The Panpsycast Philosophy Podcast

Please visit our Patreon page and show your support! That’s www.patreon.com/panpsycast. Everything you could need is on www.thepanpsycast.com! Please tweet us your thoughts at www.twitter.com/thepanpsycast. Peter Singer is often described as the world's most influential philosopher. Professor Singer is currently the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics in the University Center for Human Values at Princeton University and Laureate Professor at the University of Melbourne. His work has helped to launch the animal rights and effective altruism movements, as well as making significant contributions in bioethics.   Peter Singer is most famous for his developments to the normative ethical theory utilitarianism. Loosely stated, utilitarianism is the view that we should maximise happiness and pleasure, and reduce pain, suffering and unhappiness, for the greatest number of humans and/or non-human animals. He is known in particular for his book Animal Liberation, in which he argues in favour of vegetarianism, and his essay Famine, Affluence, and Morality, in which he argues in favour of donating to help the global poor.  Practical Ethics, The Life You Can Save, The Most Good You Can Do, One World: The Ethics of Globalisation, Ethics in the Real World - Peter Singer's list of bestselling publications is extensive - but his work goes beyond the written page. Peter Singer is also the founder of the charity The Life You Can Save and co-founder of Animals Australia.

Yujin Nagasawa, a distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the University of Birmingham, dives deep into the complexities of evil and optimism. He explores how existentialists like Camus interpret happiness amidst suffering while addressing the stark realities of animal pain through a theistic lens. Nagasawa also questions whether guided evolution can justify current suffering and compares the challenges faced by theists and atheists in explaining evil's existence. The philosophical debate culminates in a vigorous discussion on meaning, morality, and the nature of hell.

Please visit our Patreon page and show your support - www.patreon.com/panpsycast! Everything you could need is on www.thepanpsycast.com! Please tweet us your thoughts at www.twitter.com/thepanpsycast. For more Information on Yujin Nagasawa, please visit: www.yujinnagasawa.co.uk. Yujin’s latest book: Yujin Nagasawa, Miracles: A Very Short Introduction - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Miracles-Very-Short-Introduction-Introductions-ebook/dp/B07663TS81. The paper we are discussing this episode: Yujin Nagasawa, The Problem of Evil for Atheists - https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/6d4b8e_e2fede5338c949e29637ccd5b79b6609.pdf. Yujin Nagasawa is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Birmingham, as well as President of the British Society for the Philosophy of Religion and Co-Director of the John Hick Centre for Philosophy of Religion. Obtaining his PhD from the Australian National University in 2004, Nagasawa’s work in philosophy is extensive, focusing on a range of topics from the problems surrounding consciousness to the nature and existence of God. Our focus for Episode 33, is Nagasawa’s ‘The Problem of Evil for Atheists’. The argument can be stated as follows; atheists believe that the world is generally good and they are happy and grateful to exist, i.e. they are existential optimists. However, our entire evolutionary biological system is based upon the painful, miserable suffering of the weak. So, why should we think that the world is overall good and that we should be grateful to exist, if our existence depends on a violent, cruel and unfair biological system which guarantees pain and suffering for unaccountably many sentient animals? Nagasawa argues that the theist is in a better position to answer this question than the atheist, suggesting that the problem of evil provides a good reason to abandon atheism and adopt theism. Part I. ‘The Problem of Evil for Atheists’. Part II. Further Analysis and Discussion.

Please visit our Patreon page and show your support! (www.patreon.com/panpsycast) This episode is proudly sponsored by The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast. For information, please visit www.partiallyexaminedlife.com. Everything you could need is on www.thepanpsycast.com! Please tweet us your thoughts at www.twitter.com/thepanpsycast. Meta-ethics is the attempt to understand the metaphysical, semantic, epistemological and psychological presuppositions of moral thought. It investigates our ethical language, in search of the meaning that lies behind it. Meta-ethics is concerned with are a broad range of puzzles, for example: What do we mean we make moral claims? Do our preferences or feelings motivate moral assertions? Or are we stating facts when we make moral claims? Is morality more a matter of taste than truth - and if it is a matter of truth, how do we learn about the moral facts? This episode we’ll be introducing you to three meta-ethical views. In Part I, we’ll be discussing naturalism, in Part II, we’ll be looking at intuitionism, in Part III, we’re going to dive into emotivism, and finally, in Part IV, we’ll be engaging in some further analysis and discussion.

Please visit our Patreon page and show your support! (www.patreon.com/panpsycast) This episode is proudly sponsored by The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast. For information, please visit www.partiallyexaminedlife.com. Everything you could need is on www.thepanpsycast.com! Please tweet us your thoughts at www.twitter.com/thepanpsycast. Meta-ethics is the attempt to understand the metaphysical, semantic, epistemological and psychological presuppositions of moral thought. It investigates our ethical language, in search of the meaning that lies behind it. Meta-ethics is concerned with are a broad range of puzzles, for example: What do we mean we make moral claims? Do our preferences or feelings motivate moral assertions? Or are we stating facts when we make moral claims? Is morality more a matter of taste than truth - and if it is a matter of truth, how do we learn about the moral facts? This episode we’ll be introducing you to three meta-ethical views. In Part I, we’ll be discussing naturalism, in Part II, we’ll be looking at intuitionism, in Part III, we’re going to dive into emotivism, and finally, in Part IV, we’ll be engaging in some further analysis and discussion.

Please visit our Patreon page and show your support! (www.patreon.com/panpsycast) This episode is proudly sponsored by The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast. For information, please visit www.partiallyexaminedlife.com. Everything you could need is on www.thepanpsycast.com! Please tweet us your thoughts at www.twitter.com/thepanpsycast. Meta-ethics is the attempt to understand the metaphysical, semantic, epistemological and psychological presuppositions of moral thought. It investigates our ethical language, in search of the meaning that lies behind it. Meta-ethics is concerned with are a broad range of puzzles, for example: What do we mean we make moral claims? Do our preferences or feelings motivate moral assertions? Or are we stating facts when we make moral claims? Is morality more a matter of taste than truth - and if it is a matter of truth, how do we learn about the moral facts? This episode we’ll be introducing you to three meta-ethical views. In Part I, we’ll be discussing naturalism, in Part II, we’ll be looking at intuitionism, in Part III, we’re going to dive into emotivism, and finally, in Part IV, we’ll be engaging in some further analysis and discussion.

Please visit our Patreon page and show your support! (www.patreon.com/panpsycast) This episode is proudly sponsored by The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast. For information, please visit www.partiallyexaminedlife.com. Everything you could need is on www.thepanpsycast.com! Please tweet us your thoughts at www.twitter.com/thepanpsycast. Meta-ethics is the attempt to understand the metaphysical, semantic, epistemological and psychological presuppositions of moral thought. It investigates our ethical language, in search of the meaning that lies behind it. Meta-ethics is concerned with are a broad range of puzzles, for example: What do we mean we make moral claims? Do our preferences or feelings motivate moral assertions? Or are we stating facts when we make moral claims? Is morality more a matter of taste than truth - and if it is a matter of truth, how do we learn about the moral facts? This episode we’ll be introducing you to three meta-ethical views. In Part I, we’ll be discussing naturalism, in Part II, we’ll be looking at intuitionism, in Part III, we’re going to dive into emotivism, and finally, in Part IV, we’ll be engaging in some further analysis and discussion.

This episode is proudly supported by the New College of the Humanities. To find out more about the college and their philosophy programmes, please visit www.nchlondon.ac.uk/panpsycast. Everything you could need is on www.thepanpsycast.com! Please tweet us your thoughts at www.twitter.com/thepanpsycast. Ludwig Wittgenstein was an Austrian-British philosopher whose work focused on the philosophy of mathematics, logic, the philosophy of mind, and most notably, the philosophy of language. Wittgenstein’s influence on the world of philosophy has been phenomenal. The study of philosophy was immensely important to Wittgenstein, not only as an academic discipline but as a form of therapy. In Ludwig’s own words, he describes philosophy as, "the only work that gives me real satisfaction". Wittgenstein’s work can be divided into an early period, exemplified by the Tractatus (our focus for Part I), and a later period, articulated in the Philosophical Investigations (which is our focus for Part II). Early Wittgenstein was concerned with the logical relationship between propositions and the world. He thought that by providing an account of this relationship, he had solved every philosophical problem. The later Wittgenstein rejected many of the assumptions of the Tractatus, arguing that the meaning of words is best understood as their use within a given language-game. Wittgenstein’s life and work are astonishing. His mentor, Bertrand Russell, described him as "the most perfect example I have ever known of genius as traditionally conceived; passionate, profound, intense, and dominating". Part I. The Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (08:00 in Part I), Part II. The Philosophical Investigations (start of Part II), Part III. Further Analysis and Discussion (45:45 in Part II).

This episode is proudly supported by the New College of the Humanities. To find out more about the college and their philosophy programmes, please visit www.nchlondon.ac.uk/panpsycast. Everything you could need is on www.thepanpsycast.com! Please tweet us your thoughts at www.twitter.com/thepanpsycast. Ludwig Wittgenstein was an Austrian-British philosopher whose work focused on the philosophy of mathematics, logic, the philosophy of mind, and most notably, the philosophy of language. Wittgenstein’s influence on the world of philosophy has been phenomenal. The study of philosophy was immensely important to Wittgenstein, not only as an academic discipline but as a form of therapy. In Ludwig’s own words, he describes philosophy as, "the only work that gives me real satisfaction". Wittgenstein’s work can be divided into an early period, exemplified by the Tractatus (our focus for Part I), and a later period, articulated in the Philosophical Investigations (which is our focus for Part II). Early Wittgenstein was concerned with the logical relationship between propositions and the world. He thought that by providing an account of this relationship, he had solved every philosophical problem. The later Wittgenstein rejected many of the assumptions of the Tractatus, arguing that the meaning of words is best understood as their use within a given language-game. Wittgenstein’s life and work are astonishing. His mentor, Bertrand Russell, described him as "the most perfect example I have ever known of genius as traditionally conceived; passionate, profound, intense, and dominating". Part I. The Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (08:00 in Part I), Part II. The Philosophical Investigations (start of Part II), Part III. What can Nietzsche teach us? (45:45 in Part II).

This episode is proudly supported by New College of the Humanities. To find out more about the college and their philosophy programmes, please visit www.nchlondon.ac.uk/panpsycast. Everything you could need is on www.thepanpsycast.com! Please tweet us your thoughts at www.twitter.com/thepanpsycast. The Partially Examined Life: www.partiallyexaminedlife.com. Gregory B. Sadler on YouTube: www.youtube.com/gbisadler. Born in Rocken, in Prussia in 1844, Nietzsche set out his career in philology but later turned to writing idiosyncratic philosophical treatise and collections of aphorisms. He directed these against the pious dogmas of Christianity and traditional philosophy. He saw both as self-serving veils drawn over the harsher realities of life. He felt we needed not a high moral or theological ideals but a deeply critical form of cultural genealogy that would uncover the reasons why we humans are as we are and how we have come to be this way. He believed that every great philosopher actually a kind of involuntary and unconscious memoir rather than conducting an impersonal search for knowledge. Studying our own moral genealogy cannot help us escape or transcend ourselves but it can enable us to see our illusions more clearly and lead a more vital, assertive existence. There is no God in this picture. The human beings who created God have also killed him. It is now up to us alone. The way to live is not to throw ourselves into faith but into our own lives, conducting them in affirmation of every moment, exactly as it without wishing anything was different and without harbouring resentment for others or our fate (Sarah Bakewell, The Existentialist Cafe, p.19-20). Part I. What is the philosophical underpinning of Nietzsche? (36:40 in Part I), Part II. An Introduction to Nietzsche’s Thought (50:00 in Part I), Part III. What can Nietzsche teach us? (00:05 in Part II), Part IV. Further Analysis and Discussion. (28:15 in Part II).