Philosophy Talk Starters

More at www.philosophytalk.org/shows/free-will-illusion We like to think of ourselves as enjoying unrestricted freedom of the will. But modern science increasingly teaches us that our choices are causally determined by some combination of our genes, our upbringing, and our present circumstances. Can the idea of freedom of the will be reconciled with the scientific outlook or is free will an illusion? If we give up on the idea that we have freedom, what follows for our practice of holding people morally responsible for their actions and choices? John and Ken talk freely with John Fischer from UC Riverside, co-author of "Four Views on Free Will."

More at www.philosophytalk.org/shows/neurocosmetology Progress in neuroscience may soon make possible an age of neurocosmetology: the use of drugs to let people affect the way their brains work, so as to make them more effective, more attractive, and more like their "cognitive ideal." A world where all the women are beautiful and all the men handsome might be bearable if boring. But would a society full of type-A's work at all? Can it be rational to choose to change in ways that may change who you are? Should there be moral or legal prohibitions against healthy people messing with their own brain chemistry? John and Ken put on their best face with Sam Barondes from UCSF, author of "Better than Prozac: Creating the Next Generation of Psychiatric Drugs."

More at www.philosophytalk.org/shows/what-beauty. Are there objective standards of beauty? Or is beauty in the eye of the beholder? Must art be beautiful to be great art? What is the role of the experience of beauty in a good life? John and Ken take in the beauty with Alexander Nehamas from Princeton University, author of "Only a Promise of Happiness: The Place of Beauty in a World of Art."

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/religion-and-secular-state. Can committed believers and committed non-believers share a common political life in the context of a secular state? Committed believers may want the policies of the state to reflect their deeply held religious convictions and values. Committed non-believers may not want the state imposing religiously inspired values in the absence of any purely secular justification. Must religion retreat from the public sphere or can religion find a place in the public sphere, even in a purely secular state? John and Ken welcome Robert Audio from the University of Notre Dame, author of "Democratic Authority and the Separation of Church and State."

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/hume. David Hume's was a superb essayist, a brilliant philosopher, and a world-class bon vivant. His philosophical views in ethics, epistemology, aesthetics, and the philosophy of religion, though shocking to many in his own time, are enduring touchstones of modern philosophy, still required reading of every student of philosophy. Join John and Ken for a tour of a few of Hume's most startling ideas with Don Garrett from NYU, author of "Cognition and Commitment in Hume’s Philosophy".

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/erotic-vs-pornographic. Erotic experience is a human good. Mature, consenting adults should be able to explore the erotic realm freely, without outside interference. Pornography is illicit and destructive. But what is the real difference between the erotic and the pornographic? Is there a bright line? In our attempts to regulate pornography do we run the risk of infringing upon the erotic freedoms of consenting adults? John and Ken draw the line with Anne Ashbaugh from Colgate University.

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/ethics-sport. Once upon a time, student athletes were students first, athletes second; the Olympics was about amateurism and the pursuit of excellence, not the pursuit of endorsements; and professional athletes enhanced the physics through rigorous work-outs, not through performance enhancing substances. No doubt athletic excellence is at an all time high, but are ethics in athletics at an all time low? John and Ken explore ethics in sport with Myles Brand, President of the NCAA.