Philosophy Bites

Can love be defined? In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast Simon May, author of a recent book on the topic, argues that there's more in common between different kinds of love than many people realise. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy

The standard reading of David Hume's Treatise is that it reveals him as a sceptic and also as an advocate of a science of man. These two aspects seem to be in tension. The sceptical Hume seems opposed to the more positive contribution he makes about human nature. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast Paul Russell suggests a way of solving this riddle. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy.

Is the attempt to find happiness self-defeating? Have people always been so obsessed with the pursuit of happiness? Pascal Bruckner dis cusses these questions with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy.

What is humour? Why do we have a sense of humour? Philosophers have been asking this sort of question for a while. Noel Carroll gives some answers, and tells some jokes, in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy.

In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast Catharine MacKinnon talks to Nigel Warburton about the concept of Gender Crime. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy.

Michel de Montaigne is an unusual and likeable figure. His essays are quirky, honest, and strangely modern. Sarah Bakewell, author of a recent prize-winning book about Montaigne, How to Live, discusses Montaigne's life and work for this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy

Frank Ramsey was a remarkable philosopher and mathematician who made substantial original contributions to philosophy, economics and mathematics despite dying before he was 30 years old. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast Hugh Mellor discusses Ramsey's ideas about truth. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy

The moral philosopher Jonathan Glover discusses questions about personality disorder, conscience, and responsibility in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy

There is a long tradition of just war theory, but how does it square with moral cosmopolitanism, the idea that individuals, not nations, should be our prime concern? Cécile Fabre discusses this question with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

Harvard philosopher Michael Sandel discusses 3 different theories of Justice in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast: Bentham's, Kant's and Aristotle's. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy.

Must it be? Do I really have a choice about what I do? I seem to be able to reason about what I will do, but do I have a choice about how I weight the different choices available? And where does luck come in? Paul Russell discusses the thorny question of whether or not we have control over our lives for this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy.

Why bother studying the Humanities? Surely when resources are limited we should be concentrating on subjects that have clear economic benefits, shouldn't we? Not necessarily. Martha Nussbaum, author of Not For Profit, argues for the continuing importance of Humanities subjects, particularly Philosophy, in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy.

When a group of people acts together we can hold that group morally and legally responsible. But how does the group decide to act? Is a decision of the group simply the majoritarian sum of individual group members' views? Princeton philosopher Philip Pettit, who has written a book about this topic with Christian List of the LSE, discusses these issues with Nigel Warburton for the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy.

What is a law of nature? Is it merely a generalisation about how things behave? Or does it have a different status? Helen Beebee investigates these questions in conversation with Nigel Warburton for this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy.

Adam Smith, the great thinker of the Scottish Enlightenment, is best known as an economist. But much of his work was philosophical, and even his economic thinking is probably best understood as part of a larger project of attempting a science of humanity. Nick Phillipson, author of an acclaimed biography of Adam Smith, discusses Smith's philosophical agenda in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy.

What is Philosophy? We asked some of our contributors this question for this bonus episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy.

What is moral responsibility? Are there ever grounds for saying that we have diminished responsibility? Gideon Rosen addresses these questions in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy

Does inequality really matter? Or should we be more concerned with raising the standards of the least well off than any disparity between those who have and those who have not? Alex Voorhoeve of the London School of Economics discusses these questions with David Edmonds in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy.

Gottlob Frege was one of the founders of the movement known as analytic philosophy. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast Michael Dummett explains why his ideas about how language relates to the world have been so important. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy.

Since John Locke declared the child's mind a blank slate, philosophers have long debated the degree to which language-learning is innate. Are there are universal grammatical features that all languages share? Daniel Everett, who has spent many years among the Piraha, an Amazonian people who have a highly unusual language, believes that some of Noam Chomsky's claims about language acquisition are mistaken. Listen to him discussing the nature of language with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with The Institute of Philosophy

What is a portrait? What can it reveal? Cynthia Freeland explores the nature of portraits in this interview with Nigel Warburton for the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy. A book, Philosophy Bites, based on 25 interviews, is now available from Oxford University Press.

Many people think that the idea of experiments in philosophy is a contradiction. Joshua Knobe disagrees. He is at the forefront of a new movement known as Experimental Philosophy. David Edmonds interviews him in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy. There is now a Philosophy Bites book published by Oxford University Press - further details are available on www.philosophybites.com

If you saw a child drowning in a shallow pond would you save that child? If you would, why don't you give the small amount of money necessary to save a child from starvation or disease in parts of Africa? Peter Singer argues that the differences between the two cases are not as great as they first appear in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy - http://www.philosophy.sas.ac.uk

What is exploitation? Hillel Steiner discusses this question with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with The Institute of Philosophy www.philosophy.sas.ac.uk

We interpret each others' words all the time. How do we do this? What part do intentions play? Does this have any implications for interpreting laws? Stephen Neale discusses these issues in conversation with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in assocation with the Institute of Philosophy - for further information about the Institute see www.philosophy.sas.ac.uk

What gives meaning to a life? Susan Wolf discusses this question with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy.

Pat Churchland argues that we may need to modify our concepts in the light of recent brain research in this episode of the podcast Philosophy Bites. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy (www.sas.philosophy.ac.uk).

Why shouldn't you eat meat? Jeff McMahan argues that there are no good reasons not to be a vegetarianism (and many good reasons for being one) in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast David Chalmers discusses the philosophical implications of the artificial intelligence of the future - an imaginable time when machines are more intelligent and more powerful than humans.

Is it possible to be both utopian and realistic in political philosophy? In his second interview for the Philosophy Bites podcast Raymond Geuss argues that utopianism and realism need not be incompatible.

Hegel's philosophy is notoriously difficult to grasp. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast Robert Stern gives a lucid account of Hegel's notion of dialectic, the fundamental methodology in his philosophy. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy.

Ned Block talks to Nigel Warburton about some phenomena of consciousness in the latest episode of the podcast Philosophy Bites. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy (www.philosophy.sas.ac.uk).

How should we live now? This is the basic question that Susan Neiman addresses in conversation with Nigel Warburton for this episode of the podcast Philosophy Bites. Her answer draws on Enlightenment thinking. If you enjoy Philosophy Bites, you might also like Ethics Bites which can be found on iTunesU.

Does everyone have a sense of self? What is it? Galen Strawson grapples with these questions in conversation with Nigel Warburton in the latest episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

John Rawls' A Theory of Justice is probably the most important work of political philosophy of the 20th Century. In this Philosophy Bites podcast Jonathan Wolff outlines the key features of that book and explores some of its limitations.

Jerrold Levinson examines analogies between music an eros in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast Robert B. Talisse in discussion with Nigel Warburton explains what the philosphical movement of Pragmatism was, and some of the differences between the ideas of its founders Pierce, Dewey and James.

In this interview for the Philosophy Bites podcast Thomas Pogge, Professor of Philosophy at Yale University, explores the difficult issue of how we can achieve greater justice in the distribution of pharmaceutical products to countries which can't afford to pay the high prices sometimes demanded by manufacturers.

Tzvetan Todorov defends Englightenment values as important for us today in this episode of the philosophy podcast Philosophy Bites.

Don Cupitt, controversial theologian and philosopher, argues that Jesus is best seen as a moralist and a radical secular humanist in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. The podcast is introduced by David Edmonds. Nigel Warburton is the interviewer.

How our words relate to objects is a thorny philosophical conundrum. In this episode of the philosophy podcast Philosophy Bites A.C. Grayling explains Bertrand Russell's Theory of Descriptions, an attempt to elucidate that relationship.

Catalin Avramescu discusses the fascinating topic of the part played by the idea of cannibalism in the history of philosophy in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

Jeff McMahan of Rutgers University discusses the morality of killing in war with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

What is involved in understanding a decision? Richard Bradley of the LSE addresses this question in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. As a decision theorist, he views decisions as gambles involving weightings of beliefs and desires.

This episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast focuses on the question of whether politicians need ever act immorally. Tony Coady (aka C.A.J. Coady), author of Messy Morality is in conversation with Nigel Warburton.

John Campbell explores Bishop Berkeley's puzzle about what our experience is of in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

Friedrich Nietzsche has been seen as the philosopher of the Overman, an anti-semite, and a precursor of postmodernist views about truth. But was he any of these? Brian Leiter explores these questions in conversation with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

What can you do with Philosophy? Not very much, according to some people. John Armstrong disagrees. Find out why in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast

Walter Sinnott-Armstrong argues that God isn't necessary for morality in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

What is an emotion? How do emotions differ from moods? What part should the emotions play in our lives and in our understanding of what it is to be human? Sabine Döring addresses these questions in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.