Cofnas Podcast

In his 2020 book, Human Diversity, Charles Murray writes that “it is obvious how senseless it is” to conflate “intellectual ability and the professions it enables with human worth....There shouldn’t be any relationship between these things and human worth.”In “Are Smart People Superior?,” I argue for the opposite conclusion. Of course there is a relationship between intelligence and human worth. Much of what we value about human beings is related to cognitive capacities that vary among individuals. Some people are more valuable than others in part because they are more intelligent.Murray joins me on the Podcast to settle this issue once and for all.Nathan Cofnas’s Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Nathan Cofnas’s Newsletter at ncofnas.com/subscribe

Stephen Kershnar is Distinguished Teaching Professor of Philosophy at the State University of New York at Fredonia. He has done important work on a number of controversial topics in philosophy.Due to ongoing litigation, we weren’t able to talk about the most recent controversy he was involved in. I will simply note what is public information, namely, SUNY Fredonia is shutting down its philosophy department, which will have the effect of terminating its only member (Steve).Timestamps00:00 – How Steve got in trouble2:05 – Do we really need to attack every taboo?36.49 – The contradictions of institutionalized philosophy1:18:15 – What is racism?1:29:44 – Do people differ in value?1:40:48 – ClosingNathan Cofnas’s Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Nathan Cofnas’s Newsletter at ncofnas.com/subscribe

Amy Wax is Professor of Law at Penn. Get full access to Nathan Cofnas’s Newsletter at ncofnas.com/subscribe

Michael Huemer is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Colorado Boulder. He’s written several books, most recently Progressive Myths, and he writes the Fake Nous Substack.Nathan Cofnas’s Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Timestamps and sources0:27 – Why no one wants to read peer-reviewed philosophyMH: “Publishing in Philosophy”50:40 – What is wokism?MH: Progressive MythsNC: “Was I Wrong about Woke?”1:05:05 – Vegetarianism: For and againstMH: Dialogues on Ethical VegetarianismNC: “Is Vegetarianism Healthy for Children?”F. Leroy & NC: “Should Dietary Guidelines Recommend Low Red Meat Intake?”1:26:00 – Is ethics real?MH: Ethical IntuitionismMH: “A Liberal Realist Answer to Debunking Skepticism”NC: “A Debunking Explanation for Moral Progress”NC: “How Gene–Culture Coevolution Can—but Probably Did Not—Track Mind-Independent Moral Truth”2:17:27 - Closing Get full access to Nathan Cofnas’s Newsletter at ncofnas.com/subscribe

Nicholas Wade worked as an editor and science journalist at the New York Times from 1982 to 2012. He is the author of several books including A Troublesome Inheritance: Genes, Race and Human History. His megaviral 2021 article, “The Origin of COVID: Did People or Nature Open Pandora’s Box at Wuhan?,” played a major role in making the lab-leak theory mainstream. Wade initially self-published “The Origin of COVID” on Medium after it was rejected from “every outlet [he] could think of, left, right, and center.”Nathan Cofnas’s Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Timestamps:0:00 Intro0:51 Social behavior vs. IQ8:51 Rice vs. wheat farmers16:14 Persistent race differences19:30 Environmental explanations28:55 Response to A Troublesome Inheritance36:43 Academic censorship39:53 Reforming academia49:59 Origins of race denial58:11 Making race realism mainstream1:01:15 A racial hierarchy?1:11:04 Academia after race realism1:13:50 Groupthink and resistance to the lab-leak theory1:20:43 Conclusion Get full access to Nathan Cofnas’s Newsletter at ncofnas.com/subscribe