Very Bad Wizards

So where are you? You’re in some house. What am I listening to? Sounds like the radio. Is it the radio? No, you’re not allowed to use that language on the radio. What are they talking about? A movie, it’s called "Memento." Have I seen that? I think so, yeah. Who are these people? Hey I recognize that voice, that’s Paul Bloom! I took his Coursera course before the accident, it was awesome! What’s he doing talking to these guys? One of them sounds like he has a tampon down his throat. Hey wait, this is starting to get interesting. Personal identity, the search for purpose. All right, let’s settle in... So where are you? You're in some house. What am I listening to? Sounds like the radio... Links Paul Bloom [campuspress.yale.edu] Memento [imdb.com] Christopher Nolan [imdb.com] Everything you wanted to know about "Memento" by Andy Klein [salon.com] Kania, A. (Ed.). (2009). Memento (Philosophers on Film Series). Routledge. [amazon.com affiliate link] Clive Wearing: Man without a memory [youtube.com] Patient H.M. (Henry Molaison) [wikipedia.org] Christina Starmans [christinastarmans.com] Special Guest: Paul Bloom. Support Very Bad Wizards

Hello friend, did you come from the Berenstein with an 'E' universe? Or have you lived in the Berenstain with an 'A' universe? David and Tamler try to make sense of what's going on in Season 2 of Mr. Robot (Ep.1-5). You're gonna want to dig through your vomit for adderall for this one. Links The Berenstain Bears [wikipedia.org] The Berenstein Bears: We Are Living in Our Own Parallel Universe [woodbetween.world] On the Berenstein Bears Switcheroo [woodbetween.world] Support Very Bad Wizards

The hosts discuss the concept of repugnance and its relation to their podcast, explore the reasons behind the success of Trump's campaign, talk about their struggle with distractions and a new app to prevent procrastination, delve into the association between human cloning, disgust, and moral judgment, explore the role of repugnance in ethical and moral decisions, discuss the nature of disgust and its influence on emotions and beliefs, and explore cultural differences in psychological research.

Dave and Tamler don’t agree about much, but one thing they do share is an affinity for character-based approaches to ethics. Using Tamler’s interview with Georgetown Philosopher Nancy Sherman as their guide (link to chapter included), they discuss two ancient perspectives on how to develop good character and live happy, virtuous lives: Aristotle's and that of the Stoics. Why did Aristotle focus so much on friendship and what happens when those friendships get too "watery"? Are emotions crucial for developing virtues or are they “so much mist on the windshield?” Are the stoics right that we shouldn’t get attached to things that are beyond our control? Plus, a new Twitter account has David and Tamler polishing their CVs, and a request for listener suggestions for our 100th episode. Note: We recorded this episode after the police shootings in Baton Rouge and Minneapolis but before the shootings of the police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge. We talk a bit about the violence, but not about what happened after Minneapolis. Links Very Bad Wizards No Context (@vbw_no_context) Effective altruism [wikipedia.org] Nancy Sherman Homepage [nanycsherman.com] Nancy Sherman "Navigating our Moral World." In Sommers, T. (2016). A Very Bad Wizard: Morality behind the curtain. Routledge. [verybadwizards.com] Support Very Bad Wizards

Scandinavian film scholar Yoel Inbar joins the podcast for a deep dive on the Swedish film Force Majeure, a darkly funny meditation on what our instinctive behavior in a moment of panic can reveal about our characters and relationships. The story: while having lunch on a ski slope in the French Alps, a family believes that an avalanche is bearing down on them. Just as it seems the avalanche is going to hit them, the father (Tomas) grabs his phone and gloves and runs indoors, abandoning his wife Ebba and two children. How does the family reckon with this incident? Is the act itself unforgivable, or is it Tomas’s behavior afterwards that makes him despicable? How blameworthy is Tomas for his display of cowardice? Is it even cowardice since he didn’t have time to think about it? What’s the deal with that creepy janitor and all the tooth brushing scenes? Why can’t Yoel and Tamler agree about the answers to any of these questions? Plus, more on the Redskins and Tamler tells an embarrassing story from his past. Links Yoel Inbar [yoelinbar.net] On that one awkward sex scene from The Americans [vulture.com] Scandinavia [wikipedia.org] Force Majeure [imdb.com] Louie Season 1 Episode 9 "Bully" [imdb.com] Special Guest: Yoel Inbar. Support Very Bad Wizards

David and Tamler continue their intermittent “classic paper series” with an episode on Jonathan Bennett’s “The Conscience of Huckleberry Finn” (published in 1974—before the reason vs. emotion debate was all cool again). Using fictional and historical examples, Bennett raises a number of questions that are central to our understanding of human morality, such as what ought to guide our behavior--human sympathy or moral beliefs? Do emotions like empathy/sympathy have judgments built into them? Are these emotions dumb? Is morality dumber? Why was Jonathan Edwards such an asshole? Plus, we talk about the implications of a poll that suggests that most Native Americans aren’t offended by the name “Redskins” for the Washington D.C. NFL team. Episode Links New poll finds 9 in 10 Native Americans aren’t offended by Redskins name by By John Woodrow Cox, Scott Clement and Theresa Vargas [washingtonpost.com]  Bennett, J. (1974). The conscience of Huckleberry Finn. Philosophy, 49, 123-134. [earlymoderntexts.com] The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn [wikipedia.org] Heinrich Himmler [wikipedia.org] Jonathan Edwards [wikipedia.org] Pizarro, D. (2000). Nothing more than feelings?: The role of emotions in moral judgment. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 30, 355-375. [peezer.net] Support Very Bad Wizards

Inspired by a recent ProPublica report on racial bias in an algorithm used to predict future criminal behavior, David and Tamler talk about the use of analytic methods in criminal sentencing, sports, and love. Should we use algorithms to influence decisions about criminal sentencing or parole decisions? Should couples about to get married take a test that predicts their likelihood of getting divorced? Is there something inherently racist about analytic methods in sports? Plus, David asks Tamler some questions about the newly released second edition of his book A Very Bad Wizard: Morality Behind the Curtain. Links Machine Bias by Julia Angwin, Jeff Larson, Surya Mattu and Lauren Kirchner [propublica.org] Mission Impossible: African-Americans & Analytics by Michael Wilbon [theundefeated.com] A Very Bad Wizard: Morality Behind the Curtain [amazon.com affiliate link to the Kindle version of 2nd edition. Eight new interviews. And an all-new foreword by Peez.] Paperback version of the 2nd edition (currently only available on the publisher's website) [routledge.com] Support Very Bad Wizards

David and Tamler have their first real fight in a while over an article defending "social mixing"--distributing babies randomly across families such that no infant is genetically related to the parents who raise them.. Then they discuss a study published in Science in 2013 in which participants could earn money if they agreed to let mice be killed in a gas chamber.  Do free markets threaten our moral characters and cause us to abandon our principles? What are mechanisms behind this phenomenon when it happens? And why does David hate mice so much? Episode Links Maus by Art Spiegelman [wikipedia.org] If babies were randomly allocated to families, would racism end? by Howard Rachlin and Melvin Frankel [aeon.co] Falk, A., & Szech, N. (2013). Morals and markets. Science, 340, 707-711. [sciencemag.org] .pdf available here [gtcenter.org] Support Very Bad Wizards

David and Tamler welcome author and environmental science professor Jennifer Jacquet to the podcast to discuss the pros and cons of shame. What's the difference between shame and guilt? Is shaming effective for generating social progress or getting tax cheats to pay up? Is twitter shaming on the rise or on its way out? And what does David do when he's alone in the dark? But before all of that, David and Tamler introduce a new way to support the podcast--through our Patreon account (patreon.com/verybadwizards). Plus, we discuss the retraction of a press release announcing that a professor agreed to referee a journal article (!) And can one passage get Tamler, the eternal optimist, to hate philosophy? Links Very Bad Wizards are on Patreon [patreon.com] Sociology faculty member publishes book chapter [psu.edu] Penn State retracts press release about sociologist reviewing an article. [retractionwatch.org] A very confusing paragraph [verybadwizards.com] Bradley, B. (2009). Well-being and death. OUP Oxford. Jennifer Jacquet [jenniferjacquet.com] Is Shame Necessary? by Jennifer Jacquet [amazon.com affiliate link] Congratulations, you have an all male panel! [allmalepanels.tumblr.com] Racists getting fired [racistsgettingfired.tumblr.com] Shame (movie) [imdb.com] Babies (movie) [imdb.com] Special Guest: Jennifer Jacquet. Support Very Bad Wizards

David and Tamler celebrate Passover with a high-spirited episode on guns, revenge, liberals, being offended, the fear of death, and whether kids have a right to be loved. Thanks to all you listeners for emailing your questions, comments, and complaints--this was a fun, energetic discussion. Plus, a blast from the past from an unusually alert Pizarro: Michael Shannon reading a sorority letter.  But won't somebody please think of the children???!!  Links Mr. Robot Season 2 premiere date [usanetwork.com] Michael Shannon reads sorority letter [youtube.com] George Rainbolt's review of "The Right to be Loved" by Matthew Liao [npdr.nd.edu] The Right to be Loved by S. Matthew Liao [amazon] The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker [wikipedia.org] A History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell [wikipedia.org] The Story of Philosophy by Wil Durant Rick and Morty [imdb.com] Marijuana is Kosher [npr.org] Louis CK on the Bill Simmons podcast [youtube.com] Is Shame Necessary? by Jennifer Jacquet [amazon.com affiliate link] Jennifer Jacquet [jenniferjacquet.com]   Support Very Bad Wizards