Philosophy Talk Starters

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/what-are-human-rights. According to the Declaration of Independence, the basic human rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are God-given. Whatever the role of God, rights must be recognized by the society in which one lives to be of any use. Are rights universal? God given? Philosophically justified? Or a matter of custom and culture? John and Ken welcome back Helen Stacy, author of "Human Rights For the 21st Century: Sovereignty, Civil Society, Culture."

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/corporation-person. The Supreme Court recently decided that corporations had the right of free speech under the U.S. Constitution, since they are persons. But what does it mean to say corporations are persons? Why should they have rights? If they have free speech, should they have the vote? What sorts of duties do they have? Where did the idea of a corporation as a person come from, and should it be retired? Ken and John examine the philosophical bases of corporate personhood with shareholder activist Robert Monks, co-author of "Corporate Governance."

More at: http://philosophytalk.org/shows/philosophy-talk-live-highlights. It's a Philosophy Talk highlight reel for the membership drive! In this special episode, John and Ken relive some favorite moments from Philosophy Talk episodes recorded in front of live audiences around the country. We start at the Marsh theatre in San Francisco with psychologist Alison Gopnik and political philosopher Judith Butler, followed by philosopher-poet Troy Jollimore in Portland, pop culture philosopher Richard Hanley at the University of Delaware, scientist and entrepreneur Craig Venter at the Smithsonian Institution, and political scientist Rob Reich in Palo Alto, California. Plus selected commentaries from Ian Shoales, the Sixty-Second Philosopher.

More at: http://philosophytalk.org/shows/mental-illness-and-culture. Paranoia, depression, schizophrenia, bipolarity, and all the other ways Americans have discovered to be crazy – are they universal phenomena, rooted in human biology? Or are they cultural kinks, rooted in one society's peculiar pressures and institutions? Are Americans inducing the rest of the world to be crazy like us, so we can market the appropriate cures? Ken and John maintain their sanity with Ethan Watters, author of "Crazy Like Us: The Globalization of the American Psyche."

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/faces-feelings-and-lies. According to Proverbs, lying lips are an abomination to the Lord. But lies on human lips are as common as fleas on a dog. What is a lie? Are all untruths lies? Is lying always immoral? Do our faces inevitably betray our lies? Join the hosts as they uncover the concept, practice, and detection of lies with pioneering psychologist Paul Ekman, author of "Telling Lies: Clues to Deceit in the Marketplace, Politics, and Marriage" and scientific consultant to the Fox television series "Lie To Me."

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/ethics-torture. According to former Vice President Cheney, practices widely regarded as torture prevented further attack on America after 9/11. The facts are in dispute. But suppose he is correct – can torture be justified on such utilitarian grounds? What is the philosophical basis of our aversion to using torture? Is the moral principle not to torture absolute or circumstantial? Ken and John consider the ethics of torture with Nancy Sherman from Georgetown University, author of "The Untold War: Inside the Hearts, Minds, and Souls of Our Soldiers."

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/what-wife. The concept of a wife has been embedded in cultures, religious practices, social customs and economic patterns of wildly different sorts. Is there a core concept of what it is to be a wife? Is it a good concept, or one that deserves to be thrown on the trash heap of intellectual history because it perpetrates corrosive stereotypes of women? What conceptions of being a wife do Americans have today? John and Ken discuss the topic with Marilyn Yalom, author of "A History of the Wife."

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/fear. Fear is an emotion, but it is one with a long history in both political theory and politics in the real world. In many versions of social contract theory, it is a fear of the state of nature that leads to government in the first place. From McCarthy to post-9/11 politics, fear has played a leading role in American public discourse. Ken and John examine fear as theme in politics and political philosophy with Corey Robin from the City University of New York, author of "Fear: The History of a Political Idea."

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/what-normal. What does it mean to be normal? And abnormal? Who gets to decide, and what are the repercussions? When do we applaud deviations from the norm, when do we condemn them, and why? John and Ken take a look at the uses and abuses of making judgments about normality with Charles Scott from Vanderbilt University, author of "Living With Indifference" and "The Language of Difference."

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/mind-reading. We base many decisions every day not only on the belief that other people have minds, but on detailed beliefs about what is going on in those minds: what these other people believe, feel, hope, and fear. The basis of our ability to "read" the minds of others is a lively area of research in psychology and the philosophy of psychology. Ken and John discuss mind-reading with Shaun Nichols from the University of Arizona, author of "Mindreading: An Integrated Account of Pretense, Self-Awareness and Understanding Other Minds."