Philosophy Talk Starters

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/reading-narrative-and-self. Reading is a lot of fun, especially narrative fiction – everyone loves a good story. But maybe there's more to it than that. Maybe everyone is, or at least tries to be, a good story themselves. Perhaps our very personal identities rest on narratives we form about ourselves, narratives that give our lives meaning, continuity, and coherence. Will the younger generation fashion lives based on the chaos and violence-based levels of computer games, rather than the carefully constructed lives of great fiction? Or is that just one of the old-fogey hosts grumbling? John and Ken swap stories with Joshua Landy, co-director of the Literature and Philosophy Initiative at Stanford University.

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/bargaining-devil. Compromise is the condition of peace and progress. But there are times when we should not compromise – when compromise would undermine integrity and amount to cooperating with evil. How do we distinguish between when are we 'bargaining with the devil' and when are we simply trying to be tolerant of alternative lifestyles and political positions? Is it OK to 'bargain with the devil' in the name of peace? When we refuse to compromise on moral grounds, are we imposing our values? Ken and John negotiate the terms with UC Irvine Law Professor and professional mediator Carrie Menkel-Meadow.

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/philosophy-and-alma-mater. Scholars from Berkeley and from Stanford have played a big role on Philosophy Talk. Sure, John and Ken are from Stanford, but many of our most frequent and most brilliant guests are from Berkeley: Alison Gopnik, John Searle, Geoff Nunberg, George Lakoff, and many others. But who supports KALW more, Berkeley or Stanford? We'll rely on our Stanford- and Berkeley-connected guests to charge up the Cardinal and Bears in the audience, and see who can raise more money for our beloved radio station.

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/meaning-and-revolution. The American Revolution was saturated with meaning and ambiguity, from the words of the Declaration of Independence, to the beliefs of the founding fathers, to the vagueness, hedges, and contradictions of the Constitution on which the possibility of union between slave and free states rested. Ken and John examine the personalities, philosophies, and documents of the American Revolution with Pulitzer Prize winning Stanford historian Jack Rakove, author of "Revolutionaries: A New History of the Invention of America."

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/philosophy-young-corrupting-or-empowering. Socrates was executed for corrupting the youth. In America, youth below college age are usually not exposed to philosophy in the classroom. Is philosophy all that dangerous? Should it be taught to teenagers? Or would this lead to a generation of self-absorbed and skeptical young people, shirking their duties in order to worry about the meaning of life? Ken and John are joined by Jack Bowen, author of "The Dream Weaver" and "If You Can Read This: The Philosophy of Bumper Stickers," for a program recorded with a live audience of young philosophers at Palo Alto High School.

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/self-deception. Self-deception sounds like a contradiction: intentionally convincing yourself of something you know to be untrue. But it is a pervasive aspect of human nature. What is the nature of self-deception, and what are its main patterns? Does it serve any purpose? Ken and John confront the truths of self-deception with Neil Van Leeuwen from the University of Johannesburg.

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/humanism. Humanism as a movement arose with the Renaissance. It took powerful expression with the Enlightenment, and deeply influenced the founding of the United States. But now "secular humanism" is widely decried and even derided. What was Humanism, and what has it become? In an age of appreciating the interconnectedness of all nature, is the Humanist enterprise out of date? Ken and John are joined by Jennifer Bardi, editor of "The Humanist" magazine, for a program recorded live at the 69th annual conference of the American Humanist Association in San Jose.

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/social-reality. Few things affect our lives as much as the fact that we are citizens of one country rather than another. The government of, the economy of, and the rights recognized and opportunities provided by the country we live in shape our lives. But how real are any of these facts and things? Without human beliefs, and societies of humans, there would be no states, no facts of citizenship, no money, and few opportunities. Are our lives built on ontological fluff? Ken and John discuss the metaphysics of the social with famed philosopher John Searle, author of "Making the Social World: The Structure of Human Civilization."

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/loyalty. Loyalty is usually reckoned to be an important virtue; even loyalty to lost causes is often admired. But loyalty to evil causes is no virtue. To whom and what should one be loyal? When is loyalty a virtue? When is it wrong? And when is it stupid? Ken and John welcome back poet and philosopher Troy Jollimore, author of "Friendship and Agent-Relative Morality."

More at: http://philosophytalk.org/shows/democracy-and-press. Our founding fathers believed that a free press would serve democracy by promoting unfettered political debate and expose the actions of the government to the harsh scrutiny of an informed and engaged populace. Today, however, large media conglomerates have become part of the entrenched power structure and are driven as much by profit as by a sense of public mission. Is it still possible to believe that the press lives up to the lofty ideals of our founding fathers? John and Ken are joined by former TV news anchor and investigative journalist Leslie Griffith.