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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):
➤ Practical ethics debates • Virtue, moral discourse, fanaticism • Blame, responsibility, determinism • AI harms • Veganism, free-riding • Moral emotions, grief • Confucian flourishing, rituals • Race, hope, democracy • Religion, human development • Reproduction ethics, genetic identity • Meaning, spiritualityThis podcast features critical discussions of recent work in ethics and practical philosophy, often through interviews with philosophers and authors. Across episodes, it examines how moral concepts shape everyday judgment and public discourse, including concerns about dismissing others as virtue signaling, grandstanding, or trolling, and what norms should guide moral conversation.
A recurring theme is moral responsibility: when blame is appropriate, what it presupposes about agency and free will, and how these practices might apply in new contexts such as harmful or unjust outcomes produced by AI systems. Related discussions address resentment, determinism, and the philosophical foundations of holding people (or systems) accountable.
The show also explores ethical questions tied to personal life and social institutions. Topics include obligations surrounding veganism and meat-eating (including free-riding arguments), the ethics of gamete donation and whether children have a claim to genetic knowledge, and the nature of grief—what it is directed at, what value it can have, and whether it can be morally required.
Several conversations focus on moral psychology and traditions of ethical thought. These include how emotions such as anger and shame function in moral life, how Confucian views of human nature and ritual relate to flourishing and well-being, and whether intense commitment or “fanaticism” can ever count as a virtue. The podcast also engages broader questions about meaning, spirituality, and human development, including debates between secular and religious humanism and reflections on hope, democracy, and the philosophical response to racism.
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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 |