Politics at the extremes

FromPhilosopher's Zone

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Politics at the extremes

FromPhilosopher's Zone

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28 minutes

Released:

Sep 1, 2019

Format:

Podcast episode

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Politics has never been a gentle pursuit - but these days the gloves are well and truly off. How did we get here? What are the implications for political philosophy, and for politics in general? As for where we might be headed, there are fascinating – if rather terrifying – clues in the work of French thinker René Girard.

Released:

Sep 1, 2019

Format:

Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

The simplest questions often have the most complex answers. The Philosopher's Zone is your guide through the strange thickets of logic, metaphysics and ethics.

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Devotion, democracy and Duterte: Is religious language incompatible with democratic politics, as philosopher Richard Rorty believed? Not in the Philippines, where religion and democracy are working together as close allies—with troubling implications for justice and human rights. by Philosopher's Zone
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Ethics and absolutes in the classroom: The trouble with morality is that reasonable people keep disagreeing on what’s right and wrong. The science, as they say, isn’t settled. So that being the case, how can we argue for fixed moral standards to which everyone should sign up? And how should we by Philosopher's Zone
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Envy has its reasons: One of the seven deadly sins—which is sometimes excusable. by Philosopher's Zone
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Steve Fuller on post-truth: For many of us, 'post-truth' means a culture where appeals to prejudice and emotion trump rational policy discussion. But for Steve Fuller, post-truth is just a by-product of the institutionalisation of knowledge—including scientific knowledge. by Philosopher's Zone
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Parental guidance recommended: The nature of Family could be more than a Christmas puzzle. by Philosopher's Zone
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Carlo Rovelli and his quantum problem: Carlo Rovelli on the desperate need for some conceptual engineering to dig quantum thinking out of a deep black hole. by Philosopher's Zone
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Proof and beauty: Mathematicians routinely refer to complex proofs in aesthetic terms, citing their 'elegance' or 'beauty'. This has partly to do with the social aspect of such proofs—far from being a hermetic or exclusively cerebral practice, mathematics has never strayed by Philosopher's Zone
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The philosophy of parenting—part 2: Brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and those weird second cousins you never talk to… how might we define family—and why it matters. by Philosopher's Zone
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A tale of two universes: Philosophy and modern physics: a case of the irrelevant versus the impractical? by Philosopher's Zone
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The shadow of eugenics: Eugenics is a science that seems to belong back in the darkest days of the 20th century. But today, 'newgenics' has people worried, as reproductive technologies make it more possible to filter out certain genetic disorders. Does this colour our notion of what constitutes a 'desirable' or 'undesirable' human subject? by Philosopher's Zone
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Stones rolling and the joy of ordinary objects: The structure of the universe is written in stone—maybe. by Philosopher's Zone
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Autonomy, self, and substances: Substance abuse lets you say ‘it wasn’t me’. Then who was it? by Philosopher's Zone
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Getting stuck: The midlife mess: Your midlife crisis: it’s more than you think. by Philosopher's Zone
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On the way: John Kaag is a philosopher who travelled to the Swiss Alps with the aim of putting into practice some of Nietzsche's recommendations for "becoming who you are". In his memoir Hiking With Nietzsche, what he finds is that following in the footsteps of the g by Philosopher's Zone
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Public health and the open society: Karl Popper's idea of "the open society" promoted values of inclusivity, transparency and democratic freedom. Today, some fear that the open society is under threat, with negative consequences for a lot of things we've come to take for granted - including by Philosopher's Zone
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The value of thought experiments: Drop those test tubes, take off your lab coat, pull up a comfy chair and think your way to scientific truth. by Philosopher's Zone
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Robot dogs dream of consciousness: What makes the human mind so distinctive? Perhaps the answer is in your dreams. by Philosopher's Zone
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The philosophy of parenting—part 4: An authentic life will risk heartbreak for the highs. That sounds like a job description for parenting. Matt Beard presents his final foray into the bewildering modern world of children, parents, and families. by Philosopher's Zone
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The world in a different light: Iris Murdoch’s philosophical vision: In a century that produced a dizzying array of philosophers and philosophical approaches, few philosophers were as distinctive, and stood out quite so conspicuously, as Iris Murdoch (1919-1999). by Philosopher's Zone
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Fuelling free will: Alfred Mele spent four years and four million dollars trying to get to the bottom of free will. He learnt that it was like petrol. by Philosopher's Zone
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The philosophy of parenting—part 1: Should you have kids? Don’t look for sage advice—part 1 of a 4-part series. by Philosopher's Zone
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Awesome ethics and the art of mushroom blading: Forget the meaning of life; an ethical definition of awesome is far more important. by Philosopher's Zone
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Politics at the extremes

Politics at the extremes

Description

Titles in the series (100)

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