Thoughts: Philosophy Untangled

Join Nicky and Jonah as they dive into a discussion about the ethics of war with this week’s guest, Helen Frowe. In this episode, we look at how a war starts and when if ever this justifies the killing of those affected; what makes it okay to harm someone, and propaganda used in war and how it affects liability.

Tune in this week as Alex and Adam talk with Tuomas Takho from Bristol University about how science categorizes things in nature. Join as they discuss the concept of "natural kinds" and why it's not always straightforward.

The Leverhulme Series is an exciting new project, where we'll interview philosophers and interdisciplinary thinkers, who are pushing the boundaries of original work through funding from the Leverhulme Trust. In the first episode, Isabel and Constantinos explore Stoicism with Dr. Christopher Gill. They unpack what Stoicism is, dispelling myths in 'self-help' circles and delving into Stoicism's interesting take on our relationship with nature. For more information on the Leverhulme Trust, visit: https://www.leverhulme.ac.uk/

This week, Adam and Calum are joined by Professor Robert McKenna from the University of Liverpool. Tune in as they delve into the depths of non-ideal epistemology, explore unconventional knowledge structures, the impact of biases, and more!

Join hosts Margot Leys Johnston and Tinka Bruneau as they chat with James Humphries, a political philosophy lecturer at the University of Glasgow. In this episode, they delve into the concept of anarchism: its meaning, the appeal of living in an anarchist society, and how anarchist thinkers address potential challenges. Get ready to explore these intriguing questions and more on another episode of Thoughts! Links to organisations mentioned by James: Glasgow mutual aid network https://www.mutualaid.co.uk/area/glasgow Glasgow anarchist federation https://glasgowanarchists.wordpress.com/ Various politically minded resources and essays https://libcom.org/

Join Alex and Kealan as they chat with Eddy Chen about his work in Physics and Philosophy. Follow along as they delve into the world of metaphysics, pushing the boundaries of what we know about time, philosophy, and the basic laws of nature that govern our lives.

Alex and Tinka are joined by Katharine Jenkins as they delve deep into the captivating world of gender, identity, and the various social constructs that shape our lives. The way society is organised means that we all get made into members of various types of people, such as judges, wives, or women. These 'human social kinds' may be brought into being by oppressive social arrangements, and people may suffer oppression in virtue of being made into a member of a certain human social kind; this much is obvious. In her new book, Ontology and Oppression, Katharine Jenkins goes further, arguing that we should pay attention to the ways in which the very fact of being made into a member of a certain human social kind can be oppressive. She supplies three conceptual tools needed to understand this phenomenon – which together form the Constraint and Enablements Framework. Katharine’s book recommendations: In the wake, by Christina Sharpe. https://www.dukeupress.edu/in-the-wake Histories of the Transgender Child, by Jules Gill-Peterson. https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/histories-of-the-transgender-child Black on Both Sides, by C. Riley Snorton. https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/black-on-both-sides

Join hosts Jasmine Hunt and Matt Kalesnik as they engage in a deep and thought-provoking conversation with Professor Michael Cholbi, Chair in Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. In this episode, they explore the intricate realms of grief, empathy, and psychopaths, diving into Professor Cholbi's extensive research on ethical issues related to death and dying, with a focus on grief and those enigmatic psychopaths.

In this episode, Jonah, Tinka, and Dr. Lyons uncover the relationship between truth, belief and perception. Follow them through thought experiments and counterexamples as they attempt to construct reliable frameworks by which we can come to better understand and trust these concepts and how we arrive at them.

How do we define and understand the nature of play? In this episode, Calum and Laura speak to Michael Ridge, Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. They discuss Ridge's functionalist theory of play, the difference between playing a game and playing full-stop, whether animals can engage in transgressive play and whether play can be considered as a moral virtue. About the Guest Michael Ridge is Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. For most of his career he has worked on metaethics, where he has defended a new form of expressivism. More recently, Ridge has turned his attention to the philosophy of play and games, where he has published a series of articles over the past five years. As of the recording of this podcast, Ridge is on research leave writing a book on the nature and value of play, tentatively entitled Why So Serious?. He is also writing a separate book, provisionally titled Beyond Meaning, on the concept of meaning in life and how we would be better off without that concept, or anyway without caring about meaning in life. Playfulness is important in the context of that book as well, as Ridge argues that cultivating playfulness is essential to not taking yourself too seriously, which he argues is the key to fully abandoning the desire for meaning in life. Links & Citations Brosnan SF, De Waal FB. 2003 Monkeys reject unequal pay. Nature. Sep 18;425(6955):297-9. Burke, R. 1971. “Work” and “Play.” Ethics, 82(1), 33–47. Ridge, Michael. 2021. Why So Serious? The Nature and Value of Play. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research. 105: 406– 434. Suits Bernard and Frank Newfeld. 1978. The Grasshopper : Games Life and Utopia. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.