Elucidations

In this episode, Zsofia Zvolenszky argues that names like 'Harry Potter' or 'Princess Leia' stand for non-concrete human-made artifacts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Barry Lam examines our common assumption that we should prioritize honoring the wishes of dead people. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Kristie Dotson discusses how imbalances in the way we share information with each other reflect broader power imbalances between social groups. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Paolo Santorio argues that to explain what statements like 'If A were, then B would be' mean, we need to understand them as statements about causal networks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, our guest argues that we confer social statuses on each other by treating each other has having different obligations and entitlements. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, John Collins discusses the philosophical significance of Noam Chomsky's theory of universal grammar, along with some of the scientific evidence for it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Kent Bach discusses the importance of subconscious processes that underlie ordinary, everyday reasoning. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Susanna Schellenberg, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Rutgers known for work on perception and hallucination, explains perceptual capacities as the common ability behind seeing and hallucinating. Short takes cover how those capacities can succeed or fail to single out real objects, why sensory experience grounds singular thoughts, and how perception and hallucination can feel identical yet differ metaphysically.

Daniel Smyth, a philosophy postdoc at Cornell who studies photography and visual representation, joins to explore why photos feel like evidence. He contrasts detection versus depiction, explains slit 'photo finish' cameras, and traces photographic conventions from optics to Hubble colorization. Short, thought-provoking takes on how background knowledge and cultural fluency shape what images mean.

Bryce Huebner, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown who links cognitive science and social philosophy. He discusses how physical and social environments shape implicit racial biases. He warns that token curriculum changes can backfire and argues for structural reforms. He explores neighborhood effects on perception and suggests reworking institutions so automatic responses favor inclusion.