

Philosophers In Space
Aaron Rabinowitz and Callie Wright
Welcome to Philosophers In Space, where the intrepid trekker captain Callie Wright and their questionable Chief Ethics Officer Aaron Rabinowitz explore the weird, gooey world of sci-fi, searching for tantalizing hypotheticals and gear-stripping questions in a space odyssey of meaning and amusement.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jun 3, 2020 • 46min
0G105: Picard and the Butlerian Jihad
Oh hey, you look keen for some decent fan service mixed with cribbing from Dune. Perfect for CBS's business model. We're covering Picard, which is decent, and how it gives away that Star Trek is just the precursor to Dune. Picard has your Butlerian Jihad, your incompetent intergalatic federation, your weird biotech. All the makings of a solid Dune Prequel. I'm sure we'll find out the Romulan kid is a Paul Atreides Precursor sometime in season three. In the meantime, enjoy our discussion of the question "what if we just didn't AI?" Butlerian Jihad: https://dune.fandom.com/wiki/Butlerian_Jihad Support us at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/0G Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/0gPhilosophy Join our Facebook discussion group (make sure to answer the questions to join): https://www.facebook.com/groups/985828008244018/ Email us at: philosophersinspace@gmail.com If you have time, please write us a review on iTunes. It really really helps. Please and thank you! Sibling shows: Serious Inquiries Only: https://seriouspod.com/ Opening Arguments: https://openargs.com/ Embrace the Void: https://voidpod.com/ Recent appearances: Aaron did a two part chat with Emerson over at the Counterapologetics and Walden Pod. Pt1 is on Moral Luck and Pt2 is on Neutral Monism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n2Tz97eGos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n2Tz97eGos CONTENT PREVIEW: The Platform and Social Change

May 27, 2020 • 41min
0G104: The Expanse and The Myth of Catching Up
Listen closely my beratna and sesata and we'll convert you from a tumang to a belta in no time. We're just scratching the surface of the Ex-pants world, basic world building stuff so we can come back later or all the weirdness. We introduce a postcolonial interpretation of Expanse tied specifically to The Myth of Catching Up. Stay space woke. The Myth of Catching Up: https://wmbranchout.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/the-myth-of-catching-up-development-maria-mies.pdf Support us at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/0G Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/0gPhilosophy Join our Facebook discussion group (make sure to answer the questions to join): https://www.facebook.com/groups/985828008244018/ Email us at: philosophersinspace@gmail.com If you have time, please write us a review on iTunes. It really really helps. Please and thank you! Sibling shows: Serious Inquiries Only: https://seriouspod.com/ Opening Arguments: https://openargs.com/ Embrace the Void: https://voidpod.com/ Recent appearances: Aaron did a two part chat with Emerson over at the Counterapologetics and Walden Pod. Pt1 is on Moral Luck and Pt2 is on Neutral Monism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n2Tz97eGos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n2Tz97eGos CONTENT PREVIEW: Picard Season One and the Butlerian Jihad

May 20, 2020 • 49min
0G103: Dr Who's Heaven Sent and "Self" sacrifice
Welcome back Whovians! Our trap has worked, we've caught the time lord Mike Hall of Merseyside skeptics in our web of disrespectful ignorance and we sure do squeeze him for information. He's unrelentingly brilliant though, so of course he escapes unscathed and only slightly annoyed. We discuss the episode Heaven Sent and its connections to Buddhism and whether The Doctor does something profoundly unethical to save a friend. Skeptics with a K: http://www.merseysideskeptics.org.uk/category/podcast/skeptics-with-a-k/ Support us at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/0G Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/0gPhilosophy Join our Facebook discussion group (make sure to answer the questions to join): https://www.facebook.com/groups/985828008244018/ Email us at: philosophersinspace@gmail.com If you have time, please write us a review on iTunes. It really really helps. Please and thank you! Sibling shows: Serious Inquiries Only: https://seriouspod.com/ Opening Arguments: https://openargs.com/ Embrace the Void: https://voidpod.com/ Recent appearances: Aaron did a two part chat with Emerson over at the Counterapologetics and Walden Pod. Pt1 is on Moral Luck and Pt2 is on Neutral Monism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n2Tz97eGos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n2Tz97eGos CONTENT PREVIEW: The Expanse ep.1 and The Myth of Catching Up

May 13, 2020 • 42min
0G102: Player of Games and Gamification of Ethics, Part 3
Time to wrap up another opus. It's been a beautiful dance of ideas and symbolism, played out on a board of intrigue and robits, but all good things must come to an end. Has the dance left us as better people? Only the future will tell. Here's to Player of Games, a brilliant first look at the Culture series and a wonderful way to nerd out about games and ethics. Gamification and Ethics: https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=vDxTBgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA225&dq=gamification+of+ethics&ots=mJ_ME4jC0U&sig=h602Bed-_gmWPrud4EN2hxGH2as#v=onepage&q=gamification%20of%20ethics&f=false Support us at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/0G Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/0gPhilosophy Join our Facebook discussion group (make sure to answer the questions to join): https://www.facebook.com/groups/985828008244018/ Email us at: philosophersinspace@gmail.com If you have time, please write us a review on iTunes. It really really helps. Please and thank you! Sibling shows: Serious Inquiries Only: https://seriouspod.com/ Opening Arguments: https://openargs.com/ Embrace the Void: https://voidpod.com/ Editing by Brian Ziegenhagen, check out his pod: http://youarehere.libsyn.com/s02e02-rex-manning-day?fbclid=IwAR2L2_YIJvQpcw0nx6nTSfz0GmyJ1DtWsF--vvdI9W1ug3XW7IAtU6dQ36s Recent appearances: Aaron did a two part chat with Emerson over at the Counterapologetics and Walden Pod. Pt1 is on Moral Luck and Pt2 is on Neutral Monism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n2Tz97eGos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n2Tz97eGos CONTENT PREVIEW: Listener Q's 13

May 6, 2020 • 43min
0G101: Player of Games and Authoritarian Essentialism, Part 2
We survived the zombies! We escaped from earth to space and found another society that is also terrible but is not actively being overrun by zombies. For part two of our Player of Game time we dive into the Empire of Azad and their essentialist culture. We discuss how essentialism naturally plays a major role in authoritarian cultures and undermines meritocracy. Essentialism: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essentialism Authoritarianism and gender essentialism: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-020-01123-3 Support us at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/0G Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/0gPhilosophy Join our Facebook discussion group (make sure to answer the questions to join): https://www.facebook.com/groups/985828008244018/ Email us at: philosophersinspace@gmail.com If you have time, please write us a review on iTunes. It really really helps. Please and thank you! Sibling shows: Serious Inquiries Only: https://seriouspod.com/ Opening Arguments: https://openargs.com/ Embrace the Void: https://voidpod.com/ Editing by Brian Ziegenhagen, check out his pod: http://youarehere.libsyn.com/s02e02-rex-manning-day?fbclid=IwAR2L2_YIJvQpcw0nx6nTSfz0GmyJ1DtWsF--vvdI9W1ug3XW7IAtU6dQ36s Recent appearances: Aaron did a two part chat with Emerson over at the Counterapologetics and Walden Pod. Pt1 is on Moral Luck and Pt2 is on Neutral Monism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n2Tz97eGos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n2Tz97eGos CONTENT PREVIEW: Player of Games and Gameification of Ethics and Culture Pt3

Apr 29, 2020 • 46min
Listener Qs 14
Thanks thanks thanks thanks! What else is there to say but thanks so much? And also, answers?! Support us at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/0G Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/0gPhilosophy Join our Facebook discussion group (make sure to answer the questions to join): https://www.facebook.com/groups/985828008244018/ Email us at: philosophersinspace@gmail.com If you have time, please write us a review on iTunes. It really really helps. Please and thank you! Sibling shows: Serious Inquiries Only: https://seriouspod.com/ Opening Arguments: https://openargs.com/ Embrace the Void: https://voidpod.com/ Editing by Brian Ziegenhagen, check out his pod: http://youarehere.libsyn.com/s02e02-rex-manning-day?fbclid=IwAR2L2_YIJvQpcw0nx6nTSfz0GmyJ1DtWsF--vvdI9W1ug3XW7IAtU6dQ36s CONTENT PREVIEW: Dr. Who "Heaven Sent" and "self" sacrifice

Apr 22, 2020 • 54min
Listener Qs 13
Hi all! Another round of profound thanks to our patrons who are keeping the lights on even in these difficult times. Thank you so much and hope you enjoy this special birthday Q and A! Support us at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/0G Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/0gPhilosophy Join our Facebook discussion group (make sure to answer the questions to join): https://www.facebook.com/groups/985828008244018/ Email us at: philosophersinspace@gmail.com If you have time, please write us a review on iTunes. It really really helps. Please and thank you! Sibling shows: Serious Inquiries Only: https://seriouspod.com/ Opening Arguments: https://openargs.com/ Embrace the Void: https://voidpod.com/ Editing by Brian Ziegenhagen, check out his pod: http://youarehere.libsyn.com/s02e02-rex-manning-day?fbclid=IwAR2L2_YIJvQpcw0nx6nTSfz0GmyJ1DtWsF--vvdI9W1ug3XW7IAtU6dQ36s CONTENT PREVIEW: Listener Qs 14

Apr 15, 2020 • 40min
0G100: WWZ and the Human Cost of Ethics, Part 2
What a wild time to celebrate our 100th episode. At least we're celebrating it talking about something of great value, World War Z's portrayal of the loss of humanity from doing the right thing. I hope it helps to think about how we're all experiencing the grind and that's what makes us humans. Williams against Utilitarianism: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/williams-bernard/#DayCannTooFarOffhWillAgaiUtil Support us at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/0G Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/0gPhilosophy Join our Facebook discussion group (make sure to answer the questions to join): https://www.facebook.com/groups/985828008244018/ Email us at: philosophersinspace@gmail.com If you have time, please write us a review on iTunes. It really really helps. Please and thank you! Sibling shows: Serious Inquiries Only: https://seriouspod.com/ Opening Arguments: https://openargs.com/ Embrace the Void: https://voidpod.com/ Editing by Brian Ziegenhagen, check out his pod: http://youarehere.libsyn.com/s02e02-rex-manning-day?fbclid=IwAR2L2_YIJvQpcw0nx6nTSfz0GmyJ1DtWsF--vvdI9W1ug3XW7IAtU6dQ36s Recent appearances: Aaron did a two part chat with Emerson over at the Counterapologetics and Walden Pod. Pt1 is on Moral Luck and Pt2 is on Neutral Monism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n2Tz97eGos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n2Tz97eGos CONTENT PREVIEW: Player of Games and Essentialist Culture Pt2

Apr 8, 2020 • 49min
0G99: WWZ and Lifeboat Ethics, Part 1
Moving with the kind of speed you'd have hoped to see in our federal government, we have pivoted away from our Culture coverage (don't worry it's just bumped down the timeline a bit) to current events with Max Brooks's epic masterpiece World War Z. Easily one of the best works of horror fiction around. For part one, we talk through the consequentialist arguments in the first half, while marveling at all the disturbing similarities to the daily news. Part two is gonna cover the loss of humanity side of the book, so buckle up. Lifeboat ethics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifeboat_ethics Support us at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/0G Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/0gPhilosophy Join our Facebook discussion group (make sure to answer the questions to join): https://www.facebook.com/groups/985828008244018/ Email us at: philosophersinspace@gmail.com If you have time, please write us a review on iTunes. It really really helps. Please and thank you! Sibling shows: Serious Inquiries Only: https://seriouspod.com/ Opening Arguments: https://openargs.com/ Embrace the Void: https://voidpod.com/ Editing by Brian Ziegenhagen, check out his pod: http://youarehere.libsyn.com/s02e02-rex-manning-day?fbclid=IwAR2L2_YIJvQpcw0nx6nTSfz0GmyJ1DtWsF--vvdI9W1ug3XW7IAtU6dQ36s Recent appearances: Aaron did a two part chat with Emerson over at the Counterapologetics and Walden Pod. Pt1 is on Moral Luck and Pt2 is on Neutral Monism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n2Tz97eGos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n2Tz97eGos CONTENT PREVIEW: World War Z and Humanity pt2

Apr 1, 2020 • 43min
0G98: Player of Games and AI Utopia, Part 1
Last episode, Thomas complained that I never take him to any nice utopias, so here we are! The Culture, the closest any sci-fi I've ever read got to anything that sounded like a good outcome, besides maybe Um-Helat. I'm told all of Ian Banks's books are fabulous, but we start with a really easy and satisfying intro to the Culture world, The Player of Games. In part one we cover the Culture society and whether it counts as an AI Utopia and what the potential costs are for living in such a society. Part two will cover the contrasting Empire of Azad and the various kinds of essentialism at its core. AI Utopia book: https://www.amazon.com/Automation-Utopia-Human-Flourishing-without/dp/0674984242/ Support us at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/0G Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/0gPhilosophy Join our Facebook discussion group (make sure to answer the questions to join): https://www.facebook.com/groups/985828008244018/ Email us at: philosophersinspace@gmail.com If you have time, please write us a review on iTunes. It really really helps. Please and thank you! Sibling shows: Serious Inquiries Only: https://seriouspod.com/ Opening Arguments: https://openargs.com/ Embrace the Void: https://voidpod.com/ Editing by Brian Ziegenhagen, check out his pod: http://youarehere.libsyn.com/s02e02-rex-manning-day?fbclid=IwAR2L2_YIJvQpcw0nx6nTSfz0GmyJ1DtWsF--vvdI9W1ug3XW7IAtU6dQ36s Recent appearances: Aaron did a two part chat with Emerson over at the Counterapologetics and Walden Pod. Pt1 is on Moral Luck and Pt2 is on Neutral Monism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n2Tz97eGos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n2Tz97eGos CONTENT PREVIEW: Player of Games and Biological Essentialism pt2


