Philosophy Bites

Kate Jeffery on Concepts and Representation

05 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Neuroscientist Kate Jeffery discusses how the brain represents the world. This episode is is part of a short series Mind Bites made in association wit...

Anthony Gottlieb on Pierre Bayle

02 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Pierre Bayle was one of the best-known philosophers in the Eighteenth Century, but his work is now rarely studied. Anthony Gottlieb, author of The Dre...

Kathleen Stock on Fiction and the Emotions

12 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

How should we understand the emotions that readers feel about fictional characters? Kathleen Stock discusses this question with Nigel Warburton in thi...

David Miller on Immigration

12 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Immigration is one of the major, and most contentious, political issues of our day. Can philosophy help here? David Miller thinks so. In this episode ...

Sophie Scott on the Meaning of Laughter

11 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

What is laughter? What roles does it serve? Sophie Scott, a neuroscientist, discusses this serious question with Nigel Warburton for this episode of ...

Peter Godfrey-Smith on Mental Representations

03 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Do we map the world in our minds? Does that imply that we have a little inner map-reader in our heads interpreting mental representations? Peter Godf...

Noel Carroll on Criticism

02 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Noel Carroll argues that evaluation is a central element of criticism of art, drama, dance, music, and literature.  Nigel Warburton is the intervi...

Cecile Fabre on Remembrance

20 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

How should we remember and commemorate those who die in war? What about the enemy dead? Cecile Fabre discusses this issue with Nigel Warburton in this...

Jesse Prinz on Thinking with Pictures

01 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Many philosophers deny the common sense view that we think with pictures. Are they right to do so? Jesse Prinz doesn't think so. In this episode of th...

Kieran Setiya on the Mid-Life Crisis

06 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The mid-life crisis is a well-observed phenomenon. Is there a philosophical angle on this? MIT philosopher Kieran Setiya thinks there is. He discusses...

Catherine Wilson on Epicureanism

30 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Epicureanism has been caricatured as a philosophy of indulgence. But what did followers of the Ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus really believe? Cath...

Gregg Caruso on Freewill and Punishment

26 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

If determinism is true, can there be any justification for punishment? Gregg Caruso discusses this issue on Philosophy Bites.

Greg Currie on the Philosophy of Film

26 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast focuses on several questions about representation and perception in the philosophy of film. Nigel Warburt...

Katherine Morris on Merleau-Ponty on the Body

02 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Maurice Merleau-Ponty was one of the most interesting of the French phenomenological thinkers, but his reputation has been eclipsed by those of Jean-P...

Michael Devitt on Experimental Semantics

14 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Does the word 'Gödel' straightforwardly refer to the person who came up with the incompleteness theory of arithmetic? Some think the best way to fin...

Steven Hyman on Categorising Mental Disorders

29 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Steven E. Hyman discusses the philosophical issues that arise from attempting to categorise mental disorders with David Edmonds in this episode of the...

Leif Wenar on Trade and Tyranny

10 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Where does our oil come from? Does it matter? Leif Wenar, author of the recent book Blood Oil, argues that Western democracies are compromising themse...

Katrin Flikschuh on Philosophy in Africa

16 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast Katrin Flikschuh addresses the question 'What sort of philosophy is going on in Africa?'

Carlo Rovelli on Philosophy and Physics

29 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Some eminent physicists, including Stephen Hawking, have been sceptical of the value of philosophy to physics. Carlo Rovelli, a theoretical physicist ...

John Worrall on Evidence-Based Medicine

17 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

What sort of conclusions can we legitimately draw from the experiments that support evidence-based medicine? John Worrall questions some of the receiv...

Joshua Greene on the Construction of Thought

31 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

We take for granted the fact that we can combine concepts to give new thoughts, and understand the thoughts too. How do we do that? Joshua D. Greene d...

Graham Priest on Buddhism and Philosophy

13 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

What is the nature of the self? What is reality? How should we live? These are fundamental philosophical questions. Graham Priest discusses how such q...

Jesse Prinz on Is Everything Socially Constructed?

27 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

To what degree is reality something created by us? Jesse Prinz explores this fascinating question in conversation with Nigel Warburton. 

Massimo Pigliucci on the Demarcation Problem

13 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

How can you tell science from non-science? Karl Popper argued that the falsifiability of a hypothesis is the mark of science. Massimo Pigliucci is not...

David Owens on Duty

01 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

What is a duty and what sort of obligation does it put us on? David Owens explores the nature of duty in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podca...

Kimberley Brownlee on Social Deprivation

19 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

We are a highly social species: we need human contact. But do we have a right to it? In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast Kimberley Brownl...

Shelly Kagan on Speciesism

01 Aug 2015

Contributed by Lukas

The philosopher Peter Singer is famous for his attack on speciesism, the alleged prejudice that many exhibit in favour of human interests when compare...

Susan James on Foucault and Knowledge

22 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Michel Foucault's work explores a wide range of topics; it includes histories of both punishment and sex. He also wrote more abstractly about philosop...

Larry Temkin on Transitivity

06 Jul 2015

Contributed by Lukas

How do you choose which course of action is best? It seems reasonable that if A is better than B, and B is better than C, A must be better than C. But...

William B. Irvine on Living Stoically

21 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

How should we live? is a basic philosophical question. The Stoics had some answers. But are they relevant today? William B. Irvine thinks so. Listen ...

Steven Lukes on Power

06 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

What is power? Steven Lukes argues for a three-dimensional account of this concept in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

Theodore Zeldin on Philosophy and History

06 Jun 2015

Contributed by Lukas

The historian and writer Theodore Zeldin gives his personal take on the relation betwen philosophy and history in this episode of the Philosophy Bite...

Jesse Prinz on Art and Emotion

22 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

What part do emotions play in our appreciation of art? Jesse Prinz explores the sense of wonder at artworks in this episode of the Philosophy Bites p...

Cassim Quassam on Conspiracy Theories

10 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

What is a conspiracy? Why do conspiracies - real or imagined -  matter to philsophy? Cassim Quaassam explores these questions in conversation with ...

Tim Williamson on the Appeal of Relativism

28 Apr 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Are all truths relative? That's an attractive idea for many people. Tim Williamson, Wykeham Professor of Logic at Oxford University discusses why and...

Shaun Nichols on Death and the Self

14 Apr 2015

Contributed by Lukas

How does your view of the self affect your attitude to your own death? Shaun Nichols discusses this question in this episode of the Philosophy Bites ...

Rebecca Roache on Swearing

29 Mar 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Warning: this episode on the philosophy of swearing includes swearing. Rebecca Roache discusses swearing and whether there are good arguments for refr...

Lisa Bortolotti on Irrationality

19 Mar 2015

Contributed by Lukas

We're all irrational some of the time, probably more of the time than we are ready to acknowledge.  Lisa Bortolotti discusses the nature of irration...

Jonathan Webber on Deceiving With Words

01 Mar 2015

Contributed by Lukas

There are many ways to deceive with words, some of which don't involve lying. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast Jonathan Webber conside...

Simon Critchley on Suicide

16 Feb 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Albert Camus described suicide as the 'one really serious philosophical problem'. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast Simon Critchley di...

Christine Korsgaard on the Status of Animals

03 Feb 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Many philosophers argue in favour of the welfare of animals because of their capacity for feeling pain. Harvard philosopher Christine Korsgaard is u...

Meira Levinson on the Aims of Education

18 Jan 2015

Contributed by Lukas

What are the aims of education? Meira Levinson discusses this important question with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosoph Bites podcast...

Lucy Allais on Forgiveness

04 Jan 2015

Contributed by Lukas

What is forgiveness? Whom does it benefit? Is it ever obligatory? Lucy Allais discusses these questions in conversation with Nigel Warburton in this...

Who is the most impressive philosopher you've met? A compilation.

20 Dec 2014

Contributed by Lukas

We've collected a range of answers to the question 'Who's the most impressive philosopher you've met?' This includes the late Ronald Dworkin's respons...

Julia Annas on What is Virtue Ethics For?

20 Dec 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Julia Annas explains what Virtue Ethics is for and how it differs from other approaches to the question of how we should live in this episode of the ...

Hugh Mellor on Probability

07 Dec 2014

Contributed by Lukas

What is probability? Not an easy question to answer. We thought our best chance of clarity on this question was from Emeritus Professor of Philosoph...

Rebecca Newberger Goldstein on Progress in Philosophy

13 Nov 2014

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast Nigel Warburton interviews the philosopher and novelist Rebecca Newberger Goldstein about whether Phi...

Adam Swift on Parental Partiality

27 Oct 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Most people think it is acceptable to advantage their children, but how far should this go? Adam Swift discusses the limits of parental partiality in...

Keith Frankish on the Hard Problem and the Illusion of Qualia

11 Oct 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Keith Frankish discusses consciousness, subjective experience and the brain in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

Ted Honderich on What It Is to be Conscious

11 Oct 2014

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode Ted Honderich sketches his theory of the nature of consciousness. 

John Dupre on Genomics

29 Sep 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Genomics is a new approach to understanding our biology, one with far-reaching consequences for our understanding of what we are and where are respons...

Peter Lamarque on Literature and Truth

14 Sep 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Many people have claimed that one of the benefits of reading writers like Dostoevsky and Shakespeare is that they convey important truths about the hu...

Jennifer Nagel on Intuitions about Knoweldge

31 Aug 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Knowledge is part of our everyday lives. We know all kinds of things without even thinking about them. But what is going on here? Jennifer Nagel disc...

Tamar Gendler on Why Philosophers Use Examples

17 Aug 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Why do philosophers use examples? Tamar Gendler explores this question in conversation with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Bites ...

Amia Srinivasan on Genealogy

02 Aug 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Does it matter where our ideas came from? Friedrich Nietzsche famously diagnosed the origin of Christian morality in what he thought of as a slave men...

Seth Lazar on Sparing Civilians in War

19 Jul 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Why is it morally wrong to target civilians in war? Can civilians be distinguished clearly from combatants? Seth Lazar discusses these issues in thi...

Chris Betram on Rousseau's Moral Psychology

06 Jul 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Jean-Jacques Rousseau's insights into moral psychology and its impact on how we live are the subject of this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

Roger Scruton on the Sacred

24 Jun 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Is there any place for a notion of the sacred in contemporary life? Roger Scruton believes that there is. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites po...

Regina Rini on the Moral Self and Psychology

08 Jun 2014

Contributed by Lukas

What can experimental psychology contribute to our self-development as moral agents? Philosopher Regina Rini explores this question in this episode o...

Simon Blackburn on Narcissism

24 May 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Vanity, smugness, narcissism - they're not good, but they're not all the same thing. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast Simon Blackburn ...

Norman Daniels on the Philosophy of Healthcare

13 May 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Should we be striving to reduce health inequalities? If so, how? Harvard philosopher Norman Daniels discusses this question in this episode of the P...

Tom Stoneham on George Berkeley's Immaterialism

27 Apr 2014

Contributed by Lukas

George Berkeley was famous for arguing that objects are really just ideas. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast Tom Stoneham clarifies wha...

Michael Ignatieff on Political Theory and Political Practice

12 Apr 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Michael Ignatieff was an academic with a keen inerest in political theory before he learnt the hard way about politics in practice. He was an academi...

Stephen Darwall on Moral Accountability

30 Mar 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Moral accountability is at the heart of moral obligation and it reveals much about the attitudes we hold to each otehr. Yale professor Stephen Darwall...

David Papineau on Philosophy and Sport

13 Mar 2014

Contributed by Lukas

David Papineau discusses a range of specific sporting incidents that are of philosophical interest in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. ...

Roberto Mangabeira Unger on Deep Freedom

04 Mar 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Roberto Unger argues that contemporary political progressives have abandoned what 19th century liberals knew: that some ways of living are better th...

Nicola Lacey on H.L.A.Hart and Legal Positivism

24 Feb 2014

Contributed by Lukas

H.L.A. Hart made significant contributions to legal philosophy. Nicola Lacey discusses his legal positivism in this episode of the Philosophy Bites p...

John Skorupski on Normativity

09 Feb 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Some statements are descriptive, such as 'Philosophy Bites is a podcast series'; others are normative, such as 'You ought to tell the truth'. But what...

Tim Scanlon on What's Wrong with Inequality?

25 Jan 2014

Contributed by Lukas

Is a concern for inequality of wealth just a form of envy? Are there good reasons for objecting to inequality? Harvard philosopher Tim Scanlon discus...

Emma Borg on Language and Context

07 Jan 2014

Contributed by Lukas

How much of the meaning of what we say depends on its context of utterance? Is there a role for literal meaning. Emma Borg discusses these questions w...

Patricia Churchland on Self Control

22 Dec 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Neurophilosopher Pat Churchland discusses the insights that neuroscience can give us into the nature of self control in this episode of the Philosophy...

Jennifer Saul on Implicit Bias

07 Dec 2013

Contributed by Lukas

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, perha...

Adrian Moore on Bernard Williams on Ethics

23 Nov 2013

Contributed by Lukas

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

Rom Harre on the Linguistic Turn in Philosophy

10 Nov 2013

Contributed by Lukas

For this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast Rom Harre discusses and illustrates the so-called Linguistic Turn in Philosophy, the focus on actual ...

Robert Talisse on the Importance of Arguments in Politics

26 Oct 2013

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

John Tasioulas on Human Rights

12 Oct 2013

Contributed by Lukas

What are human rights? Are they simply legal rights? What is their relation to morality? John Tasioulas discusses the basis of human rights in conver...

Eric Schwitzgebel on the Ethical Behaviour of Ethics Professors

28 Sep 2013

Contributed by Lukas

You might expect people who specialize in moral philosophy to behave better than other people. Eric Schwitzgebel has done some empirical investigation...

Alison Gopnik on Hume and Buddhism

14 Sep 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Many people have noticed similarities between what David Hume wrote about the self and Buddhist teaching on this subject. In this episode of the Philo...

David Edmonds on Trolley Problems

01 Sep 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Is it ever morally acceptable to kill one person to save many? Most people agree that in some extreme circumstances this, though psychologically diffi...

Jessica Moss on Weakness of Will

17 Aug 2013

Contributed by Lukas

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....

Michael Martin on Hume on Taste

03 Aug 2013

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Samuel Scheffler on the Afterlife

20 Jul 2013

Contributed by Lukas

What do we really care about? In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast Samuel Scheffler suggests that most of us care a lot about what happens ...

Noel Carroll on Humour and Morality

06 Jul 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Must humour be moral? What about jokes that rely on immoral attitudes?  Can they be funny? Are humour and morality simply separate spheres. Noel Carr...

Daniel Dennett on the Chinese Room

23 Jun 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Can computers think? John Searle famously used the Chinese Room thought experiment to suggest that they can't. Daniel Dennett is suspicious about the ...

Dale Jamieson on Green Virtues

09 Jun 2013

Contributed by Lukas

'How should we live?' is a basic philosophical question. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast Dale Jamieson addresses the question in a per...

Simon Glendinning on Philosophy's Two Cultures

27 May 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Most philosophers today self-identify as within an Analytic or a Continental tradition. Where did these two cultures of philosophy come from? What rol...

Leslie Green on Same Sex Marriage

11 May 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Is there any reasonable objection to same sex marriage? Les Green discusses this controversial issue from a philosphical perspective with Nigel Warbur...

John Mikhail on Battery and Morality

27 Apr 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Hitting someone, throwing a ball hard at someone's head, spitting at someone: these are all examples of harmful acts, called 'battery' in Tort Law, an...

Noel Malcolm on Hobbes' Leviathan in Context

14 Apr 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan, published in 1651, remains one of the great works of political philosophy. Noel Malcolm has recently published a 3 volume sc...

Mark Rowlands on Philosophy and Running

29 Mar 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Is there any connection between philosophy and running. Mark Rowlands, who began running to exercise his pet wolf thinks there is. Find out why in th...

John Gardner on Constitutions

17 Mar 2013

Contributed by Lukas

What are constitutions and how are we to interpret them? John Gardner addresses these questions in conversation with Nigel Warburton in this episode o...

Fiona Macpherson on Hallucination

03 Mar 2013

Contributed by Lukas

What is a hallucination? How does it differ from an illusion? Fiona Macpherson of Glasgow University discusses these questions with Nigel Warburton in...

Jeff McMahan on Gun Control

17 Feb 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Jeff McMahan argues against the private ownership of guns in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association wit...

Colin McGinn on Descartes on Innate Knowledge

02 Feb 2013

Contributed by Lukas

Descartes believed that we can have knowledge that was independent of experience. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast Colin McGinn makes a...

Tom Sorell on Surveillance

25 Jan 2013

Contributed by Lukas

What, if anything, is wrong with surveillance? Why value privacy? Tom Sorrell answers these questions in conversation with Nigel Warburton in this epi...

John Campbell on Schizophrenia

08 Jan 2013

Contributed by Lukas

What can philosophers learn from schizophrenia? In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast John Campbell discusses this intriguing question with ...

Kendall Walton on Photography

23 Dec 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Philosopher Kendall Walton argues that we can literally see through photographs in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is m...

Alan Ryan on Freedom and Its History

08 Dec 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Ancient and modern concepts of freedom differ. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast political philosopher Alan Ryan compares and contrasts ...

Who's Your Favourite Philosopher?

30 Nov 2012

Contributed by Lukas

To celebrate the launch of our second Philosophy Bites book Philosophy Bites Back, we've released this special episode of the podcast. We asked a wide...

Peter Adamson on Avicenna's Flying Man

26 Nov 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Are we purely physical beings? Is the mind or soul immaterial? These questions have vexed philosophers for millenia. Avicenna, born in the 10th Centur...