In this episode David and I discus the importance of relationships in life and how they can not only give meaning, but give you something to strive towards and live for.
This week David and I explore some possible versions of the meaning of life. Well, to be clear, we are looking at Taylor, Nietzsche and Sartre. Over the next few podcasts we will be covering a few other versions and finally give you our own version of meaning in life.
Today's episode is all about existence and pain (suffering). Philosophers like David Benatar have argued that coming into existence is always going to be a harm. Life is filled with pleasures, but the pains are always going to be much worse. If this is the case, are we always doing something morally wrong when we bring new people into the world? Can we logically say that we are harming people by creating them or harming future possible people that could be created? David and I try to tackle these problems while still holding on to our sanity.
What is a vaccine passport? Well, we don't exactly know yet. It is some kind of identification to prove you are vaccinated, but what form that will take is unclear. In this episode David and I try to figure out exactly what vaccine passports are, what they will look like and (most importantly) what the pros and cons of implementing them are.
In this episode David and I discuss the question 'why have children' through the lens presented by Christine Overall in her book "Why Have Children? The Ethical Debate". The main takeaway is that we really don't have any solid reason (be they utilitarian or deontological) to have children. This by no means results in us saying don't have kids, but it does question the societal pressure to procreate.
David and I talk a little about this rather influential and popular philosophical argument as to why abortion is (normally) immoral. We also discuss a few other popular case examples including the pod people and the famous violinist created by Judith Thompson. Hope you enjoy this shorter episode!
Note:
Judith Jarvis Thompson - A Defense of Abortion
Don Marquis - Why Abortion is Immoral
Two white guys talk about bodily autonomy. That's it. Recently the state of Mississippi had proposed some rather interesting and potentially dangerous legislation on the topic of abortion which got us thinking. In this episode, David and I discuss the many laws and myths that surround the abortion debate in North America that are still present to this day. Our focus is not on any one side, rather the myths that act as dividing lines.
David and I discuss the myths and origins behind superheros, what they can tell us about our moral ideals and how quickly a hero can become a villain. Want to feel old? Miss the good old days? This episode is a blast from the past in the worst kinds of ways.
Critical thinking, wrestling and hockey? Can one episode really pack so much in? This week David and I discuss a new way to look at critical thinking in relation to media literacy. The SIFT method has some very positive upside for the casual learner, but can only take you so far. The SIFT method, at its core, is a defense against all the online fake news, misinformation and rabbit holes we call find ourselves bombarded with.
There is more and more being said on a daily basis about the state of the 2021 Olympics and the Japanese preparedness (or lack there of), so David and I thought it best to go over some of the clear public health concerns at play. What reasons are there to go forward with the Tokyo Olympics and do those reasons outweigh general public health concerns?
In this episode David and I discuss the function and role that the British Monarchy has in the UK and the rest of the world. While many people love the British Royal Family, they don't really serve a true function in politics or nation building. In addition, the cost of keeping the Monarchy around may not be worth the value they give back.
This week David and I talk about distinctions in political discourse with a focus on group membership. I know, that topic is just too sexy. To throw some cold water on it, we are focusing on the recent uptick in violence towards Asian Americans. Among other things, we conclude that the language that we use to define ourselves can have the negative consequent of creating hard group divisions that can lead to violence, hate and mistrust. Hope you enjoy the episode and thanks again for listening.
This week David and I discuss the self. More specifically we are talking about three different general concepts of identity - embodiment, consciousness and narrative identity. David takes me to task for making a stand on a view and you listeners gets to know what it's like to have friends that are philosophers.
In this week's episode I (Antonio) forget how to use words correctly far too often, David admits that he's the worlds nicest man and we have some audio sync issues! We also cover the idea that video games fulfill some basic needs that we have- namely they allow for some forms of self-expression and determination which are psychologically fulfilling and necessary for us as humans. As always, let us know what you think in the comments! Source Article: https://getpocket.com/explore/item/how-video-games-satisfy-basic-human-needs?utm_source=pocket-newtab
Philosophy has been around for thousands of years, but it has been on the decline in many universities for some time now. What use is philosophy as a discipline? Does it have clear career paths? What inherent value doe it have? David and I answer these questions and more. Also, David falls into a maw for a second but we get him back.
David and I discuss the nature of stoic thought. More specifically, David does the talking and I ask questions. Over the past few months, stoic thought has become more and more prevalent and David and I figured we should tackle the theory and go over some of the pros and cons.
David and I go over what our best and worst philosophy reads are. Listen to us talk a little philosophy and recount some of our old stories in philosophy and teaching. Hope you enjoy the podcast and stay tuned for more!
David and I have a talk about animal ethics, specifically around the idea of animal suffering and possible justification for it. Afterwards, I think we both ate meat so...ya.
In this episode we finally begin to tackle the question of what we owe each other. We go over, mask use, morality, rational discourse and being a good human being.
Let's talk about what took place at Capitol Hill in Washington. What lead us here and how do we begin to understand the mindset and beliefs that underline political movements. In addition, we tackle the social inequalities that may account for some of the political resentment at hand.