Philosophy

Philosophy

episodes

Interviews with philosophers about their new books.

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…

Philip Goff, "Why? The Purpose of the Universe" (Oxford UP, 2023)

December 10, 2023

Why? The Purpose of the Universe

Philip Goff
Hosted by Carrie Figdor

Does the universe have a purpose? If it does, how is this connected to the meaningfulness that we seek in our lives? In Why? The Purpose of the Univer…

Fabrizio Cariani, "The Modal Future: A Theory of Future-Directed Thought and Talk" (Cambridge UP, 2021)

November 10, 2023

The Modal Future

Fabrizio Cariani
Hosted by Carrie Figdor

What does “will” mean? A standard view is that it is a tensed mirror-image of “was”, and that the truth-conditions of past and future sentences – “He …

Melvin L. Rogers, "The Darkened Light of Faith: Race, Democracy, and Freedom in African American Political Thought" (Princeton UP, 2023)

November 1, 2023

The Darkened Light of Faith

Melvin L. Rogers
Hosted by Robert Talisse
Listen:

Frederick Douglass’s 1852 speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July” is notoriously fiery. No doubt part of what’s gripping about it is its int…

Chris Fraser, "Late Classical Chinese Thought" (Oxford UP, 2023)

October 20, 2023

Late Classical Chinese Thought

Chris Fraser
Hosted by Malcolm Keating

Late Classical Chinese Thought (Oxford University Press, 2023) is Chris Fraser's topically organized study of the Warring States period of Chinese phi…

Emily McTernan, "On Taking Offence" (Oxford UP, 2023)

October 1, 2023

On Taking Offence

Emily McTernan
Hosted by Robert Talisse

A lot of work in moral, political, and legal theory aims to define the offensive. Surprisingly, relatively little attention has been paid to the affe…

Matthew R. Dasti, "Vatsyayana's Commentary on the Nyaya-Sutra: A Guide" (Oxford UP, 2023)

September 20, 2023

Vatsyayana's Commentary on the Nyaya-Sutra

Matthew R. Dasti
Hosted by Malcolm Keating
Listen:

In Vatsyayana's Commentary on the Nyaya-Sutra: A Guide (Oxford University Press, 2023), Matthew Dasti unpacks a canonical classical Indian text, the N…

Adam Toon, "Mind As Metaphor: A Defence of Mental Fictionalism" (Oxford UP, 2023)

September 12, 2023

Mind As Metaphor

Adam Toon
Hosted by Carrie Figdor
Listen:

Folk psychology (on a standard reading) is the way we attribute contentful mental states to others in order to explain and predict their behavior – fo…

Berislav Marusić, "On the Temporality of Emotions: An Essay on Grief, Anger, and Love" (Oxford UP, 2022)

August 10, 2023

On the Temporality of Emotions

Berislav Marusić
Hosted by Carrie Figdor
Listen:

When someone close to us dies, intense grief is an expected and reasonable response. But while the reason for our grief – the loss of the person who i…

Chrisoula Andreou, "Choosing Well: The Good, the Bad, and the Trivial" (Oxford UP, 2023)

August 1, 2023

Choosing Well

Chrisoula Andreou
Hosted by Robert Talisse
Listen:

It is common to think that rational agency involves acting in ways that, given one’s options, maximize the satisfaction of one’s preferences. This in…

Torin Alter, "The Matter of Consciousness: From the Knowledge Argument to Russellian Monism" (Oxford UP, 2023)

July 10, 2023

The Matter of Consciousness

Torin Alter
Hosted by Carrie Figdor
Listen:

Frank Jackson’s "Knowledge Argument" introduced the philosophical world to Mary the brilliant neuroscientist, who knows everything there is to know ab…

Kevin J. Elliott, "Democracy for Busy People" (U Chicago Press, 2023)

July 1, 2023

Democracy for Busy People

Kevin J. Elliott
Hosted by Robert Talisse
Listen:

John Dewey and Jane Addams are both credited with the claim that the cure for democracy’s ills is more democracy. The sentiment is popular to this da…

Arvind-Pal Singh Mandair, "Sikh Philosophy: Exploring Gurmat Concepts in a Decolonizing World" (Bloomsbury, 2022)

June 20, 2023

Sikh Philosophy

Arvind-Pal Singh Mandair
Hosted by Malcolm Keating
Listen:

In his new contribution to the Bloomsbury Introductions to World Philosophies, Sikh Philosophy: Exploring Gurmat Concepts in a Decolonizing World (Blo…