For the Love of Sophia!

We're taking off for the summer! See you in September.

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on Peter Singer's philosophy as it pertains to minimizing suffering -- this time shifting away from humans as a focal point: Can animals suffer? How can we know? What does this mean when it comes to eating animals? Testing products on animals? How is the argument from "Animal Liberation" a continuation of the argument from "Famine, Affluence, and Morality?"

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony begin to discuss to the work of contemporary philosopher Peter Singer in honor of his recent retirement from Princeton University: What exactly does it mean to suffer, and how to we minimize it? What should our stance be towards global aid and charity? Do we have a moral obligation to donate excess income to poor people in other countries? Are the obligations we have to those in out own local communities/states/countries equal to those we have in others?

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on the contrasting metaphysics of Plato and Aristotle.

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony begin to compare Plato and Aristotle's views on reality and knowledge: Are sensory objects ontologically primary or secondary? Can form and matter be separated? What are some practical examples that could be used to argue for and against Plato's conception of forms? What is the relationship between particulars and universals?

Ep. 115: Tradition vs. Novelty (Part II) by For the Love of Sophia!

FTLOS! returns. In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony ask a number of questions about the nature of tradition and its counterpart -- novelty: What is the ontology of tradition? How do rituals factor in? What is the relationship between seeing the world symbolically and finding meaning? How does novelty disrupt this process? When is tradition bad enough to justify a change? What kinds of novelty can be warranted? What misconceptions do people have about the two?

"Why haven't we received any new episodes lately? What's going on?!"

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on postmodernism -- this time focusing on potential critiques and social-political consequences.

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony discuss a topic that everyone seems to be talking about these days -- "postmodernism." What even is this thing? Why has it become a hot topic these past few years? What are its origins? What are its metaphysics and epistemology? Its ethics and politics?

In this conversation, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on what philosophy is _not_.

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony discuss a seemingly odd set of questions: What kinds of activities/disciplines are definitively non-philosophical? And is there anything that can't be philosophized about, even in principle? These questions lead to a number of rabbit holes regarding mental states, the sciences, personal anecdotes, and other fun stuff.

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on Atheism: What exactly is it? Are there different types? What issues might there be with creationist accounts?

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony discuss the concept of atheism: What exactly does it mean to be an atheist? Is there more than one type of atheism? What arguments are given in favor of each? What issues do these arguments run into? What are the ethical and political consequences of atheism?

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on music: What exactly happens to someone when they create music? To what extent are particular members essential to a band's being? Are there examples of bands who kept or even increased in quality after member changes, or are changes always negative? Which version of a song is the actual song? Can music have an essence but also be tied to particular equipment usages? What is the ontology of cover songs? Are musical experiences ineffable? Are there any sounds or patterns that are intrinsically bad, or is everything context dependent?

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony begin discussing a topic that is near and dear to their hearts -- music: What exactly is music in the first place? What relationship might it have with sounds, pauses, relations, and intention? How might Aristotle's 4 causes help us understand things? How does music get made? What level of consciousness does music-making happen within? What is the difference between writing music alone vs. with others? How can we know when music making is successful?

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on metaphysical idealism, this time getting into the "stranger" post-Kantian version of it. They also give a sneak peak of their "disagreement" podcast conversation, which is available for Patreon subscribers.

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony begin discussing the metaphysical position known as "idealism." What exactly are ideas and where do they come from? What is an object? Can we be sure that matter actually exists? Even further -- can we prove that matter logically _can't_ exist? How might God factor into this? Are monotheistic religions necessarily idealistic?

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on the qualia of octopi and how it may relate to human consciousness: When an octopus sees "its" arms below it, does it perceive them as being totally foreign things, or is there some loose sense of unity? Is our inability to draw definitive conclusions about consciousness a result of the limits of empirical/inductive inquiry, or is it more of an a priori/definitional issue? Does biological similarity between species necessarily result in consciousness similarity? How does language factor into this conversation? If other species could talk, would we be able to understand what they say about consciousness, and vice-versa?

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony discuss a number of issues pertaining to human and animal consciousness raised by Godfrey-Smith's article, "On Being an Octopus." What do octopi have to do with consciousness? What are qualia? What would it be like to taste through your fingers, or to feel the world through your tongue>. How would having a "decentralized" nervous system alter the feeling of being conscious? If an octopus doesn't have a "self," can it even be considered one thing? Or is it more accurate to think of "an octopus" as something akin to "a community of things" that we jointly refer to for the sake of simplicity? Link to Godfrey-Smith's article: https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/peter-godfrey-smith-being-octopus/

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on the nature of love: What exactly happens to someone who is "in love?" Are humans meant to be in love? Is it possible to stop loving someone? What about a family member?

In this special 100th episode, Giuseppe and Anthony take some more questions from listeners. Questions range from epistemology, to aesthetics, to education, and more.

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony begin to discuss a number of general questions pertaining to this thing we call "love." Are there different types of love? Is there anything that binds the different types? What is the foundation of romantic relationships? For questions or suggestions for future episodes: PublicPhilProject@gmail.com. Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/publicphilosophyproject

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on friendship: Is friendship more than just a willingness to be friends? What ruins friendships? Can "friends with benefits" actually exist successfully? Can men and women really be friends? What different types of friendships exist?

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony discuss a number of general questions about the nature of friendship: Is friendship a subcategory of love, or vice-versa? What are the defining characteristics of friendship? Are there different kinds? Can parents and children be friends? Siblings? What role does power and balance play in all of this?

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on hermeneutic issues: What exactly happens to us when we engage with a text? What is the relationship between text, author, and understanding? What even is a 'text' in the first place? What is a symbol? Is there a distinction between symbols and other kind of representations? Is the relationship between symbols and reality truly arbitrary?

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony begin to discuss a number of general questions pertaining to this thing we call "understanding": What exactly does it mean to understand something? What does it have to do with context and connections between things? What does is mean when someone says that they _don't_ understand something? How does it relate to hermeneutic vantage points and horizons? How does technology affect our capacity to understand anything? How does language and literacy factor into all of this? What does it mean to focus too much on the practical rather than the theoretical? Or vice-versa?

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on the nature of AI -- this time, focusing on the implications it has for ethics and political philosophy: What are the results of granting AI systems authority with regard to the issue of truth? How are digital representations of things different from the things themselves -- are they? If a thing produces real effects, should we consider that thing real? Is it possible to be friends with an AI -- or to be in an intimate relationship with one? How should we judge situations in which people claim such things?

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony begin to discuss a number of fundamental questions concerning the nature of AI with a little "help" from the source itself -- ChatGPT: How is artificial intelligence distinct from "organic" intelligence? What exactly can it do? What are its limitations? What does all of this mean for the future?

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on ethical questions surrounding the use of violence: Are there any situations where there is universal agreement about whether the use of violence is warranted? Can an action that violates rights nevertheless be considered morally justified? What is the difference between personal acts of violence and the acts of violence conducted by the State?

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony begin to discuss the nature of violence and its ethical implications: Is violence a strictly physical phenomena that pertains to the body, or can it go beyond that? What is the relationship between violence and violation? What does a violation of the mind look like? To what extent is our language steeped in metaphors pertaining to violence, and how -- if at all -- can we see through them? How can we differentiate between representations or suggestions of violence and violence itself?

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on Plato's theory of forms: Are the forms just a metaphor for ideas and the activity of thinking? Or should the realm of forms be interpreted as a literal "place?" What is the allegory of the cave, and what are its metaphysical and epistemological implications? How exactly do numbers fit into all of this? What is the ontological status of mathematics? Is it more primary than, on par with, or secondary to pure logic?

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony delve into this thing commonly referred to as Plato's "Theory of Forms." In what sense is it supposed to be a theory of everything? How exactly does it account for the structure and origin of the universe? What does it have to do with the distinction between appearance and reality? How does the concept of imitation factor into this? What is a demiurge and how is it supposed to have created our realm?

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation about human nature: Can human nature be anything other than the mere having of a frontal lobe? To what extent can religiosity be considered part of human nature? How about morality? What is this whole "nature vs. nurture" debate anyway that everyone likes bringing up? Can Giuseppe and Anthony agree on any human universals?

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony discuss the nature of this thing we call -- well, human nature. What exactly is it? What about nature in general? Are these things fixed? To what extent? Does human nature even actually exist as something other than a mere epistemological indicator? If it does, then what are the minimum criteria needed in order for something to be accurately considered "human?" What are the ethical and political consequences of these issues?

What exactly is "un-grading," and what cases do people make for it? What problems are present in these arguments? Are there more moderate versions of the arguments that we should take into account? What are some common negative attitudes that students take towards grades? How do we approach trying to change these attitudes? And the end of the day -- what are grades?

'Tis the season... grading season. In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony discuss several philosophical questions underlying the grading process. What are grades? What exactly is it that's getting graded? How does the grading process differ between oral and written exams? To what extent is cumulative individual process relevant during the grading process? How can instructors differ completely with regard to how they grade? For questions or suggestions for future episodes: PublicPhilProject@gmail.com.

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on the nature of politics, this time focusing on the concept of war: What exactly is war? Is war the most political thing, or the least political? Can politics exist without war? Is war the natural state of things? What is the relationship between war and consciousness? What is the telos of war? For questions or suggestions for future episodes: PublicPhilProject@gmail.com.

What type of thing does politics deal with? What is the goal of politics? Is political philosophy a branch or ethics, or is ethics a branch of political philosophy? Can politics exist outside of the State?

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on consciousness: What happens when our technological interface with the world becomes the world itself? What are the philosophical and psychological consequences of this shift? How does it affect conceptions of the self? How does it affect the embodied nature of consciousness? How does it affect interpersonal relationships? How does it affect childhood and child rearing? What political consequences ensue?

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony discuss a number of fundamental questions pertaining to this thing we call "technology": Is technology a thing or a process? What is the relationship between technology and the Ancient Greek "techne?" What is the purpose of technology? How is technology distinct from art? What do tools and machinery have to do with all of this? What things even count as technological objects in the first place?

In this conversation, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on personal identity: Are idiosyncrasies part of what makes a person? Can changeable things be part of something's essence? What is the relationship between personhood and rights? What rights does personhood entail? At what point exactly do things cross the threshold into the category of "having personhood?"

In this conversation, Giuseppe and Anthony discuss a number of fundamental questions pertaining to the nature of personal identity: What exactly is a person? How might "person" be distinct from "human?" Is a person defined by behavior, mental phenomena, both, or something else?

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on learning and teaching, this time focusing on the latter half: Is teaching distinct from explanation? What is the connection between learning and danger? How does the role of a teacher differ from the role of a guide? For questions or suggestions for future episodes: PublicPhilProject@gmail.com. Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/publicphilosophyproject

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony begin to discuss a number of questions pertaining to the fundamental nature of learning: What exactly does it mean to learn something? Is human learning distinct from function-gaining in a computational sense? If so, how? How can we tell whether someone has actually learned something?

In this episode, Anthony and Giuseppe continue their conversation about sensation, this time starting by focusing on parosmia -- an abnormality in the sense of smell -- that Anthony now experiences chronically as a result of having COVID in the past. What exactly happened? What did things smell like before and after COVID? What scents changed the most? What do they smell like now? How do these changes affect memory and the experience of reality in general? Can there be equivalent changes with other senses? What does the answer to this question tell us about type-differences between the senses? What does it tell us about sensation more broadly?

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony strike up an impromptu conversation about sensation: What exactly is a sensation? How does each sense differ from one another? Are there more interesting distinctions beyond the "obvious" ones lurking in the background? How do the senses connect? Can the senses be arranged in a hierarchy of complexity? What does this mean? What universal truths about sensation might exist? How does all of this affect our epistemological and metaphysical framework?

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on the the nature of memory, this time focusing on the metaphysical side of things. Where do memories come from? Where are they stored? Where do they “take place” when we're actively experiencing them? Are they physical things? Are memories necessarily internal to the subject? Or do they exist in external objects? Both? Is a memory not actively being remembered still a memory? For questions or suggestions for future episodes: PublicPhilProject@gmail.com. Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/publicphilosophyproject

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony discuss a number of fundamental questions pertaining to memory: What exactly is it? How do past memories affect our perception of the present and future? To what extent can emotion be detached from memories? Does collective memory exist? What ethical issues surround these questions?

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony continue their conversation on the divide between "analytic" and "continental" philosophy: How do analytic and continental philosophers see themselves in relation to the past? Why and how do continental philosophers play with language when expression their ideas? How can continental philosophy become more like idol worship and ideology? Why is continental philosophy more likely to veer off into relativism?

In this episode, Giuseppe and Anthony discuss the Analytic/Continental split within philosophy. Why do these different types of philosophers hate each other? When and why did the split happen? What kinds of problems did the analytics see within the history of philosophy that warranted a change? What goals should philosophy aim for? What does “progress” look like in philosophy? How should science and prepositional calculus fit into philosophy? What metaphysical and epistemological baggage does the analytic tradition come with?