Love etc.

More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/examined-year-2021.

Brian Green (2021) extended

More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/what-can-virtual-reality-actually-do.

VR transports users into all kinds of different realities, some modeled on the real world, others completely invented. Though still in its infancy, the technology has become so sophisticated, it can trick the brain into treating the virtual experience as real and unmediated. So what is the most prudent way to employ this cutting edge technology going forward? Could VR help solve real world problems, like implicit bias or the climate crisis? And as the technology becomes more widely available, are there potential dangers we ought to be seriously thinking about? Josh and Ray strap on their headsets with Jeremy Bailenson, Director of the Virtual Human Interaction Lab at Stanford, and author of "Experience on Demand: What Virtual Reality Is, How It Works, and What It Can Do."

What Can Virtual Reality (Actually) Do?

More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/blog/examined-year-sound.

2021: The Year in Political Insurrection

And the Dionysus Award for Best Adapted Novel about Trauma, Marginalization, Self-Deception AND the Gap Between Appearance and Reality goes to...

More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/2022-dionysus-awards.

Alex King (2022) extended

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/abortion.

Nothing stirs up controversy like abortion.  To some, it carries the steep moral cost of destroying human life, while to others, it represents an inviolable bastion of women’s rights over their own bodies.  Despite the polarizing nature of the debate, it covers broad philosophical ground, and touches on religious, political, social and moral considerations.  Ken and John seek a dispassionate and rational discussion of abortion with UC Berkeley Journalism professor Cynthia Gorney, author of "Articles of Faith: A Frontline History of the Abortion Wars."

Abortion

More at www.philosophytalk.org/shows/unconditional-love.

According to Corinthians 13, “Love is patient, love is kind and envies no one.” But is love always unconditional? Should it be? If unconditional love means that we love no matter what our beloved’s actions or traits are, doesn’t that suggest we should love everyone in this way? If not, how do we select just a few to love unconditionally? Perhaps the feeling we reserve for those we cherish most in the world is better described as selfless rather than unconditional love, in which case we are confronted with another challenge. What happens when our beloved changes radically and loses the very features that caused us to love in the first place? John and Ken talk unconditionally with Lynn Underwood, editor of The Science of Compassionate Love: Theory, Research and Applications.

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/unconditional-love

299: Unconditional Love

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/gay-pride-prejudice.

The question of gay rights has become a hot button issue, with opposition taking on the air of a moral panic and support taking on the air of a righteous crusade.  John and Ken attempt to dispassionately examine the competing scientific, religious, and philosophical visions of the nature of gayness.  They explore the consequences of those competing arguments for and against gay rights with cultural and psychological anthropologist Gilbert Herdt, author of "Moral Panics, Sex Panics: Fear and the Fight over Sexual Rights."

254: Gay Pride & Prejudice

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/what-love.

It may seem doubtful that philosophers have much to tell us about love (beyond their love of wisdom). Surely it is the poets who have the market cornered when it comes to deep reflection on the nature of love. John and Ken question the notion that love cannot be captured by the light of reason by turning their attention to the philosophy of love with philosopher-poet Troy Jollimore from CSU Chico. Troy is the author of "Love’s Vision," as well as two collections of poems: "At Lake Scugog" and 2006's "Tom Thomson in Purgatory," which won the National Book Critics Circle Award.

280: What Is Love?

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/philanthropy-trap. 

Many of us generally admire people who donate large sums of money to charity. Yet people donate for all sorts of reasons – some selfless, some not so much. Should we consider philanthropy as mere ego expression for the wealthy, or is it genuinely altruistic behavior? If philanthropists are so concerned with having an impact on society, how should we think about "measuring" this impact? Are there better ways than philanthropy to achieve positive social change? John and Ken donate their time to Bruce Sievers from the Center for Philanthropy and Civil Society at Stanford University.

The Philanthropy Trap

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/mystery-music.

Most of us listen to music on a regular basis, but we don't think much about how we listen. Moreover, when we disagree about music, we're usually happy to agree that we just have different personal tastes. But what if some of us just don't know how to listen to music properly? Are there objectively correct ways to listen to music, or is it up to the individuals how they listen? Are we worse off if we don't listen to music in certain ways? How might we become better listeners? What insights have philosophers had on these questions? John and Ken drop the needle with Stanford musicologist Adrian Daub, co-author of "The James Bond Songs: Pop Anthems of Late Capitalism."



The Mystery of Music

More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/polyamory.

In most if not all modern Western societies, monogamy is the dominant form of romantic relationship. In polyamorous or "open" relationships, however, each person is free to love multiple partners at once. Just as our friendships are non-exclusive, advocates of polyamory believe our romantic relationship should be too. So why do so many people find polyamory distacteful, or even despicable? Is it immoral to love more than one person at a time? Or is our society's commitment to monogamy simply a fossil of tradition that could one day be obsolete? The Philosophers welcome back Carrie Jenkins from the University of British Columbia, author of "What Love Is: And What It Could Be."

437: Polyamory

More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/praise-love-platos-symposium-meets-bernsteins-serenade.

Plato’s Symposium is arguably the most memorable philosophical work ever written on the subject of love. It is also the inspiration for Leonard Bernstein’s gorgeous violin concerto, the Serenade. What would Plato think of Bernstein’s Serenade, especially given his criticism of art and poetry? Is Bernstein more interested in what one of Plato’s drunken characters calls “vulgar love”? Or is he inspired by Platonic love – the highest form of love? How does Bernstein explore these themes through his music? In this special episode featuring violin virtuoso Anne Akiko Meyers and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, John and Ken talk to Brandi Parisi from All Classical Portland radio about love – its nature, its origin and its purpose – and music.

387: In Praise of Love – Plato's Symposium Meets Bernstein's Serenade

More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/democracy-crisis.

Democracy in Crisis

More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/postmodernism-really-blame.

Is Postmodernism Really to Blame for Post-Truth?

More at www.philosophytalk.org/shows/walter-benjamin.

Walter Benjamin was a German Jewish critical theorist, essayist, and philosopher who died tragically during the Second World War. His thoughts about modernity, history, art, disenchantment, and re-enchantment are still discussed today. So who was Benjamin, and what is his intellectual legacy? Why did he believe that Enlightenment values, such as rationality and modernization, brought about disenchantment in the world? Did he think there was a way to find re-enchantment without abandoning these values? And what would he have had to say about social media and its power to distract? The hosts have an enchanting time with Margaret Cohen from Stanford University, author of "Profane Illumination: Walter Benjamin and the Paris of Surrealist Revolution."

Walter Benjamin: Re-Enchanting the World

Bite-size episodes from the program that questions everything... except your intelligence. Learn more and access complete episodes at www.philosophytalk.org.

254: Gay Pride & Prejudice

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