Very Bad Wizards

Honorary Third Wizard, Paul Bloom, joins Tamler and David to discuss dehumanization and cruelty. They also explore the stages of Star Trek transporter cognition, the process of choosing a Dalai Lama, and give their thoughts on Season 3 of Mr. Robot.

David and Tamler assert their autonomy as individuals by discussing their favorite dystopian works of art. Rebelling against a repressive regime, they refuse to sacrifice their privacy, uniqueness, and reproductive freedom. Through sheer force of will - the human spirit - they triumph over the pressures to ... wait what? You want me to take that pill? Okay, can't hurt. Aaahhhhh. So happy... So content... Must keep order. When the individual feels, the community reels. I am you, and you are I. I am you, and you are I. Plus, a real-life trolley problem! (Or is it?) Support Very Bad Wizards Links: Very Bad Wizards subreddit — Contribute to our Reddit discussions! Letters of Note: 1984 v. Brave New World Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut [wordfight.org] The Lobster (2015) - IMDb Gattaca (1997) - IMDb Never Let Me Go (novel) - Wikipedia Children of Men (2006) - IMDb The Trial (1962) - IMDb The Trial - Wikipedia It's a Good Life (The Twilight Zone) - Wikipedia Snowpiercer (2013) - IMDb Idiocracy (2006) - IMDb A Clockwork Orange (1971) - IMDb

David and Tamler keep their Nagel streak alive, discussing the essay "The Fragmention of Value" from his collection "Mortal Questions." How should we address our fragmented moral landscape, with multiple sources of value that can't be reduced or systematically ordered? Does this make all of our moral decisions arbitrary? Plus, we talk about Louis CK and in a Thanksgiving tradition special guest Christina Hoff Sommers rejoins the podcast in a moderately drunken debate with Tamler about a possible sex panic. Special Guest: Christina Hoff Sommers. Support Very Bad Wizards Links: Christina Hoff Sommers - Wikipedia We’re at risk of turning #metoo into rush to blame all men - NY Daily News Nagel, T. (2012). Mortal questions. Cambridge University Press. [amazon.com affiliate link] Documentary Film Finding Vivian Maier | Vivian Maier Photographer

David and Tamler dip back into the Thomas Nagel well, and discuss the problem of "moral luck." Why do we blame drunk drivers who hit someone more than drunk drivers who make it home OK? Why do we judge people for things that are beyond their control (when we have strong intuitions that uncontrollable acts don't deserve blame)? Does moral luck ultimately swallow all of our behavior? Can we truly embrace the view that "actions are events and people are things" or are we stuck with another unsolvable clash of competing perspectives (just like the problem of absurdity)? Plus, Dave exposes himself on the Partially Examined Life, Tamler self-censors, and somehow we discuss Hollywood harassment and stand-up comedy without mentioning Louis CK. (But only because we recorded this episode about five hours before the NY Times story broke.) Support Very Bad Wizards Links: Nagel, T. (2012). Mortal questions. Cambridge University Press. [amazon.com affiliate link] Nagel, T. Moral Luck. Moral Luck (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) Intentional stance [wikipedia.org] The Partially Examined Life Episode 176 Situationism in Psych: Milgram & Stanford Prison Experiments (Part One) — Part one of the PEL episode with David The Partially Examined Life Episode 176 Situationism in Psych: Milgram & Stanford Prison Experiments (Part Two) The Partially Examined Life Episode 93: Freedom and Responsibility (Strawson vs Strawson) — Tamler's appearance on PEL

Is life meaningless? Are humans just glorified dung beetles, pushing around our piles of poop with no greater purpose? What would it take for life to actually be meaningful? In this episode, Tamler and David discuss Thomas Nagel’s essay on the sense of meaninglessness and absurdity that can so easily creep into human existence (with a special emphasis on the work of Camus and the philosophy of Rick and Morty). But first we tackle even more important questions about the human condition such as, why is it easier to detect the size of a hole with your tongue than with your little finger? And which moral "dilemmas" are actually moral no-brainers? (In the process, we even solve the problem of free speech on campus. You’re welcome.) Support Very Bad Wizards Links: The Extent of Skin Bending Rather Than Action Possibilities Explains Why Holes Feel Larger With the Tongue Than With the Finger. - PubMed - NCBI Pure joy: a colorblind man sees color for the first time Dan Harmon Reveals the Meaning of Life in RICK AND MORTY | Nerdist Microcosmos - Dung beetle rolls ball and gets stuck. - YouTube Nagel, T. (1971). The absurd. The Journal of Philosophy, 68(20), 716-727. Camus, A. (1955). The myth of Sisyphus, and other essays. Vintage.

What do we mean when we say someone is angry? Can we identify anger (or any other emotion) via facial expressions, physiological changes, or neural markers? Is anger simply a feeling, something that happens to us, or does it involve a judgment? How much control do we have over our emotions, and can we be responsible for them? We talk about the work of Lisa Feldman Barrett and Bob Solomon. Plus, Tamler engages in conceptual analysis on Star Trek transporter beliefs (yes you read that right) and David is too stunned to argue. Support Very Bad Wizards Links: Yale’s Paul Bloom to receive $1 million Klaus Jacobs Prize | YaleNews Solomon, R. C. (1973). Emotions and choice. The Review of Metaphysics, 20-41. What Emotions Are (and Aren’t) - The New York Times Are Emotions Natural Kinds? Perspectives on Psychological Science - Lisa Feldman Barrett, 2006

Do you think of your life as a story? Does your life have a narrative structure or form? Do you identify with your past selves and your future selves? If not, can you live a good life, a moral life, an authentic life? Can you feel guilt, regret, and resentment? Plus, speaking of stories, we talk about a new study suggesting that books with anthropomorphic animals can't teach moral lessons to kids. Support Very Bad Wizards Links: Larsen, N. E., Lee, K., & Ganea, P. A. (2017). Do storybooks with anthropomorphized animal characters promote prosocial behaviors in young children?. Developmental Science. Children's books with humans have greater moral impact than animals, study finds | Books | The Guardian Strawson, G. (2004). Against narrativity. Ratio, 17(4), 428-452. Strawson, G. (2007). Episodic ethics. Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplements, 60, 85-115. Parfit, D. (1995). The unimportance of identity. I am Not a Story

It’s Part 2 of the Patreon listener selected episode! David and Tamler continue their discussion on intelligence from our last episode by tackling the radioactive topic of group differences and IQ. Are there reliable differences in IQ across races? Given that IQ is strongly heritable, and that racial categories are based (in part) on biological differences, does it follow that group differences in IQ are due to biological differences across racial groups? (Could only a politically motivated science-denier conclude otherwise?) David argues that biological explanations for racial differences in IQ are based on a fundamental misunderstanding of genetics and race. It’s a complex argument, so if you start listening, please finish! (Oh and @VBW_No_Context on Twitter, take a vacation, you’ve earned it!). Plus, more on neuroscientific explanations, and Tamler relates his experience of Hurricane Harvey. Support Very Bad Wizards Links: Race & IQ: Debate Serves No Purpose | National Review Returning to the race and IQ debate | Glenn Loury & John McWhorter [The Glenn Show] - YouTube Race & IQ: Don’t Obsess Over It, but Do Discuss It | National Review Templeton, A. R. (1998). Human races: a genetic and evolutionary perspective. American Anthropologist, 100(3), 632-650. Chicago Study Finds Africans More Genetically Diverse Than Other Populations Human penis size - Wikipedia

David and Tamler do their best to talk frankly about intelligence and IQ research. (It's our Patreon listener-selected topic! We probably would never have chosen this one on our own...). Is intelligence a meaningful, definable concept? Can we reliably test for it? How much of the variability in IQ across individuals is due to heritable factors? Are people with higher IQ happier, wealthier, or healthier than people with lower IQ? And why is this topic so controversial anyhow? Plus in the intro segment Tamler and David discuss why you probably don't need fMRI to know what your dog wants, and why cognitive neuroscience seems to confuse otherwise intelligent folks. (Note: This is Part 1 of our discussion on intelligence. In Part 2 will delve into the slightly more controversial topics of IQ, race, and gender). Support Very Bad Wizards Links: What Does Your Dog Really Want? - Scientific American Blog Network A Very Bad Wizard: Morality behind the curtain by Tamler Sommers [amazon.com affiliate link] — David does the links, so it's him telling you to support Tamler and buy his book! The Simpsons - Crayon in Homer's brain - YouTube Ritchie, S. (2015). Intelligence: All that matters. Hodder & Stoughton. [amazon.com affiliate link] — Stuart Ritchie's very well-written primer on intelligence. Accessible to a wide audience, but with all the nuance you'd expect from a clear-thinking academic. It's also a very quick read. Stuart Ritchie (@StuartJRitchie) | Twitter Stuart Ritchie | The University of Edinburgh

Guest Yoel Inbar joins David and Tamler to break down David Lynch’s dreamy masterpiece Mulholland Drive. (FULL SPOILERS – watch before you listen!) What’s real and what’s illusion? What happens when our illusions unravel? How do expectations affect our experience? How can artists use our expectations to manipulate our emotions? Come for the questions, stay for the answers – or at least for more questions. Special Guest: Yoel Inbar. Support Very Bad Wizards Links: Mulholland Drive (2001) - IMDb Everything you were afraid to ask about “Mulholland Drive” - Salon.com Film Crit Hulk Smash: HULK VS. THE GENIUS OF MULHOLLAND DRIVE | Birth.Movies.Death. David Lynch Signature Cup Organic Coffee | Organic Coffee | JavaDistribution.com Urban Dictionary: fuck tab