Philosophy For Our Times
441 episodes - English - Latest episode: 5 days ago - ★★★★ - 260 ratingsPhilosophy for our Times is a free philosophy podcast bringing you the latest talks and debates from the world’s leading thinkers. We host weekly episodes on today’s biggest ideas in news, society, culture, politics, science and arts. Subscribe today to never miss an episode.
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Episodes
In Search of Freedom | Julian Baggini, Paul Broks, Hilary Lawson, Hannah Dawson
November 26, 2019 12:58 - 34 minutes - 31.8 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Constrained by our genes, manipulated by technology and the cultural zeitgeist, there seems little space left for individual freedom. Should we conclude that the very idea of freedom was a mistake? Or is this a madness that threatens our personal lives and the culture on which the West was built? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, Julian Baggini, Paul Broks, Hilary Lawson and Hannah Dawson...
Tribal Identity and Tribal Conflict | David Blunkett, Dawn Butler, Phillip Blond
November 19, 2019 10:33 - 43 minutes - 40 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Identity politics has become ever more influential. Does our desire to belong to one tribe or another make conflict with others inevitable? Could we do away with tribal allegiances and see ourselves as part of the same human family? Or are group identities based on class, race, sexuality or nationality the only effective vehicles for political change? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, Dav...
The Rise and Fall of Sex | Dapha Joel, Barry Barnes, Stuart Ritchie
November 12, 2019 09:35Although most of us are critical of gender stereotypes, few deny the existence of two discrete biological sexes. Yet biology itself shows dozens of combinations of human sex chromosomes. Could... Philosophy for our Times features debates and talks with the world’s leading thinkers on today’s biggest ideas. This live recording podcast is brought to you by the Institute of Art and Ideas – described by Total Politics as “Europe’s answer to TED” and host to the annual philosophy and music festiv...
The Rise and Fall of Sex | Daphna Joel, Barry Barnes, Stuart Ritchie
November 12, 2019 09:35 - 36 minutes - 33 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Although most of us are critical of gender stereotypes, few deny the existence of two discrete biological sexes. Yet biology itself shows dozens of combinations of human sex chromosomes. Could biological sex itself then be an illusion, constructed from human categories? Or is this a futile attempt to deny the reality of two biological sexes? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, Head of Psych...
The Mystery of Life | Nick Lane, Monica Grady, Ralph Cordey
November 05, 2019 09:56 - 45 minutes - 41.7 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes As we explore the planets of the solar system and look out at those beyond, researchers hope they will find evidence of life. But would it be like life on earth? Or is the wish to find other life forms a science fiction fantasy that serves Hollywood well but has little to do with reality? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, Biochemist and author of The Vital Question Nick Lane, Head of Futu...
A Mad World | Richard Bentall, Ann John, Lucy Johnstone
October 29, 2019 11:04 - 39 minutes - 35.8 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes An ever growing number of people are being treated for mental illness. Some blame the modern world, yet critics warn that psychiatrists and big pharma have an interest in describing normal human behaviour as an illness or disorder. Might we do better to give up the notion that mental distress implies illness? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, author of Madness Explained Richard Bentall, c...
The New Moralism | Matthew Taylor, Rebecca Roache, Hilary Lawson
October 22, 2019 03:00 - 38 minutes - 35.5 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Many would argue that for at least a century we have been moving away from the moral certainties of traditional Christianity. Yet now a new form of moral certainty is reappearing, with much of our culture seemingly gripped by a focus on virtue and a tightly policed sense of right and wrong. Should we welcome this return to virtue and embrace a new moralism that will purge society of its newly found ...
Into the Unknown | Martin Rees, Tony Milligan, Elizabeth Seward
October 15, 2019 08:54 - 35 minutes - 32.3 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Fifty years ago we landed on the moon, and imagined that in 2001 we would be travelling vast distances through space. But the fantasy died, and we went nowhere. Now a new age of space exploration is underway - this one driven by companies, billionaires, and new players like China and India. Is it an essential trait of being human to reach out into the unknown? In this episode of Philosophy for our T...
Modern Crises and Ancient Gods | David King, Sister Jayanti, Natalie Bennett
October 08, 2019 10:17 - 46 minutes - 42.3 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes For much of human history, nature was our god. Yet now science and technology, which once we used to tame nature, are increasingly seen as plundering the planet and wrecking the climate. Were the ancients right, and nature the source of all things and that which we should guard most closely? Or should we instead renew our belief in progress and human ingenuity to solve our current problems? In this ...
Masters of the Universe | Natalie Kofler, Steve Fuller, Angela Saini
October 01, 2019 17:25 - 36 minutes - 33.3 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Ever since the discovery of DNA, we have fanstasised about creating new species of animals, or even 'improved' humans. But it is only in the last few years that a new gene editing technology, CRISPR, has made this a reality. Many claim it is already unstoppable, that we will always demand solutions to diseases if they are possible. Is CRISPR the key to improving health and defeating ageing? In this ...
The Right To Offend | David Aaronovitch, Joanna Williams, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown
September 24, 2019 06:00 - 37 minutes - 34.3 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Should we seek to eradicate offence? Last year Ireland voted to get rid of its blasphemy laws, and most applauded the new right to offend the Catholic Church. Yet to avoid giving offence, student campuses are introducing no-platforming and safe spaces. Should we seek to eradicate offence to create a more tolerant and equal society? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, D...
The Prejudice of Facts | Barry Barnes, Joanna Kavenna, John Ellis
September 17, 2019 11:18 - 37 minutes - 34.5 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes In a world obsessed with Trump, alternative facts have not had a great press. But it is a century and more since Nietzsche claimed 'there are no facts, only interpretations' - and fifty years since Thomas Kuhn argued that facts were theory dependent. Is an insistence on 'the facts' the dogmatic prejudice of believers in their particular truth? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, Barry Barne...
The Reality Illusion | Donald Hoffman, Maria Baghramian, Hilary Lawson
September 10, 2019 08:59 - 46 minutes - 42.3 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Seeing is believing, yet cognitive scientists seem to have uncovered these views as incorrect. Evolution led us to perceive what is best for survival and it turns out this has little to do with what we call 'reality'. Is reality then a creative construct that helps us to live but doesn't reflect the world? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, cognitive psychologist and author Donald Hoffman,...
Evolution After Darwin | Massimo Pigliucci, Zanna Clay, Tim Lewens
September 03, 2019 11:39 - 41 minutes - 37.6 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes The brutal mechanism of natural selection gave rise to all life on our planet. Or so the Darwinian story goes. But from mice to great whales, it now appears that animals inherit socially acquired characteristics. Is the theory of natural selection a Victorian relic, about to be replaced by a new science of cultural evolution? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, philosopher of science Massim...
Bonus Episode: In Conversation with Saul Kripke and Timothy Williamson
August 29, 2019 10:01 - 23 minutes - 21.1 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, Saul Kripke and Timothy Williamson discuss why language has come to dominate their field, why logic matters, and what the future for the Anglo-American tradition looks like. There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm...
The Necessity of Morality | Justin Smith, Jason Alexander McKenzie, Barry C. Smith
August 27, 2019 09:02 - 43 minutes - 39.6 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Many philosophers have concluded that morality is a subjective human invention. Should we then simply encourage and argue for acts we support and do without morality altogether? Or is the authority of morality the tenuous thread that holds society together? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, Justin Smith, Jason Alexander McKenzie and Barry C. Smith question the necessity of morality. Ther...
What's It All For? | Helen Lederer, Julian Baggini, Susan Neiman, Janne Teller
August 20, 2019 09:59 - 35 minutes - 32.4 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes We admire achievers, from James Watt to Mandela, Marie Curie to Emmeline Pankhurst. Yet many spend their lives waiting for weekends and holidays. And does not play, both as sex, drugs and rock and roll, and as creative and physical endeavour provide us with the most memorable events in life? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, Helen Lederer, Julian Baggini and Susan Neiman debate what it's ...
The Meaning of the Multiverse | Cumrun Vafa, Mary-Jane Rubenstein, John Ellis
August 13, 2019 09:01 - 40 minutes - 36.9 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Talk of other universes has become fashionable amongst physicists and string theory alike. Should we recognise ours as the only universe and give up on others as fantasy science? Or is slipping through a worm hole into another universe a credible reality rather than a Hollywood fairytale? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, Cumrun Vafa, Mary-Jane Rubenstein and John Ellis go in search for t...
Lost in Language | Saul Kripke, Hilary Lawson, Paul Boghossian, Silvia Jonas
August 06, 2019 08:00 - 42 minutes - 38.5 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Language is widely seen as the critical tool which has set our species apart. We assume that it is successful because our words are able to describe reality. Yet from Wittgenstein to Derrida, no satisfactory theory has been able to support this intuition. Might the problem be not with our theory of language, but with the very idea of reality? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, Saul Kripke,...
The Problem with Love | Mark Salter, Helen-Ann Hartley, Phillip Blond
July 30, 2019 08:58 - 36 minutes - 33.7 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes 'Love conquers all' is a motto central to our culture and its Christian heritage. Yet Buddhists think love an obstacle to enlightenment. Nietzsche went further and called love barbaric ‘for it is practised at the expense of all others’. Is love for all an illusion? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, consultant psychiatrist Mark Salter, Anglican Bishop Helen-Ann Hartley and Political Philos...
Are You An Illusion? | Julian Baggini, Joanna Kavenna, Jan Westerhoff, Silvia Jonas
July 23, 2019 08:58 - 43 minutes - 39.8 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes The self is an illusion, our passions a by-product of the brain. Or so neuroscientists and philosophers would have us believe. Is dismissing the self a mistake driven by the desire to uphold a purely material universe? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, author of A Field Guide to Reality Joanna Kavenna, Oxford University metaphysician Jan Westerhoff, philosopher Silvia Jonas and author of ...
The End Of All Things | John Dupré, Subir Sarkar, Nancy Cartwright
July 16, 2019 08:53 - 45 minutes - 41.8 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes We tend to think of physical, material things as the ultimate stuff of the universe. Yet contemporary physics has largely abandoned physical things in favour of energy and fields. Should we give up on our conviction that physical stuff is the bedrock of the world, or is such talk ivory tower nonsense? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, John Dupré, Subir Sarkar, and Nancy Cartwright debate ...
The Fascination With Evil | Terry Eagleton, Susan Neiman, Stephen de Wijze
July 09, 2019 09:30 - 35 minutes - 32.9 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes We may condemn tyrants and abhor serial killers, but we are obsessed with evil and violence. Are we fascinated by evil, violent characters because they make life more exciting? Or because they express our real nature? Should we look to end this morbid obsession, or accept it as a feature of humanity? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, cultural critic Terry Eagleton, author of Evil in Moder...
The Right Way to Think | Paul Boghossian, Mary Jane Rubenstein, Alister McGrath
July 02, 2019 09:09 - 38 minutes - 35.5 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Reason was traditionally seen as the Enlightenment’s great legacy and the origin of our success. Yet reason is increasingly derided as just the rhetorical bluster of the educated elite, typically powerful and male. Is rationality just the prejudiced claim of those who are sure they are right? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, Professor of Religion at Wesleyan Mary-Jane Rubenstein, Silver ...
The Prejudice of Philosophy | Chakravarthi Ram Prasad, Nivi Manchanda, Timothy Williamson
June 25, 2019 08:59 - 39 minutes - 36.6 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Many see the search for universal truths about the world as the noble aim of philosophy. Yet our universities largely dismiss non-Western philosophy, and critics argue that British students are taught a narrow analytic approach. Are great ideas independent of time, place and tradition? Do African conceptions of the self or Chinese Mohist logic offer equally valid insights? In this episode of Philoso...
The Illusion of Now | Julian Barbour, Tim Maudlin, Emily Thomas
June 18, 2019 08:32 - 41 minutes - 38.2 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Past and future are worlds we can never inhabit. We live of necessity in the present. But physicists and philosophers with very different outlooks, from Einstein to Derrida, claim that the present is an illusion. Are we deluded by experience into imagining the present is real? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, Philosopher of science Tim Maudlin joins author of The End of Time Julian Barbo...
Is Oppression The Key To Creativity? | Lowkey, Joanna Kavenna, Andrew Motion
June 11, 2019 00:00 - 38 minutes - 34.8 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Freedom is often seen as the vital oxygen of creativity. Yet Shakespeare worked within a framework of censorship, Don Quixote was written from prison and Leonardo argued that at 'lives on constraint and dies of freedom'. Can oppression help produce masterpieces or do the free always write the greatest poetry? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, former Poet Laureate Andrew Motion, Novelist a...
The Dark Side of the Universe | Erik Verlinde, Catherine Heymans, Sabine Hossenfelder
June 04, 2019 09:03 - 39 minutes - 36.2 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes According to current theories, Dark Energy and Dark Matter make up 95% of all the stuff in the universe. Yet we still have no direct evidence for them. Might we need to rethink our account of the universe entirely? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, String theorist Erik Verlinde, astrophysicist Catherine Heymans and physicist and writer Sabine Hossenfelder propose radical solutions to the ...
The Morality of the Left and Right | Peter Hitchens, Sophie Walker, Chris Bryant
May 29, 2019 09:02 - 42 minutes - 38.6 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes The left has traditionally seen itself as progressive, with history and morality on its side. But is history on anyone's side? And as for morality, don't all politicians think they're in the right? Should the left then give up its claim to the moral high ground and argue for policies on pragmatic grounds alone? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, Peter Hitchens, Sophie Walker and Chris Brya...
The Neuroscience of Consciousness | Raymond Tallis, Susana Martinez-Conde, Markus Gabriel
May 20, 2019 17:29 - 46 minutes - 42.9 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Neuroscientists believe that our minds and consciousness are no more than matter and mechanism. But if they are right, is all meaning, purpose and feeling illusory? Or do the secrets of experience lie beyond neuroscience's grasp? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, Raymond Tallis, Susana Martinez-Conde and Markus Gabriel explore the latest in the neuroscience of consciousness. In associati...
The Neuroscience of Conciousness | Raymond Tallis, Susana Martinez-Conde, Markus Gabriel
May 20, 2019 17:29 - 42.9 MBNeuroscientists believe that our minds and conciousness are no more than matter and mechanism. But if they are right, is all meaning, purpose and feeling illusory? Or do the secrets of experience lie... Philosophy for our Times features debates and talks with the world’s leading thinkers on today’s biggest ideas. This live recording podcast is brought to you by the Institute of Art and Ideas – described by Total Politics as “Europe’s answer to TED” and host to the annual philosophy and music...
What Is Beauty? From Plato to Kim Kardashian | Bence Nanay, Justine Kolata, Sam Roddick
May 14, 2019 14:55 - 42 minutes - 38.7 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Once beauty was about goodness and truth, now we think it means little more than models, products and outdated art. Have practical concerns and the economy of desire made beauty trivial and expendable? Is there a difference in the feeling of pleasure one gets from looking at a Magritte painting, or at Kim Kardashian's bum? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, Philosopher Bence Nanay, activis...
Trump's Foreign Policy | George Galloway, Mark Leonard
May 07, 2019 12:01 - 43 minutes - 40.2 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Many think Donald Trump a buffoon and a threat to world peace. But with IS weakened, and signs of progress in North Korea, perhaps his supporters can point to some initial successes. Could a belligerent approach to foreign policy make for a safer world? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, George Galloway and Mark Leonard debate the threat of Trump's foreign policy. In association with the...
Is Reality Necessary? | Chiara Marletto, Gerard t'Hooft, Christopher Timpson
April 30, 2019 11:07 - 38 minutes - 34.8 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes We think that lightning strikes, and waves crash, even if there is no one to see them. Yet according to quantum physics, the observer is critical to reality. Theoretical physicist Werner Heisenberg even argued that, in contemporary physics 'objective reality has evaporated'. Is a world independent of the observer an illusion? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, Nobel prize winning Gerard t'...
The Lure of Evil | Christopher Hamilton, Patricia MacCormack, John Milbank
April 23, 2019 09:49 - 45 minutes - 41.6 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes From Milton's Paradise Lost to bad boys and femmes fatales, we are seduced by the dark and dangerous. Why does the devil have all the best tunes? Have we sanitised the good and made it vacuous? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, moral philosopher Christopher Hamilton, theologian and Zizek collaborator John Milbank, and Professor of Continental Philosophy Patricia MacCormack look into our d...
The Cult of Mindfulness | Vishpani Blomfield, Linda Woodhead, Miguel Farias
April 16, 2019 09:50 - 32 minutes - 29.8 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes From yoga retreats to mindfulness, meditation is fashionable and now even prescribed by the UK's National Health Service. Yet in some cases it can lead to depression and even psychosis. Is it a mistake to think that self-exploration and being at one with ourselves are necessarily good things? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, The Buddha Pill author Miguel Farias, Buddhist teacher and broa...
The Problem with Materialism | John Ellis, Susan Blackmore, Hilary Lawson
April 09, 2019 09:31 - 49 minutes - 45.7 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes The idea that the world is made of physical stuff alone has been central to scientific progress. But our theories do not account for experience or thought. Might materialism be a profound mistake? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, CERN physicist John Ellis, Consciousness author Susan Blackmore and Closure theorist Hilary Lawson uncover the problem with materialism. In association with t...
Should We Live Forever? | Patricia MacCormack, Anders Sandberg, Janne Teller
April 02, 2019 12:19 - 42 minutes - 39.3 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes From gene therapy and fad diets to cryonically frozen corpses, many still hope to find a way to live forever. But Heidegger famously thought life's transience gave it meaning. So should science one day banish death's shadow? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, Philosopher and author of 'Post-Human Ethics' Patricia MacCormack, Oxford transhumanist Anders Sandberg and author and novelist Jann...
The End of Humans | Interview with Patricia MacCormack
March 29, 2019 12:18 - 11 minutes - 11 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Patricia MacCormack is Professor of Continental Philosophy at Anglia Ruskin University, known for her work on Posthuman ethics. In this exclusive interview, Patricia explains why she thinks the world would be a better place without humans. In association with the New College of the Humanities. bit.ly/2FdPgLD There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses wa...
The Future of Pornography | Brooke Magnanti, Finn Mackay, Rowan Pelling, Peter Tatchell
March 26, 2019 10:34 - 43 minutes - 39.5 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Many believe that porn's dark fantasies risk corrupting relationships and society. Has this arisen because pornography is largely created by men? Or is porn fundamentally incompatible with intimacy and a problem for all of us until its abolished? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, feminist thinker Finn Mackay, author of Belle de Jour: Diary of a London Call Girl Brooke Magnanti, human righ...
The Sex Myth | Interview with Brooke Magnanti
March 22, 2019 13:40 - 8 minutes - 7.74 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Brooke Magnanti is best known by her pen name Belle de Jour, from the blog behind Secret Diary of a Call Girl. In this exclusive interview, Brooke explains how we should free ourselves from the shackles surrounding sex from shame, to guilt and toxic femininity. In association with the New College of the Humanities. bit.ly/2FdPgLD There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, ar...
The New Enlightenment | Julian Baggini, Amie Thomasson, Hilary Lawson
March 19, 2019 10:13 - 36 minutes - 33.7 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes 'Dare to know' was the radical rallying cry of the Enlightenment. But since then, philosophers from Nietzsche to Derrida have argued there are limits to knowledge so profound that truth is an impossible goal. Is the enlightenment dream over? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, A Short History of Truth author, Julian Baggini, post-realist philosopher Hilary Lawson and metaphysician Amie Thom...
Truth in a Post Truth World | Interview with Hilary Lawson
March 15, 2019 13:07 - 10 minutes - 9.74 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Hilary Lawson is a post realist philosopher, known for his theory of Closure. In this exclusive interview, Hilary explains how we should understand truth in a post truth world and why we need Enlightenment thinking now more than ever. In association with the New College of the Humanities bit.ly/2FdPgLD There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting ...
Why is There Something Rather than Nothing? | Amie Thomasson, George Ellis, Rupert Sheldrake
March 12, 2019 10:21 - 32 minutes - 29.3 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes The fundamental problem of philosophy, argued Heidegger, is 'why is there something rather than nothing?'. Now, some scientists claim nothing doesn't exist and that even deepest space is full of virtual particles. Have we misunderstood the very idea of nothing? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, Templeton prize winning cosmologist George Ellis, metaphysician Amie Thomasson and author of Th...
The Secrets of Consciousness | Interview with Rupert Sheldrake
March 08, 2019 18:24 - 9 minutes - 8.4 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Rupert Sheldrake is a renowned author and biologist, known for his research into parapsychology. In this exclusive interview, Rupert shares with us the secrets of consciousness, putting forward a panpsychist view of what it is to be conscious and debunking why materialism has failed. In association with the New College of the Humanities. bit.ly/2FdPgLD There are thousands of big ideas to discover...
Leadership in the Age of Trump | Jess Phillips, Jon Barnes, Tania Branigan
March 05, 2019 10:16 - 43 minutes - 39.4 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes There are many who see Trump and Putin as a threat to world peace. But are they in power because we believe that strong leaders are good for us? Is it a mistake to imagine that leaders can solve all of our problems? Can we imagine a politics where we voted for policies rather than personalities? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, outspoken Labour MP Jess Phillips, Guardian journalist and C...
The Digital Revolution | Interview with Jon Barnes
March 01, 2019 11:17 - 10 minutes - 9.62 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Jon Barnes is a guest lecturer at the world's top business schools, innovator and author. In this exclusive interview, Jon shares with us how technology is already being used to shape the way we vote, organise and think about politics. From Democracy Squared to Tech Monopolies, Jon's work has focused on the relationship between technology and democracy and here he shares why he thinks we should be o...
Thinking Across the World | Julian Baggini
February 26, 2019 13:32 - 32 minutes - 29.9 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes How have ideas across the world shaped the places from which they emerged? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, author and philosopher Julian Baggini explores global thinking and its varied influence on our cultures, our ideals and how we see ourselves. In association with the New College of the Humanities. bit.ly/2FdPgLD There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, ar...
Bonus episode: Behind the scenes at our music and philosophy festival HowTheLightGetsIn!
February 22, 2019 16:05In this special bonus episode, we go behind the scenes of HowTheLightGetsIn, the world’s largest music and philosophy festival, to find out the philosophy behind the festival and hear from the... Philosophy for our Times features debates and talks with the world’s leading thinkers on today’s biggest ideas. This live recording podcast is brought to you by the Institute of Art and Ideas – described by Total Politics as “Europe’s answer to TED” and host to the annual philosophy and music festiv...
What Is Justice? | Sarah Langford
February 19, 2019 17:21 - 24 minutes - 22.6 MBLooking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Can our legal system ever keep its promise of justice? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, author of ‘In Your Defence’ Sarah Langford tells her story of a life in the courtroom, and shows us how our attitudes and actions can shape not only the outcome of a case, but the legal system itself. In association with the New College of the Humanities. bit.ly/2FdPgLD There are thousands of big i...