Can language ever truly capture reality? Is there anything unsayable? Listen to what the experts have to say. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes "What we cannot speak about we must pass over in silence", famously claimed the philosopher Wittgenstein. He primarily had in mind the relationship between language and the world, and more generally the very idea of metaphysics. Yet, a century after Wittgenstein's conclusion, many continue to wildly...
Jan 18, 2022•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast Have you ever wondered how animals, robots and even aliens think? Listen to find out! Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes How do non-human minds think? Acclaimed science writer Philip Ball provides a whistle-stop tour of the kinds of minds that might exist in the universe and how these might be similar to and different from our own. Philip Ball is a science writer and broadcaster. He is the former editor of the journal Nature and a prolific a...
Jan 11, 2022•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Is there a universal moral code? Or are we lying to ourselves? Listen to find out. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Absolute moral claims are making a resurgence along with demands for action in response. Yet at the same time many proclaim the value and importance of upholding diverse cultural outlooks with sometimes radically different moral codes. To avoid this hypocrisy should we give up belief in a universal moral code, and see moralit...
Jan 04, 2022•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast Is it time to shift our perception of the universe? Listen to what the experts have to say. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Since the 1970s we have understood the world through the lens of the Standard Model and its account of the forces and particles that make up the universe. But a series of deep puzzles have emerged. And now, even more significantly, a new force has been discovered throwing the whole theory into question. Can the Stand...
Dec 21, 2021•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast What is wrong with truth? Can we find a solution? Listen to find out. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes There are many varied voices who see the attack on objective truth as the root cause of all that is wrong in today’s society, including recently Tom Stoppard, UK Cabinet member Liz Truss, and Pope Benedict. But philosopher and renowned critic of philosophical realism Hilary Lawson warns this is a dangerous and mistaken response. Inst...
Dec 14, 2021•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Is there a connection between philosophy and psychoanalysis? A place for discussing children in philosophy? Listen to find out. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Psychoanalysis and philosophy share a deep interest in what it means to be human and what it means to be in the world. At the heart of both philosophical and psychological investigations lies three questions: What can I know? What ought I do? And what can I hope for? Dr Mari...
Dec 07, 2021•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast There is hope for academia after all. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes We need a revolution. Universities are turning into corporations, students, academics and the culture at large is damaged as a result. Cambridge academics Michael Hrebeniak and Isabelle McNeill lay out their vision of how to revolutionise education by removing neo-liberal "outputs" culture and democratising the university once again. Michael Hrebeniak is a polymath: an ...
Nov 30, 2021•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast Is consciousness independent from our bodies? Or is it just a hallucination? Listen to find out. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Somehow, within each of our brains, billions of neurons work to create our conscious experience. How does this happen? Why do we experience life in the first person? After over twenty years researching the brain, world-renowned neuroscientist Anil Seth puts forward a radical new theory of consciousness and the s...
Nov 23, 2021•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Why do Flat Earthers believe the world is flat even when confronted with scientific evidence? Why don't anti-vaxxers "trust the science"? Listen to find out. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Dallas Campbell is one of the most celebrated science television presenters in the UK. He has been communicating complicated ideas to the nation for years. But what does it really take to mediate between scientists and the public? In this interview, Da...
Nov 16, 2021•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast Have you ever wondered if birds talk to each other like we do? Listen in to find out whether we are really all that different. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Many think language makes us uniquely human. Are humans no different in principle from other animals and plants? Or is language profoundly different from all other forms of communication and the enabler of consciousness itself? Joining us to debate the uniqueness of human language a...
Nov 09, 2021•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast Have you ever wondered if you are a "good" person? Are any of us actually morally good? Listen in to find out. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes From fervent socialists to devout Christians, many have sought to live by a strict moral code. Yet from the gulags to the Inquisition it has often been those with the strictest codes who have perpetrated the greatest crimes. Is this just accidental, or is there something about a strict moralit...
Nov 02, 2021•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast How much risk is too much? Listen to find out! Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes In a Covid world we have been focused on safety. Yet almost all of us choose to engage in activities, from swimming in the sea to driving a car or having a bottle of wine, that carry risks. In fact, more died globally last year from alcohol than Covid. So how do we assess what risks to take and how much time and resource to protect ourselves from future risk? W...
Oct 26, 2021•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast Was Planck wrong or was he into something? Our experts discuss. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Most of us, scientists included, see physics as an attempt to provide an objective description of the world independent of human subjectivity and consciousness. Yet, Max Planck, one of major scientific figures of the twentieth century and the founder of quantum mechanics, stated as a result of his investigations and experiments: “I regard consc...
Oct 19, 2021•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast Could this be the end of modernity? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Whether it's the discussion on rising sea levels or nuclear waste, islands have gravitated to the epicentre of the geopolitical zeitgeist. But why are we more interested in islands than ever before? Professor at the Centre for the Study of Democracy, David Chandler explores the importance of islands in the Anthropocene. David Chandler is Professor of International Relatio...
Oct 12, 2021•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast Should narratives reflect or escape reality? Our panellists discuss. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes From fairy tales to Harry Potter, from Avatar to James Bond, we love fantasy and expect our books and films to take us there. Yet at the same time we want our poems and plays, novels and movies, to reflect life and reality. Should our narratives be seeking to uncover reality or be seeking escape from it? Or are both goals impossible? Are w...
Oct 05, 2021•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast Are humans beyond nature? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Humans are unlike anything else in the universe. We're the only part of existence that can observe and reflect on being itself, that can choose to destroy or repair our own habitat. Or so Raymond Tallis argues in this deep dive interview into what it means to be human. Watch to find out how we came to be so unique, what it means for our relationship to nature, and what Parmenides h...
Sep 28, 2021•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast Are we all hypocrites? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Most of us want to be good and be seen to be good. But aren't these goals contradictory? Isn't the desire to be seen to good a means of placing ourselves higher than others and wishing to gain status and position as a result? Should we conclude that the attempt to be seen to be good is immoral and call it out as hypocritical, including philanthropist donation, explicit piety...
Sep 14, 2021•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast Might consciousness operate in an entirely different sphere, outside of the world of space and time? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes We imagine ourselves as existing within time and space. Yet, we only ever experience the present moment. It is all we have. And within the present moment there is no direct experience of past or future. Nor is the present moment located anywhere, since it is everything for us. In short, there is no map...
Sep 07, 2021•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast Sci-fi dream or reality? Listen to find out! Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes The practice of putting electrodes in the pleasure centres of the brain - otherwise known as 'wireheading' - has been a sci-fi dream for decades. Oxford professor and transhumanist Anders Sandberg, explores the history and modern impact of the idea. Anders takes us on a journey from Rosseau’s critique of civilisation via Victorian parasitologists to weird 70s sci...
Aug 31, 2021•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast What would you feel if you found out you are bad? Why? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes In our largely secular world, most think there is no afterlife, no reward or punishment in the hereafter. Yet most still wish to act morally and even ascetically, delaying or refusing gratification in favour of some higher ideal. Even though, without God or an afterlife, there is no-one watching and judging us, and 'right and wrong' are seen as merely h...
Aug 24, 2021•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast Sounds impossible? Listen to find out! Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Are the laws of nature nothing more than habits that natural systems have learned to repeat over time? While it might sound impossible, Rupert Sheldrake will be explaining the phenomenon in this episode. Rupert Sheldrake is a scientist, author, and parapsychology researcher. Best known for his 2012 book The Science Delusion and the controversial, viral TED talk he gave...
Aug 17, 2021•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast Can we hold multiple truths at once? Listen to find out! Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Many still remain convinced that their own views and opinions are not just culturally relative but are true and accurate accounts of the way things are. Should we conclude that all forms of relativism are a mistake and insist on the importance and need to identify the true version of events, and the correctness of our own outlook? Alternatively, ...
Aug 10, 2021•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast Don't look up? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes In this interview, philosopher Santiago Zabala details why the greatest emergency is the absence of emergency itself, the problem with freedom and our perception of postmodernism, and why we need to take warnings of emergencies far more seriously. There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai...
Aug 03, 2021•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast Are we cheating ourselves? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes In our post truth age it seems that we can collect beliefs on a whim or a tribal fashion. And many are happy to hold contradictory views to suit their temporary desires. Is this a dangerous approach that threatens not only the coherence of our own outlook but the stability and success of culture and society as whole? Do we need to apply reason to sort wild opinion from truth, erad...
Jul 27, 2021•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast Do your beliefs control you? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Once faith was revered. Now in a secular age, it is seen by many as an irrational dedication to an unproven belief. Yet science, Marxism, and liberalism, all rely on core beliefs that are unprovable. And to live without belief in anything at all would be considered empty and meaningless. Should we accept that an element of faith is required whatever our perspective, and embrace ...
Jul 20, 2021•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast How much should we trust our leaders? Listen to find out! Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Great leaders promise to change the world. They claim to have the vision and the values to transform our lives. But rarely do they deliver. Again and again the promises are not kept, the transformation fails to arrive, and instead there is incompetence, deceit and duplicity. Are leaders a singularly useless and malevolent bunch? Or could it be that t...
Jul 13, 2021•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast Is consciousness all in the brain after all? Listen to find out! Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Have you ever made a decision and wondered why you made it? Or wondered where your morality comes from? Renowned philosopher of mind and founder of Neurophilosophy Patricia Churchland takes us on a journey into the brain, the nature and data of morality and the origins of nonconscious decision-making. Patricia Churchland is a the distinguished...
Jul 06, 2021•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Is there more? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Many despise the arrival of a post-truth world and fear politicians who blatantly manipulate facts and peddle falsehoods. But does this rely on assuming that truth is objective and falsehoods can be simply identified? Does the demise of truth mark the end of centuries of progress? Or is truth a construct of the powerful and post-truth a revolution against elites? There are thousands of big id...
Jun 29, 2021•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast When did we become MORE THAN...? And why? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Many think fur coats immoral yet are happy to wear leather shoes. We fiercely protect tigers and pandas from extinction, while thousands of vital insect species get notably less attention and concern. Many claim to be concerned about the welfare of animals. But it is the cute and the charismatic that come first. The others are largely an after thought. Should we end...
Jun 22, 2021•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast Who are we really? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes NYU Philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah details his journey and life's work, from why identity is such an important issue to how his experiences have differed across countries, and to the impact he wants his writing to have. Kwame Anthony Appiah is Professor of Philosophy and Law at New York University and author of 'The Lies That Bind: Rethinking Identity and Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a Wo...
Jun 15, 2021•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
