Philosophy Feeds

Are thought experiments the best way of doing practical ethics? Not according to James Wilson. He thinks we need the rich detail of real cases or complex imaginary cases not a simplified version of reality to make sense of the moral problems we face. 

We are grateful for support for this episode from the Marc Sanders Foundation and from our supporters on Patreon. 

'What is a woman?' has become a contentious question with practical implications. The philosopher Kathleen Stock gives an account of the category 'woman' and how we should think about it. She gives a different answer to this question which Amia Srinivassan addressed in a previous Philosophy Bites interview on this topic.

Where did ethics come from? Philip Pettit tells an 'as if' story about the birth of ethics that is designed to illuminate what ethics is and why it evolved on this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

We are grateful for support from the Marc Sanders Foundation and from Patreon donors for this episode. 

Throughout its history there have been challenges to the status of philosophy. Paul Sagar discusses some of these in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

We are grateful for support from the Marc Sanders Foundation in making this podcast, and for donations from Patreon patrons. 

Civility is a conversational virtue that governs how people talk to each other. How important is it in political life? In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast Teresa Bejan discusses this manner of speaking and writing and its history. 

We are grateful for sponsorship for this episode from the Marc Sanders Foundation and from our Patreon patrons. 

Back in 2008. (I was amused to see that piece was sent to me by Sarah Jeong, who now works for the NYT!)

It will be officially advertised on PhilJobs in a few weeks, but I wanted to flag that we will again be hiring a Fellow; the ad text is below the fold for anyone interested. Note that the position is open...

(Thanks to Taylor Carman who created this.)

No comment needed:

Locke doc shock in Maryland • Žižek says something controversial again • French MPs debate sex and bioethics — News reports by Anja Steinbauer

Duncan Richter explains why Schopenhauer thinks art, especially music, can provide a kind of salvation.

Sam Woolfe asks if pessimism is a proper response to life or a symptom of depression.

Waqās Ahmed connects Leonardo’s worldview with systems theory.

Susana Badiola wonders how technology will help us understand our selves.

Ludwig Wittgenstein worked out how language has meaning, twice. He also thought that some of the most important things we can know we can’t express at all. Grant Bartley from Philosophy Now finds out the meaning and limits of language from guest Daniel Hutto from the University of Wollongong, NSW. First broadcast on 22 June 2014 on Resonance FM.

What is meta-ethics? How does meta-ethics differ from ethics, and what does it tell us about ethics? Why is it important for how we should live our lives? Join Grant Bartley from Philosophy Now and his guests Edward Harcourt from Keble College, Oxford, and Richard Rowland from the University of Warwick, to find the answers to these questions and more. First broadcast on 8 June 2014 on Resonance FM.

Join Grant Bartley from Philosophy Now and guests Philip Goff from the University of Liverpool and Tom McClelland from the University of Manchester as they try to work out how all that electricity between your nerve cells relates to and produces all your experiences and thoughts. First broadcast on 25 May 2014 on Resonance FM.

Isaiah Berlin said of David Hume, “No man has influenced the history of philosophy to a deeper or more disturbing degree.” Join Grant Bartley from Philosophy Now plus guests Jane O’Grady, Peter Kail and James Arnold to find out why. First broadcast on 11 May 2014 on Resonance FM.

Both philosophy and literature represent the world and reflect on it. They are clearly different, yet converge, overlap and relate to one another in various ways. Can anything be gained philosophically by examining literature? Conversely, does it add to our understanding of literature to look at it from a philosophical point of view? Anja Steinbauer, President of Philosophy For All, and her guests Gregory Currie from the University of Nottingham, Stacie Friend from Heythrop College, University of London, and Edward Harcourt from Keble College, University of Oxford, discuss truth and ethics in philosophy and literature. First broadcast on 27 March 2012 on Resonance FM.

Written by Rebecca Brown In June this year, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) brought into effect a ban on harmful gender stereotypes in advertising. In response to public outcry about adverts such as the 2015 ‘Are you beach body ready?’ campaign by Protein World, and growing discomfort with outdated depictions of gender roles in the […]

Panpsychism is the view that sentience is ubiquitous in the world. Some people find it attractive because it sidesteps the challenge for dualists of explaining why there are two radically different types of things in the world, physical things and mental things.  And panpsychism seems to avoid some of of the challenges that face physicalist […]

Written by Neil Levy It is an entrenched and central principle of journalistic ethics that the subjects of stories must have an opportunity to respond to them; comment must be sought. These comments are then published in any resulting story. For example, the Society of Professional Journalists code of ethics requires journalists to “[d]iligently seek […]

Graduate and undergraduate students currently enrolled at the University of Oxford in any subject are invited to enter the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics by submitting an essay of up to 2000 words on any topic relevant to practical ethics.  Eligibility includes visiting students who are registered as recognized students, and paying fees, but […]

Written by Doug McConnell Everywhere we look environmentalists are being exposed as hypocrites. But is this relevant to the arguments these environmentalists are making and, if not, how can we improve the quality of public debate on environmental issues? In August, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle used 4 private jet flights over 11 days while […]