We're taking off for the summer! See you in September.

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on Peter Singer's philosophy as it pertains to minimizing suffering -- this time shifting away from humans as a focal point: Can animals suffer? How can we know? What does this mean when it comes to eating animals? Testing products on animals? How is the argument from "Animal Liberation" a continuation of the argument from "Famine, Affluence, and Morality?"

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony begin to discuss to the work of contemporary philosopher Peter Singer in honor of his recent retirement from Princeton University: What exactly does it mean to suffer, and how to we minimize it? What should our stance be towards global aid and charity? Do we have a moral obligation to donate excess income to poor people in other countries? Are the obligations we have to those in out own local communities/states/countries equal to those we have in others?

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on the contrasting metaphysics of Plato and Aristotle.

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony begin to compare Plato and Aristotle's views on reality and knowledge: Are sensory objects ontologically primary or secondary? Can form and matter be separated? What are some practical examples that could be used to argue for and against Plato's conception of forms? What is the relationship between particulars and universals?

Ep. 115: Tradition vs. Novelty (Part II) by For the Love of Sophia!

FTLOS! returns. In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony ask a number of questions about the nature of tradition and its counterpart -- novelty: What is the ontology of tradition? How do rituals factor in? What is the relationship between seeing the world symbolically and finding meaning? How does novelty disrupt this process? When is tradition bad enough to justify a change? What kinds of novelty can be warranted? What misconceptions do people have about the two?

"Why haven't we received any new episodes lately? What's going on?!"

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on postmodernism -- this time focusing on potential critiques and social-political consequences.

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony discuss a topic that everyone seems to be talking about these days -- "postmodernism." What even is this thing? Why has it become a hot topic these past few years? What are its origins? What are its metaphysics and epistemology? Its ethics and politics?

In this conversation, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on what philosophy is _not_.

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony discuss a seemingly odd set of questions: What kinds of activities/disciplines are definitively non-philosophical? And is there anything that can't be philosophized about, even in principle? These questions lead to a number of rabbit holes regarding mental states, the sciences, personal anecdotes, and other fun stuff.

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on Atheism: What exactly is it? Are there different types? What issues might there be with creationist accounts?

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony discuss the concept of atheism: What exactly does it mean to be an atheist? Is there more than one type of atheism? What arguments are given in favor of each? What issues do these arguments run into? What are the ethical and political consequences of atheism?

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on music: What exactly happens to someone when they create music? To what extent are particular members essential to a band's being? Are there examples of bands who kept or even increased in quality after member changes, or are changes always negative? Which version of a song is the actual song? Can music have an essence but also be tied to particular equipment usages? What is the ontology of cover songs? Are musical experiences ineffable? Are there any sounds or patterns that are intrinsically bad, or is everything context dependent?

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony begin discussing a topic that is near and dear to their hearts -- music: What exactly is music in the first place? What relationship might it have with sounds, pauses, relations, and intention? How might Aristotle's 4 causes help us understand things? How does music get made? What level of consciousness does music-making happen within? What is the difference between writing music alone vs. with others? How can we know when music making is successful?

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on metaphysical idealism, this time getting into the "stranger" post-Kantian version of it. They also give a sneak peak of their "disagreement" podcast conversation, which is available for Patreon subscribers.

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony begin discussing the metaphysical position known as "idealism." What exactly are ideas and where do they come from? What is an object? Can we be sure that matter actually exists? Even further -- can we prove that matter logically _can't_ exist? How might God factor into this? Are monotheistic religions necessarily idealistic?

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on the qualia of octopi and how it may relate to human consciousness: When an octopus sees "its" arms below it, does it perceive them as being totally foreign things, or is there some loose sense of unity? Is our inability to draw definitive conclusions about consciousness a result of the limits of empirical/inductive inquiry, or is it more of an a priori/definitional issue? Does biological similarity between species necessarily result in consciousness similarity? How does language factor into this conversation? If other species could talk, would we be able to understand what they say about consciousness, and vice-versa?

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony discuss a number of issues pertaining to human and animal consciousness raised by Godfrey-Smith's article, "On Being an Octopus." What do octopi have to do with consciousness? What are qualia? What would it be like to taste through your fingers, or to feel the world through your tongue>. How would having a "decentralized" nervous system alter the feeling of being conscious? If an octopus doesn't have a "self," can it even be considered one thing? Or is it more accurate to think of "an octopus" as something akin to "a community of things" that we jointly refer to for the sake of simplicity? Link to Godfrey-Smith's article: https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/peter-godfrey-smith-being-octopus/