Thoughts: Philosophy Untangled

In this episode Alexandros and Calum sit down with Dr Alexander Douglas, a senior lecturer at the University of St Andrews, to discuss the life and work of Baruch Spinoza. They touch on several topics, including Spinoza's controversial theological stances, his substance monism and the implication of his views for how society should operate.

This week, Emilia Wilson from Univeristy of St Andrews joins us to discuss erotica, pornography and oppression. They talk about the differences between erotica and pornography, and what this means for us socially, ethically and politically. Trigger warnings: sexual violence, sexual assault, consent, rape  Content warnings: discussion of sexual acts, pornography, sexual violence, ejaculation, BDSM, masturbation, consent.  Papers: "Date Rape: A Feminist Analysis" Lois Pineau "A Non-Ideal Theory of Consent" Quill R Kukla "Blurred Lines: How Fictional is Pornography" Aidan McGlynn "How Not To Watch Feminist Pornography" R K Heck "Scorekeeping in a pornographic language game" Rae Langton & Caroline West A short video on consent by Planned Parenthood: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTSDIilyA2I 'A closer look at sexual coercion' https://www.thehotline.org/resources/a-closer-look-at-sexual-coercion/

When is speech 'free' speech? Are we free to think anything we want? Can thought ever truly be 'free'? In this episode, Calum and Jonah discuss what it means to have freedom of speech and thought, with Dr. Derek Ball. They discuss how the structure of our mind, our language and our world can constrain the content of our ideas, and whether some kinds of content constraints may in fact be necessary. 

This week Jonah and Amelia are joined by Dr Michelle O'Reilly, who'll be discussing her work on 'Digital Ethics of Care' - how we can improve conduct online, how adolescents think about themselves and others on social media, how philosophy might help, and much more.

In this episode, Jasmine and Arianna talk to Prof Cohen Shabot, Chair of The Women's and Gender Studies Graduate Program at the University of Haifa about how philosophy can be used in our everyday lives, specifically looking at medical gaslighting and obstetric violence.  Trigger warnings include miscarriage, non-consent and gender-based violence.

How does one go about living a good life? In this episode Calum and Alex talk to Dr Margaret Hampson who is a lecturer in Ancient Philosophy at the University of St Andrews. They explore how Aristotle thinks about virtue in the Nichomachean Ethics, including what it consists of and how it links to the idea of living a good, flourishing life. The conversation then goes into more depth about the processes that Aristotle outlines for becoming a more virtuous person and Margaret’s interpretation of these processes, with a focus on the ideas of imitation and habituation.  https://twitter.com/standrewsphil

Calum and Neil get the opportunity to talk to Peter Krykant, who is a political activist and Project Lead with the harm reduction charity Cranstoun, and Dr Saket Priyadarshi, who is an Associate Medical Director with Greater Glasgow and Clyde Alcohol and Drug Services. This episode discusses the distinctions between different forms of drugs, the issues surrounding drug use within society, the causes of these issues and what some possible solutions might be. It also includes a host discussion at the end where Calum, Neil and Jonah tie some of the topics covered with related philosophical concepts that a Philosophy student might encounter as part of their degree. https://twitter.com/PeteKrykant_OPC https://twitter.com/saket_sanju Links: David Nutt Drug Ranking: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11660210 Rat Park: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_Park Liberty and Utilitarianism: https://www.jstor.org/stable/24354944?seq=1 Pragmatism in Ethics: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pragmatism/#Ethi Addiction and Responsibility: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3505095?refreqid=excelsior%3A03356468b91f598e6d3516b86857426a&seq=1     Wellbeing: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/well-being/ Aristotle's Ethics: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-ethics/

Geoffrey Moore, author of 'The Infinite Staircase', joins the hosts to discuss topics like understanding ethics in a secular world, the concept of self-organization in different layers of the universe, the role of language in narrative, embracing mortality, the significance of narrative and legacy, and the connection between meditation and philosophy.

This is an excerpt from our physicalism episode with Donnchadh O’Conaill, a researcher at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland.

This week Keir and Jasmine take a dive into physicalism with Donnchadh O’Conaill, a researcher at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. We explore the issues that zombies (bodies with no brains) and ghosts (brains with no bodies) pose for physicalism. We find out if physicalists should be checking under their beds at night or walking confidently into the dark... For more information and links to relevant papers, please visit the Thoughts website: https://www.thoughtsuofg.com/episodes/episode-34-physicalism-and-the-spooky-side-of-metaphysics/