Can a mind be “just” a computer? In this episode, we unpack John Searle’s Chinese Room and the debate it ignited about understanding, meaning, and consciousness. We lay out Searle’s thought experiment in plain language, explore why it challenges the idea that syntax alone yields semantics, and walk through some leading replies.

When do we really “know” something? In this episode, we dive into contextualism — the idea that whether we count as knowing depends on the situation we’re in. Think of it like this: you might say, “I know the train leaves at 8” when making casual plans. But if missing that train means losing your job, suddenly the standards for “knowing” feel a lot higher. We’ll explore why our sense of certainty shifts with the stakes, how philosophers use everyday examples to make sense of this, and w...

What is time? We all live in it, but the moment we try to explain it, it slips away. From Augustine’s famous puzzle to today’s philosophical debates, this episode explores competing theories of time: the Block Universe, the Moving Spotlight, Presentism, and the Growing Block. Do past, present, and future all exist at once? Or is only the “now” real? Join us as we unravel the paradox of temporal passage—and why time might be the most baffling concept of all.

We think we know the difference between science and pseudoscience—biology versus astrology, chemistry versus clairvoyance. But once you look closer, the boundary isn’t so clear. In this episode, we explore the demarcation problem: how to tell genuine science from its imitations. From Karl Popper’s falsifiability test to real-world cases of fraud and pseudoscience, and from astrology to creation science, we’ll unpack why this debate matters for everything from education policy to public health...

Why do so many of us turn to prayer when life gets difficult—whether for healing, safety, or even a sports victory? Petitionary prayer, the act of asking God for something, feels deeply human. But it also raises a profound paradox: if God is perfect, unchanging, and all-knowing, how could a simple human request alter His plan? In this episode, we explore the philosophical puzzle of prayer and perfection. Can prayer really move God—or does it change us instead? We’ll look at three major resp...

What’s in a name? More than you think. In this week’s episode, we dive into a puzzle that looks simple on the surface but turns out to reshape how we understand language itself. Names don’t just point to things — they carry layers of meaning, shaping how we see the world. Gottlob Frege’s classic insight into sense and reference explains why “J. K. Rowling is Robert Galbraith” was a revelation, while “Rowling is Rowling” is… well, boring. From monarchs and presidents to pen names and pseudonym...

What makes life truly worthwhile—pleasure, meaning, or something more? In this episode, we dive into one of philosophy’s most famous thought experiments: Robert Nozick’s Experience Machine. Would you plug in for a lifetime of guaranteed joy, love, and success—even if it wasn’t real? We’ll explore why so many people hesitate, what this tells us about the limits of pleasure, and whether values like authenticity, agency, and reality matter more than happiness alone. Join us as we unpack Nozick...

We often think we know more than we really do—but what is knowledge, exactly? In this episode of The Thursday Thought Experiment, we explore the classical definition of knowledge as “justified true belief,” and why it isn’t enough. From lottery guesses to Gettier’s famous counterexamples, we’ll see how true, justified beliefs can still fail to count as knowledge. Along the way, we’ll look at reliabilism, safety theory, and the challenge of separating lucky guesses from genuine understanding. ...

We drop a glass, it shatters. A ball hits a window, it breaks. Simple cause and effect—right? Well, not quite. In this episode, we dive into the philosophy of causation, exploring why our everyday intuitions about what “causes” what start to fall apart under closer scrutiny. From counterfactual “what if” scenarios to tricky cases like late pre-emption and even causation by absence, we’ll see why philosophers are still debating what it really means to call something a cause. Along the way, we’...