
The Socratic Sessions
The Socratic Sessions explores humanity’s biggest questions—delving into philosophy, theology, history, science, and the enduring mysteries of religion.
Latest episodes

Jan 18, 2025 • 54sec
Introductions | The Socratic Sessions | Ep #0
🔍 Overview: This episode introduces the show.
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#introduction #golive #philosophy #podcast

Jan 17, 2025 • 10min
An Evolutionary Dichotomy? On Chance and God w/ Jon Perry
🔍 Overview: In this clip, Jon Perry explores the often-presented false dichotomy that life's existence must either be based on pure chance or brought into fruition by God.
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Stated Clearly
Stated Casually
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The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins
Climbing Mount Improbable by Richard Dawkins
Is There a God? by Richard Swinburne
The Origin Of Species by Charles Darwin
Life on Our Planet
Fitness Landscape (Dynamic)
Fitness Landscape (Static)
How Do Bee Stingers Work? Stated Clearly:
Nature’s Incredible ROTATING MOTOR (It’s Electric!) Smarter Every Day
Paper - Propulsive Nanomachines
Science DOESN’T COME CLOSE To Explaining It! w/ Dr. John Bergsma Pints With Aquinas
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#evolution #chance #luck #god #theism #atheism #philosophy

Jan 14, 2025 • 10min
Cataclysmic Events and Evolutionary Mutations w/ Jon Perry
🔍 Overview: In this clip, Jon Perry explores how and why imperfections and mutations enable rapid evolutionary novelties to arise during mass extinction events, such as the dinosaurs being 'almost' wiped out from across the globe 65 million years ago.
🤝 Support The Show 🤘
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📚 Episode Resources (affiliate links where possible - thanks!)
Jon's Website
Stated Clearly
Stated Casually
Jon's Twitter
The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins
Climbing Mount Improbable by Richard Dawkins
Is There a God? by Richard Swinburne
The Origin Of Species by Charles Darwin
Life on Our Planet
Fitness Landscape (Dynamic)
Fitness Landscape (Static)
How Do Bee Stingers Work? Stated Clearly:
Nature’s Incredible ROTATING MOTOR (It’s Electric!) Smarter Every Day
Paper - Propulsive Nanomachines
Science DOESN’T COME CLOSE To Explaining It! w/ Dr. John Bergsma Pints With Aquinas
🌐 Connect
Linktree
Substack
Twitter
Facebook Page
Instagram
Goodreads
Bluesky
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LinkedIn Page
📺 Subscribe - Video Platforms
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Rumble
📷 Gear (affiliate links - thanks!)
Camera (Sony A6400)
Lens (Sigma 16mm)
Audio Interface (Focusrite Scarlett 4i4)
Microphone Amplifier (Cloudlifter CL-1)
Mic (RØDE PodMic)
Lights (Elgato Key Light Air)
Colour Back Lighting (Govee LED Floor Lamp)
Recording Software (Riverside.FM)
👍 Support: Like, subscribe, and share to fuel the quest for understanding.
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📣 Join the Talk: Share your thoughts using #TheSocraticSessions.
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#evolution #mutations #cataclysm #naturalselection #extinction #dinosaur #philosophy

Jan 10, 2025 • 1h 41min
Do We Really Have 'Free Will'? Examining the Debate | Taylor Cyr | The Socratic Sessions | Ep #25
🔍 Overview: In this episode, philosopher Taylor Cyr joins us to explore the complex landscape of free will. Together, Taylor and Sam clarify essential terms and dive into key concepts shaping the free will debate.
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🗣️ Highlights
[Highlight 1]: What does 'moral responsibility' have to do with the Free Will debate?
[Highlight 2]: What arguments suggest that we 'could have done otherwise'?
[Highlight 3]: If God exists, what does His existence add or take away when it comes to Free Will?
📚 Episode Resources (affiliate links where possible - thanks!)
Taylor's Website
Twitter
The Free Will Show
How Free Are We? by Taylor Cyr & Matthew Flummer
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#freewill #determinism #compatibilism #moralchoice #libertarianfreewill #philosophy

Jan 7, 2025 • 9min
Taylor Cyr on Divine Foreknowledge and Determinism
🔍 Overview: In this clip, philosopher Taylor Cyr examines the argument for determinism rooted in Divine Foreknowledge. If God, being infallible, knew before your existence that you would do X, do you genuinely have the ability to avoid doing X?
Cyr explores this philosophical puzzle that challenges free will, as any deviation from what God foreknows would make God wrong—an impossibility for an infallible being.
🤝 Support The Show 🤘
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📚 Episode Resources (affiliate links where possible - thanks!)
Taylor's Website
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The Free Will Show
How Free Are We? by Taylor Cyr & Matthew Flummer
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👍 Support: Like, subscribe, and share to fuel the quest for understanding.
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📣 Join the Talk: Share your thoughts using #TheSocraticSessions.
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#freewill #determinism #foreknowledge #god #philosophy

Jan 3, 2025 • 16min
Free Will, Source Compatibilism and Frankfurt Cases w/ Taylor Cyr
🔍 Overview: In this clip, philosopher Taylor Cyr unpacks Source Compatibilism through the lens of Harry Frankfurt's ground-breaking 1969 paper.
We explore what it means for free will to be compatible with determinism, focusing on whether individuals can be the true instantiating agents of their decisions and their consequences. The discussion examines Frankfurt cases, which challenge the Principle of Alternative Possibilities (PAP), and how these scenarios reshape our understanding of control and moral responsibility.
🤝 Support The Show 🤘
Locals
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📚 Episode Resources (affiliate links where possible - thanks!)
Taylor's Website
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The Free Will Show
How Free Are We? by Taylor Cyr & Matthew Flummer
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👍 Support: Like, subscribe, and share to fuel the quest for understanding.
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📣 Join the Talk: Share your thoughts using #TheSocraticSessions.
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#freewill #determinism #compatibilism #moralchoice #philosophy

Dec 31, 2024 • 10min
Popular Missteps: Sapolsky, Harris, and the Free Will Debate w/ Taylor Cyr
🔍 Overview: In this clip, philosopher Taylor Cyr examines how incompatibilists like Robert Sapolsky and Sam Harris promote determinism whilst bypassing philosophical definitions of free will. Given their prominence in non-philosophical circles, we also discuss the dangers of their widespread influence.
🤝 Support The Show 🤘
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The Free Will Show
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#samharris #robertsapolsky #freewill #determinism #incompatibilism #missteps #philosophy

Dec 27, 2024 • 1h 9min
God's Existence: Ultimacy, Souls, and Evil | Richard Swinburne | The Socratic Sessions | Ep #24
🔍 Overview: In this episode, Professor Richard Swinburne and Sam explore key ideas within philosophy of religion to understand whether God does, in fact, exist.
📷 Richard Swinburne - Photo Credit: Cameron Bertuzzi from Capturing Christianity
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🗣️ Highlights
[Highlight 1]: What is the foundation of everything
[Highlight 2]: How do Souls deal with the 'hard problem of consciousness'?
[Highlight 3]: Are Evil and the notion of a good God antithetical?
📚 Episode Resources (affiliate links where possible - thanks!)
Is There a God? by Richard Swinburne
Could a Good God Permit So Much Suffering?: A Debate by Richard Swinburne & James P. Sterba
Conscious: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind by Annaka Harris
Galileo's Error: Foundations for a New Science of Consciousness by Philip Goff
Who Are You, Really?: A Philosopher's Inquiry into the Nature and Origin of Persons by Joshua Rasmussen
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#stoicism #marcusaurelius #seneca #epictetus #cato #zeno #ancientrome #ancientgreece #ancientphilosophy #modernlife #philosophy

Dec 24, 2024 • 11min
Animal Suffering and the Goodness of God w/ Richard Swinburne
🔍 Overview: In this clip, philosopher Richard Swinburne addresses the issue of animal suffering in relation to the existence of a good God.
📷 Richard Swinburne - Photo Credit: Cameron Bertuzzi from Capturing Christianity
🤝 Support The Show 🤘
Locals
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📚 Episode Resources (affiliate links where possible - thanks!)
Is There a God? by Richard Swinburne
Could a Good God Permit So Much Suffering?: A Debate by Richard Swinburne & James P. Sterba
Conscious: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind by Annaka Harris
Galileo's Error: Foundations for a New Science of Consciousness by Philip Goff
Who Are You, Really?: A Philosopher's Inquiry into the Nature and Origin of Persons by Joshua Rasmussen
🌐 Connect
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📷 Gear (affiliate links - thanks!)
Camera (Sony A6400)
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👍 Support: Like, subscribe, and share to fuel the quest for understanding.
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#theism #god #atheism #souls #evil #ultimacy #religion #christianity #philosophy

Dec 20, 2024 • 6min
Souls and the Hard Problem of Consciousness w/ Richard Swinburne
🔍 Overview: In this clip, philosopher Richard Swinburne discusses the implications of positing the existence of a soul for theories of consciousness.
📷 Richard Swinburne - Photo Credit: Cameron Bertuzzi from Capturing Christianity
🤝 Support The Show 🤘
Locals
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📚 Episode Resources (affiliate links where possible - thanks!)
Is There a God? by Richard Swinburne
Could a Good God Permit So Much Suffering?: A Debate by Richard Swinburne & James P. Sterba
Conscious: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind by Annaka Harris
Galileo's Error: Foundations for a New Science of Consciousness by Philip Goff
Who Are You, Really?: A Philosopher's Inquiry into the Nature and Origin of Persons by Joshua Rasmussen
🌐 Connect
Linktree
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📺 Subscribe - Video Platforms
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📷 Gear (affiliate links - thanks!)
Camera (Sony A6400)
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Microphone Amplifier (Cloudlifter CL-1)
Mic (RØDE PodMic)
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👍 Support: Like, subscribe, and share to fuel the quest for understanding.
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📣 Join the Talk: Share your thoughts using #TheSocraticSessions.
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#theism #god #atheism #souls #consciousness #philosophy