Arthur Schopenhauer is best known for the deep pessimism of his book The World as Will and Representation . Here we focus on a slightly less pessimistic aspect of his philosophy: his views on compassion. Very unusually for an early nineteenth century thinker, he was influenced here by his reading of Indian philosophy. David Bather Woods is the interviewee. We are very grateful for sponsorship for this episode from St John's College ....
Jan 10, 2021•24 min
Hannah Arendt's experience of the Eichmann trial in 1961 led her to reflect on the nature of politics, truth, and plurality. Samantha Rose Hill , author of a biography of Arendt, discusses the context for this, and the key features of Arendt's views. We are grateful for support for this episode from St John's College - for more information about the college, including online options, go to sjc.edu/podcast
Dec 06, 2020•21 min
David Edmonds has co-authored a children's book, Undercover Robot . Here in this bonus episode (originally released on the Thinking Books podcast) he discusses it with Nigel Warburton.
Nov 28, 2020•13 min
Baruch Spinoza was perhaps most famous for his equation of God with Nature - a view that his contemporaries, probably correctly, took to be atheist. But what did he think about death? Steven Nadler, author of A Book Forged in Hell and Think Least of Death , discusses this aspect of his thought with Nigel Warburton.
Nov 12, 2020•20 min
In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast Cornell philosopher Kate Manne discusses the notions of misogyny, male entitlement, and the term that she coined 'himpathy' with Nigel Warburton.
Oct 04, 2020•21 min
Verificationists believe that every meaningful statement is either true by definition or else empirically verifiable (or falsifiable). Anything which fails to pass this two-pronged test for meaningfulness is neither true nor false, but literally meaningless. Liam Bright discusses Verificationism and its links with the Vienna Circle with David Edmonds in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.
Sep 16, 2020•27 min
For this special episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast (produced under lockdown) Nigel Warburton interviews David Edmonds about his bestselling book, written with David Edinow, Wittgenstein's Poker. It focuses on a heated argument between the two great Viennese philosophers Karl Popper and Ludwig Wittgenstein, and the differing accounts that were give of it by those who were there.
Jul 07, 2020•18 min
For this first of two special lockdown episodes of Philosophy Bites we interviewed each other. Here David Edmonds interviews Nigel Warburton about his bestseller A Little History of Philosophy . In the companion episode Nigel interviews David about his bestseller Wittgenstein's Poker .
Jun 24, 2020•16 min
Cheryl Misak has recently published a biography of F.P. Ramsey , the great Cambridge thinker who died at the age of only 26, but who nevertheless made a significant impact in several different fields including philosophy, mathematics, and economics. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast she discusses Ramsey's interactions with Wittgenstein. The two thinkers had very different personal styles and their philosophies reflect this....
May 30, 2020•20 min
Philip Goff discusses some of Galileo's insights into the nature of matter. He then goes on to discuss his own view about consciousness, panpsychism. Goff believes that matter is conscious at some level.
May 09, 2020•19 min
In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast, recorded before the Covid-19 lockdowns, the political philosopher Elizabeth Anderson explains why we need to be prepared to talk more, even with people with whom we strongly disagree.
Apr 19, 2020•21 min
What is free will? Do we have it? These are difficult questions. Neuroscience seems to point in the direction of determinism. But Christian List suggests that there might still be room for genuine free will.
Feb 05, 2020•24 min
Some philosophers have drawn very strange conclusions about the nature of reality. Despite this Emily Thomas believes that their work may still be worth studying. They usually have had good reasons for what they concluded. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast she discusses several wildly implausible metaphysical theories with Nigel Warburton . We are grateful for support from the Marc Sanders Foundatio n and from our Patreon donors....
Oct 21, 2019•20 min
Are thought experiments the best way of doing practical ethics? Not according to James Wilson . He thinks we need the rich detail of real cases or complex imaginary cases not a simplified version of reality to make sense of the moral problems we face. We are grateful for support for this episode from the Marc Sanders Foundation and from our supporters on Patreon....
Sep 21, 2019•20 min
In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast , Kate Kirkpatrick , author of a new biography of Beauvoir, Becoming Beauvoir , discusses the relationship between the life and work of Simone de Beauvoir. Beauvoir is often portrayed as applying Jean-Paul Sartre's existentialism to the condition of women. Is this a fair assessment? We are grateful for support from the Marc Sanders Foundation ....
Jul 08, 2019•17 min
'What is a woman?' has become a contentious question with practical implications. The philosopher Kathleen Stock gives an account of the category 'woman' and how we should think about it. She gives a different answer to this question which Amia Srinivassan addressed in a previous Philosophy Bites interview on this topic .
May 21, 2019•30 min
Christian Miller believes that there is a character gap, a gap between what we think we are like morally and how we actually behave. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast he explores the psychology of moral behaviour, and how we can become better people. We are grateful for support from the Marc Sanders Foundation .
Feb 25, 2019•21 min
Where did ethics come from? Philip Pettit tells an 'as if' story about the birth of ethics that is designed to illuminate what ethics is and why it evolved on this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. We are grateful for support from the Marc Sanders Foundation and from Patreon donors for this episode.
Feb 25, 2019•21 min
Philosophers often talk about possible worlds. Is this just a way of describing counterfactual situations? As Helen Beebee explains, some of them believe that possible worlds actually exist. This episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast is supported by the Marc Sanders Foundation and by Patreon donations.
Jan 14, 2019•17 min
Throughout its history there have been challenges to the status of philosophy. Paul Sagar discusses some of these in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. We are grateful for support from the Marc Sanders Foundation in making this podcast, and for donations from Patreon patrons.
Nov 27, 2018•21 min
Is it always good to be trustworthy? Can trustworthiness come into conflict with other values, such as generosity? Katherine Hawley discusses these and other questions about trustworthiness with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. We are grateful for support from the Marc Sanders Foundation and from our Patreon subscribers for this episode....
Oct 07, 2018•16 min
Civility is a conversational virtue that governs how people talk to each other. How important is it in political life? In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast Teresa Bejan discusses this manner of speaking and writing and its history. We are grateful for sponsorship for this episode from the Marc Sanders Foundation and from our Patreon patrons ....
Aug 20, 2018•22 min
You can overdo most things, but can you overdo democracy? Political philosopher Robert B. Talisse thinks you can. He explains why in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. We are very grateful for sponsorship from the Marc Sanders Foundation for this episode.
Jul 23, 2018•19 min
Robert Wright believes that there are a number of key tenets of Buddhism which are both compatible with present day evolutionary theory, and accurate about our relationship with the world and with our own minds. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast he discusses Buddhism, reality, and the mind, with interviewer Nigel Warburton. We are very grateful for support for this episode from the Marc Sanders Foundation We are also grateful for the continuing support we receive from donations on ...
May 07, 2018•20 min
How can we best help other people? Peter Singer has argued that we should give aid. Despite a lifetime spent believing this, Larry Temkin has started to question whether the effects of aid are beneficial. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast he discusses some qualms about Peter Singer's arguments.
Apr 02, 2018•21 min
Do states have a moral right to exclude people from their territory? It might seem obvious that states do have such a right, but Sarah Fine questions this in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. This episode of Philosophy Bites was sponsored by the Examining Ethics podcast from the Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics at DePauw University. You can subscribe to Examining Ethics on iTunes or listen to episodes at ExaminingEthics.Org...
Feb 14, 2018•21 min
How do I know I'm not dreaming? This sort of question has puzzled philosophers for thousands of years. Eric Schwitzgebel discusses scepticism and its history with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. This episode of Philosophy Bites was sponsored by the Examining Ethics podcast from the Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics at DePauw University. You can subscribe to Examining Ethics on iTunes or listen to episodes at ExaminingEthics.Org...
Jan 11, 2018•19 min
What is a robustly demanding good, and what has that got to do with friendship and love? Find out in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast in which Nigel Warburton interviews Princeton Professor Philip Pettit about this topic.
Dec 10, 2017•18 min
Philosophers talk about 'knowing how' and 'knowing what'. But what is involved in knowing a person? Katalin Farkas discusses this question with David Edmonds in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. This episode was sponsored by the Examining Ethics podcast from the Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics at DePauw University.
Nov 06, 2017•14 min
Are human beings fundamentally different from the rest of the animal world? Can what we essentially are be captured in a biological or evolutionary description? Roger Scruton discusses the nature of human nature with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.
Aug 29, 2017•18 min
