Very Bad Wizards

A British tabloid article about kids, brains, and spatial skills somehow provokes the biggest argument ever on the podcast. Dave and Tamler get into it about gender, toys, properly rounded brains, and balanced "play diets." Is Dave a sanctimonious toe-the-line academic liberal? Is Tamler a Fox-News watching, mysoginist genetic determinist? Do they actually disagree about anything? Plus Dave takes Tamler back after his fling with Partially Examined Life, and we discuss whether the new documentary The Unbelievers the atheist version of God is Not Dead? Links The Partially Examined Life podcast, and Tamler's Precognition of Ep. 93. [partiallyexaminedlife.com] Girls and boys DO have different brains – should they have different toys? by Rachel Carlyle [express.co.uk] The Unbelievers [unbelieversmovie.com] My Growing Disappointment with the New Atheist Movement: A Review of the The UnBelievers. Ami Palmer. [missiontotransition.blogspot.com] Nosek, B. A., Banaji, M. R., & Greenwald, A. G. (2002). Math= male, me= female, therefore math≠ me. Journal of personality and social psychology, 83, 44. [briannosek.com] Cvencek, D., Meltzoff, A. N., & Greenwald, A. G. (2011). Math–gender stereotypes in elementary school children. Child development, 82, 766-779. [washington.edu] Support Very Bad Wizards

David and Tamler argue about the use of autonomous robots and drones in warfare. Could it lead to less suffering during wars and afterwards? Would nations be motivated to design robots that behave ethically on the battlefield? Can David get through an episode without mentioning Star Trek? Plus, Tamler distances himself from the villainous philosophy professor in the new movie God is Not Dead and David complains about the growing number of porn journals. Links Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) [kipp.org] God's Not Dead [imdb.org] Arkin, R. C. (2010). The case for ethical autonomy in unmanned systems. Journal of Military Ethics, 9(4), 332-341. Kahn, P. W. (2002). The Paradox of Riskless Warfare. Philosophy & Public Policy Quarterly, 22(3), 2-7. [yale.edu] Singer, P. W. (2009). Wired for war: The robotics revolution and conflict in the twenty-first century. Penguin. [amazon.com affiliate link] "A Taste of Armageddon" Episode 23, Star Trek (The Original Series) [wikipedia.org] Moral Machines in the Military Sphere by Dr. Paul Bello. http://robotsandyou.eucognition.org Bio: Paul Bello joined the Office of Naval Research as a Program Officer in the Warfighter Performance and Protections Department in May of 2007. Support Very Bad Wizards

Dave and Tamler talk about a recent study that seems to support the view that "justice is what the judge had for breakfast" (or at least how long ago the parole board had breakfast), and that makes Tamler question his position on widening judicial discretion in criminal justice. In the second segment David tries to work out his guilt about manipulating consumers into buying stuff for whatever shadowy organization employs him (BEWorks!), and we discuss the ethics of nudges in government and consumer marketing. Should the government frame issues like organ donation in ways that will benefit society? How much of a threat are nudges to our autonomy? Should Apple take steps to ensure that people can control themselves when making in-app purchases? Tamler even comes up with a "theory," which means that there must have been something wrong with him. Please note that portions of the audio during the second segment are little spotty, likely due to a hex or poltergeist in one of the microphones. We'll have that worked out for the next episode. Enjoy! (For the handful who have asked--if you like the music David makes for the podcast, you can listen/download to your heart's content at www.soundcloud.com/peezismyname). Links Danziger, S., Levav, J., & Avnaim-Pesso, L. (2011). Extraneous factors in judicial decisions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(17), 6889-6892. [pnas.org] "Prisoners of our own resources" by Jonathan Levav, TEDx Rio de la Plata [youtube.com] Capestany, B. H., & Harris, L. T. (2014). Disgust and biological descriptions bias logical reasoning during legal decision-making. Social neuroscience, 1-13. [tandfonline.com] Asymmetric Dominance (Decoy Effect) [wikipedia.org] Opting-in vs Opting-out of organ donations [nytimes.com] The evil stuff people do with in app purchases and games [ibtimes.com] Support Very Bad Wizards

Can a fully determined creature deliberate? How big a role does conscious reasoning play in moral judgment and everyday life? Are we responsible for our thoughts and actions? Paul Bloom rejoins us against his better judgment to discuss his book "Just Babies" and his recent article in The Atlantic that set the internet on the fire and riled up the likes of Sam Harris and Jerry Coyne. Plus, what's the difference (if any) between getting into a Star Trek transporter and getting an axe to the head, and why does David know so much about boy bands? Links Just Babies by Paul Bloom [amazon.com-vbw affiliate link] The War on Reason by Paul Bloom [theatlantic.com] Jerry Coyne replies to Paul Bloom's Article [whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com] Bloom replies to Coyne [whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com] Tamler is the only one who realized he has a face for radio. Special Guest: Paul Bloom. Support Very Bad Wizards

Dave keeps trying to explain to Tamler that we're not a movie podcast, but somehow they're doing another podcast about movies. This time they each list their top 5 movies featuring moral dilemmas. Also, Tamler tries to rationalize the Woody Allen controversy, Ozymandias from Watchmen says "screw you Paul Bloom," Dave confuses Maggie Gyllenhaal with Droopy, and for the second time ever we have to censor something one of us (Tamler) says. Put on your astronaut adult diapers, folks, it's a long one. Links Dylan Farrow's Story [nytimes.com] Woody Allen Speaks Out [nytimes.com] The Woody Allen Allegations: Not So Fast [thedailybeast.com] "It's shockingly easy to create false memories" by Cara Laney [thedailybeast.com] Elizabeth Loftus [wikipedia.org] Watchmen Graphic Novel [wikipedia.org] The Vengeance Trilogy [wikipedia.org] Droopy Dog [wikipedia.org] Maggie Gyllenhal looks like Droopy Dog [cheezeburger.com] "Hard Determinism, Punishment, and Funishment" by Saul Smilansky [philosophycommons.typepad.com] Tamler's Top 5 (links all go to IMDB.com) The Third Man Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance In Bruges La Femme du Boulanger (The Baker's Wife) Gone Baby Gone David's Top 5 The Dark Knight Watchmen Minority Report 3:10 to Yuma Executive Decision Tamler's Honorable Mentions Movies that couldn't be talked about without spoilers: Oldboy (Park Chanwook's not fucking Spike Lee's). Mother The Maltese Falcon Seven Movies too close to personal identity Solaris Shutter Island So close... Beast of the Southern Wild. 3:10 to Yuma The Dark Knight Casablanca The Insider Donnie Brasco Maltese Falcon Shane Do the Right Thing Princess Mononoke Support Very Bad Wizards

Jesse Graham joins us for part 2 of our discussion on the nature of morality, and his recent paper on Moral Foundations Theory. He highlights the key components of MFT, defends himself against our accusations of weaseling out of the normative implications of MFT, champions "Synechdoche, New York" as one of the greatest films ever made, and comes out of the closet as a rationalist. Also in this episode, Tamler begins to defend Sam Harris (you read that right) from Dan Dennett's criticisms of Harris' Free Will--and then we pull back and realize that we need to devote a whole episode to Dennett's review. Links Dan Dennett's review of "Free Will" by Sam Harris [naturalism.org] Free Will by Sam Harris [amazon.com affiliate link] Jesse Graham's lab website [usc.edu] Moral Foundations Theory: The Pragmatic Validity of Moral Pluralism by Jesse Graham et al. Synechdoche, New York (RIP Phllip Seymour Hoffman!) Special Guest: Jesse Graham. Support Very Bad Wizards

Dave and Tamler bounce back this week after having to trash the last episode. Does morality ultimately boil down to a single principle (such as harm or justice), or is there more to ethical life than is dreamt of in the minds of philosophers? We settle this question once and for all in the first of a 2-part episode in which we discuss Jesse Graham et al's recent paper on Moral Foundations Theory. (Jesse Graham himself will join us for part 2). Plus: how liberal is this podcast? We'll give you the precise percentage after taking a Time.com quiz that purports to measure political leanings, (and which includes that perennial litmus test of political preferences: is it OK to come home and find your partner watching porn?) Links Can TIME predict your politics? [science.time.com] Moral Foundations Theory: The Pragmatic Validity of Moral Pluralism Foundations Theory (in press, Advances in Experimental Social Psychology) by Graham, J. et al [usc.edu] Old School [imdb.com] "Boy, I've Put You in a Really Tough Spot, Haven't I?" by Woody Allen [onion.com] Support Very Bad Wizards

Who is the real you? What happens to your identity when your body gets cloned or reconstituted with all the same memories and character traits? Does society construct our true selves or repress them? Can we ever escape our pasts and become different people? Dave thinks conceptual analysis and arousal measuring devices can solve all these problems but allows Tamler his dream of temporarily becoming the host of a movie podcast. They list their top 5 favorite movies about personal identity. Plus, do they have to eat still more crow--this time from Sam Harris? Links Personal Identity [plato.stanford.edu] Google Glass [youtube.com] Tamler's Top 5 5. Fight Club 4. A Clockwork Orange 3. Infernal Affairs 2. Moon 1. A History of Violence David's Top 5 5. Blade Runner 4. Vertigo 3. Looper 2. Groundhog Day 1. Back to the Future Honorable Mentions Solaris (Russian version) Being John Malkovich Memento My Fair Lady All of Me Zelig One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest Spirited Away The Prestige Shutter Island Unforgiven Side Effects Any Star Trek Movie Support Very Bad Wizards

The guest we've been waiting for--Nina Strohminger--joins us to talk about the connection between disgust and humor, cheap laughs, moral character and personal identity, and the British opt-in plan for porn. Plus: how psychologists measure erections and Dave goes Platonist about the form of hilarity. Tamler's daughter should have issued an extra strong disclaimer for this one. Links Nina Strohminger [ninastrohminger.com] David Cameron Proposes Porn Filter [thedailybeast.com] Strohminger, N. and Nichols, S. (in press). The Essential Moral Self. Cognition. Special Guest: Nina Strohminger. Support Very Bad Wizards

Our most irresponsible episode ever! Dave and Tamler talk about two reviews of a book they haven't read--Joshua Greene's Moral Tribes: Emotion, Reason, and the Gap Between Us and Them--and feel only a little shame. (Since the recording, at least one of us has finished the book). Can Greene successfully debunk all non-utilitarian intuitions? Does Greene have a dark enough view of human nature? What would an ideal moral world look like? Will Dave ever stop making fun of Tamler's haunted boy haircut? We answer all of these questions and more. Plus we respond to a listener's email and read a couple of our favorite iTunes reviews. Links Moral tribes: Emotion, reason, and the gap between us and them by Joshua Greene [amazon.com] Joshua Greene's website [harvard.edu] Why can't we all just get along? The uncertain biological basis of morality. Robert Wright reviews "Moral Tribes" for The Atlantic. You Can't Learn About Morality from Brain Scans: The problem with moral psychology. Thomas Nagel Reviews "Moral Tribes" for the New Republic If you don't already have it, Tamler's interview with Joshua Greene and Liane Young in his book A Very Bad Wizard is worth the read [amazon.com] On Debunking (Tamler's five part series of posts at Eric Schwitzgebel's blog The Splintered Mind) *book links are amazon affiliate links. They are the same price for you but sends a few pennies our way. Support Very Bad Wizards