Philosophy Bites

Implicit biases are tricky. We all have them, apparently, but we don't realise we have them. What are the implications of these biases? Does it, perhaps, go some way to explaining why there are so few women in academic philosophy? Jennifer Saul discusses these questions with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

Bernard Williams was one of the most brilliant philosophers of his generation. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast Adrian Moore discusses his ideas about Ethics.

For this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast Rom Harre discusses and illustrates the so-called Linguistic Turn in Philosophy, the focus on actual uses of language that was advocated by the later Wittgenstein, J.L. Austin, Gilbert Ryle and others.

Why is argument so important in politics? Bob Talisse, co-author of Why We Argue (and how we should), explores this issue in conversation with David Edmonds for this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

What are human rights? Are they simply legal rights? What is their relation to morality? John Tasioulas discusses the basis of human rights in conversation with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

You might expect people who specialize in moral philosophy to behave better than other people. Eric Schwitzgebel has done some empirical investigation of whether this is the case, and it doesn't seem to be. What does that show about ethics? Philosophy Bites investigates.

Many people have noticed similarities between what David Hume wrote about the self and Buddhist teaching on this subject. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites archive Alison Gopnik discusses the possibility that there was a direct route of influence.

Is it ever morally acceptable to kill one person to save many? Most people agree that in some extreme circumstances this, though psychologically difficult, can be the right action to take. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast, Nigel Warburton interviews David Edmonds (co-creator of the Philosophy Bites podcast) about the life and death thought experiments known as Trolley Problems. David Edmonds book about Trolley Problems Would You Kill the Fat Man? will be published in Autumn 2013 by Princeton University Press.

You think you know what's best but don't do it. We've all been there. For Plato and Aristotle this weakness of will presented a philosophical problem. Jessica Moss explains their contrasting approaches to this topic in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

David Hume's 'Of the Standard of Taste' focuses on judgements about beauty in writing. Can we say with any authority that one writer or work is better than another? Michael Martin gives a clear analysis of Hume's essay on this topic in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Reliable texts of Hume's works are available from www.davidhume.org