The Philosophists

Feb 27 2023 8 ep. 54 mins 5
The Philosophists Podcast artwork

The Philosophists - Declan & Simon - look to inject some philosophy into your day. So if you're looking for meaning, morality, or just a bit of mayhem then tune in for their unique blend of shorter and longer conversations. Often with the help of some very special guests. This project may or not succeed, but what's the worst that could happen? Listen & find out!

  Society & Culture
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Ep 8 - The Challenges Women Researchers Face - Part 1 (with Mohammad Hosseini and Shiva Sharifzad)

Feb 27 2023 60 mins  
Research in academia is a wonderful intellectual pursuit, but are the fruits of that pursuit equally available to all? What if you are a woman? Do you have the same opportunities and outcomes as your other colleagues? In this episode, we talk to Mohammad Hosseini and Shiva Sharifzad, authors of Gender disparity in publication records: a qualitative study of women researchers in com

Ep 7 - Nested Utilitension (an Ethics to Rule Them All?)

Aug 16 2022 29 mins  
"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."In this one famous line from Star Trek, the ever-logical Spock seemingly nailed his flag to the mast of Utilitarianism. But what if Kant had been a member of the team aboard the USS Enterprise? He may have thrown a glass of cold water over Spock and exclaimed, "You're wrong! The needs of the few may triumph!" So, who should we s

Ep 6 -- LP -- Wisdom - A Very Valuable Virtue with Jason Merchey

Jun 14 2022 99 mins  
Wisdom... an old and dusty concept that has fallen down the pecking order in today's world. As a result, it's no surprise that many feel our civilisation is slipping ever deeper into an idiocracy. Well, this episode aims to single-handedly arrest that slide... and bring wisdom back into fashion! To this end, we have enlisted the talents of Jason Merchey, who literally wrote the boo

Ep 5 -- LP -- Towards Biohappiness with David Pearce (The End of Suffering)

Feb 01 2022 73 mins  
Suffering is unavoidable. Or is that really the case? David Pearce, renowned transhumanist, author of the Hedonistic Imperative and cofounder of the World Transhumanist Association / Humanity+, has a vision that sees suffering abolished in all sentient life and replaced with "information-sensitive gradients of bliss". In this feature length episode, David gives an introduction to h

Ep 4 - Beyond Cockroach Ethics - Part 2 (Virtue Ethics, Trolley Problems and Inaction)

Nov 08 2021 28 mins  
Back in episode two, we covered Utilitarianism and Deontology and promised to return with an episode covering Virtue Ethics. Well, wanting to do the moral thing, we fulfil that promise here. The episode opens up with Simon invoking the famous philosophical conundrum of the Trolley Problem. We also discuss the distinction between action and inaction, if any, before diving into the e

Ep 3 -- LP -- Corrupting The Youth (Philosophy For Children with Daniel McCrea)

Aug 12 2021 88 mins  
Well... Let's not quite call it corrupting. Let's call it teaching. And, in this episode, we are delighted to welcome Daniel McCrea as our special guest, who takes us on an exciting journey through the world of teaching philosophy to children.Main Talking PointsWhy children should care about philosophyHow philosophy helps children developGetting philosophy into the education cycle

Ep 2 - Beyond Cockroach Ethics - Part 1 (Utilitarianism vs Deontology)

Jul 19 2021 27 mins  
What can a cockroach teach us about ethics? Well, in this episode we attempt to find out as we talk our way through two of the most widely accepted ethical systems - Utilitarianism and Deontology. While scuttling around, we'll meet the great Immanuel Kant (well, not literally) and see how his ethical ideas can get you out of a sticky situation.Is morality a numbers game or just a b

Ep 1 - Feeling Bad About Doing Good

Apr 05 2021 32 mins  
In this episode, Declan and Simon ask - should you feel bad about doing "good"?"What?!" you may ask. But have you ever asked yourself if you should give almost all your money to charity? And, if you don't then how you should approach the question of whether you should do more? Is every one of your pleasures condemned to be a guilty pleasure? Cosmic Skeptic's video asking if Should