Our reasoning capacity sets us apart from other animals. But reason is frequently prone to error. Why then did we evolve with a capacity for reason at all? This is a question that has vexed Dan Sperber - with Hugo Mercier he has been researching the topic. Dan Sperber discusses their research and conclusions with Nigel Warburton for this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in assocation with the Institute of Philosophy ....
Sep 25, 2011•13 min
Philip Pettit discusses some common criticisms of consequentialism and how they might be met in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy .
Sep 11, 2011•20 min
Frank Jackson is responsible for one of the most famous thought experiments in the philosophy of mind, one designed to show that physicalism is false. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast he talks to Nigel Warburton about this thought experiment and how he has come to doubt the conclusions he originally drew from it. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy ....
Aug 26, 2011•15 min
Could you be part of a computer simulation of reality? Sounds unlikely, doesn't it. But Nick Bostrom might make you think again about this. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast he discusses the Simulation Argument. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy .
Aug 14, 2011•15 min
Luc Bovens , a philosopher at the London School of Economics argues that Catholic sexual morality should, on grounds of consistency within its doctrine, permit condom use for HIV discordant couples (in which one member has HIV and the other doesn't). Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy ....
Jul 31, 2011•15 min
Henry Sidgwick, who died in 1900, is something of a philosophers' philosopher. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast Peter Singer explains why he thinks this late Victorian Englishman is so important for the utilitarian tradition and why is ideas continue to have relevance. Philosophy Bites is made in assocation with the Institute of Philosophy...
Jul 17, 2011•13 min
How can state punishment of criminals be justified? Is it right that wrongdoers suffer? Victor Tadros investigates these questions in conversation with Nigel Warburton for this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy ....
Jul 03, 2011•20 min
What role does imagination play in our lives? Why do we have an imagination at all? Alison Gopnik investigates these questions in conversation with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy .
Jun 17, 2011•15 min
Do we have an innate predisposition to form certain sorts of moral judgements? John Mikhail thinks we do. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast, in an interview with David Edmonds, he explains why.
Jun 04, 2011•20 min
Neuroscientist David Eagleman explores questions about responsibility and culpability in the light of recent brain research in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy .
May 22, 2011•13 min
Can love be defined? In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast Simon May , author of a recent book on the topic, argues that there's more in common between different kinds of love than many people realise. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy...
May 07, 2011•15 min
The standard reading of David Hume's Treatise is that it reveals him as a sceptic and also as an advocate of a science of man. These two aspects seem to be in tension. The sceptical Hume seems opposed to the more positive contribution he makes about human nature. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast Paul Russell suggests a way of solving this riddle. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy ....
Apr 25, 2011•13 min
Is the attempt to find happiness self-defeating? Have people always been so obsessed with the pursuit of happiness? Pascal Bruckner dis cusses these questions with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy .
Apr 22, 2011•19 min
What is humour? Why do we have a sense of humour? Philosophers have been asking this sort of question for a while. Noel Carroll gives some answers, and tells some jokes, in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy .
Apr 09, 2011•15 min
In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast Catharine MacKinnon talks to Nigel Warburton about the concept of Gender Crime. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy .
Mar 26, 2011•18 min
Michel de Montaigne is an unusual and likeable figure. His essays are quirky, honest, and strangely modern. Sarah Bakewell , author of a recent prize-winning book about Montaigne, How to Live , discusses Montaigne's life and work for this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy...
Mar 12, 20110
Frank Ramsey was a remarkable philosopher and mathematician who made substantial original contributions to philosophy, economics and mathematics despite dying before he was 30 years old. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast Hugh Mellor discusses Ramsey's ideas about truth. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy...
Feb 26, 2011•14 min
The moral philosopher Jonathan Glover discusses questions about personality disorder, conscience, and responsibility in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy
Feb 14, 2011•13 min
There is a long tradition of just war theory, but how does it square with moral cosmopolitanism, the idea that individuals, not nations, should be our prime concern? Cécile Fabre discusses this question with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Bite s podcast.
Jan 31, 2011•15 min
Harvard philosopher Michael Sandel discusses 3 different theories of Justice in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast: Bentham's, Kant's and Aristotle's. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy .
Jan 14, 2011•21 min
Must it be? Do I really have a choice about what I do? I seem to be able to reason about what I will do, but do I have a choice about how I weight the different choices available? And where does luck come in? Paul Russell discusses the thorny question of whether or not we have control over our lives for this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy ....
Dec 30, 2010•18 min
Why bother studying the Humanities? Surely when resources are limited we should be concentrating on subjects that have clear economic benefits, shouldn't we? Not necessarily. Martha Nussbaum , author of Not For Profit , argues for the continuing importance of Humanities subjects, particularly Philosophy, in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy ....
Dec 24, 2010•14 min
When a group of people acts together we can hold that group morally and legally responsible. But how does the group decide to act? Is a decision of the group simply the majoritarian sum of individual group members' views? Princeton philosopher Philip Pettit , who has written a book about this topic with Christian List of the LSE, discusses these issues with Nigel Warburton for the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bite s is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy ....
Dec 18, 2010•21 min
What is a law of nature? Is it merely a generalisation about how things behave? Or does it have a different status? Helen Beebee investigates these questions in conversation with Nigel Warburton for this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy ....
Dec 05, 2010•17 min
Adam Smith, the great thinker of the Scottish Enlightenment, is best known as an economist. But much of his work was philosophical, and even his economic thinking is probably best understood as part of a larger project of attempting a science of humanity. Nick Phillipson, author of an acclaimed biography of Adam Smith, discusses Smith's philosophical agenda in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy ....
Nov 20, 2010•17 min
What is Philosophy? We asked some of our contributors this question for this bonus episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy .
Nov 14, 2010•26 min
What is moral responsibility? Are there ever grounds for saying that we have diminished responsibility? Gideon Rosen addresses these questions in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy
Nov 07, 2010•18 min
Does inequality really matter? Or should we be more concerned with raising the standards of the least well off than any disparity between those who have and those who have not? Alex Voorhoeve of the London School of Economics discusses these questions with David Edmonds in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with t he Institute of Philosophy ....
Oct 25, 2010•17 min
Gottlob Frege was one of the founders of the movement known as analytic philosophy. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast Michael Dummett explains why his ideas about how language relates to the world have been so important. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy .
Oct 07, 2010•14 min
Since John Locke declared the child's mind a blank slate, philosophers have long debated the degree to which language-learning is innate. Are there are universal grammatical features that all languages share? Daniel Everett, who has spent many years among the Piraha, an Amazonian people who have a highly unusual language, believes that some of Noam Chomsky's claims about language acquisition are mistaken. Listen to him discussing the nature of language with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the...
Sep 25, 2010•14 min
