Very Bad Wizards

In this engaging discussion, Susan Wolf, a philosopher and author of 'Meaning in Life and Why it Matters,' dives deep into what makes life meaningful. She explores the balance between personal fulfillment and moral obligations, suggesting not all meaningful actions align with self-interest. The conversation highlights the subjectivity of meaning, challenging traditional views of success while emphasizing social connections and community impact. Listeners are in for a thought-provoking journey about the complexity of finding purpose!

Dive into a spirited debate over the roles of emotion and intuition in moral judgments. The hosts explore how feelings influence our perceptions of blame and accountability. They also brainstorm a fun drinking game idea to engage listeners while tackling deep philosophical themes. Expect insightful recommendations for movies and books that provoke thought and stir emotion, alongside playful banter about guilt, redemption, and social class struggles in films like 'Calvary' and 'Snowpiercer.' It's a blend of humor and profound discussion!

Bestselling author and friend of the podcast Sam Harris joins Tamler and Dave for a marathon podcast. (Seriously, pack two pairs of astronaut diapers for this one). We  talk about the costs and benefits of religion, dropping acid in India, and the illusory nature of (a certain kind of) free will. Then we go at it on blame, moral responsibility, hatred, guilt, retribution, and vengeance. Sam thinks these are antiquated responses based on a belief in spooky metaphysics, Tamler thinks they are important components of human morality, and Dave just wants everyone to get along and be reasonable (like that nice Kant fellow).  Time markers (roughly) 0:00-47:00 Intro and costs and benefits of religion 47:00-77:30 Drugs, the self, free will 77:30-- Blame, guilt, vengeance, moral responsibility, desert.  Links Sam Harris [samharris.org] Waking Up: A guide to spirituality without religion by Sam Harris [amazon.com affiliate link] Daniel Dennett reviews "Free Will" by Sam Harris [naturalism.org] Sam Harris responds to Dennett's Review of "Free Will" [samharris.org] Special Guest: Sam Harris. Support Very Bad Wizards

Film critic, VBW regular, and social psychologist Yoel Inbar joins David and Tamler to talk about Spike Lee's controversial 1989 film, Do the Right Thing, a movie about a day in the life of a small Brooklyn community on the hottest day of summer, and how the day's events lead to a race riot. Which characters in the film deserve our sympathy? (Maybe all of them?) Who was Spike Lee criticizing with his depiction of the characters in this community? Why did Mookie start the riot at Sal's? Was his action justified? Was starting the riot the "Right Thing" that Spike Lee was referring to in the title? Twenty five years after its release, how much have things changed? [Please note: we recorded this episode before the Ferguson verdict, which is why--despite some parallels--we don't refer to the verdict or the aftermath.] Links Do the Right Thing [imdb.com] Do the Right Thing Scene: Insults [youtube.com] Do the Right Thing Scene: RIP Boom Box [youtube.com] Do the Right Thing Scene: Just Off the Boat [youtube.com] When Spike Lee Became Scary by Jason Bailey [atlantic.com]  The Boondocks [wikipedia.org] Uncle Remus [wikipedia.org] Lyrics to Black Korea by Ice Cube [rapgenius.com] Do the Right Thing and Night of the Hunter Side by Side [youtube.com] The movie ends with the following two quotes:  Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral. It is impractical because it is a descending spiral ending in destruction for all. The old law of an eye for an eye leaves everybody blind. It is immoral because it seeks to humiliate the opponent rather than win his understanding; it seeks to annihilate rather than to convert. Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. It destroys a community and makes brotherhood impossible. It leaves society in monologue rather than dialogue. Violence ends by defeating itself. It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers.  - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  I think there are plenty of good people in America, but there are also plenty of bad people in America and the bad ones are the ones who seem to have all the power and be in these positions to block things that you and I need. Because this is the situation, you and I have to preserve the right to do what is necessary to bring an end to that situation, and it doesn't mean that I advocate violence, but at the same time I am not against using violence in self-defense. I don't even call it violence when it's self-defense, I call it intelligence.  - Malcolm X Special Guest: Yoel Inbar. Support Very Bad Wizards

David and Tamler talk about a new study that links your belief in free will to the fullness of your bladder. How do our bodily states influence our metaphysical commitments? What's the best way to measure beliefs about free will? Can you get your prostate checked without having someone stick something in your private areas? Plus, an exclusive look at the shocking truth about social psychology experiments.   Links The Philosophical Implications of the Urge to Urinate by Dan Ladkin, Scientific American  Ent, M. R., & Baumeister, R. F. (2014). Embodied free will beliefs: Some effects of physical states on metaphysical opinions. Consciousness and Cognition, 27, 147-154. Free Will and Determinism Scale (Rakos, Laurene, Skala, & Slane, 2008, Behavior and Social Issues).    Support Very Bad Wizards

Following up their discussion of moral villains, Dave and Tamler argue about what makes a moral hero. Tamler defends Sharon Krause’s view that honor values can motivate heroic behavior. Dave accuses Tamler of being inconsistent (nothing wrong with that) and slightly Kantian (NOOOOOO!!!). In the final segment, we’re back on the same page fawning over Susan Wolf’s paper “Moral Saints.” Plus, are drunks more likely to be utilitarians? And why does Dave hate Temple Grandin? Links The Cold Logic of Drunk People by Emma Green [theatlantic.com] Duke, A. A., & Bègue, L. (2015). The drunk utilitarian: Blood alcohol concentration predicts utilitarian responses in moral dilemmas. Cognition, 134, 121-127. [sciencedirect.com] Wolf, S. (1982). Moral saints. The Journal of Philosophy, 419-439. [verybadwizards.com] Krause, S. R. (2002).  Honor and democratic reform (Ch. 5) [verybadwizards.com]. In Liberalism with honor [amazon.com affiliate link]. Harvard University Press.   Support Very Bad Wizards

Paul Bloom joins us to talk all things villainous -why we sometimes root for the bad guys, why we admire them even when we don't, why they are much more compelling than some of our heroes.  Then more evidence that we're really a movie podcast at heart: we list our top 5 villains and antiheroes from TV and film.  Plus, more on the benefits of religious rituals and how to make a sitcom about Himmler.     Our Top 5 Villains Paul Bloom  Todd Alquist (Breaking Bad) Barney Stinson (How I Met Your Mother) The Joker (The Dark Knight) Bridgette Gregory (The Last Seduction) Agent Smith (The Matrix) Tamler Sommers Daniel Plainview (There Will be Blood)/Tony Montana (Scarface) Willie (Bad Santa) Tommy  (Goodfellas) Alonzo Harris (Training Day) Go-Go (Kill Bill Vol. 1)  David Pizarro Tom (Tom & Jerry) Keyser Soze (The Usual Suspects) Vic Mackey (The Shield) Harry Lime (The Third Man) Hal 9000 (2001 A Space Odyssey) Clips:  "You need people like me.  The bad guy."  "I'm sorry Dave.  I'm afraid I can't do that." From 2001: A Space Odyssey [youtube] "Come on Mr Ed.  Let's see it." From The Last Seduction [youtube] "A good narcotics agents loves his narcotics." From Training Day.  [youtube] "I loved a woman who wasn't clean."  "Mrs. Santa?"  "No, her sister."  From Bad Santa [youtube] "He showed these men of will what will really was." From The Usual Suspects. [youtube] "Funny how?" From Goodfellas [youtube] Special Guest: Paul Bloom. Support Very Bad Wizards

Tamler and David get bullied into talking about "anti-natalism," (the view that it is unethical to bring a being into existence), and to defend our ethical position as "breeders." Well, one of us defends it, at least. The other one? Well, you'll have to judge for yourself... Along the way we discuss how much pleasure you would need to equal the pain and suffering you've experienced, the joy of pooping (especially while on E), and Tamler explains why he calls David a Kantian, and why he thinks it's such an insult. For those who have missed the arguing, it's back on this one.  Links Anti-Natalism [wikipedia.org] Ecclesiastes 4:2-3 [usccb.org]: And those now dead, I declared more fortunate in death than are the living to be still alive. And better off than both is the yet unborn, who has not seen the wicked work that is done under the sun.  "No Life is Good" David Benatar.  [Philosopher's Magazine] Don't Have Any Children, by David Benatar [moreintelligentlife.com] David Benatar Radio Interview (MP3) on 702.co.za Every Conceivable Harm: A Further Defence of Anti-Natalism by David Benatar [squarespace.com] Baumeister, R. F., Bratslavsky, E., Finkenauer, C., & Vohs, K. D. (2001). Bad is stronger than good. Review of general psychology, 5(4), 323. [Thanks to listener Brian Erb] Support Very Bad Wizards

Dave and Tamler take a shot at answering the question: what is an evolutionary psychologist? Is it just a psychologist who believes in evolution? (No.) Is it a psychologist who embraces a computational, modular theory of the mind? (No. Well, maybe…we’re not sure.) Are they psychologists who are part of a cult that fanatically endorse evolutionary explanations for every aspect of human judgment and behavior? (No! Well, most of them aren’t, anyway.) So what are they? And why do they generate so much hostility? Plus, we go back to Genesis (the real story of how we evolved) to offer another thought experiment: what is it like to be Adam and Eve before eating the forbidden fruit? What is it like not to know good and evil? And we give our aspiring playwright listeners a perfect idea for a one-act play: Abraham and Isaac walking down the mountain after the aborted sacrifice. Links The Tree of the Knowledge of Good & Evil [wikipedia.org] The Leviathan [wikipedia.org] E.O. Wilson [wikipedia.org] Sociobiology [wikipedia.org] Burke, D. (2014). Why isn't everyone an evolutionary psychologist? Evolutionary Psychology and Neuroscience, 5, 910. Making birds gay with science!: Adkins-Regan, E. (2011). Neuroendocrine contributions to sexual partner preference in birds. Frontiers in neuroendocrinology, 32(2), 155-163. Just-so stories [wikipedia.org] Waist-hip ratio [wikipedia.org] "A natural history of rape: Biological bases of sexual coercion" by Thornhill and Palmer [wikipedia.org] Buss, D. M., Larsen, R. J., Westen, D., & Semmelroth, J. (1992). Sex differences in jealousy: Evolution, physiology, and psychology. Psychological science, 3, 251-255. Satoshi Kanazawa [wikipedia.org] Support Very Bad Wizards

Experience Machines, Chinese Rooms, Original Positions, and Ice Buckets.  ("I don't know what you have in mind for this evening Homer, but count me out!")  Dave and Tamler continue their discussion on thought experiments--how they can be effective, the difference between their use in philosophy and psychology, and how they can spin out of control like deadly viruses and become the disease they were trying to cure. Plus, do our motives matter when it comes to raising money for charity?  Links Chinese Room thought experiment [wikipedia.org] Turing Test [wikipedia.org] Ice bucket challenge [alsa.org] Weird Al Yankovic does the Ice Bucket Challenge [youtube.com] Flight of the Conchords "Pro-Aids" [youtube.com] Rawls' Original Position [plato.stanford.edu] The Veil of Ignorance [wikipedia.org] Press Your Luck "No Whammies!" [youtube.com] Behaviorism [wikipedia.org] Logical positivism [wikipedia.org] Support Very Bad Wizards