Meaningoflife.tv: Sophia (audio)

Putting Kant's work in context ... Kant's Critique of Pure Reason and Prolegomena ... Kant's radical innovations in the Critique ... Defining different kinds of thought ... Active and passive faculties of the mind ... Are there two worlds, or two aspects of one world? ... Consequences of intertwining the world and the mind ...

Is a “theory of everything” possible? ... Dan and Massimo recap their previous discussions on progress ... In what sense has philosophy gotten “better” over time? ... How the “realists” v. “anti-realists” debate shows that philosophy progresses ... Comparing early utilitarianism to modern utilitarianism ... Why science has become increasingly segmented ... Is epistemology dead or is it advancing? ... Why philosophy matters ...

Massimo’s new book on the nature of philosophy ... The distinctive way philosophy makes progress ... Are philosophers really more like artists? ... Has philosophy “gotten better”? ...

Massimo's new book, The Nature of Philosophy ... Two ways that philosophy and science progress ... Logic, mathematics, and the physical world ... Does physics depend on mathematics too much? ... Comparing mathematics to games and fiction ... Why does mathematics describe the real world so well? ...

The ethics of eating ... Why Massimo changed his eating habits ... The problem with utilitarianism ... Morality from a virtue-ethics perspective ... Considering ethical obligations ... Are some virtues more important than others? ...

Rationalism, its virtues and ideals ... Manifestations of rationalism in epistemology ... ... ... in ethics ... ... ... and in political philosophy ... Critique of rationalism: It can't be reasons all the way down ... Dan K. claims rational ethicists don't really exist ... ... ... and if they did, you wouldn't like them ... How philosophy turned to rationalism, and Dan K. turned away from it ...

What constitutes an explanation in the natural sciences? ... Looking for a categorical difference between natural and social sciences ... Biological and social explanations of human behavior ... The difference between the narratives of social and physical sciences ... Does social science explain events or their interpretations? ... Must a science have “laws”? Are there social scientific laws? ...

A quick look at the life of Wittgenstein ... The misunderstood philosopher ... How does language represent reality (if at all)? ... Wittgenstein the Mystic ... Why your private thoughts are public ... Cognitive science's big Wittgensteinian problem ...

Stoicism: a philosophical alternative to religion ... Adapting an ancient philosophy of life to modern times ... Accepting harsh truths ... Confronting regret, fear, and death ... Applying Stoicism to the social sphere ... Interpreting the concept of radical self-sufficiency ...

What does it mean to be Jewish? ... The development of different Jewish movements ... Barbara: God doesn't change; our understanding of God changes ... The Torah, the Talmud, and the Jewish canon ... Bringing the old ways into modern times ... Why moral philosophy alone isn’t enough ...

Dan questions the rationale for a liberal arts education ... Massimo defends the liberal arts ... Does studying the humanities make you a better citizen? ... Campus protesters with a little learning ... Valuing the liberal arts for their own sake ... Massimo: The humanities are dangerous ...

Digging into C. S. Lewis's "Liar, Lunatic, or Lord" argument ... Did Jesus assert his own divinity? ... Unpacking "son of God" and "son of man" ... The Jesus of John vs. the Jesus of Mark ... How to use the New Testament as a historical document ... Why Leslie, a Christian, wants to rebut Lewis's apologetic ...

What guides our moral decision-making? ... Dealing with conflicting moral obligations ... Distinguishing feelings from beliefs ... What makes an expert? ... What a moral theory does ... Why “effective altruism” isn’t compelling ...

“Virtue ethics” vs. typical modern understandings of morality ... What do you need to live a “flourishing” life? ... How to tell the difference between a Cynic and a Stoic ... When our moral intuitions and our moral systems conflict ... What Massimo finds appealing about a Stoic lifestyle ... Why you shouldn’t focus on external outcomes ...

How scientific are the social sciences? ... Glenn defends the reliability of economic predictions ... The strengths and weaknesses of "natural experiments" ... How much does culture affect economic behavior? ... New insights from behavioral economics ... Dan: We trust the social sciences too much ...

How Bertrand Russell changed Massimo's life ... Russell's waning influence on philosophy ... The legacy of Russell's "Why I Am Not a Christian" ... How Gilbert Ryle turned Dan away from Platonism ... Category errors and "knowing how" vs. "knowing that" ... Why history is more important in philosophy than in science ...

A short history of Wittgenstein’s influence ... Why Wittgenstein causes problems for philosophers ... Where does meaning come from? ... What it is to follow a rule ... The illusion of intrinsic value and meaning ... How Wittgenstein changed our understanding of the mind ...

The "strong AI thesis": Can a machine think? ... Debating the usefulness of the Turing test ... Could your brain be swapped with a silicon replica? ... Massimo: You'll never be able to upload your consciousness ... Digging into the famous "Chinese room" thought experiment ... Dan: Neuroscience won't solve philosophy of mind puzzles ...

Defining moral realism—it's harder than you'd think! ... Why Massimo is not a moral realist ... Are utilitarians moral realists? Are Kantians? ... Why we'll never arrive at a single ethical theory ... Human nature and why there's no Marxist utopia ... What happens to those who refuse to play the "moral game"? ...

Stoic Week is almost here—get that catering order in! ... Wrestling philosophy out of the ivory tower and onto the street ... Neo-Stoicism: Like the ancient kind, but with less Zeus ... A day in the life of a practicing modern Stoic ... Can Stoicism be a secular replacement for traditional religion? ... That guy who always cries at weddings? Probably a philosopher ...