Stones rolling and the joy of ordinary objects

FromPhilosopher's Zone

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Stones rolling and the joy of ordinary objects

FromPhilosopher's Zone

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Length:

25 minutes

Released:

Jan 7, 2018

Format:

Podcast episode

Description

The structure of the universe is written in stone—maybe. Dana Goswick talks metaphysics.

Released:

Jan 7, 2018

Format:

Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

The simplest questions often have the most complex answers. The Philosopher's Zone is your guide through the strange thickets of logic, metaphysics and ethics.

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The philosophy of parenting—part 4: An authentic life will risk heartbreak for the highs. That sounds like a job description for parenting. Matt Beard presents his final foray into the bewildering modern world of children, parents, and families. by Philosopher's Zone
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Devotion, democracy and Duterte: Is religious language incompatible with democratic politics, as philosopher Richard Rorty believed? Not in the Philippines, where religion and democracy are working together as close allies—with troubling implications for justice and human rights. by Philosopher's Zone
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On the way: John Kaag is a philosopher who travelled to the Swiss Alps with the aim of putting into practice some of Nietzsche's recommendations for "becoming who you are". In his memoir Hiking With Nietzsche, what he finds is that following in the footsteps of the g by Philosopher's Zone
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Proof and beauty: Mathematicians routinely refer to complex proofs in aesthetic terms, citing their 'elegance' or 'beauty'. This has partly to do with the social aspect of such proofs—far from being a hermetic or exclusively cerebral practice, mathematics has never strayed by Philosopher's Zone
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Ethics and absolutes in the classroom: The trouble with morality is that reasonable people keep disagreeing on what’s right and wrong. The science, as they say, isn’t settled. So that being the case, how can we argue for fixed moral standards to which everyone should sign up? And how should we by Philosopher's Zone
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Carlo Rovelli and his quantum problem: Carlo Rovelli on the desperate need for some conceptual engineering to dig quantum thinking out of a deep black hole. by Philosopher's Zone
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Envy has its reasons: One of the seven deadly sins—which is sometimes excusable. by Philosopher's Zone
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Bots, bankers and big brother: Would you trust a killer robot more than a banker? This philosopher does, and has his reasons. by Philosopher's Zone
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Getting stuck: The midlife mess: Your midlife crisis: it’s more than you think. by Philosopher's Zone
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The world in a different light: Iris Murdoch’s philosophical vision: In a century that produced a dizzying array of philosophers and philosophical approaches, few philosophers were as distinctive, and stood out quite so conspicuously, as Iris Murdoch (1919-1999). by Philosopher's Zone
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Animals and the philosophy of friendship: Some of our best friends are animals. So where does that leave some humans we know? by Philosopher's Zone
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African philosophy and the West: How do you articulate African philosophy in a Western academic environment? And what gets lost in the project of “translating” the former into the categories of the latter? by Philosopher's Zone
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The Reformation: What's not to like?: Is it just a coincidence that the five-hundredth anniversary of the Reformation falls on the same year that Britain is trying to 'Brexit'? by Philosopher's Zone
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Autonomy, self, and substances: Substance abuse lets you say ‘it wasn’t me’. Then who was it? by Philosopher's Zone
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Enid Blyton—the moral of the story: She might not be in vogue these days, but for one Cambridge philosopher Enid Blyton is serious moral business. by Philosopher's Zone
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Existentialism and crisis: Existentialism entered the popular consciousness after World War 2, and for many it still has a mid-century ring to it. But how does it look look today, especially in an age where the unfolding environmental crisis calls for something more than radical hu by Philosopher's Zone
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Parental guidance recommended: The nature of Family could be more than a Christmas puzzle. by Philosopher's Zone
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Politics at the extremes: Politics has never been a gentle pursuit - but these days the gloves are well and truly off. How did we get here? And as for where we might be headed, there are fascinating – if rather terrifying – clues in the work of French thinker René Girard. by Philosopher's Zone
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Robot dogs dream of consciousness: What makes the human mind so distinctive? Perhaps the answer is in your dreams. by Philosopher's Zone
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The philosophy of parenting—part 2: Brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and those weird second cousins you never talk to… how might we define family—and why it matters. by Philosopher's Zone
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The value of thought experiments: Drop those test tubes, take off your lab coat, pull up a comfy chair and think your way to scientific truth. by Philosopher's Zone
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The philosophy of parenting—part 1: Should you have kids? Don’t look for sage advice—part 1 of a 4-part series. by Philosopher's Zone
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Thinking small: Understanding the human condition has been the province of many disciplines, but you wouldn’t necessarily expect microbiology to be among them. Think again! by Philosopher's Zone
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A tale of two universes: Philosophy and modern physics: a case of the irrelevant versus the impractical? by Philosopher's Zone
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Philosophy for children: the why and the how: Children are natural philosophers — so why don’t we routinely teach them how to do philosophy? Some issues around that debate were aired at a recent public panel hosted by the Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia. by Philosopher's Zone
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Oh, the Humanities: We often hear that the academic Humanities and social sciences are in crisis—underfunded, out of touch with the job market, hamstrung by political correctness and moral relativism. So why study philosophy? And could a good dose of scientific method help to solve the problem—if indeed there is one? by Philosopher's Zone
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Awesome ethics and the art of mushroom blading: Forget the meaning of life; an ethical definition of awesome is far more important. by Philosopher's Zone
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The philosophy of parenting—part 3: Every parent knows the guilt that comes from being a ‘bad parent’—after you’ve lost your temper, given in to a tantrum and spoiled your precious little angel! It might affect how the child grows up, but how can you work that out? by Philosopher's Zone
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The beauty imperative: What does it mean when beauty moves from aesthetic choice to ethical ideal? The age-old belief that true beauty lies within is ever harder to sustain today. It was once sidelined as a 'women’s issue' but beauty is now taking its place as a subject for serious philosophical scrutiny. by Philosopher's Zone
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Martin Luther King: political philosopher: We don’t routinely think of political figures as philosophers, but when but comes to Martin Luther King maybe we should. King was a deep thinker with a remarkably coherent vision of the moral life and a bracing take on some of the fundamental questions of political philosophy. by Philosopher's Zone
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Hegel, nature and the Anthropocene: Modernity has us in a terrible bind. We know that our Western habits of growth and consumption are destroying the planet, and that we need to stop exploiting the natural world for our benefit. But at the same time, our very identity as modern humans is grounded in the notion of endless growth, self-determination and the domination of nature. The work of the 18th century German philosopher GWF Hegel provides a fascinating diagnosis of our condition. Can it also offer a cure? by Philosopher's Zone
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The phenomenology of love: There’s a venerable philosophical tradition devoted to explaining what love is, and it stretches back to the ancient Greeks. What philosophy hasn’t had so much to say about is the phenomenology of love – the question of what love feels like. This week we’re getting inside the experience. by Philosopher's Zone
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Stuff: Many of us these days are buried beneath an avalanche of stuff – everyday objects that seem to proliferate in the cupboard while our back is turned. Our obsession with material technology infects our view of human history, as many anthropologists judge the progress of past civilisations on the basis of how much stuff they generated, or “failed” to generate. And the production of stuff threatens our future, with the looming catastrophe of climate change and the growing tide of microplastics. by Philosopher's Zone
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Stones rolling and the joy of ordinary objects

Stones rolling and the joy of ordinary objects

Description

Titles in the series (100)

More Episodes from Philosopher's Zone