Philosophy Bites

Jean-Paul Sartre's notion of Bad Faith lies at the core of his existentialist classic Being and Nothingness. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast Sebastian Gardner explains what Sartre meant by Bad Faith.

Questions about the nature of reality are at the heart of all philosophy in both Western and Eastern traditions. Keith Ward gives an overview of the idealist tradition in some Indian philosophy and draws parallels between this tradition and some Western thinkers.

Scientists talk about sub-atomic particles which are invisible to the eye. Do such particles really exist? Or are they simply convenient fictions that, for the moment at least, explain the observable phenomena? David Papineau discusses and defends scientific realism in this episode of Philosophy Bites.

Kate Soper believes that we need to rethink how we live in the light of impending environmental catastrophe. She maintains that alternative ways of living can be more enjoyable than consumerism.

Genocide is, at first glance, a straightforward term. We understand what it is and why it is such an evil. But, as  Chandran Kukathas of the London School of Economics argues in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast, perhaps the received definition of this term needs refinement.

How do we learn anything? This isn't a puzzle until you start thinking hard about it. In his dialogue The Meno, Plato presented an apparent paradox about inquiry. M.M. McCabe discusses this paradox and its continuing relevance.

Parmenides was one of the most important pre-Socratic philosophers. Raymond Tallis discusses his ideas and influence in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

Don Cupitt, a controversial theologian and philosopher, whose BBC television series and book The Sea of Faith was extremely influential, giving birth to a theological movement, believes that most religion is too anthropomorphic. In this interview for the  Philosophy Bites podcast he  explains his non-realist approach to God.

Tolerance is usually thought of as the great virtue of democratic societies. Wendy Brown of UC Berkeley asks some sceptical questions about the concept of tolerance and how it can be used to express power relationships in this interview for Philosophy Bites.

Political representation in a democracy doesn't necessarily reflect the variety of people within a society. Most noticeably, there is a much lower percentage of women acting as representatives than there is in the wider population. Does this matter? Anne Phillips believes it does. She explains why in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

Anthony Grayling argues that bombing civilians in Dresden and other German cities in the Second World War was morally wrong.

What makes anyone the same person over time? In this interview for Philosophy Bites Christopher Shields addresses this question of personal identity, one which, as he points out, has perplexed philosophers since antiquity.

Alexander Nehamas explores the value of friendship in this interview with Nigel Warburton for the Philosophy Bites podcast.

Raymond Geuss wants political philosophers to focus on real politics rather than abstract notions. In this interview with Nigel Warburton for Philosophy Bites he explains why he believes philosophers such as Robert Nozick and John Rawls were fundamentally misguided in the way they approached political philosophy.

Roger Crisp discusses the nature of virtue in this interview with Nigel Warburton for  the Philosophy Bites podcast.

Anthony Appiah makes the case for the relevance of psychological experiments to our ethical reasoning in this interview for the Philosophy Bites podcast.

Friedrich Nietzsche's The Genealogy of Morality provides a radical view of the origins of our values. Nigel Warburton interviews Christopher Janaway about this important book in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

Philosophers have been fascinated by paradoxes since ancient times. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast Nigel Warburton interviews Peter Cave about paradoxes and their relevance to philosophy.

Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason is a notoriously difficult work. In this interview for Philosophy Bites A.W. Moore of Oxford University gives a succinct account of this complex and influential attempt to clarify the limits of human understanding.

Philosophers of mind have traditionally introspected sitting alone in their rooms. Now new developments in neuroscience are producing surprising results, some of which are relevant to philosophy. Phenomena such as blind sight and mirror neurones suggest that we would be foolish to decide what is possible a priori. Barry C. Smith gives an insight in to this intriguing area in this episode of Philosophy Bites.