Philosophy Bites

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.

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 podcast he discusses his understanding of the sacred and the part it plays in our experience of each other.

What can experimental psychology contribute to our self-development as moral agents? Philosopher Regina Rini explores this question in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

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 explores what's wrong with narcissism and how it differs from related concepts.

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

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

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 academic who became leader of the opposition in Canada then lost heavily in the 2011 Prime Ministerial election. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast he discusses the relationship between theory and practice in politics with Nigel Warburton.

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 explains what this means in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

David Papineau discusses a range of specific sporting incidents that are of philosophical interest in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. David Papineau has a weblog on philosophy and sport: 'More Important Than That'

Roberto Unger argues that contemporary political progressives have abandoned what 19th century liberals knew: that some ways of living are better than others. In this conversation with Nigel Warburton he argues that we need a different concept of freedom, one that will allow humans to thrive.

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

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 exactly is normativity? John Skorupski explores this question in conversation with David Edmonds.

Is a concern for inequality of wealth just a form of envy? Are there good reasons for objecting to inequality? Harvard philosopher Tim Scanlon discusses these questions in converation with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

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 with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. 

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

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, perhaps, go some way to explaining why there are so few women in academic philosophy? Jennifer Saul discusses these questions with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

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

For this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast Rom Harre discusses and illustrates the so-called Linguistic Turn in Philosophy, the focus on actual uses of language that was advocated by the later Wittgenstein, J.L. Austin, Gilbert Ryle and others. 

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 Edmonds for this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

What are human rights? Are they simply legal rights? What is their relation to morality? John Tasioulas discusses the basis of human rights in conversation with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.