Philosophy For Our Times

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Besides being illegal, LSD has not had good press, associated with bad trips and psychological breakdown. But with a new craze for microdosing acid amongst Silicon Valley whizz kids and management gurus, and respected scientists claiming antidepressant benefits, might we have been too quick to ban psychedelics? In this episode of Philosophy for our Times, Pharmacologist and former Home Office drugs advisor David Nutt, drugs reformer and director of the Beckley Foundation Amanda Feilding and founder of the Psychedelic Society Stephen Reid explore the promise of psychedelics. In association with the New College of the Humanities: bit.ly/2FdPgLD There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=the-promise-of-psychedelics See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Is there a universal morality, and if not, are moral beliefs actually the cause of some of the greatest human suffering? To debate this issue, we have on our panel literary theorist Stanley Fish, writer, broadcaster and SOAS researcher Myriam Francois, and journalist and former speech-writer to Tony Blair Phillip Collins. In association with the New College of the Humanities: bit.ly/2FdPgLD There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=does-universal-morality-exist See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sexual abuse accusations have reached an unprecedented high. How have we come here, and why is this happening now? Leading British sociologist Linda Woodhead investigates.

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Deaths from heart disease have fallen by almost two thirds since the 1960s, yet outcomes for those with mental illness have not improved for decades. Is this because we have the wrong categories and the wrong diagnoses? Might neuroscience enable more precise descriptions and more effective treatment? Or is it a mistake to think that biological accounts of mental illness will ever provide the answers? Users and Abusers of Psychiatry author Lucy Johnstone, psychiatrist David Nutt and author of The Antidepressant Era David Healy consider plausible alternatives to diagnosis. There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=minds-madness-and-medicine See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Ten years ago, the US elected its first black president. Yet race-related hate crime has increased 216% in the last year. Are we wrong to suppose that racial prejudice will be overcome by equal opportunity? Should we dream of a world where race is not a basis for social identity? Or are social groupings inevitable and equality the only possible solution? There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=who-we-are See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Suicide is a terrible but commonplace event amongst all societies within the human race. But at what point in our evolution did suicide come into being, and for what purpose? Can suicide be explained, and if so, can we provide an answer to those who become so desperate? Neuropsychologist and author of A History of the Mind Nicholas Humphrey answers these questions. There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=the-evolution-of-suicide See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes We think love an indisputable force for good. Yet from Jihadi John to Anders Breivik, extremists often cite love of creed or country to justify atrocities. Might love of a person or group also be the origin of prejudice and hatred towards others? Are love and hatred forever entwined, as Freud suggested? Or can we imagine a society built on love but free from tribalism? Former Archbishop of Cantebury Rowan Williams, sociologist and author of Perversions of Love and Hate Renata Salecl and philosopher Robert Rowland Smith debate the dark side of love. Michael Crick hosts. There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=tale-of-love-and-hate See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes In the wake of the Weinstein scandal, many called for a boycott of the films of Roman Polanski and Woody Allen. Yet 20th century literary critics encouraged us to look at the text alone, citing "the death of the author." Can and should we separate the artist from the art? Are the misdeeds of writers, thinkers and artists irrelevant to their work? Or should we excise the morally indefensible? Literary critic Stanley Fish, Carry That Weight performance artist Emma Sulkowicz, novelist Nell Stevens and Cambridge cultural theorist John Harvey untangle the beautiful and the good. There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=the-good-the-bad-and-the-artist See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Once dismissed as a utopian fantasy, universal income has now hit the mainstream. With new technologies, support from across the political spectrum, and advocates from Stephen Hawking to Mark Zuckerberg, it’s no surprise people have begun to take the idea seriously. In a combative head-to-head debate, author of Basic Income: And How We Can Make It Happen Guy Standing goes head to head with leading libertarian economist Deirdre McCloskey. There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=could-the-universal-basic-income-work? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes We are paying tribute to philosopher Mary Midgley who passed away last week at the age of 99 by revisiting our episode 'Are you an illusion?' in which Midgley investigates the self with fellow philosopher Simon Blackburn and neuroscientist Colin Blakemore. (With special thanks to the In Parenthesis project for interview excerpts - http://www.womeninparenthesis.co.uk/) There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=bonus-episode-tribute-to-mary-midgley See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Can we ever observe universes beyond our own? Astrophysicist Catherine Heymans reveals the latest innovations that might help map out the multiverse. There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=mysteries-of-the-multiverse See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes In a world with artificial intelligence, how will we maintain control? Sir Nigel Shadbolt, Open Data Institute co-founder and researcher at Oxford University, examines how AI looks set to reshape our lives and society. There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=the-ai-revolution See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Belief in the Gods once filled lives with purpose and a vision of truth. Now many in the secular West dismiss the divine yet also rue the loss of meaning and belief. Is this because evidence and reason are not sufficient to make sense of the world? Is there something about the world that is deeply strange and justifies spirituality? Or is the worldwide flourishing of religion a temporary blip in human history? Sociologist of religion Linda Woodhead, former executive editor of The Economist and author of The Dream of the Enlightenment Anthony Gottlieb, TV presenter and Research Associate at SOAS Centre for Islamic Studies Myriam Francois explore the link between reason and religion. Julian Baggini hosts. There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=reasons-and-the-gods See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Consciousness is one of the unresolved philosophical questions. There was hope that neuroscience might find some answers. But we still have no explanation for where brain activity ends and experience begins. Is it a mistake to think we can explain consciousness by examining the brain? Should we look elsewhere to our evolutionary roots perhaps? Or might neuroscience pull the cat from the bag after all? Psychologist and author of Seeing Myself Susan Blackmore, panpsychist and author of Consciousness and Fundamental Reality Philip Goff, and psychologist Nicholas Humphrey, whose books include The Mind Made Flesh and Soul Dust: The Magic of Consciousness, explore the unknown corners of our minds and lives. There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=the-secrets-of-consciousness See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes Would a meritocratic society provide a fair equality of opportunity? Can discrimination based on merit ever be justified, or should we aim to solve social inequality through equality of outcome? Kwame Anthony Appiah is a British Ghanaian philosopher at Columbia University and author of Cosmopolitanism and The Honor Code. There are thousands of big ideas to discover at IAI.tv – videos, articles, and courses waiting for you to explore. Find out more: https://iai.tv/podcast-offers?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=against-meritocracy See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.