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Critical Discussions of recent articles in ethics and practical philosophy.Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):
➤ Recent ethics scholarship • Virtue signaling, moral discourse norms • AI blame, responsibility • Fanaticism, nihilism • Veganism, free-riding • Moral emotions • Confucian well-being • Gamete donation, genetic identity • Race, hope • Grief • Free will, determinism • Religion, human development • Virtue, meaningThis podcast features critical discussions of recent work in ethics and practical philosophy, often through interviews with philosophers about journal articles and new books. Across episodes, it examines how moral concepts and practices operate in contemporary life and whether common ways of judging and responding to others are justified. Topics include the norms of moral discourse and the tendency to dismiss others as “virtue signaling” or “grandstanding,” as well as broader questions about when moral condemnation, blame, or resentment is appropriate.
A recurring theme is moral responsibility under changing social and technological conditions, including debate over whether it makes sense to blame AI systems for harmful outcomes and how responsibility relates to agency, free will, and determinism. The show also explores character and value: virtue, meaning, fanaticism and devotion, and the role of emotions such as anger, shame, and grief in moral life. Several conversations address what it is to flourish or live well, drawing both on contemporary moral psychology and on traditions such as Confucian ethics, with attention to practices and rituals that may support (or hinder) well-being.
The podcast connects ethical theory to concrete issues in applied ethics and social philosophy. It considers obligations surrounding diet and animal ethics, including arguments about free-riding and duties to adopt veganism. It also addresses family and identity questions raised by gamete donation and the value of genetic knowledge, and engages political and racial philosophy through discussions of democratic hope, the legacy of racism in the United States, and the public role philosophers might play. Throughout, the emphasis is on clarifying arguments, assessing competing views, and mapping implications for moral thought and practice.
| Episodes: |
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Virtue Signaling, Grandstanding, and Judging Others 2025-Sep-12 64 minutes |
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Should We Blame AI? 2024-Aug-19 45 minutes |
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Fanaticism, Devotion, and Nihilism 2024-May-28 45 minutes |
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Veganism and Free-riding 2024-May-07 42 minutes |
How to Do Things with Emotions: Owen Flanagan2022-Apr-05 55 minutes |
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Confucianism, Morality, and Well-being 2022-Mar-15 63 minutes |
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Ethics of Gamete Donation and the Value of Genetic Knowledge 2022-Feb-16 61 minutes |
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Prophetic Pragmatism: Cornel West, Hope, and the Philosophy of Race 2022-Feb-01 54 minutes |
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Grief: A Philosophic Guide 2022-Jan-13 56 minutes |
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Freedom, Resentment, and the Metaphysics of Morals 2021-Apr-21 67 minutes |
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Religion and Human Development (Jennifer Herdt) 2020-Jul-08 59 minutes |
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Virtue and Meaning -- an Interview with David McPherson 2020-May-05 73 minutes |