Believe it or not, the saying “You are what you eat” reveals what we’ve got wrong about our approach to eating and living well. Why? It tends to take an overly narrow focus on ourselves without consideration of other values, histories, and species. Dr. Kelly Donati (William Angliss Institute, Australia) discusses the finer points of gastronomy, its history, its development, and how we can re-think what it means to eat and live well. She reflects in particular on her ethnographic fieldwork wit...
Grasping what it means to be disabled is more complex than you might think. But doing so is key to understanding how we might treat people with impairments as equals with respect to justice, rights, and ethics. Prof Chris Riddle (Utica University) specializes in political philosophy, applied ethics, and the philosophy of disability. He has been an expert witness in several prominent legal cases concerning disability rights, and in this podcasts he discusses the historical and philosophical di...
One of the great insights from the philosophy of technology is that the more our devices become integrated with our lives, the more they reframe our relationships to others, the world, and even our purposes. In other words, technological devices tend to carry us away, for better or for worse. Dominic Smith (Associate Professor, University of Dundee) and Mark Coeckelbergh (Professor, University of Austria) discuss the paradoxical, political, and historical dimensions of our relations to techno...
Valerie Noble is a senior literary agent at the Donaghy Literary Group, where she works primarily within the genre of science fiction. She discusses the challenges she faced while completing a degree in food science, only to find how one of her primary means of escape offered a potential career in working with authors and publishing houses. Along the way, she gives some submission tips for new authors as well as reading suggestions for those looking to find a compelling and immersive narrativ...
We tend to react to the issue of the right to abortion according to moral, religious, or political convictions. But what we often tend to overlook is that the debate surrounding Roe v. Wade is primarily a legal one. So according to the US constitution, is the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade legally sound? Prof Jay Mootz (University of the Pacific) and Prof George Taylor (University of Pittsburgh) are legal philosophers who discuss key problems and questions relating to the...
Traumatic experiences are those which involve significant and terrible events on emotional, mental, and bodily levels. Their effects can often go unnoticed or can be dismissed as being purely subjective or emotional. A more balanced and holistic approach to understanding trauma examines healing in relation to the mind and body. Dr Anna Westin (St Mellitus College, UK) discusses the fundamental nature of trauma as defined philosophically and psychologically. She also delves into the variety of...
Kat Batchelor is a classically trained violinist who transitioned to the fiddle and playing folk music. She shares her insights into life, teaching, and performance that derive from her time spent performing at classical and public venues, busking, and interacting with the public on the city streets of Wales, England, and Scotland.Living Philosophy is brought to you by Philosophy2u.com.Host:Dr Todd MeiSponsors:Philosophy2u.comHillary Hutchinson, Career and Change Coach at Transitioning Your L...
What if the key to respecting and appreciating non-human animals resided in understanding our human selves better? Thinking about animals and our relation to them might then involve trying to grasp the ways in which our current social, economic, and moral systems skew our perceptions and practices. Prof. Alice Crary (The New School for Social Research) and Prof. Lori Gruen (Wesleyan University) delve into the fundamental questions and problems that can help us better understand the crisis aff...
Do crytpocurrencies and blockchain technology figure substantially in the possibility of financial freedom for those who currently are lacking in wealth? Or does the hype really just indicate that all things crypto are based on a speculative bubble and Ponzi schemes? Prof. Sebastian Purcell (SUNY, Cortland) discusses the legal, technological, and philosophical novelties behind cryptocurrencies that can potentially transform our lives for the better. He also weaves in how Aztec philosophy can ...
Is translation really just a problem of finding the right words in one language to fit the words in another language? Or, is there much more than meets the ear? Lisa Foran, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at University College Dublin (Ireland), discusses the ways in which translation can be problematic as well as constructive, not just with the aim of communicating, but also with the aim of improving how we live our lives. She delves into the deeper, ethical significances of what means to f...
Medicine involves more than science and evidence-based experiments. In today’s health climate—where there seems to be a conflict of interest between health care, on the one hand, and pharmaceutical companies and the privatization of medicine, the other hand—it is easy to overlook a more holistic approach that understands how illness is causally linked to both the mind and body. David Corfield (University of Kent, UK) is Associate Professor of Philosophy, with special interests in the philosop...
Hillary Hutchinson is a career coach and change strategist at Transitioning Your Life. She has helped professionals understand who they are in order to make significant changes to their careers. She reflects on how events in her own life put her in a place to better understand the nuances and complications of change and how it can affect us in both positive and challenging ways. Do the work! Be the change!Living Philosophy is brought to you by Philosophy2u.com.Host:Dr Todd MeiSponsors:Philoso...
Arvind Gupta is a genetic engineer and venture capitalist whose approach to investment is driven by trying to better the planet, yet without the use of moral arguments and platforms. Instead, his approach to business draws on his personal experience with mortality and behavioral insights into how people can and cannot be convinced of a need for change. Arvind is also an accomplished rock climber, BASE jumper, and mixed martial artist.Living Philosophy is brought to you by Philosophy2u.com.Hos...
We see it every day—the problem of misunderstanding and misreading meaning and intentions. It can be the cause of frustration, hurt, and even violence. Hermeneutics is the branch of philosophy interested in how the interpretation of language, symbols, texts, and even the nature of existence requires a nuanced and open-minded approach. It can potentially help us to resolve a lot of the problems of miscommunication. Listen to three experts—Andreea Deciu Ritivoi (Carnegie Mellon University, USA)...
Charlie Undershaw (Carlos Marin de Miguel) is a Spanish jazz musician whose recent album “Agora” has been hitting the airwaves in Spain and on Spotify. He shares how Brazilian jazz and philosophy have shaped his life, his academic teaching, and his views on how to weather the obstacles and worries about our mortality.Living Philosophy is brought to you by Philosophy2u.com.Host:Dr Todd MeiSponsors:Philosophy2u.comHillary Hutchinson, Career and Change Coach at Transitioning Your LifeHermeneutic...
It seems more than ever that our present era is one of misunderstanding others—their motives, their reasons, their practices, and their beliefs. Is there a quick remedy to this, such as being more objective? Is objectivity even possible, especially given how incomplete our knowledge of others is? Constantine Sandis (University of Hertfordshire, UK) is Professor of Philosophy, with a special interest in ethics, action, and understanding others. He discusses the importance of shared practices a...
Hans Florine is a world-renowned climber, best known for holding the record for the fastest ascent of the Nose on El Capitan (Yosemite) with Alex Honnold in 2012. The record remained until 2018. Hans has spent his life learning from competition and the application of different models of thinking in order to problem solve and be as efficient as possible. Listen to him reflect on the roles of learning how to fail in order to become better, cooperative competition, and his own motivational wisdo...
Dr Todd Mei discusses closing thoughts and reflections on the year which explore the prospect of social cohesion through the task of posing questions. Topics discussed:StoicismToleranceHermeneuticsPhilosophical questioningSocial CohesionUnity through differenceSponsors:Philosophy2u.comHillary Hutchinson, Career and Change Coach at Transitioning Your LifeMartin Bunzl, author of Thinking while WalkingHermeneutics in Real LifeGeoffrey Moore, author of The Infinite Staircase Lo...
Paula Leach is an executive leadership coach and former executive herself, with over 25 years of experience within the public and corporate sectors. She recently made the decision to start her own consultation business, Vantage Points Consulting, with an eye to promoting a new style of leadership training based on traits we normally don’t associate with entrepreneurial leaders—such as empathy, humility, and sustainability. Paula also runs a pro bono foundation to mentor young women entering b...
We live within time, but apart from it passing or lingering too long, how much do we understand the extent to which it pervades our lives? And what should we make of the claim based on physics that time does not pass, and therefore, that our experience of it doing so is really an illusion? Graeme A. Forbes (University of Kent) is a metaphysician of time (and much more!) who helps us gain some clarity on the human experience of time.Living Philosophy is brought to you by Philosophy2u.com.Host:...