Philosophy For Our Times

Should we see art as a means of getting closer to the essence of what it is to be alive?Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesArt is most often seen as an adornment to everyday life. An entertainment, a delightful distraction perhaps, but not an uncovering of the essential character of the world. To uncover reality, we instead focus on accurate description and the discovery of facts. Yet these descriptions frequently do not settle the matter and can often lead to conflict and dispute, and all the while we are no closer to agreement on the essential nature of reality. Could we successfully refocus culture so that art was the primary means of making sense of ourselves and our reality? Or is this an empty romantic illusion that would leave us poorer, less productive and less able to fend for ourselves in the world?Critically acclaimed writer Janne Teller, musical comedian and writer Isy Suttie, British philosopher James Tartaglia and Pulitzer prize poet Paul Muldoon as they debate whether art can uncover the essence of the world. Hosted by acclaimed author, Joanna Kavenna.There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=[infinty-in-the-palm-of-your-handSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Is knowing oneself even possible? Listen to find out.Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesFrom the self-help industry to the contemporary focus on mental health, the ancient Greek maxim 'Know Thyself', is very much in fashion. But many would argue it is an impossible dream. We can't catch sight of ourselves, and the attempt to do so often leaves us lost and confused. What's more, from the notorious serial killer Ted Bundy to drug addicts who's lives are in ruin, individuals can be well aware of their failings but unable or unwilling to change.Pioneer of modern understanding of ancient myths Betty Sue Flowers, Award winning journalist Anil Ananthaswamy, renowned psychiatrist Iain McGilchrist and Professor of Philosophy Bence Nanay are joined by our host, Professor of Religion and Science Mary Jane Rubenstein to ask if we can ever truly know ourselves.There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=catching-sigh-of-our-selfSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Should we all engage in a radical cull? Listen to find out.Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesWe are attached to things. Our dwellings are packed with items we rarely throw out. Things have traditionally given us comfort but they also give us status. The wealthy often collect things for no other purpose than to own them. But in an age when the great majority of us have too much, when cupboards are full of clothes we do not wear, shelves with books we do not read, is it not time to end this obsession? Might the status of the future come from being free of objects and clutter, focusing instead on experience and the natural world? Or are things our only link with the past, and a necessary part of who we are?Behavioural scientist Paul Dolan, senior lecturer in psychology at Leeds Beckett University Steve Taylor and British broadcaster and anthropologist Mary-Ann Ochota debate the status of things. Eliane Glaser hosts.There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=the-status-of-thingsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Must we give up on our current ideas of the self and identity? Listen to find out!Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesWe laugh at the medieval view that disease is due to an imbalance in the four humours. Instead we see infectious illness as an attack by something external. But this can't be the whole story. After all, not everyone got Covid or suffered from it equally.There are mounting challenges to the standard attack-defence account of disease. Critics argue It relies on our being able to distinguish self and non-self and there is no such mechanism. Instead they argue radical collective and ecological frameworks provide a better and more effective account.Can the new paradigms of danger theory or adaptation help crack disease? Might immunology proves to be the key to the deep philosophical question of what makes us who we are?Quantum biologist JohnJoe McFadden, distinguished immunologist Ane Ogbe and Professor of Paediatric Immunology Petter Brodin debate the self and the non-self. Gunes Taylor hosts.  There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=beyond-the-self-and-the-non-selfSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What are the moral limits today?Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesWe think we should be concerned for the well being of farm animals and those used in experiments. But where should we draw the line? Mosquitoes? Plants? Rivers? Join philosopher and bestselling author Peter Godfrey-Smith as he argues we should draw new limits for our moral consideration.Peter Godfrey-Smith is professor in the School of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Sydney. His main research interests are in the philosophy of biology and the philosophy of mind.He is the author of numerous highly-acclaimed, including 'Other Minds: The Octopus, The Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness.'There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=should-we-care-for-ants-peter-godfrey-smithSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Can we change the world?Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesCamus and Kafka have both been central to 20th century writing and thought. Both wrote about the relationship of the individual to society. But they had very different visions. Camus saw the individual as having the power to change and influence society. While Kafka honed in on the limitations of the individual to change anything and the power of the state and social organisation.Who got it right? Should we follow Camus and see freedom and the ability to change the world as essential to the human condition? Or is this an illusion, and instead recognise that we are limited by culture, upbringing, and organisation, so that there is no room left for the lone individual to alter and change the character of society or the course of their lives?There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=kafka-vs-camusSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Opening a path towards more enlightened societies with Rebecca Roache. Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesPhilosophy is not just about armchair thinking. It can help us live better lives and find meaning. In this talk philosopher of mind Rebecca Roache shows us that philosophy can be the key to creating better lives, and more enlightened societies.  Rebecca Roache is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at Royal Holloway, University of London. Her research interests range from ethics and metaphysics to philosophy of mind and philosophy of language. She is a pioneer in field of philosophy of swearing, and her work has been featured in The Times, The Guardian and the BBC. There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=how-to-use-philosophy-for-a-better-lifeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

An interview with CosmisSkepticLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesWhat is scepticism? How do we deal with our own coginitive dissonance? Can veganism ever be justified purely by reason? These are just some of the questions that Alex O'Connor, AKA CosmicSkeptic, has been grappling with on his youtube channel, viewed by over 40 million people, for the past few years. In this interview, Alex O'Connor sits down with the Institute of Art and Ideas to discuss his positions on scepticism, David Hume, veganism, Peter Singer and religion.Alex O’Connor, also known by his YouTube alias ‘CosmicSkeptic’, is a prolific philosopher, youtuber, public speaker and animal welfare activist. His youtube channel has amassed over 450 000 subscribers and discusses issues relating to free speech, free will, animal rights and the philosophical arguments against religion.There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=where-sceptics-failSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Should we go back to a world before civilisation? Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesWith high rates of infanticide, senicide and disease, not many of us pine for the era before human civilization, farms and nations. Yet anthropologists Yuval Harari and Jared Diamond have called the agricultural revolution a"trap"and humanity’s "worst mistake”, arguing hunter gatherer life was more leisurely and free, as humans were not tied down to private property or oppressed by hierarchy.Is there a way to keep the benefits of industry and technology while also living as freely as our untamed ancestors? Should we go further and rewild to escape the status, hierarchy and oppression of civilisation? Or is this an impossible fantasy born out of a misunderstanding of anthropology and the idealistic myth of the ‘noble savage’?Paleobiologist Mark Williams, Conservative former cabinet minister Peter Lilley and former leader of the Green Party Natalie Bennett weigh in on civilisation as we know it. Hosted by Güneş Taylor.There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=[iai-tv-episode-title] See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Neuroscience?! Quantum Physics?! Is new data on the horizon?Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesWe are uncovering a new science of consciousness. A theory that is getting closer to solving the problem of the self once and for all. Or at least so claim leading neuroscientists. Some argue the reality we perceive is a controlled hallucination as a best guess to how the world really is. Others that quantum mechanics or multiple levels of brain organisation are responsible for consciousness. But critics maintain these don't get to the heart of the problem: how the material stuff of the brain is responsible for the immaterial stuff of experience.Should we see the 'new science of consciousness' as marketing hype? Might we alternatively need to give up our very notion of reality? Or could science be about to crack the ancient problem of the self once and for all?Legendary theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli, ground breaking metaphysical idealist Bernardo Kastrup, godmother of neurophilosophy Patricia Churchland lock horns over the New Science of Consciousness.Robert Lawrence Kuhn Hosts.There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=the-new-science-of-consciousnessSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.