Philosophy Overdose

Epizode

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  The Problem of Free Will 05.10.2026 59min

  A talk given by professor Pamela Hieronymi on the problem of free will and moral responsibility a few years back at the University of Alabama."Among the grandest of philosophical puzzles is a riddle about moral responsibility. Almost all of us believe that each one of us is, has been, or will be responsible for at least some of our behavior. But how can this be so if determinism is true and all our thoughts, decisions, choices, and actions are simply droplets in a river of deterministic events that began its flow long, long before we were ever born? The specter of determinism, as it were, devours agents, for if determinism is true, then arguably we never initiate or control our actions; there is no driver in the driver's seat; we are simply one transitional link in an extended deterministic chain originating long before our time. The puzzle is tantalizingly gripping and ever so perplexing — because even if determinism is false, responsibility seems impossible: how can we be morally accountable for behavior that issues from an 'actional pathway' in which there is an indeterministic break? Such a break might free us from domination or regulation by the past, but how can it possibly help to ensure that the reins of control are now in our hands?" Ishtiyaque Haji #philosophy #freewill #determinism #materialism #metaphysics #causality #philosophyofmind #causation #psychology #mind Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  John Locke's Political Philosophy 05.10.2026 1h 42min

  After briefly discussing Thomas Hobbes, Professor Charles Anderson discusses the thought of John Locke. This comes from a course on Political, Economic, & Social Thought given at the University of Wisconsin many years ago.00:00 Thomas Hobbes21:50 John Locke#philosophy #locke #politicalphilosophy #politicaltheory #historyofphilosophy #hobbes #philosopher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  The Romantic Revolution in Politics and Morals - Isaiah Berlin (1969) 05.10.2026 1h 16min

  Audio recording of a 1969 lecture by Isaiah Berlin on the romantic revolution in politics and morals at Washington University in St Louis as part of the Assembly lecture series. #philosophy #romanticism #isaiahberlin #intellectualhistory #history Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Debate on Animal Rights (2009) 05.10.2026 21min

  A short debate between philosophers Gary Francione and Jan Narveson on Radio Netherlands on the issue of animal rights from back in 2009. According to Jan, torturing animals is "pointless and weird," but not necessarily wrong. Uploaded 10-10-24#philosophy #ethics #moralphilosophy #animalethics #animalrights #debate Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Alasdair MacIntyre on the Fate of Theism/Atheism and Morals (1966) 04.10.2026 1h 48min

  Audio recording of two lectures by Alasdair C. MacIntyre as part of the Bampton Lectures at Columbia University in 1966. 00:00 Lecture I: The Fate of Theism 50:37 Lecture II: Atheism & Morals #philosophy #theism #atheism #religion #historyofphilosophy #intellectualhistory Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  The Worlds of Existentialism - Maurice S. Friedman (1966) 04.10.2026 1h 5min

  Professor Maurice Stanley Friedman gives a lecture on existentialism at the Cooper Union Forum in 1966. Uploaded 18-12-24#philosophy #existentialism #sartre #heidegger #kierkegaard #historyofphilosophy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Hannah Arendt on Ideology (1968) 04.10.2026 5min

  A short clip of Hannah Arendt discussing ideology and the role it played in the totalitarian regimes of the 20th century. This comes from the Q&A section of a lecture on power and violence given at Bard College in 1968. #philosophy #hannaharendt #politicalphilosophy #totalitarianism #politicaltheory #ideology Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Western Culture - Kwame Anthony Appiah (2016) 04.10.2026 1h 2min

  Audio recording of a 2016 lecture by the philosopher and cultural theorist Kwame Anthony Appiah on culture as part of his Reith Lectures on Mistaken Identities. He says the idea of "Western civilization" or "Western culture" is a mistaken one and that we should abandon it. He uncovers the history of the idea from its roots at the time of the Crusades to its modern incarnation in the second half of the 20th century. However, we have very little culturally in common with our forebears in say the England of Chaucer's time. And indeed, much of the knowledge supposedly at the heart of Western civilisation was actually transmitted via Islamic scholarship. No one, he argues, can claim exclusive ownership of culture. Uploaded 14-10-25This lecture was given by Kwame Anthony Appiah at New York University in 2016 as part of his Reith Lectures on Mistaken Identities. 00:00 Talk 29:45 Q and A #philosophy #politicaltheory #socialphilosophy #culturalcritique Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Is Liberty Possible? Charles Fried (1981) 04.10.2026 1h 54min

  Audio recording of two lectures by Charles Fried on liberty at Stanford University as part of his 1981 Tanner lectures on Human Values. 00:00 Lecture I 55:42 Lecture II #philosophy #politicalphilosophy #politicaltheory #ethics #rawls Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Rights, Responsibility, and Animals - R. G. Frey (1991) 04.10.2026 1h 19min

  Professor Raymond G. Frey gives a lecture on rights, responsibility, and animal experimentation at a conference on the ethics of animal experimentation in 1991 at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University. Uploaded 01-09-2400:00 Morally Serious People 16:19 The Value of a Life 33:35 Marginal Cases 41:29 Rights 1:00:46 Questions #philosophy #ethics #moralphilosophy #animalethics #utilitarianism Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Is there Purpose in the Cosmos? (The Philosopher's Zone) 04.10.2026 42min

  To many people, the notion that the universe has consciousness and purpose belongs back in the pre-scientific era. In this program, Philip Goff (Professor of Philosophy at Durham University) explores the possibility that cosmic purpose is defensible not only philosophically, but also scientifically. This comes from a 2023 episode of the ABC Radio National show, the Philosopher Zone, with David Rutledge. Uploaded 07-11-24#philosophy #consciousness #philosophyofmind #panpsychism #metaphysics #mind Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Studies in Pessimism by Arthur Schopenhauer 04.10.2026 3h 25min

  Some wonderful Schopenhauerian prose from LibriVox and read by D.E. Wittkower.Chapters:00:00​ Start00:21​ On the Sufferings of the World33:58​ On the Vanity of Existence46:44​ On Suicide 1:00:55​ Immortality: a Dialogue1:12:10​ Psychological Observations 2:04:43​ On Education2:23:10​ Of Women2:59:35​ On Noise3:12:14​ A Few Parables#philosophy #schopenhauer #pessimism Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Debate of the Century: What it Means to be Human (2002) 04.10.2026 1h 47min

  Dr. Peter Singer and Dr. Nigel M. de S. Cameron discuss what it means to be human in a 2002 debate moderated by Michael krasny and hosted by the Center for Bioethics and Culture. They consider various ethical issues surrounding life and death, including that of euthanasia, among various other things. Uploaded 30-09-2500:00 Introduction 07:20 Cameron's Opening 17:06 Singer's Opening 28:18 Back-and-Forth 1:01:57 Audience Questions 1:26:04 Singer's Closing 1:32:40 Cameron's Closing #philosophy #ethics #petersinger #medicalethics #bioethics #moralphilosophy #debate Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Kinds of Minds: Towards an Understanding of Consciousness 04.10.2026 3h 32min

  Daniel C. Dennett reads from his 1996 book on kinds of minds. 00:00 Know Your Own Mind02:39 Kinds of Minds & How We Know05:11 We Mind-Havers, We 'Minders'13:57 Words and Minds21:53 Problem of Incommunicative Minds36:50 The Intentional Systems Approach54:10 Adopting the Intentional Stance1:20:04 From Sensitivity to Sentience1:37:25 The Media & the Messages1:54:23 My Body has a Mind of Its Own2:01:10 The Tower of Generate-and-Test2:17:49 The Search for Sentience2:29:21 From Phototaxis to Metaphysics2:42:55 Making Things to Think With3:00:29 Talking to Ourselves3:08:41 Our Consciousness, Their Minds3:18:58 Relation between Pain, Suffering & Consciousness#philosophy #consciousness #dennett #philosophyofmind #mind Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  The Guts of the Frankfurt School: Reexamining Marx and the Marriage with Freud (Marcuse and Bryan Magee) 04.10.2026 18min

  The full interview can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U23Ho0m_Sv0Uploaded 03-06-21#philosophy #bryanmagee #marx #freud #politicaltheory #politicalphilosophy #marxism #historyofphilosophy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Political Equality 04.10.2026 11min

  A clip of Ronald Dworkin discussing the notion of political equality which comes from a longer talk on the paradoxes of equality at Queen's University as part of the 1982 Chancellor Dunning Trust Lecture series. Read more on this topic: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/equality/Uploaded 22-04-25#philosophy #politicalphilosophy #politicaltheory #ethics Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  5 David Hume on Personal Identity - Reid's Critique of Hume (Dan Robinson) 04.10.2026 48min

  Professor Dan Robinson gives the fifth in a series of 8 lectures on Thomas Reid's critique of David Hume at Oxford in 2014. “There are some philosophers who imagine we are every moment intimately conscious of what we call our self; that we feel its existence and its continuance in existence; and are certain, beyond the evidence of a demonstration, both of its perfect identity and simplicity…For my part, when I enter most intimately into what I call myself, I always stumble on some particular perception or other, of heat or cold, light or shade, love or hatred, pain or pleasure. I never can catch myself at any time without a perception, and never can observe any thing but the perception. When my perceptions are removed for any time, as by sound sleep, so long am I insensible of myself, and may truly be said not to exist. And were all my perceptions removed by death, and could I neither think, nor feel, nor see, nor love, nor hate, after the dissolution of my body, I should be entirely annihilated...”Uploaded 19-06-21Under “David Hume”, the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy begins with, “The most important philosopher ever to write in English”. His most formidable contemporary critic was the fellow Scot, Thomas Reid, the major architect of so-called Scottish Common Sense Philosophy. The most significant features of Hume’s work, as understood by Reid, are the representive theory of perception, the nature of causation and causal concepts, the nature of personal identity and the foundations of morality. Each of these topics is presented in a pair of lectures, the first summarizing Hume’s position and the second Reid’s critique of that position.All Lectures: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhP9EhPApKE9nki7CXFPi7PMOi5W2g2-q#philosophy #davidhume #epistemology #personalidentity #empiricism #skepticism #historyofphilosophy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  5 Idealisms and their Refutations - Kant's Critique of Pure Reason (Dan Robinson) 04.10.2026 49min

  Dan Robinson gives the 5th lecture in a series of 8 on Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. The very possibility of self-awareness (an "inner sense" with content) requires an awareness of an external world by way of "outer sense". Only through awareness of stable elements in the external world is self-consciousness possible.Uploaded 05-06-21This series looks at German Philosopher Immanuel Kant's seminal philosophical work 'The Critique of Pure Reason'. The lectures aim to outline and discuss some of the key philosophical issues raised in the book and to offer students and individuals thought provoking Kantian ideas surrounding metaphysics. Each lecture looks at particular questions raised in the work such as how do we know what we know and how do we find out about the world, dissects these questions with reference to Kant's work and discusses the broader philosophical implications. Anyone with an interest in Kant and philosophy will find these lectures thought provoking but accessible.This is series of lectures was given in 2011 at Oxford. Note, the audio has been improved. All 8 lectures: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhP9EhPApKE_OdgqNgL0AJX9-gwr4tmLw#philosophy #kant #epistemology #metaphysics #empiricism #skepticism #historyofphilosophy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Death by Thomas Nagel 04.10.2026 25min

  A reading of Thomas Nagel's 1970 article on death. The voice is AI, but modeled on Bryan Magee. Uploaded 30-12-24#philosophy #death #ethics Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Rawls vs Nozick (Ronald Dworkin) 04.10.2026 26min

  Ronald Dworkin gives a very brief, introductory overview of John Rawls' "A Theory of Justice" and Robert Nozick's "Anarchy, State, and Utopia" in an interview with Bryan Magee from 1977. Although both wrote very influential works of political philosophy, they came to quite different conclusions. Rawls famously put forward a novel argument for his position which made use of a thought experiment involving a hypothetical contract. Unlike other social contract theories though, Rawls added the further twist that the bargainers must be ignorant about certain facts about themselves which could bias them in their own favor (e.g. their race, gender, class, age, talents, etc.). In this way, ignorance is used as a device to guarantee impartiality in deciding how societies should be structured. After all, one cannot rig things to benefit oneself at the expense of others if one doesn't know what one's personal interests are or what one's position in society will be. Rawls argued that behind this so-called "veil of ignorance" people would agree to two principles, the most interesting being the difference principle, which states that economic inequalities can only be justified if they are to the benefit of the worst off in society. However, such a view was rejected by Nozick, who argued from a starting point of absolute rights of property which cannot be violated without one's consent. Despite such a strong principle, Nozick argued that there can still be a kind of minimal state, what he called a "night-watchman state", which protects property and person. One way to think of the difference in views between Rawls and Nozick (albeit this may be overly simplistic and even misleading in certain respects) is that while Nozick privileges liberty and rights over equality and fairness, Rawls instead privileges that of equality and fairness. (My Summary)Uploaded 15-06-21This clip is of Ronald Dworkin discussing the political thought of John Rawls and Robert Nozick in a 1977 interview with Bryan Magee. It is an upload from the previous channel.The full interview can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gySLm3Z1OvA 00:00 John Rawls12:13 Robert Nozick#philosophy #politicalphilosophy #politicaltheory #rawls #bryanmagee #historyofphilosophy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices