New Books Network

About Robert Talisse

Robert Talisse is the W. Alton Jones Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University.

NBN Episodes hosted by Robert:

Philosophy October 1, 2021

The Dialogical Roots of Deduction

Historical, Cognitive, and Philosophical Perspectives on Reasoning

Catarina Dutilh Novaes

Hosted by Robert Talisse
If all men are mortal, and Socrates is a man, then it must be that Socrates is mortal. What could be more obvious? Well, sometimes obviousness serves to conceal philosophical …
Philosophy September 1, 2021

The Mismeasure of the Self

A Study in Vice Epistemology

Alessandra Tanesini

Hosted by Robert Talisse
Epistemology traditionally focuses on the analysis of central epistemological concepts, such as knowledge, justification, evidence, truth, and belief. But having knowledge is also a matter of acquiring knowledge. And this …
Philosophy August 2, 2021

The Right to Know

Epistemic Rights and Why We Need Them

Lani Watson

Hosted by Robert Talisse
We often talk as if individuals have entitlements to certain kinds of information: medical test results, political representatives’ voting records, crime statistics, and the like. We also talk as if …
Philosophy July 1, 2021

Immigration and Freedom

Chandran Kukathas

Hosted by Robert Talisse
Discussions of the ethics and politics of immigration tend to focus on those seeking entry into a new society. We ask whether a country has the “right to exclude” those …
Philosophy June 1, 2021

Rejecting Retributivism

Free Will, Punishment, and Criminal Justice

Gregg D. Caruso

Hosted by Robert Talisse
According to an intuitive view, those who commit crimes are justifiably subject to punishment. Depending on the severity of the wrongdoing constitutive of the crime, punishment can be severe: incarceration …
Why We Argue June 1, 2021

Democracy and Social Critique with Cornel West

Cornel West

Hosted by Robert Talisse
Cornel West is the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Professor at Union Theological Seminary. Professor West is among the nation’s most distinguished philosophers. For several decades running, Cornel West has infused into public …
Why We Argue May 24, 2021

Democratic Repair and Public Things with Bonnie Honig

Bonnie Honig

Hosted by Robert Talisse
Bonnie Honig the Nancy Duke Lewis Professor of Modern Culture and Media, and Political Science at Brown University. Bonnie works at the intersections of political theory, democratic theory, and culture …
Why We Argue May 18, 2021

Climate Denialism and Propaganda with Catriona McKinnon

Catriona McKinnon

Hosted by Robert Talisse
Catriona McKinnon is Professor of Political Theory at the University of Exeter. Her research focuses on climate ethics and environmental justice. Much of her recent work aims at addressing denialism …
Why We Argue May 4, 2021

Social Trust in a Free Society with Kevin Vallier

Kevin Vallier

Hosted by Robert Talisse
Kevin Vallier is Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Bowling Green State University. His most recent book is titled Trust in a Polarized Age. You can follow him …
Philosophy May 3, 2021

The Epistemology of Groups

Jennifer Lackey

Hosted by Robert Talisse
We commonly ascribe beliefs and similar attitudes to groups. For instance, we say that a foreign government believes that members of the press are spies, or that a corporation denies …
Why We Argue April 13, 2021

Political Rhetoric and Demagoguery with Jennifer Mercieca

Jennifer Mercieca

Hosted by Robert Talisse
Jennifer Mercieca is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at Texas A&M University. She is the author of Demagogue for President: The Rhetorical Genius of Donald Trump. You can …
Why We Argue April 6, 2021

Anger, Rage, and Forgiveness with Myisha Cherry

Myisha Cherry

Hosted by Robert Talisse
Myisha Cherry is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Riverside. Myisha’s research focuses on the intersection of moral psychology and social and political philosophy. More specifically she …
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 …
Why We Argue March 23, 2021

Conspiracy Theories and Democracy with Quassim Cassam

Quassim Cassam

Hosted by Robert Talisse
Quassim Cassam is Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Warwick. You can follow him on Twitter at .@QCassam. Quassim’s research focus is epistemology, the area of …
Why We Argue March 16, 2021

Democracy and Truth with Sophia Rosenfeld

Sophia Rosenfeld

Hosted by Robert Talisse
Sophia Rosenfeld is Walter H. Annenberg Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania. She is the author of Democracy and Truth: A Short History.The "Why We Argue" podcast is …
Why We Argue March 9, 2021

Transitional Justice with Colleen Murphy

Colleen Murphy

Hosted by Robert Talisse
Colleen Murphy is the Roger and Stephany Joslin Professor of Law at the College of Law and a professor in the Departments of Philosophy and Political Science at the University …
Why We Argue March 2, 2021

Democracy, Protest, and Progress with Melvin Rogers

Melvin Rogers

Hosted by Robert Talisse
Melvin Rogers is Associate Professor of Political Science at Brown University. You can follow Melvin on Twitter at @MRogers097. Professor Rogers specializes in democratic theory, with special focus on the …
Why We Argue February 9, 2021

Trailer: Future of Truth Season

Hosted by Robert Talisse
A quick preview of what's to come in season two of Why We Argue, Future of Truth edition. New episodes arriving in March! The "Why We Argue" podcast is produced …
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 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 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 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 …
Philosophy October 1, 2020

No Refuge

Ethics and the Global Refugee Crisis

Serena Parekh

Hosted by Robert Talisse
Discourse in wealthy Western countries about refugees tends to follow a familiar script. How many refugees is a country morally required to accept? What kinds of care and support are …
Philosophy September 1, 2020

The Epistemic Innocence of Irrational Beliefs

Lisa Bortolotti

Hosted by Robert Talisse
There is something intuitive about the idea that when we believe, we ought to follow our evidence. This entails that beliefs that are the products of garden varieties of irrationality …