Thoughts: Philosophy Untangled

In the episode, Keir and Jasmine have and in-depth discussion with Dario Mortini, a fourth year PhD student and lecturer at the University of Glasgow about legal epistemology, the nature of the law and real-life legal cases. We discuss fairness and luck, testimony and evidence, and how the law and epistemology influence one another. 

In this episode, Isabel and Jasmine talk to Dr Pettigrove about his own experience grappling with the ethics of lying and the effects it might have had on his children. We discuss what Kant would say and whether this is a plausible account for honesty or a 'grinch' perspective. 

Trigger Warning: mentions of child abuse  Do we have duties towards Children? If so, what are they? Who should be doing something about them? How should we be doing something about them? All these questions and more in today's episode of Thoughts, where Jonah and Alexandros delve into the philosophy of the duties that we have towards Children with Areti Theofilopoulou, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Hong Kong.

During his lifetime, Ludwig Wittgenstein published only one book-length work of philosophy. Yet it remains one of the most influential philosophical works of the past 200 years. Jonah Woodward and Alexandros Constantinou sit down with PhD student Nick Purches-Knabb, to discuss the changing interpretations of Wittgenstein’s work and how it completely undermines our understanding of language, ethics, and philosophy. Did you ask yourself any of these questions while listening? Who is Frege? - https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/frege/ Who is Russell? - https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/russell/ Who is Flew? - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antony_Flew What are Truth Tables? - https://sites.millersville.edu/bikenaga/math-proof/truth-tables/truth-tables.html What does “acting in bad faith” mean? - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_faith_(existentialism) What is Cultural Relativism? - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_relativism / https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/moral-relativism/

The definition of art has been the subject of longstanding debate in aesthetics. In this episode, Katie and Hamish meet Jerrold Levinson, a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Maryland. They explore the different definitions on the market, and Levinson offers his own intentional-historical definition - that art is “something that has been intended by someone for regard or treatment in some overall way that some earlier or pre-existing artwork or artworks are or were correctly treated”. Levinson, Jerrold (1979). Defining art historically. _British Journal of Aesthetics_ 19 (3):21-33.

Hamish Stewart and Alexandros Constantinou talk to Bjoern Freter, an independent Scholar from Knoxville Tennessee to understand how superiorism underpins our modern world. To find out more about Bjoern's work, visit: https://bjornfreter.academia.edu/

What really is ‘Nature’? Why should we care about preserving it? Jonah Woodward and Alexandros Constaninou are joined by Martin Bunzl, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at Rutgers University and author of the new book ‘Thinking While Walking: Reflections on the Pacific Crest Trail’. They discuss how the human conception of the natural world has changed over time, the difficulties we face in attempting to tackle climate change and environmental destruction, as well as possible solutions to these problems.

Can Philosophy help you become a better person? Yes! But, also, no...In this episode our hosts, Arianna Clark and Jonah Woodward talk to Francis Brewer about his path to Veganism, the power and limitations of philosophy, aliens, robots, the neural networks of plants, and how he used to think his mum was crazy.

Has Philosophy ever actually helped anyone? Yes, yes it has. This week our hosts, Arianna Clark and Alex Constantinou, talk to philosopher, novelist and therapist Dr Luis de Miranda - where he explains just how philosophy can help us, and how it helped him. From dissecting reality to RuPaul’s Drag Race, we just about scratch the surface of the theoretical underpinnings of Luis’ work – and, like us, we are sure you’ll want to find out more. So, if you want to find out more about Luis: https://philosophicalparlour.com/ https://luisdemiranda.com/ https://twitter.com/luis_de_miranda?lang=en

If you’ve ever wondered what people actually do with philosophy, this is the episode for you. From miserable existentialism to ethics in the office - this week our host, Arianna Clark, talks to the resourceful writer and philosopher and communications expert, Ben Van Loon, about his life in Chicago and how he’s navigated it, using his philosophical training to carve a space in the world for him. You can see Ben’s writing at https://benvanloon.com/ And more at: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benvanloon.jpg/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benvl/ Music by Doo Dah Music, courtesy of Shutterstock