and the Bodhisattva Path: Santideva on Virtue and Well-Being" (Bloomsbury, 2023)

July 20, 2024

Buddhist Ethics and the Bodhisattva Path

Stephen Harris
Hosted by Malcolm Keating

An influential eighth-century Buddhist text, Śāntideva’s Bodhicaryāvatāra, or Guide to the Practices of Awakening, how to become a supremely virtuous …

Shannon Vallor, "The AI Mirror: How to Reclaim Our Humanity in an Age of Machine Thinking" (Oxford UP, 2024)

July 10, 2024

The AI Mirror

Shannon Vallor
Hosted by Carrie Figdor

There's a lot of talk these days about the existential risk that artificial intelligence poses to humanity -- that somehow the AIs will rise up and de…

Alexandre Lefebvre, "Liberalism as a Way of Life" (Princeton UP, 2024)

July 1, 2024

Liberalism as a Way of Life

Alexandre Lefebvre
Hosted by Robert Talisse

In political philosophy, “liberalism” is not the name of a particular social platform. Rather, it refers to a framework for thinking about politics. …

Johanna Oksala, "Feminism, Capitalism, and Ecology" (Northwestern UP, 2023)

June 20, 2024

Feminism, Capitalism, and Ecology

Johanna Oksala
Hosted by Sarah Tyson

Can capitalism be made ecologically sustainable? Can it be good for women? What theoretical approaches help us to grapple with these questions in ways…

Cameron J. Buckner, "From Deep Learning to Rational Machines: What the History of Philosophy Can Teach Us about the Future of Artificial Intelligence" (Oxford UP, 2023)

June 10, 2024

From Deep Learning to Rational Machines

Cameron J. Buckner
Hosted by Carrie Figdor

Artificial intelligence started with programmed computers, where programmers would manually program human expert knowledge into the systems. In sharp …

Ronald R. Sundstrom, "Just Shelter: Gentrification, Integration, Race, and Reconstruction" (Oxford UP, 2024)

June 1, 2024

Just Shelter

Ronald R. Sundstrom
Hosted by Robert Talisse

It is widely acknowledged that the United States is in the grip of an enduring housing crisis. It is less frequently recognized that this crisis amou…

Christine Abigail L. Tan, "Freedom's Frailty: Self-Realization in the Neo-Daoist Philosophy of Guo Xiang's Zhuangzhi" (SUNY Press, 2024)

May 21, 2024

Freedom's Frailty

Christine Abigail L. Tan
Hosted by Malcolm Keating

Christine Tan argues that the most fruitful way to read the Zhuangzi, if one is seeking political and ethical insight, is through the Jin Dynasty comm…

Luis H. H. Favela, "The Ecological Brain: Unifying the Sciences of Brain, Body, and Environment" (Routledge, 2024)

May 10, 2024

The Ecological Brain

Luis H. H. Favela
Hosted by Carrie Figdor

Ecological psychology holds that perception and action are best explained in terms of dynamic interactions between brain, body, and environment, not i…

J. P. Messina, "Private Censorship" (Oxford UP, 2024)

May 1, 2024

Private Censorship

J. P. Messina
Hosted by Robert Talisse

When we think of censorship, our minds might turn to state agencies exercising power to silence dissent. However, contemporary concerns about censors…

Emily S. Lee, "A Phenomenology for Women of Color: Merleau-Ponty and Identity-In-Difference" (Lexington Books, 2024)

April 20, 2024

A Phenomenology for Women of Color

Emily S. Lee
Hosted by Sarah Tyson

How can we understand the changing power of race and gender to shape our reality? How shared is reality? Can narratives of experience help us develop …

Eric Schwitzgebel, "The Weirdness of the World" (Princeton UP, 2024)

April 10, 2024

The Weirdness of the World

Eric Schwitzgebel
Hosted by Carrie Figdor

"What's life for if there's no time to play and explore?" In The Weirdness of the World (Princeton UP, 2024), Eric Schwitzgebel invites the reader to…

Stephen Phillips, "The Metaphysics of Meditation: Sri Aurobindo and Adi-Sakara on the Isa Upanisad" (Bloombury, 2024)

March 20, 2024

The Metaphysics of Meditation

Stephen Phillips
Hosted by Malcolm Keating

In The Metaphysics of Meditation: Sri Aurobindo and Ādi Śaṅkara on the Īśā Upaniṣad (Bloomsbury 2024), Stephen Phillips argues that the two titular Ve…

Jon Robson, "Aesthetic Testimony: An Optimistic Approach" (Oxford UP, 2022)

March 10, 2024

Aesthetic Testimony

Jon Robson
Hosted by Carrie Figdor

A lot of what we claim to know we learn from other people's testimony: they tell us, and in many ordinary contexts that is enough to gain knowledge. B…

Charlotte Witt, "Social Goodness: The Ontology of Social Norms" (Oxford UP, 2023)

March 5, 2024

Social Goodness

Charlotte Witt
Hosted by Robert Talisse

In our day-to-day lives, we are subject to normative requirements, obligations, and expectations that originate in the social roles we occupy. For ex…

Rebecca Roache, "For F*ck's Sake: Why Swearing Is Shocking, Rude, and Fun" (Oxford UP, 2023)

February 20, 2024

For F*ck's Sake

Rebecca Roache
Hosted by Sarah Tyson

Swearing can be a powerful communicative act, for good or ill. The same word can incite violence or increase intimacy. How is swearing so multivalent …

Michael Devitt, "Biological Essentialism" (Oxford UP, 2023)

February 10, 2024

Biological Essentialism

Michael Devitt
Hosted by Carrie Figdor

What makes a species a species? Aristotle answered the species question by positing unchanging essences, properties that all and only members of a spe…

Lisa Herzog, "Citizen Knowledge: Markets, Experts, and the Infrastructure of Democracy" (Oxford UP, 2023)

February 1, 2024

Citizen Knowledge

Lisa Herzog
Hosted by Robert Talisse

For better or worse, democracy and epistemology are intertwined. For one thing, politics is partly a matter of gathering, assessing, and applying inf…

Jan Westerhoff, "Candrakirti's Introduction to the Middle Way: A Guide" (Oxford UP, 2023)

January 20, 2024

Candrakirti's Introduction to the Middle Way

Jan Westerhoff
Hosted by Malcolm Keating

A proponent of the Madhyamaka tradition of Mahāyāna Buddhism, Candrakīrti wrote several works, one of which, the Madhamakāvatāra, strongly influenced …

Krista K. Thomason, "Dancing with the Devil: Why Bad Feelings Make Life Good" (Oxford UP, 2023)

January 10, 2024

Dancing with the Devil

Krista K. Thomason
Hosted by Carrie Figdor

How could a good life include one with anger, or jealousy, or spite? In Dancing with the Devil: Why Bad Feelings Make Life Good (Oxford UP, 2023), Kri…

Tyler Dalton McNabb and Erik Baldwin, "Classical Theism and Buddhism: Connecting Metaphysical and Ethical Systems" (Bloomsbury, 2023)

December 20, 2023

Classical Theism and Buddhism

Tyler Dalton McNabb and Erik Baldwin
Hosted by Malcolm Keating

In addition to denying the existence of a substantial, enduring self, Buddhists are usually understood to deny the existence of a God or gods. However…