Philosophy For Our Times

What role can religion play in our contemporary secularised lives? Why do many (of us) still feel the need for it today?Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesJoin former Archbishop of Canterbury, theologian, and poet Rowan Williams in a deep-dive interview into his professional and theological trajectory. He reflects on what he's learned, including the challenges of being in the spotlight, why he engaged in climate activism, and how to work in communities across faiths. Perhaps religion, and Christianity specifically, can help us more easily embrace solidarity. 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.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=the-enigma-of-energySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Should we treat animals and humans equal?Looking for a link we mentioned? Find it here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesAlmost forty years after these two philosophers helped create the idea of animal rights, what do they believe would constitute further progress in our attitudes to other forms of life?Live from Melbourne, Australian philosopher, Princeton professor and author of Animal Liberation, Peter Singer joins the "UK's foremost scourge of scientific pretention" (Guardian) Mary Midgley to consider the future of bioethics. Roger Bolton makes sure the tough questions get answered.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.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=on-humans-and-animalsEmail us on podcast@iai.tv!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Is 'energy' as a concept suited to the 21st century? Or is it a simplification of processes we do not understand, whose nature may be more mystical rather than purely rational?Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesJoin leading minds in the world of physics - Priyamvada Natarajan, Avshalom Elitzur, and Bernard Carr - as they face head on the necessity, or lack thereof, of one of the most essential building blocks of contemporary physics: energy. It underlies our universe, and yet its versatile nature is still not entirely understood, for example in its mysterious manifestation as 'dark energy'. In this honest talk, three leading scientists discuss this and other issues, as well as their embrace of mysticism in the search for an underlying physical truth. 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.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=the-enigma-of-energySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Is standard philosophy too conservative, overly relying on common sense? Can rationality and reason actually lead us to mysticism? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesJoin philosopher Michael Della Rocca as he defends his radical interpretation of what philosophy tells us of the world. He encourages us to interpret reality without any distinctions of any kind (and thus, without any relationships either): as a total unity. On this metaphysical adventure, we end up questioning why we had not questioned everything before. 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.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=why-we-should-question-everythingSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Can we attribute societal progress to enlightenment ideals?Looking for a link we mentioned? Find it here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesThe Enlightenment advocated reason, science, democracy, and universal human rights as a grounding for human morality and social organization. In the quarter millennium since, to what extent have these ideals been realized? Has the Enlightenment in fact been successful in bringing about moral progress? Are there viable alternatives to the Enlightenment vision?Sophie Scott-Brown, Director at Gresham College, hosts a debate between two of the most influential thinkers of our time. Join John Mearsheimer, Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, and Steven Pinker, Professor of Psychology at Harvard University, as they discuss the Enlightenment and its alternatives.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.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=the-enlightenment-and-its-alternatives-steven-pinker-john-mearsheimerSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How do the seemingly modern discussions around transgender and transsexuality relate to age-old philosophical queries? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesJoin philosopher Sophie Grace Chappell in this honest interview in which she reflects both on her personal experience as transgender and also on its connections with well-known philosophers such as Plato and John Stuart Mill. Might the modern day openness to exploring our (gender) identities simply be a response to the ancient oracle's 'know thyself'? 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.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=the-transgender-mind-body-problemSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Doestoevsky vs Nietzsche - where do we find meaning in life?Looking for a link we mentioned? Find it here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesDostoevsky and Nietzsche both regarded the creeping nihilism and meaninglessness of their time as a fundamental threat to humanity. While both were critical of modernity and rationalism, their solutions were radically opposed. Dostoevsky looked towards transcendence for an answer and found, in love and compassion, 'the chief law of human existence'. While Nietzsche declared God dead and found meaning in human nature and the assertion of human creativity.Is Dostoevsky, as some have argued, a denial of all that is human and an acceptance of authority and oppression, or is it Nietzsche who is most dangerous in his endorsement of human desire and the will to power? Can meaning only be found outside of ourselves, in the love of others and in God's love for us? Or should we follow Nietzsche and see human will and desire as the means to create meaning?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.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=dostoevsky-vs-nietzscheSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Does our very need for God point to the fact that he (or perhaps she, they) does not exist?Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesJoin well-known comedian and author David Baddiel in this honest (and funny!) conversation about humanity's deepest fears and desires with Chine McDonald, Director of Theos. Baddiel reads and cites from his 2023 book - 'The God desire: On being a reluctant atheist'. Can those of us who are atheists admit that, at some level, we also really love God? 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.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=the-god-desireSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Rethinking economics - what is the meaning of productivity in the 21st century?Looking for a link we mentioned? Find it here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes"Productivity isn't everything, but in the long run, it is almost everything" claimed Paul Krugman. Throughout the twentieth century productivity, the average level of output for each hour worked, improved dramatically across the developed world. A greater increase than in the previous 2000 years. Driven by life changing technologies, such as electricity, combustion engines, and phones, living standards increased sevenfold. But since the 2008 financial crisis, despite computerisation and the internet, productivity growth in many countries has been low, static or even, in the case of Japan, falling.Might the 20th century's extraordinary growth prove to be a unique event? Is tech itself the problem, seemingly creating solutions but in fact encouraging pointless activity? Or is the mistake to focus on productivity in the first place, and should we instead change how we value our activities and our time?This debate was sponsored by Theos.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.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=the-economics-of-almost-everythingSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How do we save freedom? And, please, would you like coffee without cream or coffee without milk? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesJoin renowned philosopher and cultural critic Slavoj Zizek as he divulges his ideas regarding the apocalypse, ideology, freedom in the present moment, and more through a classic Zizekian mix of personal anecdotes, pop culture, and philosophical references. As he asserts, he did not exist before theory. 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.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=in-conversation-with-slavoj-zizekSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

An interview with Isabel Millar.Looking for a link we mentioned? Find it here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesQuestions over artificial intelligence seem to dominate our contemporary. But underpinning the technology are an array of presuppositions - about thinking, knowledge and consciousness - that are in dire need of philosophical scrutiny. In this fascinating interview, Dr Isabel Millar discusses her work in challenging these assumptions by deploying the tools of psychoanalysis to the study of AI.Dr Isabel Millar is a groundbreaking philosopher and psychoanalytic theorist, currently working at Newcastle University and the Global Centre for Advanced Study.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.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=the-psychology-of-ai-isabel-millarSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Who are we? Why are we here? Does life have a meaning beyond itself?Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesJoin former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, and ground-breaking psychiatrist, literary scholar and author of 'The Matter with Things', Iain McGilchrist, to explore the nature of meaning, and why we should move beyond the assumptions of a materialist worldview from radically divergent perspectives. 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.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=on-the-nature-of-realitySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What is the difference between narcissism and self-love, vanity and pride, in today's self-obsessed world? Looking for a link we mentioned? Find it here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesFrom books to podcasts, we are now told to embrace the idea of ‘self-love’. But are we creating a generation of narcissists? Join renowned philosopher Simon Blackburn to unpack the uses and abuses of loving ourselves.Author of Think and Truth: A guide for the perplexed, Simon Blackburn has worked to bring philosophy to a wider audience. He was Professor of Philosophy at Cambridge and Vice President of the British Humanist Association.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.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=narcissism-and-self-loveSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Can humans ever be inherently good or evil?Looking for a link we mentioned? Find it here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesWhether we see humans as essentially good or essentially selfish and violent has been central to our politics, our account of society, and our vision for social progress. But is this very distinction itself a mistake? Recently, Harvard scientists have shown humans to be both the kindest and most malevolent species on the planet. While figures like Hitler and Stalin though responsible for tens of millions of deaths were also remarkably empathetic in aspects of their private lives.Should we give up the idea therefore that humans are either inherently good or bad and conclude that all of us are both at the same time with potentially profound consequences for our political beliefs? Or is it vital to retain the distinction to alert us to danger and to drive personal and social change? Or more profoundly, are the categories of good and bad themselves the underlying error and unhelpful, and even dangerous, ways of categorising human behaviour?  Anthropologist and Harvard University Professor Richard Wrangham, renowened philosopher and cultural critic Slavoj Žižek, University of Hertfordshire professor Maria Balaska and the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams join Myriam François to discuss the nature of good and evil.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.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=the-end-of-good-and-evilSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Have we entered a post-knowledge era? Or was the idea that we can attain knowledge misleading in the first place? Looking for a link we mentioned? Find it here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesThe acquisition of knowledge has been a central factor driving advance. And since Descartes, Western thought has placed the question of what we know, and how we know what we know, at the centre of philosophy. But might this focus on knowledge be a mistake? Feminist and postmodernist critics argue that in seeking to validate knowledge philosophers have merely sought to justify their own interests and prejudices. Instead they argue all knowledge is limited by perspective whether by culture, class, gender, race or the many other factors that influence understanding.Should we give up the idea that our beliefs can provide us with objective knowledge? Should we reject epistemology as an attempt to elevate and make undeniable our particular perspective, interests and prejudices and focus instead on the consequences of adopting a given framework of belief? Or is knowledge essential to culture and the notion that beliefs might be definitively true vital to progress? Philosopher of race Tommy Curry, theoretical physicist Suchitra Sebastian and outspoken scientist Rupert Sheldrake debate the limits of what we can know. Hosted by Joanna Kavenna.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.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=after-knowledgeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Getting to Truth...Looking for a link we mentioned? Find it here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesJoin groundbreaking psychiatrist, writer, philosopher, and literary scholar Iain McGilchrist in this exclusive studio interview with post-postmodern philosopher Hilary Lawson. The two thinkers explore McGilchrist's early introduction to philosophy, the nature of truth and the cosmos, and the danger of delusional thinking from the left brain.Iain McGilchrist is an Oxford scholar and polymath whose 'clarity, lucidity and almost hypnotically compelling style' has seen him rise to prominence as a world-wide lecturer and public intellectual.Hilary Lawson is a philosopher and award-winning broadcaster who has been hosting IAI TV’s philosophy and global politics debate strands since 2010. Find out more at https://www.hilarylawson.com.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.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=in-conversation-hilary-lawson-iain-mcgilchristSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Does our rhetoric shape reality?Looking for a link we mentioned? Find it here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesHugely powerful, we assume language enables us to represent reality. But some argue language, from the greatest narratives to the finest theories, not only fails to describe reality it actually distorts and misleads us. Language, the critics argue, formulates a world in its own image. The structure of language, nouns, adjectives, verbs, encourages us to imagine reality consists of their equivalent, things, qualities and actions. But there is no reason to suppose this is the case. And reason instead to conclude that reality is entirely different from the way it is represented in language.  Nolen Gertz is an Assistant Professor of applied philosophy at the University of Twente. He is the author of a number of books including Nihilism and Technology.Betty Sue Flowers is Emerita Professor of English at the University of Texas at Austin. She pioneered the modern, psychological appreciation of ancient myths alongside Joseph Campbell.Joscha Bach is an AI researcher for MIT Media Lab and the Harvard Program for Evolutionary Dynamics, where he explores new frontiers in cognitive architectures and mental representation.Katie Robertson hosts.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.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=on-the-edges-of-knowledgeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How do we assess claims to scientific knowledge?Looking for a link we mentioned? Find it here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesWhat is it possible to know? Is the physical universe all there is, or is the immaterial part of reality too? Join radical scientist, Rupert Sheldrake, and world-leading sceptic, Michael Shermer, as they go head-to-head on where the edges of knowledge lie. Güneş Taylor hosts.Michael Shermer is a famous science writer, historian of science, founder of The Skeptics Society, and editor-in-chief of its magazine 'Skeptic'.Rupert Sheldrake is an English scientist whose research into parapsychology and evolution led to the theory of morphic resonance, expounded in the book A New Science of Life. The theory posits that "memory is inherent in nature" which makes it possible for "telepathy-type interconnections between organisms." Other topics he has written and spoken on include precognition, the relationships between spirituality and science and the psychic staring effect. Sheldrake's most recent book is Science and Spiritual Practices (2017).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.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=on-the-edges-of-knowledgeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Is it ever right to lie? Is honesty ever wrong?Looking for a link we mentioned? Find it here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesHonesty is upheld as an age-old virtue of civilisation. Yet there are many instances where we deem lying desirable. Few would think it right for parents to be honest with their offspring about their favourite child, or to be honest about talents or abilities if it is likely to be hurtful for a relative, colleague or friend. Nor are we critical of Churchill for his rousing wartime speeches even if we now know he did not always believe them himself.Should we recognise that lying can be valuable, and sometimes necessary, for ourselves and those in power? Or is honesty not only essential in public life but vital in all aspects of our everyday life as well? Alternatively, is the mistake to see honesty as a virtue and instead recognise it as an act that can be both good and ill.Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at Royal Holloway, Rebecca Roache, Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at Cambridge University, Simon Baron-Cohen, and non-realist philosopher, Hilary Lawson join Samira Shackle to scrutinize honesty and deception.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.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=necessity-and-liesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.