Philosophy Talk Starters

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/pornography. Is pornography an art form, or simply anything that depicts genitals in action? Where does mere eroticism end and pornography begin? In the internet age, pornography appears to have become not only more accessible but also more acceptable in American society – is this a welcome loosening up of a conservative tradition, or is it the path to moral degradation? John and Ken probe the philosophical implications of pornography with Rae Langton, author of "Sexual Solipsism: Philosophical Essays on Pornography and Objectification."

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/money-and-morality. Does our system of credit and money make upward social mobility possible for anyone willing to work hard? Or is it just a big Ponzi scheme? Are corporations the essential structures necessary to harness the capital, energy, intelligence, and leadership on a scale large enough to make and market the inventions that define modern life? Or are they just devices for evading responsibility and rewarding greed? Ken and John put these questions and more to Neil Malhotra from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/prison-system. As of June 30, 2007, the prisons and jails in the land of the free held 2,299,116 inmates; one in every 31 American adults is in prison, on parole, or on probation. The state of California has more people in jail than China does, and this year expects to spend more on prisons than on higher education. Is something wrong with this picture? John and Ken explore the nature of incarceration and rehabilitation with Kara Dansky, Executive Director of the Stanford Criminal Justice Center.

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/social-networking. From online bulletin boards at the dawn of the internet to the modern mammoths of Facebook and MySpace, people have used communications technology to associate in innovative ways. How do our old-fashioned values fit in to our new digital playgrounds? John and Ken network with Malcolm Parks from the University of Washington, author of "Personal Relationships and Personal Networks."

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/summer-reading-list-2009. Even if you're not going to Biarritz for the summer as usual, you can relax in the sun and read. There are a lot of readable, beach-friendly classics and non-classics to add philosophical depth to your Summer Reading. Join Ken and John to share some of the philosophically-minded reading on your list for this summer.

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/mind-and-world. What kinds of contact can the mind have with the world? Can we know how the world is in itself, or can we only know shadows of the world in our own minds? Are we trapped behind a veil of our own mental states? Is there a world outside my mind – or our minds – at all? John and Ken tackle the big questions of perception, the external world, and the nature of reality, with Howard Robinson from the Central European University, author of "Perception."

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/worship. Worship is the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for something. The attitude of worship towards God or gods or ancestors is a universal of human culture. But why do we worship? Do objects of worship need to fulfill certain criteria? Does worship play a positive or negative role in human culture? Is it clear that a perfect, omnipotent and omniscient God truly wants to be worshipped? Some pagan religions worship the earth, or the aspects of nature that make human life possible and rewarding. Does this make more sense than worshipping an imperfect God? The Philosophers express their reverence with Daniel Speak from Loyola Marymount University.

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/beliefs-gone-wild. Our brains evolved on the African savannah, but are now expected to deal with complex statistical information and other intricate concepts every day. The result: beliefs gone wild. Ken and John reveal the traps that the mismatch between our brains and the world we live in pose for ordinary mortals with their guest, The Undercover Philosopher, Michael Philips.

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/desire. There are two ways to have your desires fulfilled: you can either get what you want (if you're lucky enough) or change your desires. If we can fit our desires to what we have, we're likely to be a lot happier. So why do we desire things that are out of reach? Why do we have desires that make us unhappy? And what can we do about it? John and Ken explore the relationship between desire and happiness with William Irvine, author of "On Desire: Why We Want What We Want."

More at: http://philosophytalk.org/shows/too-much-information. “We’re just never going to catch up,” writes David Weinberger in "Everything Is Miscellaneous." That is, we're never going to catch up with the flood of information that is thrown at us by modern technology, especially the internet. We can never get all of our email filed, our digital pictures labeled, our calendars updated, our computers organized. Is the problem too much information, or out-of-date expectations about how information should be organized? Ken and John try to make sense of the flood of information with author and philosopher David Weinberger.