Philosophy Overdose

Episoder

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  Rawls vs Nozick (Ronald Dworkin) 18.08.2026 28min

  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)This 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
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  Hannah Arendt on Power and Violence (1968) 18.08.2026 1t 15min

  Audio recording of part of 1968 lecture by Hannah Arendt at Bard College on power and violence. Note, the beginning of the lecture is missing. 00:00 Talk 18:46 Q&A You can find more Arendt here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhP9EhPApKE-07vAVTFEuiDvqli1y8f0U#philosophy #hannaharendt #politicaltheory #politicalphilosophy
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  The Experience Machine 18.08.2026 7min

  A clip of professor Shelly Kagan discussing the famous thought experiment of the experience machine which comes from Robert Nozick and which serves as an argument against hedonism about well-being. This comes from a lecture on death given at the Southern Methodist University back in 2013. More on the nature of well-being: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/well-being/#philosophy #hedonism #ethics #nozick #moralphilosophy
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  Karl Popper on the Open Society (1974) 18.08.2026 5min

  A short of clip of Karl Popper discussing the Open Society from a 1974 interview. The translation is mine. For more Popper: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhP9EhPApKE_VarWCx1d_Uogn_GxsVf-o#philosophy #karlpopper #politicaltheory #politicalphilosophy #opensociety
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  Reason and Feeling in Ethics - Brand Blanshard (1966) 18.08.2026 1t

  Audio recording of a 1966 lecture by Brand Blanshard on reason and ethics given at Wheaton College (Massachusetts). #philosophy #ethics #moralphilosophy #utilitarianism #historyofphilosophy
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  The Romantic Revolution in Politics and Morals - Isaiah Berlin (1969) 18.08.2026 1t 33min

  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
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  The Truth is Terrible - Nietzsche's Idea of an Aesthetic Justification for Existence 18.08.2026 1t 20min

  Brian Leiter discusses the thought of Nietzsche at Davidson College a few years back. The truth is terrible, Nietzsche tells us. There is no God, the universe lacks any ultimate meaning or purpose, and is filled with gratuitous pointless suffering. Our only relief comes with nonexistence upon death. Even the existence of the self, free will, objective value, and absolute truth and knowledge are wholly illusory. All forms & qualities are but mere human conventions, subjective expressions of our competing drives. The unquenchable desire for objectivity is the drive to transcend our finite bodily existence and grab hold of something universal, absolute, unchanging, and God-like. But there simply is none. So it is all too easy to become disillusioned and fall into an abyss of anguish and despair, turning away from existence and the drives, as suggested by the pessimistic philosophy of Schopenhauer. But Nietzsche urges against this turning away from life. For Nietzsche, existence is justified, but only as an aesthetic phenomenon. But what does this mean exactly? Brian Leiter explains. (My Summary)More Nietzsche: https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhP9EhPApKE_ySvPE8kzFUkA5aO_cdKmb#philosophy #nietzsche #ethics #historyofphilosophy
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  3 The True Fathers of Romanticism (Isaiah Berlin 1965) 18.08.2026 1t 11min

  Isaiah Berlin gives the 3rd lecture in a series of 6 on Romanticism and its roots.All 6 lectures: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhP9EhPApKE_9uxkmfSIt2JJK6oKbXmd-For Berlin, the Romantics set in motion a vast, unparalleled revolution in humanity’s view of itself. They destroyed the traditional notions of objective truth and validity in ethics with incalculable, all-pervasive results. As he said of the Romantics elsewhere: “The world has never been the same since, and our politics and morals have been deeply transformed by them. Certainly this has been the most radical, and indeed dramatic, not to say terrifying, change in men’s outlook in modern times.”In these brilliant lectures Berlin surveys the myriad attempts to define Romanticism, distills its essence, traces its developments from its first stirrings to its apotheosis, and shows how its lasting legacy permeates our own outlook. Combining the freshness and immediacy of the spoken word with Berlin’s inimitable eloquence and wit, the lectures range over a cast of the greatest thinkers and artists of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, including Kant, Rousseau, Diderot, Schiller, Schlegel, Novalis, Goethe, Blake, Byron, and Beethoven. Berlin argues that the ideas and attitudes held by these and other figures helped to shape twentieth-century nationalism, existentialism, democracy, totalitarianism, and our ideas about heroic individuals, individual self-fulfillment, and the exalted place of art. This is the record of an intellectual bravura performance–of one of the century’s most influential philosophers dissecting and assessing a movement that changed the course of history. These Mellon lectures were delivered in Washington in 1965.00:00 Hamann & Others29:10 Herder#Philosophy #Romanticism #IsaiahBerlin
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  Foundations of Liberal Equality 2 - Ronald Dworkin (1988) 18.08.2026 2t 12min

  Audio recording of a lecture by Ronald M. Dworkin as part of his 1988 Tanner lectures on human values at Stanford University on the foundations of liberalism. This was the second of his Tanner lectures. Note, this is a re-upload. 00:00 Lecture 1:07:14 Q&A #philosophy #ethics #politicalphilosophy #moralphilosophy #politicaltheory #liberalism
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  7 The "Self" and Synthetic Unity of Apperception - Kant's Critique of Pure Reason (Dan Robinson) 18.08.2026 56min

  Dan Robinson gives the 7th lecture in a series of 8 on Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. Kant argues that: "The synthetic unity of consciousness is... an objective condition of all knowledge. It is not merely a condition that I myself require in knowing an object, but is a condition under which every intuition must stand in order to become an object for me".This 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 #personalidentity #empiricism #skepticism #historyofphilosophy
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  Western Culture - Kwame Anthony Appiah (2016) 18.08.2026 1t 14min

  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. This 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&A #philosophy #politicaltheory #socialphilosophy #culturalcritique
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  Simone de Beauvoir on Existentialism and God (1959) 18.08.2026 9min

  A version of a video from the old channel. This comes from a 1959 interview with Wilfrid Lemoyne from Radio-Canada. The translation is my mine. More Short Clips: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhP9EhPApKE8v8UVlc7JuuNHwvhkaOvzcExistentialists take human existence and the human condition to be a fundamental issue. They tend to be radical individualists who privilege our lived experience and choice. They focus on themes such as: freedom, authenticity, the individual, meaning, anxiety, alienation, death, dread, the absurd, contingency, and nihilism. They often are also suspicious of any fixed, pre-determined human nature, objective/universal values, and abstract philosophical systems. Some of the most important existentialist thinkers (or at least thinkers associated with existentialism) include Jean-Paul Sartre, Martin Heidegger, Søren Kierkegaard, Simone de Beauvoir, Friedrich Nietzsche, Dostoyevsky, Albert Camus, and Karl Jaspers. (My Description)#philosophy #existentialism #sartre
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  1 Just What is Kant's "Project"? - Kant's Critique of Pure Reason (Dan Robinson) 18.08.2026 1t 3min

  Dan Robinson gives the 1st lecture in a series of 8 on Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. Both sense and reason are limited. Kant must identify the proper mission and domain of each, as well as the manner in which their separate functions come to be integrated in what is finally the inter-subjectively settled knowledge of science.This 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, audio has been improved. All 8 lectures: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhP9EhPApKE_OdgqNgL0AJX9-gwr4tmLw#philosophy #kant #epistemology #metaphysics #empiricism #hume #skepticism #historyofphilosophy
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  Real Direct Realism 18.08.2026 2t 1min

  Galen Strawson delivers a lecture on the philosophy of perception at the Marc Sanders Foundation back in 2014. More on these philosophical issues regarding the nature of perception: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/perception-problem/ and https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/perception-episprob/ 00:00 Lecture 52:11 Discussion #philosophy #epistemology #perception #skepticism #philosophyofmind
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  Cavell and Skepticism - Hilary Putnam (2005) 18.08.2026 9min

  A clip of Hilary Putnam discussing philosophical skepticism and the work of Stanley Cavell which comes from a 2005 conference celebrating the work of Hilary Putnam at the ENS (École Normale Supérieure) in Paris. #philosophy #epistemology #skepticism #historyofphilosophy
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  Foundations of Liberal Equality 1 - Ronald Dworkin (1988) 18.08.2026 1t 51min

  Audio recording of a lecture by Ronald M. Dworkin as part of his 1988 Tanner lectures on human values at Stanford University on the foundations of liberalism. This was the first of his Tanner lectures. Note, this is a re-upload. 00:00 Lecture 1:04:07 Q&A #philosophy #politicalphilosophy #ethics #politicaltheory #liberalism #moralphilosophy
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  Nationhood - Kwame Anthony Appiah (2016) 18.08.2026 1t 13min

  Audio recording of a 2016 lecture by the philosopher and cultural theorist Kwame Anthony Appiah as part of his Reith Lectures on Mistaken Identities. He argues against a mythical, romantic view of nationhood, saying instead it should rest on a commitment to shared values. He explores the history of the idea, born in the 19th century, that there are peoples who are bound together by an ancient common spirit and that each of these nations is entitled to its own state. He says this idea is a mistaken one, illustrating his argument through the life story of the writer who took the pen name Italo Svevo - meaning literally Italian Swabian. He was born a citizen of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and became a citizen of the new republic of Italy, all without leaving his home city of Trieste. Appiah argues that states exist as a set of shared beliefs rather than membership of some sort of mythical and ancient group. This lecture was given by Kwame Anthony Appiah at the University of Glasgow in 2016 as part of his Reith Lectures on Mistaken Identities. 00:00 Talk 31:19 Q&A #philosophy #politicalphilosophy #politicaltheory #nationalism
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  4 Synthetic A Priori Judgments - Kant's Critique of Pure Reason (Dan Robinson) 18.08.2026 54min

  Dan Robinson gives the 4th lecture in a series of 8 on Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. Kant claims that, "our sense representation is not a representation of things in themselves, but of the way in which they appear to us. Hence it follows that the propositions of geometry... cannot be referred with the assurance to actual objects; but rather that they are necessarily valid of space... [and] space is nothing else than the form of all external appearances". [Prolegomena 286-287]This 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
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  Metaphilosophy and Russell vs Wittgenstein on Judgment 18.08.2026 55min

  After a brief discussion of the nature of philosophy and the origins of analytic philosophy, Fraser MacBride discusses Bertrand Russell and Ludwig Wittgenstein on the nature of relations and the structure of judgment or belief, how our thought relates to external objects in the world. Among the topics discussed include metaphilosophy and the history of analytic philosophy, F. H. Bradley's infamous regress argument against the reality of relations, Russell's correspondence theory of truth and various accounts of judgment, including his famous multiple relation theory."The question of relations is one of the most important that arise in philosophy, as most other issues turn on it: monism and pluralism; the question of whether anything is wholly true except the whole of truth, or wholly real except the whole of reality; idealism and realism, in some of their forms; perhaps the very existence of philosophy as a subject distinct from science and possessing a method of its own.” Bertrand Russell#Philosophy #Wittgenstein #BertrandRussell
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  Gadamer on Education and Tradition (1979) 18.08.2026 1t 32min

  Audio recording of a 1979 lecture by Hans-Georg Gadamer on tradition and education that was delivered in English at the University of Dallas. #philosophy #gadamer #historyofphilosophy