The Here and Now Podcast

You are an experience machine, everything that has ever happened to you and everything that will ever happen to you is experience. Reflecting on your experience offers a unique insight into the nature of reality and forms the basis for the philosophical methodology of phenomenology. In this episode we explore phenomenology from its inception by Edmund Husserl in the early 20th century, to Martin Heidegger's exploration of being-in-the-world, the embodiment of phenomenology as described by Mau...

In this brief reflection, I consider the idea of psychological sanctuary, it's importance and its dangers. The Here and Now Podcast on FacebookThe Here and Now Podcast on TwitterSend me an emailSupport the show

The cognitive revolution in psychology began in the mid 20th century and supplanted behaviourism as the dominant theoretical paradigm explaining human cognition and behaviour which continues today. We explore the origins of cognitive psychology, what it has revealed about the workings of the mind, cognitive maps and mental models, why it is like a computer but not like a computer, neural networks, and why despite great advances, it fails to capture the totality of what it means to be human.Sh...

Behaviorism is a tradition within the field of psychology which came to prominence during the early to mid 20th century through the work of John B. Watson and B. F. Skinner. It includes the theories of classical and operant conditioning and was considered to explain all of human behavior. It has since been superseded by the cognitive revolution, however the principles of behaviorism can be found throughout modern psychology and society itself which we explore in this episode. Show notesIvan P...

The prevailing philosophical paradigm underpinning the physical sciences is materialism, also known as physicalism. Simply, everything that exists is material in some sense. However there are many concepts which seem immaterial so how are these reconciled? In this episode we briefly explore materialism and it’s issues. Show notes https://www.britannica.com/topic/On-the-Nature-of-Things-by-Lucretiushttps://www.britannica.com/topic/materialism-philosophyhttps://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3...

To kick off the new year I recently spoke with philosopher James Tartaglia, a professor at Keele University, about nihilism and the meaning of life. It turns out, there isn’t one. But all hope is not lost as we also discuss what a modern day philosopher does, what nihilism means for everyday life, how to situate ethics in a meaningless universe, the paradox of absurdism, how to respect the views of others, the difference between evaluative and descriptive statements, the sense of self, and wh...

We conclude our brief exploration of existentialism with this final chapter on its darkest philosophical interpretation, nihilism. Nihilism means literally, an ideology of nothing, which has led philosophers to a range of conclusions from the destruction of everything to the, whatever. We briefly consider the implications of nihilism, whether it is really that bad, and finally conclude with a few thoughts on what to fill the emptiness of an meaningless existence with. Happy new year!Show note...

An area of existentialist philosophy is absurdism which considers the conflict between the human tendency to seek inherent value and meaning in life and the inability to find these with any certainty. The work of French nobel prize winning writer and philosopher Albert Camus' forms the source material for this episode, specifically his most well known essay The Myth of Sisyphus. Show notesAbsurdismAlbert CamusThe myth of Sisyphus – Albert CamusBand of Brothers hopeless speech The Here a...

Existentialism is a philosophy which inquires into the nature of human existence and what it means to live an authentic life. While its concepts can be traced as far back as ancient Greece, it came to prominence during the immediate post second world War period through the work of the French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre and his partner Simone de Beauvoir. In this episode we explore the key concepts of existentialism and the nature of essence and existence. Show notesExistentialism is a h...

Brownnosing, bootlicking, apple polishing and sucking up are among many the synonyms for the term sycophancy. Psychologists also know it as ingratiation. In this episode we explore several types of ingratiation and learn that while true sycophancy requires talent, it may be intrinsic to our social behavior. Show notesIngratiation - A social psychological analysis - Edward E. Jones (1964) The Slime Effect: Suspicion and Dislike of Likeable Behavior Toward Superiors - Roos Vonk (1998) Ingratiat...

Libertarianism is a political philosophy based on John Locke's philosophy of natural law, that each is entitled to freedom for oneself and ones property and society should require minimal intervention by government. It is closely associated with individualism but its origins can be traced to ancient China. We explore contemporary principles of libertarianism and offer a brief critical reflection on what is seems to be missing. Show notesLibertarianism: A Primer – David BoazLibertarianism - Wi...

In this reflective episode I discuss something that bugs me - the always or never fallacy. We often exaggerated and use hyperbole to emphasis our stories, but society is often a reflection of our complacency at recognising the things that make us unique and the grey areas of life most of us inhabit. We consider Kenneth Feinberg's unenviable role in the aftermath of 9/11 and how recognising the nuance that makes us unique is in conflict with the need to generalise. Show notesWhat if life worth...

David Latchman is a science communicator and host of the Science Bloggers Podcast. He trained as a physicist before becoming a full time science journalist and freelance science writer. He is passionate about sharing ideas from science with a general audience and making the STEM fields a more diverse and inclusive space for minorities and people of colour. We talk a little about his background and work as a science communicator, some of the issues surrounding a lack of diversity in science an...

It might feel like you are a distinct and continuous identity, but the theory of the dialogical self asserts that you inhabit many different I-positions that represent different aspects of You. In this episode, we briefly explore the origins of dialogical self theory and how the person you are is manifest both internally and externally through many voices engaged in continual dialogue. Remember, you can get in touch on Facebook or at emailthehereandnow@gmail.comShow notesThe dialogical self -...

Utilitarianism is a principle of ethical philosophy which considers that the most morally correct action is one that produces the most good. This idea was first tackled seriously by 18th century philosopher Jeremy Bentham, however it is not without complications. In this episode we explore utilitarianism and consider how it can be applied to making both everyday decisions and ones of crucial social importance ones as well. Show NotesUtilitarianismThe felicific calculusJeremy Bentham at UCLThe...

The concept of a Universal Basic Income (UBI) has been growing in popularity so I decided to explore it for a recent research project. I began as a sceptic but after considering a variety of social justice arguments I now believe a UBI should be an policy goal for societies who wish to reduce inequality and achiever greater social justice. But UBI is not just about helping those worst off, it can benefit everyone in a range of ways which we explore in this episode. Show NotesBasic Incom...

Societal and community psychologist Professor Darrin Hodgetts joins me to discuss his work with marginalised communities most affected by social injustice and structural violence. Prof Hodgetts is a highly respected figure in New Zealand community psychology circles having advanced ethnographic and action oriented research to engage directly with those most affected by urban poverty, homelessness, and other social issues. We discuss structural violence, equality of opportunity and outco...

In this episode we consider the limits of wealth distribution in society, inherent inequalities to life and the role of luck. We also explore the economic ideas of the commons and public goods and the role these play in free market and state capitalist societies. We also take a look at the social protection floor and why it is often conceptualised by society as something to be ashamed of. This leads us to consider the tight coupling of labour and income and the subsequent vulnerability of tho...

In this episode we explore social justice, namely: what is it, why is it so contested, and why are you probably sick of hearing about. It has taken a while to write this episode, largely because it is a challenging topic which introduces politics and confronts our worldviews. It is not meant to be divisive or inflammatory, its purpose is to open minds and approach social justice issues with compassion and rationality. This episode also draws together a few threads to set the stage...

What is the role of government? Should it exist to provide safety and security for its citizens or to maintain order because humans are fundamentally selfish? Is an equitable society possible? What would such a society look like? Episode 73 is the first of a mini-series on social justice in which we consider the social contract that exists between a state and its people according to the divergent views of four political philosophers.We ExploreThe United States Declaration of IndependenceThe n...