London Philosophy Talk

Philosopher Alex Grzankowski discusses reference and attitude ascriptions in language and mind, exploring Saul Kripke's 'A Puzzle About Belief'. The episode delves into theories of proper names, compositionality, truth conditions, and challenges to Millianism and rationality in belief ascriptions. It highlights the complexities of attitude reports, descriptivism, and rationality in belief formation, challenging traditional theories in philosophy.

In this third, "very special election" episode, I am delighted to welcome my colleague Kristoffer Ahlstrom-Vij (ahlstromvij.com). We discuss the question as to whether there is a case for restricting suffrage to those who are sufficiently competent. We discuss Jason Brennan's paper, "The right to a competent electorate", Philosophical Quarterly, Vol. 61, No. 245 (2011), pp. 700-24.   London Philosophy Talk (londonphilosophytalk@podbean.com) is a philosophy podcast of the Department of Philosophy of Birkbeck College, University of London. It is hosted by me, Florian Steinberger (https://floriansteinberger.weebly.com/). Each episode I have an informal philosophical discussion with an expert in the field.  For more information about the Birkbeck Philosophy Department, please see our website: http://www.bbk.ac.uk/departments/philosophy/ We also run an excellent distance learning program in philosophy in association with the University of London Worldwide: https://london.ac.uk/courses/philosophy, of which I am the Director. 

Hallvard Lillehammer discusses trolley problems, ethical intuitions, relying on scenarios like the trolley dilemma and variants to explore ethical complexities, moral duties, and perspectives of a driver versus a bystander. The episode delves into the reliability of intuitions in guiding moral decisions, the influence of environmental factors on judgments, contrasting models of ethical theory construction, and the intersection of emotional responses with ethical intuitions.

In this first episode I am delighted to welcome my colleague Stacie Friend (http://www.bbk.ac.uk/philosophy/our-staff/academic_staff/dr-stacie-friend). We discuss the issue of “imaginative resistance” in the philosophy of fiction.  We discuss Tamar Szabó Gendler's paper, "The Puzzle of Imaginative Resistance", The Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 97, No. 2 (Feb., 2000), pp. 55-81. You may also want to consult Emine Hande Tuna's Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry. London Philosophy Talk is a philosophy podcast of the Department of Philosophy of Birkbeck College, University of London. It is hosted by me, Florian Steinberger (https://floriansteinberger.weebly.com/). Each episode I have an informal philosophical discussion with an expert in the field.  For more information about the Birkbeck Philosophy Department, please see our website: http://www.bbk.ac.uk/departments/philosophy/ We also run an excellent distance learning program in philosophy in association with the University of London Worldwide: https://london.ac.uk/courses/philosophy, of which I am the Director.