Philosophy on the Fringes

In this episode, Megan and Frank continue their discussion of myths and mythology. Join them as they further explore different approaches to interpreting and understanding myth. How have creation myths differed across cultures? Should myth be regarded as an allegory? Is the point of myth to justify society's norms? Is myth a tool for exploring the subconscious aspects of our minds? And do we have any use for myth in the modern world? Thinkers discussed include Joseph Cambell, Carl Jung, Karl Popper, and Mary Midgley. ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Megan J Fritts (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/meganjfritts/home?authuser=0] Frank J. Cabrera (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/frank-j-cabrera/research?pli=1] Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Powell - A Short Introduction to Classical Myth (earlhaig.ca) [https://earlhaig.ca/departments/languages/downloads/A.%20Wittmann/2019-2020%20LVV4U1%20Handouts/LVV4U1%20Extra%20Readings/Powell,%20Short%20Introduction%20to%20Classical%20Mythology.pdf] (Chs. 2-3 for an excellent overview of theories of myth) Classical Mythology - Prof. Vandiver [https://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/classical-mythology] (A great lecture series we learned a lot from) Myth in Human History - Grant Voth [https://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/myth-in-human-history] (Another great lecture series we drew from) Myth and Knowing: An Introduction to World Mythology [https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/myth-and-knowing-scott-a-leonard/1100264990] (quoted a few times in the episode) Teaching Jung - Kelly Bulkeley; Clodagh Weldon [https://global.oup.com/academic/product/teaching-jung-9780199735426?cc=us&lang=en&#] (Ch. 5 by Robert Segal was very helpful!) Campbell's "Other" Monomyth - The Hero's Journey: Life's Great Adventure [https://www.yourheroicjourney.com/campbells-other-monomyth/] A Secular Age — Charles Tayllor  [https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674026766] Conjectures & Refutations - Karl Popper [https://www.dpi.inpe.br/gilberto/cursos/cst-311/popper_conjectures_refutations.pdf] The Myths We Live By - Mary Midgley [https://www.routledge.com/The-Myths-We-Live-By/Midgley/p/book/9780415340779] ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: LRDE4XFUJKAMEDIZ

In this episode, Frank and Megan discuss myths and mythology. What role has myth played in philosophy? What's the relationship between myths, history, and truth? And did the ancients really believe their myths? Join us as we engage with thinkers such as Thales of Miletus, Plato, Aristotle, Herodotus, Augustine, Paul Veyne, and R.G. Collingwood. This is the first part of a two-part episode. ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Megan J Fritts (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/meganjfritts/home?authuser=0] Frank J. Cabrera (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/frank-j-cabrera/research?pli=1] Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Powell - A Short Introduction to Classical Myth (earlhaig.ca) [https://earlhaig.ca/departments/languages/downloads/A.%20Wittmann/2019-2020%20LVV4U1%20Handouts/LVV4U1%20Extra%20Readings/Powell,%20Short%20Introduction%20to%20Classical%20Mythology.pdf] (Main source for claims about history of word "mythos" and its use in Plato/Herodotus/Aristotle. Highly recommended!) Hesiod - Theogony [https://users.pfw.edu/flemingd/Hesiod%20Theogony.pdf]  Thales - Fragments [https://antilogicalism.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/thales_frag_final.pdf]  Lehoux - All things are full of gods": naturalism in the classical world [https://philpapers.org/rec/LEHATA-2] R. G. Collingwood - The Idea of History [https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-idea-of-history-9780192853066?cc=us&lang=en&] The Herodotus - The Histories [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2707/2707-h/2707-h.htm] (See also BBC "In Our Time" podcast episode on Herodotus) Thucydides - The History of the Peloponnesian War [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/7142/7142-h/7142-h.htm] (See also BBC "In Our Time" podcast episode on Thucydides) Plato's Myths - (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) [https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-myths/] Plato - Gorgias [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1672/1672-h/1672-h.htm] Julia Annas - Plato's Myths of Judgement [https://www.jstor.org/stable/4182147](Discusses Aristotle critique of Plato's geography in the myth in the Phaedo) Paul Veyne - Did the Greeks Believe in Their Myths? [https://www.amazon.com/Did-Greeks-Believe-Their-Myths/dp/0226854345] Dana L. Burgess - Review of Veyne's "Did the Greeks Beleive in Their Myths?" [https://philpapers.org/rec/BUR_TG-3] Augustine - Two Books on Genesis [https://books.google.com/books/about/On_Genesis.html?id=0YxfzKIHJ_YC] ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: VYYZJBODHJSDWNZP

On this episode, Frank and Megan discuss the nature of luck. Are people lucky because good things happen to them, or do good things happen to them because they are lucky? Can we make our own luck, or is it outside of our control? Is even virtue itself subject to the whims of fortune? And if everything is determined, is anything truly lucky?  ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Megan J Fritts (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/meganjfritts/home?authuser=0] Frank J. Cabrera (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/frank-j-cabrera/research?pli=1] Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: What is 'lucky girl' syndrome and does it actually work? [https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/beauty/mind-body/a42590695/lucky-girl-syndrome/] The Natural History of Pliny, Vol I., by Pliny the Elder. [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/57493/57493-h/57493-h.htm#BOOK_II_CHAP_5] The Apology, by Plato [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1656/1656-h/1656-h.htm] The Prince, by Nicolo Machiavelli [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1232/1232-h/1232-h.htm#chap25] The Oedipus Trilogy, by Sophocles [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/31/31-h/31-h.htm] Thomas Nagel - Moral Luck [https://rintintin.colorado.edu/~vancecd/phil1100/Nagel1.pdf] Bernard Williams - Moral Luck [https://eclass.uoa.gr/modules/document/file.php/PPP267/Bernard%20Williams%2C%20Moral%20luck.pdf] Hales (2016) - Why Every Theory of Luck is Wrong [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/nous.12076] Stoutenburg (2019) - In defense of an epistemic probability account of luck [https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11229-018-1699-6] ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: OE1WRYCSDRS6SLYG

On this episode, Frank and Megan discuss near death experiences (NDEs). Are NDEs evidence that the mind is separate from the body? Are there any plausible skeptical explanations that explain the data? What might NDEs tell us about particular spiritual and religious worldviews? And could NDEs have something to teach us about humanity's deepest hopes and fears? ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Megan J Fritts (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/meganjfritts/home?authuser=0] Frank J. Cabrera (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/frank-j-cabrera/research?pli=1] Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Near-death experience in survivors of cardiac arrest: a prospective study in the Netherlands - The Lancet [https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140673601071008/fulltext] Near-Death Experiences Evidence for Their Reality - PMC (nih.gov) [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6172100/?fbclid=IwAR3FPiiJbvQSk4m737W6t1H0QfbJaYKcWnJyEs0ybcHcgDDRZYPn0OE7NZc] Dell'Olio, Do near-death experiences provide a rational basis for belief in life after death?  [https://philpapers.org/rec/DELDNE] B. Mitchell-Yellin & J. M. Fischer, The Near-Death Experience Argument Against Physicalism: A Critique  [https://philarchive.org/rec/MITTNE-2] R. G. Mays & S. B. Mays, Near-Death Experiences: Extended Naturalism or Promissory Physicalism? A Response to Fischer's Article [https://philpapers.org/rec/MAYNEE] J.M. Fischer, University Professor Lecture: Near-Death Experiences: The Stories They Tell [https://philpapers.org/rec/FISUPL] G.R. Habermas, Evidential Near‐Death Experiences [https://philpapers.org/rec/HABENE] A. J. Ayer – 'What I Saw When I Was Dead'  [https://www.philosopher.eu/others-writings/a-j-ayer-what-i-saw-when-i-was-dead/] Afterlife (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) [https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/afterlife/#ParNeaDeaExp] K. Augustine - Hallucinatory Near-Death Experiences » Internet Infidels [https://infidels.org/library/modern/keith-augustine-hndes/] Susan Blackmore Near-Death Experiences: In or out of the body? [https://www.susanblackmore.uk/articles/near-death-experiences-in-or-out-of-the-body-2/] (discussion of Sagan's explanation) Lehoux - The Trouble with Taxa | What Did the Romans Know? An Inquiry into Science and Worldmaking [https://academic.oup.com/chicago-scholarship-online/book/12945/chapter-abstract/166100920?redirectedFrom=fulltext](discussion of garlic and magnets) ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: I0NNKBBUOCKXBD02

On today's episode, Frank and Megan are going to the gridiron to talk about football. What are the metaphysical identity conditions for sports teams? What makes a rule a good rule? Why is steroid use banned, but special training encouraged? Is the Super Bowl a distinctly American ritual? Will data analysts replace coaches? And does the extreme injury risk of football make it America's most immoral pastime? ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Megan J Fritts (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/meganjfritts/home?authuser=0] Frank J. Cabrera (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/frank-j-cabrera/research?pli=1] Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Take Your Eye Off the Ball 2.0 | Triumph Books [https://www.triumphbooks.com/take-your-eye-off-the-ball-2-0-products-9781629371696.php] The Only Good Reason to Ban Steroids in Baseball: To Prevent an Arms Race - The Atlantic [https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/06/the-only-good-reason-to-ban-steroids-in-baseball-to-prevent-an-arms-race/276932/] Full Body Swimsuit Now Banned for Professional Swimmers - ABC News (go.com) [https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/full-body-swimsuit-now-banned-professional-swimmers/story?id=9437780] How The NFL Uses Analytics, According To The Lead Analyst Of A Super Bowl Champion (forbes.com) [https://www.forbes.com/sites/liamfox/2021/08/12/how-the-nfl-uses-analytics-according-to-the-lead-analyst-of-a-super-bowl-champion/?sh=3af9ff4e424e] 4th down aggressiveness increasing rapidly across NFL | AP News [https://apnews.com/article/nfl-sports-los-angeles-chargers-joe-lombardi-brandon-staley-a78f2cde1b8e1daac3ff4f78b9ef2d1f] NFL running backs meet to discuss position's depressed wages | NFL | The Guardian [https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/jul/23/nfl-running-backs-meet-to-discuss-positions-depressed-wages] Collective Force of Head Hits Increases Odds of CTE, Study Says - The New York Times (nytimes.com) [https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/20/sports/football/cte-study-concussions-brain-tackle.html] BU Finds CTE in Nearly 92 Percent of Ex-NFL Players Studied | The Brink | Boston University [https://www.bu.edu/articles/2023/bu-finds-cte-in-nearly-92-percent-of-former-nfl-players-studied/] Estimating the prevalence at death of CTE neuropathology among professional football players | Neurology [https://n.neurology.org/content/92/1/43?fbclid=IwAR0NXsCComYts9lAZi0ylZcL605N2H32MzH8BlgXd3WWaHUATKLsUqRR0lc] Study finds CTE in 40 percent of athletes who died before 30 - ABC News (go.com) [https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/study-finds-cte-40-percent-athletes-died-30/story?id=102620069&fbclid=IwAR18Zbwaxt2sdqLW4ml2nrlW0hRqcrTuSyAEPFfqzI8L_qWuXynH-VT4Lk0#:~:text=A%20new%20study%20has%20diagnosed,and%20died%20before%20age%2030] Could CTE in the NFL Be Solved by OSHA? - Global Sport Matters [https://globalsportmatters.com/health/2022/06/21/how-osha-could-make-nfl-safer-cte/] Ship of Theseus | Definition, Examples, & Solutions | Britannica [https://www.britannica.com/topic/ship-of-Theseus-philosophy] Virtue Ethics and Consequentialism in Early Chinese Philosophy [https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/virtue-ethics-and-consequentialism-in-early-chinese-philosophy/04733BD0340F1C82FAE051DB8105916B](pp. 101-117) Pragmatism and Reference [https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262026604/pragmatism-and-reference/] (pp. 195-6 discusses the Browns/Ravens case) ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: RZMGXZY5O2AIXNTQ

In this episode, Megan and Frank explore the hidden philosophical insights of alchemy. Some of the questions they discuss include: what is the history and nature of alchemy?; is alchemy more like magic, or science? what does the practice of alchemy tell us about the alchemical view of the natural world?; what was the philosopher's stone?; and is the spirit of alchemy still alive today? ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Megan J Fritts (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/meganjfritts/home?authuser=0] Frank J. Cabrera (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/frank-j-cabrera/research?pli=1] Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: The Secrets of Alchemy, Principe (uchicago.edu) [https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/S/bo12335123.html] The Alchemy Reader - From Hermes Trismegistus to Isaac Newton (cambridge.org) [https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/alchemy-reader/0468E2C197C66294F3A6A0B930DD5B9A] A preliminary reassessment of Newton's alchemy (Chapter 11) - The Cambridge Companion to Newton [https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/cambridge-companion-to-newton/preliminary-reassessment-of-newtons-alchemy/4A043063FF0DEA1073FD4D8B53944C02] The Case Against Perfection - Michael Sandel - The Atlantic [https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2004/04/the-case-against-perfection/302927/] Anti-Aging Techniques Taken to Extreme by Bryan Johnson - Bloomberg [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-01-25/anti-aging-techniques-taken-to-extreme-by-bryan-johnson] Philosophy Between the Lines: The Lost History of Esoteric Writing, Melzer (uchicago.edu) [https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/P/bo18692306.html] ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: 5J75WDQQ28SJKVBZ

On today's episode, Megan and Frank work up the liquid courage to tackle one of philosophy's most notorious recruiters: alcohol. Are we different people when we're inebriated, or simply more free to act on our deepest desires? Was the prohibition movement justified? Is wine-tasting all bogus, or are sommeliers detecting something real? And does alcohol induce mystical experiences? ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Megan J Fritts (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/meganjfritts/home?authuser=0] Frank J. Cabrera (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/frank-j-cabrera/research?pli=1] Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Symposium by Plato (mit.edu) [http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/symposium.html] Cassius Dio, Roman History 49.36 [https://lexundria.com/dio/49.36/cy] Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle (mit.edu) [http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/nicomachaen.2.ii.html] (Book 2) That One Should Disdain Hardships: The Teachings of Roman Stoic  [https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300261547/that-one-should-disdain-hardships/] Drunkenness: Losing Our Grip on Reason | Choosing Freedom A Kantian Guide to Life [https://academic.oup.com/book/41414/chapter-abstract/352733366?redirectedFrom=fulltext] Kirsten Ditterich-Shilakes, "Muse in a Stem Glass Art, Wine, and Philosophy" [https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Wine+and+Philosophy:+A+Symposium+on+Thinking+and+Drinking-p-9780470765777] Quill Kukla, "Nonideal Theory of Sexual Consent" | [https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/711209] Watch Prohibition | Ken Burns | PBS [https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/prohibition/] The 1800s: When Americans Drank Whiskey Like it was Water [https://www.pastemagazine.com/drink/alcohol-history/the-1800s-when-americans-drank-whiskey-like-it-was] Americans are drinking more now than when Prohibition became law [https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2020-01-14/americans-drinking-more-prohibition] Kevin W. Sweeney, "Is There Coffee or Blackberry in My Wine?" [https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Wine+and+Philosophy:+A+Symposium+on+Thinking+and+Drinking-p-9780470765777] A.C. Noble |The Wine Aroma Wheel Official Website [https://www.winearomawheel.com/] Ophelia Deroy, "The Power of Tastes: Reconciling Science and Subjectivity" [https://global.oup.com/academic/product/questions-of-taste-9780195384598?cc=us&lang=en&] Managing Diacetyl ("Buttery" Flavor) Production During MLF [https://scottlab.com/managing-diacetyl-production-during-malolactic-fermentation] Barry C. Smith, "The Objectivity of Tastes and Tasting" [https://global.oup.com/academic/product/questions-of-taste-9780195384598?cc=us&lang=en&] Wine-tasting: it's junk science | Wine | The Guardian [https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/jun/23/wine-tasting-junk-science-analysis] Think wine connoisseurship is nonsense? Blind-tasting data suggest otherwise [https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2017/05/17/think-wine-connoisseurship-is-nonsense-blind-tasting-data-suggest-otherwise] A New Study Answers The Question: Does Blind Wine Tasting Work?  [https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomaspellechia/2019/02/05/a-new-study-asks-answers-the-question-does-blind-wine-tasting-work/] William James, "The Varieties of Religious Experience" [https://csrs.nd.edu/assets/59930/williams_1902.pdf] ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: EZOCM133QSX3TAVC

In this episode, Megan and Frank discuss the concept of secularism. How should we think about the emergence of, and reasons for, modern secular cultures? Do secular societies create secular citizens? How did the ancient conception of the secular/sacred distinction differ from the contemporary separation of church and state? What challenges does secularism face today? And can the secular realm exist alongside the sacred? ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Megan J Fritts (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/meganjfritts/home?authuser=0] Frank J. Cabrera - Research (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/frank-j-cabrera/research?pli=1] Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Liberalism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) [https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/liberalism/] Etymology of "Saeculum" - Wiktionary [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/saeculum#Latin] A Secular Age — Charles Taylor | Harvard University Press [https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674986916&fbclid=IwAR3nmWT_uWF5nKLlUgoiI_KEuVvafkVZbrGBueqhLrhgoZRD7k1HUDzQ5X8] Secularism: A Very Short Introduction - Andrew Copson - Oxford University Press (oup.com) [https://global.oup.com/academic/product/secularism-a-very-short-introduction-9780198747222?cc=us&lang=en&#:~:text=In%20this%20Very%20Short%20Introduction,and%20the%20origins%20of%20modernity.] French Secularism Leaves Little Room for Religion - The Atlantic [https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/12/france-god-religion-secularism/620528/] Belgium to become second EU country to recognize Buddhism | Reuters [https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/belgium-become-second-eu-country-recognize-buddhism-2023-03-17/] John Locke, A Letter concerning Toleration (uchicago.edu) [https://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/amendI_religions10.html] Obama's 2006 Speech on Faith and Politics - The New York Times (nytimes.com) [https://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/28/us/politics/2006obamaspeech.html] Public Reason (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) [https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/public-reason/] Patrick Deneen: The New Right's Man in the Ivory Tower - POLITICO [https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/06/08/the-new-right-patrick-deneen-00100279] Slowdown in the Rise of Religious Nones (gallup.com) [https://news.gallup.com/opinion/polling-matters/406544/slowdown-rise-religious-nones.aspx?fbclid=IwAR0_tuzvAgOdyEB83JnZ6qXUW8TJ0av8Wq47lJXgnvJ90aoNfyAarmiY4XQ] 'New Age' beliefs common among religious, nonreligious Americans | Pew Research Center [https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2018/10/01/new-age-beliefs-common-among-both-religious-and-nonreligious-americans/?fbclid=IwAR0p6suyZHQZcTEiJyy1ooSIDOz0EQbkxTVBAQpsPRI-URgw-i7rfkSDF7M] Religious and mystical experiences common among Americans - Institute for the Bio-Cultural Study of Religion (ibcsr.org) [https://www.ibcsr.org/index.php/institute-research-portals/quantifying-religious-experience-project/525-religious-and-mystical-experiences-common-among-americans?fbclid=IwAR2NcMq0hInK74uKov9l0jh3K3ifrgJM4jFV5868uLOpwLIyt3wr4AYO180] "The Secret" to Success? The Psychology of Belief in Manifestation - Lucas J. Dixon, Matthew J. Hornsey, Nicole Hartley, 2023 (sagepub.com) [https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/01461672231181162?s=03] ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: U2OPXUSOE40ZLA10

In a special follow-up to episode 6 on extra-terrestrial life, Megan and Frank examine the Fermi Paradox. The Fermi Paradox holds that the observable universe ought to (on a set of plausible assumptions) contain evidence of extra-terrestrial life. Yet, no such life has ever been credibly observed. What, if anything, best explains our seemingly significant celestial solitude? Beyond the Fermi Paradox, they also explore two other questions: is ET life compatible with various religious worldviews? And are alien abduction reports a kind of religious experience? ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Megan J Fritts (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/meganjfritts/home?authuser=0] Frank J. Cabrera - Research (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/frank-j-cabrera/research?pli=1] Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Ezra Klein | What the Heck Is Going On With These U.F.O. Stories? - The New York Times (nytimes.com) [https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/20/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-leslie-kean.html] The Great Silence (2018) - Milan M. Ćirković - Oxford University Press (oup.com) [https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-great-silence-9780199646302?cc=us&lang=en&] (The book we draw heavily from in the episode) Milan M. Ćirković  - Fermi's Paradox - The last challenge for copernicanism? [https://doiserbia.nb.rs/Article.aspx?id=1450-698X0978001C](An article which covers most of the main themes of the 2018 book) Milan M. Cirkovic - Our Attitude Toward Aliens Proves We Still Think We're Special - Nautilus [https://nautil.us/our-attitude-toward-aliens-proves-we-still-think-were-special-237159/?_sp=3774edb7-a045-44e5-bcab-8aba4132520e.1687387173342] (Short, popular piece on Fermi Paradox) David Wilkinson (2013) - Science, Religion, and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence | Oxford Academic (oup.com) [https://academic.oup.com/book/6842] Whitmore, J. (1995). Religious Dimensions of the UFO Abductee Experience [https://ixtheo.de/Record/1843676702] ("UFO abductions seem to be primarily an American phenomenon; although several important cases have been reported outside the U.S., some argue that abductions are mainly confined to this country.", p. 81) Plotinus (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) [https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plotinus/] The Experience Machine | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (utm.edu) [https://iep.utm.edu/experience-machine/] ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: HU4PAS2LONZMNQOU

The kids are alright… or are they? On today's episode, Megan and Frank cover the following topics: is childhood a morally horrible stage of life? What does the "good life" look like for a kid? Should children get the right to vote for elected officials? Can young children understand philosophical questions and reasoning? And if so, should we be bringing philosophy to the youth? ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Megan J Fritts (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/meganjfritts/home?authuser=0] Frank J. Cabrera - Research (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/frank-j-cabrera/research?pli=1] Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Paul, LA. - Transformative Experience - Oxford University Press (oup.com) [https://global.oup.com/academic/product/transformative-experience-9780198717959?cc=us&lang=en&] Kazez, J. - Old Age as a Stage of Life - Journal of Applied Philosophy - Wiley Online Library [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/japp.12646] Ferracioli, L. - Carefreeness and Children's Wellbeing - Journal of Applied Philosophy - Wiley Online Library [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/japp.12382] Cicero — De Senectute [On Old Age] (uchicago.edu) [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/e/roman/texts/cicero/cato_maior_de_senectute/text*.html] Mill, J.S. - On Liberty [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/34901/34901-h/34901-h.htm#Page_103] (Ch. 3) Sandel, M. - the Case Against Perfection - The Atlantic [https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2004/04/the-case-against-perfection/302927/] Big Ideas for Little Philosophers (penguinrandomhouse.com) [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/series/1BI/big-ideas-for-little-philosophers] Social Contract Theory | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy [https://iep.utm.edu/soc-cont/#SSH4a.ii](Feminist Critique) Nussbaum, M. - Frontiers of Justice [https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674024106&content=toc](Ch. 2, "Disabilities and the Social Contract) Rowlands, M. - Contractarianism and Animal Rights [https://www.jstor.org/stable/24354058] Wiland, E. - Should Children Have the Right to Vote?  [https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-93907-0_17] Brennan, J.  - Against Democracy | Princeton University Press [https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691178493/against-democracy] Aristotle - Nicomachean Ethics [http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/nicomachaen.1.i.html](Bk. 1, Sect. 3) Philosophy for Children (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) [https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/children/] Do Kids Have a Fundamental Sense of Fairness? - Scientific American  [https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/do-kids-have-a-fundamental-sense-of-fairness/] Augustine - Confessions, (Bk. 1, Ch. 7) [https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/110101.htm] ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: LBJAOXPIK1VAALIR

Why did early modern philosophers posit legions of blissful aliens to help solve the problem of evil? Is life essentially terrestrial? Does SETI count as a scientific enterprise? If Martians could talk, would we ever be able to understand them? Join Megan and Frank as they philosophize about our friends from the final frontier! ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Megan J Fritts (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/meganjfritts/home?authuser=0] Frank J. Cabrera - Research (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/frank-j-cabrera/research?pli=1] Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Defense Department announces new UFO task force - CBS News [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ufo-task-force-department-of-defense/] Kukla, A. (2001). ETI: On the prospects and pursuitworthiness of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence - ScienceDirect [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S003936810000025X?via%3Dihub]  Plutarch • On the Face in the Moon (Part 1 of 4) (uchicago.edu) [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/e/roman/texts/plutarch/moralia/the_face_in_the_moon*/a.html] Lucretius - On the Nature of Things by Lucretius (mit.edu) [http://classics.mit.edu/Carus/nature_things.html] Pearce, K. - Space Aliens and Skeptical Theism (blog.kennypearce.net) [http://blog.kennypearce.net/archives/philosophy/philosophy_of_religion/the_problem_of_evil/skeptical_theism/space_aliens_and_skeptical_the.html] Draper, P. (1989) Pain and Pleasure: An Evidential Problem for Theists on JSTOR [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2215486] Crowe, M. (2017). William and John Herschel's Quest for Extraterrestrial Intelligent Life | SpringerLink [https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-32826-3_5] Fantastically Wrong: Why the Guy Who Discovered Uranus Thought There's Life on the Sun | WIRED [https://www.wired.com/2014/08/fantastically-wrong-life-on-the-sun/] There Is Only One Other Planet In Our Galaxy That Could Be Earth-Like, Say Scientists (forbes.com) [https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2021/06/23/there-is-only-one-other-planet-in-our-galaxy-that-could-be-earth-like-say-scientists/] Rare Earth hypothesis: Why we might really be alone in the universe | Astronomy.com [https://astronomy.com/news/2022/07/rare-earth-hypothesis-why-we-might-really-be-alone-in-the-universe] Pseudoscience and the Demarcation Problem | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (utm.edu) [https://iep.utm.edu/pseudoscience-demarcation/] Frank Cabrera, String Theory, Non-Empirical Theory Assessment, and the Context of Pursuit - PhilPapers [https://philpapers.org/rec/CABSTN] A More Parsimonious Explanation for UFO Abduction on JSTOR [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1449009] 75 Years Ago, 'War Of The Worlds' Started A Panic. Or Did It? : The Two-Way : NPR [https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2013/10/30/241797346/75-years-ago-war-of-the-worlds-started-a-panic-or-did-it] Whitmore, J. (1995). Religious Dimensions of the UFO Abductee Experience [https://ixtheo.de/Record/1843676702] ("UFO abductions seem to be primarily an American phenomenon; although several important cases have been reported outside the U.S., some argue that abductions are mainly confined to this country.", p. 81) ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: CWK7B5OYQTUXZOER

From Tinder to FarmersOnly, dating apps not only help us meet the love of our life, they also raise new philosophical questions! Does an endless stream of potential partners arrest our romantic agency? Is it morally wrong to care about looks? Why do these apps function like games--and has this gameplay forced our digital love lives into a functional flop? Join Frank and Megan as they discuss all these questions, as well as their own experiences, or lack thereof, in the world of online dating. ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Megan J Fritts (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/meganjfritts/home?authuser=0] Frank J. Cabrera - Research (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/frank-j-cabrera/research?pli=1] Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Key findings about online dating in the U.S. | Pew Research Center [https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2023/02/02/key-findings-about-online-dating-in-the-u-s/] Kierkegaard - The Seducer's Diary | Princeton University Press [https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691158419/the-seducers-diary] Existentialism is a Humanism, Jean-Paul Sartre 1946 (marxists.org) [https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/sartre/works/exist/sartre.htm] Is It Bad to Prefer Attractive Partners? - William D'Alessandro [https://philarchive.org/archive/DALIIB] (see social science references contained therein) C. Thi Nguyen - How Twitter gamifies communication - PhilPapers [https://philpapers.org/rec/NGUHTG] Paradox of Hedonism | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (utm.edu) [https://iep.utm.edu/paradox-of-hedonism/] ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: XZ0M3FIAMJSIK86P

Is there a goddess of Victory? A deity governing the sea? What about a god of the door hinge? In this episode, Megan and Frank discuss polytheism—the belief in many gods—from both historical and philosophical perspectives. They try to show that examining polytheism can help us think more clearly about the concept of "god". ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Megan J Fritts (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/meganjfritts/home?authuser=0] Frank J. Cabrera - Research (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/frank-j-cabrera/research?pli=1] Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: City of God (St. Augustine) (newadvent.org) [https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1201.htm] Xenophanes (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) [https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/xenophanes/#CriGrePopRel] The Internet Classics Archive | The Republic by Plato (mit.edu) [http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/republic.3.ii.html] LacusCurtius • Cicero — De Natura Deorum I.1‑19 (uchicago.edu) [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cicero/de_Natura_Deorum/1A*.html] LacusCurtius • Cicero — De Divinatione: Book II (uchicago.edu) [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/e/roman/texts/cicero/de_divinatione/2*.html] Stoic Philosophical Theology and Graeco‐Roman Religion | God and Cosmos in Stoicism | Oxford Academic (oup.com) [https://academic.oup.com/book/12508/chapter-abstract/163107615?redirectedFrom=fulltext] Estate Planning in Hellenic Antiquity: Aristotle's Last Will and Testament [https://scholarship.law.nd.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=3025&context=ndlr] The Internet Classics Archive | Metaphysics by Aristotle (mit.edu) [http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/metaphysics.12.xii.html] On Counting Gods | TheoLogica: An International Journal for Philosophy of Religion and Philosophical Theology (uclouvain.be) [https://ojs.uclouvain.be/index.php/theologica/article/view/153] (by Dale Tuggy) Eric Steinhart, On the plurality of gods - PhilArchive [https://philarchive.org/rec/STEOTP-7] David Lewis, Philosophical Papers, Volume 1 - PhilPapers [https://philpapers.org/rec/LEWPPV-6] (page xi) Gravity and Grace - 1st Edition - Simone Weil - Routledge Book [https://www.routledge.com/Gravity-and-Grace/Weil/p/book/9780415290012] Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, by David Hume [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/4583/4583-h/4583-h.htm] (Part 5) Monotheism - Monotheism in world religions | Britannica [https://www.britannica.com/topic/monotheism/Monotheism-in-world-religions]  Oration of Constantine (Eusebius) (newadvent.org) [https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2503.htm] ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: ZYVY5ICVVNMBBD3H

What philosophical lessons can we draw from the action movie Road House? In this episode, Megan and Frank do philosophy alongside Patrick Swayze's legendary character Dalton, examining the nature of pain, the limits of pacifism, and whether one can find the meaning of life while being a bouncer. Footnotes: 1) Road House is NOT a family friendly movie. 2) Prior viewing of Road House is not required for listening. Clips of some of the scenes we discuss can be found here: Road House (1/11) Movie CLIP - Three Simple Rules (1989) HD - YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QJsljIDKkk] Road House (2/11) Movie CLIP - Pain Don't Hurt (1989) HD - YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_RNZFm1mls] JcPenny's Came Here Because of Me.wmv - YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU_Hs0ogXqs] ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Megan J Fritts (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/meganjfritts/home?authuser=0] Frank J. Cabrera - Research (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/frank-j-cabrera/research?pli=1] Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography The Internet Classics Archive | The Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (mit.edu) [http://classics.mit.edu/Antoninus/meditations.4.four.html] (Ch. 4) The Internet Classics Archive | The Enchiridion by Epictetus (mit.edu) [http://classics.mit.edu/Epictetus/epicench.html] Is the Sage Free from Pain? (wku.edu) [http://people.wku.edu/jan.garrett/painst.htm#:~:text=More%20systematic%20considerations%20also%20seem,soul%20inseparable%20from%20this%20judgment.] by Jan Edward Garrett Jeremy Bentham: An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (utilitarianism.com) [https://www.utilitarianism.com/jeremy-bentham/index.html#five] (Ch. 5) Pacifism | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (utm.edu) [https://iep.utm.edu/pacifism/] Nietzsche's Moral and Political Philosophy (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) [https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nietzsche-moral-political/#CritNormCompMPS] Opioids and the Brain - How do changes in the brain begin? - PursueCare [https://www.pursuecare.com/opioids-and-the-brain/?fbclid=IwAR00UXk9RcDbEOpQYmWS4oWDFyp2vGzoHOwPcnCeBWyUEDh5WaI7h4IFHEE] Frontiers | Cognition and Pain: A Review (frontiersin.org) [https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.673962/full?fbclid=IwAR17BkR0w9mqiiDAATjMOgjvOWasfh05n1w4a9FSsYtlyiZdmVyKmjbpf0g] Congenital Insensitivity to Pain Overview - GeneReviews® - NCBI Bookshelf (nih.gov) [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK481553/] ------------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: LOEVGA6IP8O5FQSV

Is Bigfoot carelessly categorized amongst the less credible cryptids? Megan and Frank discuss the possibility of the existence of this hairy hominid, debate the weight of evidence from eye-witness testimony, and try to get to the bottom of why Frank just can't believe.  ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Megan J Fritts (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/meganjfritts/home?authuser=0] Frank J. Cabrera - Research (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/frank-j-cabrera/research?pli=1] Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Hunting Monsters: Cryptozoology and the Reality Behind the Myths , Naish, Darren - Amazon.com [https://www.amazon.com/Hunting-Monsters-Cryptozoology-Reality-Behind-ebook/dp/B01B867JTO] (Ch. 4) If Bigfoot Were Real - Scientific American Blog Network [https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/if-bigfoot-were-real/] (by Darren Naish) The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Natural History of Pliny, Volume II., by Pliny the Elder. [https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/60230/pg60230-images.html#BOOK_VII_CHAP_2] (Book VII, Ch. 2) Amazon.com: How to Think About Weird Things: Critical Thinking for a New Age: 9781259922558: Schick, Theodore, Vaughn, Lewis: Books [https://www.amazon.com/How-Think-About-Weird-Things/dp/1259922553/ref=pd_lpo_2?pd_rd_w=3ym8o&content-id=amzn1.sym.116f529c-aa4d-4763-b2b6-4d614ec7dc00&pf_rd_p=116f529c-aa4d-4763-b2b6-4d614ec7dc00&pf_rd_r=GXTM5R4AM3G05088Q0GV&pd_rd_wg=36qiL&pd_rd_r=9b9fb229-62d2-4cec-b742-d5955e757f3b&pd_rd_i=1259922553&psc=1] (Ch. 5) Genetic analysis of hair samples attributed to yeti, bigfoot and other anomalous primates | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (royalsocietypublishing.org) [https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2014.0161] Evolutionary history of enigmatic bears in the Tibetan Plateau–Himalaya region and the identity of the yeti | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (royalsocietypublishing.org) [https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2017.1804] Jane Goodall on How to Change Minds and Why She Isn't Ruling Out Bigfoot | GQ [https://www.gq.com/story/jane-goodall-interview] Knowledge: A Very Short Introduction by Jennifer Nagel [https://academic.oup.com/book/461] (Ch. 6) ------------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: GXITJWQZJVEP5XV8

What is a resolution? Are popular New Year's resolutions too self-centered? What can the ancients teach us about maintaining our resolutions and avoiding temptation? And is the very practice of making New Year's resolutions irrational? These are just some of the questions we explore in this episode. ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Megan J Fritts (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/meganjfritts/home?authuser=0] Frank J. Cabrera - Research (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/frank-j-cabrera/research?pli=1] Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ------------------------ Bibliography: New Year's Resolutions Statistics And Data – Forbes Health [https://www.forbes.com/health/mind/new-years-resolutions-statistics/] The resolution solution: Longitudinal examination of New Year's change attempts - ScienceDirect [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0899328988800166] Auld lang Syne: Success predictors, change processes, and self‐reported outcomes of New Year's resolvers and nonresolvers - Norcross - 2002 - Journal of Clinical Psychology - Wiley Online Library [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jclp.1151?casa_token=RQ32rumvIpoAAAAA:iVi5qrd1bc_JZersP5R2m-_pmyCU9X23CPxzqoGafqDpXtGqV4VjQSgPPhJ0O4B9yA7GjGimuA9xZaks] A Medieval Man's New Year's Resolutions (medievalists.net) [https://www.medievalists.net/2017/12/medieval-mans-new-years-resolutions/] ------------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs  License code: 0TQXA2M8GGXGEUKZ