Philosophy? WTF??

Our forth and final part of our exploration into human identity.

The third part of our chat on Human Identity!

The next part of our chat on Human Identity.

Danny and Dr. Mike return with a discussion on the importance of keeping our human identity in the coming AI revolution!

Special BONUS episode 'My Mt. Rushmore. A pilot for a new show!

Persistence and Memory Part 3

Persistence and Memory Part 2

That's right Danny and Dr. Mike are back! Pull up your bar stool and join us as they dive into the tangled web of persistence and memory. This week they unravel how our memories shape who we are, how we persist through time, and whether our sense of self is more than just a collection of recollections.

Age and Ageing Part 5

Age and Ageing Part 4

Age and Aging Part 3

Age and Ageing Part 2

In youthful spirits, the fresh faced Danny and Dr. Mike take a look at what it's like to get old and mine all the philosophical chat they can from it.

In this final episode of the series, Danny and Mike explore the idea that human being can be reduced to their DNA. Does your genetic make up determine how your life unfolds and the choices you make. Plus, should we develop a method to control our impulses and even develop a 'code' in which to follow. Thus, everything has been covered completely in this series! Nothing has been left out! Oh, and listen out for a quick section of what might have been overlooked.

Yes, we're back for another round of Free will and determinism! Remember you chose to tune in and hear the latest from Danny and Mike as they get deeper into the limits of of freedom and free speech. Or did you? Join us and remember you can say what you like about the podcast - as long as its good!

Are you really free to eat anything you like for breakfast? Even turkey? Maybe, How about wear any clothes you want? Even slippers outside? Could be. But what about having children and keeping them? Is there really an option not to procreate and not to keep a child you produce? Is evolutionary biology controlling us to maintain the human species above your immediate desires? Tune in to find out!

See, we knew you would be back! This time Danny and Dr. Mike consider whether or not they are truly 'good' people or perhaps 'bad' without knowing it? If morality changes as time moves on, can you be 'good' one moment and 'bad' the next because the world has changed its mind on what is moral? You should tune in this time as our moral, upright podcasters honestly give their take on ethical thought because next time they could considered nasty pieces of work!

You were always going to end up here, why fight it? Come and join Danny and Dr, Mike from your own free will, as they discuss, from their own free will, er... free will. Are we truly completely free or are we determined in our actions through social, psychological or political forces? Tune in and find out!

Where do you live? In the real world or online? Danny and Dr. Mike finish off their existentialism chat with a discussion about the way we have recorded our lives and how we present ourselves online. Also, a rigorous talk on what Dr. Jakyll gets up to when his fiancé is 'taking the waters in Bath'.

This week, Dr. Mike whisks Danny of into the mists of time and recalls his days as Earth's first line of defense against Alien invasion! You heard correctly, Mike once was part of a crack team of first responders who were engaged in monitoring the night skies for suspicious flying objects and scouring the countryside for extraterrestrial vehicles etc. That's right! They did all these amazing things and still made sure they were home in time for tea!

It's a new year and everyone is feeling optimistic and about the year ahead! Everyone except for Dr. Mike and Danny who return with more of their chat on the dark side of existentialism. Come join them as they talk Sisyphean ordeals, Star Trek and being 'Beach Ready'.

So here it is the 2023 WTF?? Christmas Special!

Welcome back for another round of Existentialism talk with Danny and Dr. Mike. Listen as they continue to look for answers in the structures and traditions of life. Listen out and see if you can find order and rules in their chat about Kafka's Trial!

Yes dear listener, we have returned to continue our exploration of Existentialism. This time we focus on the depths of despair as we look at the absurdness of existence! Danny and Dr. Mike will take you through the darkness and look for any signs of meaning along the way. Strap in and think positive thoughts!

To not make a choice is still a choice have some good faith and tune into the final part of Danny and Dr Mike's Existentialism discussion! They chat about the return of philosophy to schools and the importance of critical thinking in our world where the answer to all questions is most certainly 42!

Once again you have made the correct choice! This week in their continuing chat on Existentialism, Danny and Dr. Mike turn to Kierkegaard and the different stages of life. Are you still in the throes of hedonism, or have you reached the stage in which you want to give something back? Find some meaning in your life by listening to the duo examine these stages and then they turn once again to the movies and Kurosawa and has given so much philosophical advice in the past! Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/5eyc2bpvTwitter/X: @PhilosophyWtfBuy us a coffee: https://tinyurl.com/32sv2yz2

This week Danny and Dr. Mike find themselves on the stage of life continuing their discussion on Existentialism by asking are we more than just decision makers? Do we bring more to the table then just our ability to make a decision? Listen while stroking your chin in wonder as the pair present the despair of choice in our current world on inauthentic news and misinformation.Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/5eyc2bpvTwitter/X: @PhilosophyWtfBuy us a coffee: https://tinyurl.com/32sv2yz2

Congratulations! You have chosen wisely to listen to this podcast! This week Danny and Dr. Mike tackle Existentialism. Stroke your beards, adjust your berets and light up your Gauloises as you listen to the truth seeking pair as they steer their way through the nihilism of our current world. Hold on tightly and in good faith as they bravely throw themselves into the void of our foundationless world and order coffee and pain-au-chocolat! Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/5eyc2bpvTwitter/X: @PhilosophyWtfBuy us a coffee: https://tinyurl.com/32sv2yz2

Yes its holiday time in Philosophy? WTF?? world! Open up your deck chair, unscrew a bottle of ambre solaire lay back and listen as Mike muses on the purpose of leisure time!Dive into our archive of earlier episodes here: https://castbox.fm/channel/id3766780?country=gb Send us an email: [email protected] Buy us a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/danmifunev

Danny and Dr. Mike conclude their discussion on AI with a wider chat on who gets the keys to the social media platforms we all use and the fallibility of the humans that are in charge of them. Also, with ChatGPT and similar are we removing humans from the creative process and does this spell the end of art? Tune in to hear all this and more with your 'all too human' hosts!

This week gasp in suspense and delight as Danny and Dr Mike, without any computer assisted aides whatsoever, tightrope walk across the twin philosophical concepts of the Turning Test and the Chinese room! You will hold your breath as the Turning test brings us closer to the idea that the machines could take over and then laugh in relief as Searle arrives to save humanity (for now) with the Chinese Room thought experiment! Yes, the future and your job is safe for a while as Philosophy?WTF?? prove that humanity will win and the machines have no chance... probably.

Join us this week as Dr Mike and Danny get super topical and chat ChatGPT! That's right, PhilosophyWTF has caught up with the 21st Century and is getting to grips with cutting edge thought! Listen with growing concern as our fearless thinkers discuss the rise of computer generated Artificial Intelligence and then sigh with relief as they cheerfully explain that actual artificial intelligence is impossible - well at least for the moment! Join Our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/454227078353259/ Follow us on Twitter: @PhilosophyWtfContact us: [email protected] your favourite drinking and thinking podcast! Philosophy?WTF?? Stuff Available: https://www.teepublic.com/user/danmifune

Welcome listeners to the final part of the talk with Hunter! As Danny's and Mike's chat with Hunter winds down, inevitably the chat turns to politics and Science Fiction! Also we have a chance to listen in and hear more about Hunter's life, how he encountered the podcast and how he realised that philosophy should be accessible for everyone (especially if Danny and Mike can do it!)

This week Danny, Hunter and Mike have had enough of the breakneck speed of technology and discuss whether we should destroy ChatGPT and 'go back to the 50s'. Then, listen in horror as Danny raises the idea that maybe there were upsides to George Bailey not existing and whether we should be able to 'reset' our lives. All this plus the inevitable Star Trek talk!

Welcome back to part two of our chat with Hunter. This week we talk nation and identity and ask ourselves: 'are we where we come from?', 'How much of ourselves do we take with us when we travel?' 'Where does our culture come from?', 'Is a man an island even if he lives on one?' So relax, sit back and take back sovereignty with Hunter, Mike and Danny!

In this week's episode Danny and Mike have a cosy chat with American friend-of-the-pod Hunter Campbell Royall! With a focus on our relationship to the land, Identity and culture we ask who we really are and where did we come from?

Ok, it’s the last cast of the year, you all know the drill, I’m not sure I can be bothered this week so I’m just going to phone this one in if that’s ok with the rest of you? Right, so welcome, it’s Danny and Mike, listen to us talk about stuff. Sit in amazed silence as this happens, then that, then some other stuff, possibly about social construction, possibly about Luce Irigaray, to be honest I can’t rightly remember, we are just on the other side of Christmas here, cut us some slack for pity sake. I think Danny mentions menstruation and hysteria - one of us says something meaningful about gender… yeah, pretty sure that was this cast. All this plus what, exactly, does it mean to be “non-binary”? Don’t look at us, how should we know? But, as luck would have it we have with us Sorren, the non-binary archeologist, who was prepared to share her own experiences with us for the promise of a free meal. Who are we to turn down such an offer in these difficult times?

This week, as we approach that festive time of the year, join Mike and Danny as they invite a few friends over for drinks and nibbles. Listen in as de Beauvoir tries to bogart all the vol-au-vents while arguing that she is free to range with absolutely liberty across the entire buffet and who are we to try to constrain her with our fascist party hosting ideologies. Well, there is always at least one guest like that, right? They bring the cheap ass supermarket larger and drink all your Prosecco. Across the room you might just make out Jacques Lacan checking himself out in the mirror - I bet he thinks this cast is about him. Don’t worry, Foucault is right there taking the piss and telling him there is something caught in his teeth that he can see - that guy, anything for a laugh. Yes, it’s a party in your brain and everyone is invited but I’m not cleaning up in the morning and don’t come crying to me if you wake up with your own ID, what happens at the WTF Christmas party, stays at the WTF Christmas party.

This week, join Mike and Danny here in our bodies where we feel safest of all, we can lock all the doors, it’s the only way to live in bodies… or is it? Certainly Merleau Ponty would agree. Yes, it’s time for the physical body to not only take centre stage but to actually become the stage upon which we strut and fret and access the world. Bet you wish you’d kept it in better shape now don’t you? But don’t worry, Mike and Danny are on hand to socially reconstruct your entire reality. Gather round as they sensibly put on their philosophical hard hats and high-vis vests and set about knocking through that unsightly personal identity considered sooooo essential back in the day to create a whole new self with a lighter, airer feel to it that you will just love to invite people back to. I mean, we aren’t saying it won’t run into money and any thing we say up front is just an estimate, but totally worth it, right?

This week Mike confuses Danny with someone else, after all, how is Danny to be distinguished from anyone else? One needs to be tolerant of each other, right? Or perhaps, as Popper tells us, the tolerant society can only be tolerant by not tolerating the intolerant. To secure the essence of humanity what must we deny? How do we police our fundamental identity? What are we prepared to go to the stake for? Human dignity? Human freedom? Gender distinctions? Pineapple on pizza?? Where do we draw the line and what do we draw it in? - indelible pen? Pencil?? Chalk??? But what is this creeping up behind us smelling all sweaty and making odd noises? Yes, it’s the physical body preparing to make a reappearance and stake it’s claim to being an essential component in the quest for human identity. Watch it as it lumbers up on stage, takes the mic and starts to sing “Who You Are” by Jessie J. Yes, we are all down with the banging tunes on the WTF dance floor. All this and a retro reference to Paul McCartney and Wings for no good reason, watch out for it.

This week Mike and Danny get down to essentials but where do they take us? What is a good Danny? Who is it that decides on the “Danniness” of a thing? Yes we are coming after you Plato, we have a guzungada and we are not afraid to use it. Also, in todays cast, beer - what is it? Is there an essential beer or is it simply a label we hang on a particular beverage? To be honest, who cares as long as it's Wittgenstein’s round, right? But who have we here traveling towards us at a reckless pace? Why I do believe it’s Aristotle… he’s traveling awfully fast… I don’t think he’s going to be able to stop…he’s going to run into Plato and there is going to be an accident if I’m any judge you just wait and see. Yes it’s essence and accidents at WTF and who is to say which is more significant?

This week join Mike and Danny in the Philosopher’s Kitchen as they seek to impress the judges with their philo-culinary delights. Will the guest diners enjoy Danny’s Wittgenstein soufflé or will it collapse at the last minute proving to be insubstantial and nothing more than hot air? Will Mike’s Platonic pie flavoured with 'essence of human form' and served with a side of totalitarian taurine pique palates or send people scurrying to the toilet? As our conceptual cooks round off the evening with a desert constructed from leftover suspicion, a smidgin of Karl Popper sprinkled with nuts, the whole sorry mess is capped off with a nightcap of Mike over-sharing about his restaurant habits. Yes, this is where it starts guys, a feast for your minds - but remember, chew your food, enjoy it, you aren’t animals…Join Our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/454227078353259/ Follow us on Twitter: @PhilosophyWtfContact us: [email protected] your favourite drinking and thinking podcast! Philosophy?WTF?? Stuff Available: https://www.teepublic.com/user/danmifune

This week join Mike and Danny as they attempt to build a scale model of Danny from bits of information gleaned by rummaging through his bins during the hours of darkness. Is it possible to create an accurate scale model of the world using nothing but words and statistics? Develop a new found respect for data analytics as we identify Danny’s perfect partner by noting his preference for whisky, Wittgenstein and women and concluding from this that he is ideally paired with a drunken Scottish lady who likes to kick ladders away. Yes, it’s time to reduce the world and everything in it to convenient data sets for easy storage and eventual reconstitution via the inevitable replicator technology, or perhaps just to sell you stuff and make you easier to file. All this and Danny channeling Yoda towards the end of the cast - “All his life has he looked away to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was, What he was doing”. Makes you think, right?

This week, who knows what’s going on because we certainly don’t. Danny has been struck down by the virus (he’s fine and recovering so don’t pander to him, he’s just looking for attention) and Mike can’t recall what they talked about when this cast was recorded. All we can say with any certainty is that the whole thing will be its usual mixture of insight and delight - which is more than most of use deserve. I think we talk about a couple of films, oh yes, and a book … or was it a cat? No, I remember now, we definitely discussed desserts … or was that deserts? Pretty sure it had sand in it somewhere…

This week join Mike and Danny as they get just what they deserve. Yes, who are you and what do you want? Is there an ontology behind consumerism? What do we need to own in order to be complete? Join us as we ride into town on the mule of philosophy and play what we deserve off against what we lack. Yes, it’s an anthropological showdown with everything to play for if we get caught. What are we being told about ourselves when the marketplace tells us what we need to be truly complete? If money can’t buy you happiness you don’t know how to shop, am I right?

This week join us as Mike and Danny bunk off school to hide behind the bike sheds and talk lifestyles. Yes, you heard right, we’re bucking the system and biting the very hand that feeds us. Listen in mute disbelief as your two cheeky chappies from the lower 6th sass their teachers and serve up shade to their betters. What do you mean you don’t want to take your place in the market? You can’t fly kites and feed birds all day! Stay after school and write 1000 times “I must not question the status quo and mistake life style for career”. Yes, we are finding philosophy hidden away in the musty lockers and defaced text books of education. All this and Orson Wells - is Harry a bastard or a realist? We will meet you in the sewers of Vienna to find out.

This week, join Mike and Danny as they delve into the depths of the fridge, behind the the milk, cheese and other fresh dairy products to rummage amongst the fetid remains of dinners past. Yes, stand amazed, and slightly nauseated as your two ragged philosophical gastronauts engage in the thinking persons equivalent of coming home late from the pub and prodding at dangerously out of date pizza in the hope that it is just this side of toxic. Is the best philosophy conducted by poking around at things that we find on our journey through life or do we need to invest heavily in primary texts and an expensive academic education? Are fried up leftovers just as satisfying a meal as an expensive 5 star tasting menu? Only you and your toilet will ever know for sure

This week join Mike and Danny as they scavenge through the philosophical skips and bins in search of discarded gold. Yes, we are up-cycling preowned and well used ideas that others have simply thrown out. I mean really, senseless waste. Look at this passing phrase from a 1940’s film - still plenty of good ontological wear in that. And here, see that? A sentence from Jane Austin that with a little invisible mending will continue to do solid epistemic service. It’s a disgrace what people chuck out these days, consumer philosophy, that’s what it is, nothing built to last. Ah well, at least we can do our bit for sustainable thought. Underground, overground Philosophising free, the philosopher of WTF are we, making good use of the ideas that we find, things that the everyday thinker leaves behind

This week join Mike and Danny simply because they tell you too. Yes, that’s right, you can trust us, we’re reliable, when have we ever steered you wrong? I mean, who else are you going to believe? After all, what do you really know? A handful of shabby first hand experiences mediated through highly questionable sense organs and the rest is all hearsay, am I right? So, who ya gonna trust? Wikipedia? The evening news? The government? Dave from down the pub (he seems to know everything). No, you stick with Danny and Mike, we’ll tell you how it really is. As Abba once said, knowing me, knowing you, aha! And who are we to argue with them - am I right?

This week join Mike and Danny as they question your life style, yes YOURS! After all, who are you people to come in here with your uniqueness, strutting your difference around like it was no thing? I mean, it’s taken us ages to sort things out and to figure out the how and why of things and then in you people trot with your thinking and opinions and various sexualities and throw the whole delicate edifice into jeopardy. You people sicken me, why can’t you be like us? Why rock the boat with your … your… ways? Surely you can all see that it’s much better to conform to the Mike and Danny standard? So, as we say, join us in the back of the cave where things are the same and not different. Remember, fear the other, even people from round here aren’t from round here.