TrueSciPhi

Podcast Profile: The Philosopher's Arms

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23 episodes
2012 to 2017
Median: 27 minutes
Collection: Philosophy

Description (podcaster-provided):

Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):

This podcast stages philosophy as an informal pub conversation, with presenter Matthew Sweet bringing a live audience together with philosophers and other specialists to work through “knotty conundrums.” Episodes typically begin with an everyday-sounding question, a provocative thought experiment, or a real-world controversy, then use it as a route into longer-standing philosophical debates. Along the way, the discussion often draws on major figures in the philosophical tradition and connects abstract reasoning to practical judgment.

A recurring theme is moral evaluation in personal and public life: how to think about hypocrisy, blame for past wrongs, exploitation, free-riding, equality in work and pay, and the ethics of decision-making under pressure. The show also examines the boundary between moral norms and social or legal regulation, including questions about harmful speech and the ways words can affect others. Several topics focus on the ethics of influencing human behaviour and character, such as whether biomedical or psychological “enhancements” might be justified.

Another strand explores classic problems in metaphysics and epistemology through accessible puzzles: questions about identity and change, vagueness and classification, and how we justify predictions about the future. These are often paired with cases from science and everyday reasoning, highlighting how philosophical problems show up in ordinary expectations and in the assumptions behind scientific inference.

The programme frequently mixes conceptual analysis with perspectives from outside philosophy—such as neuroscience, psychology, politics, economics, disability studies, activism, and technology. It also revisits well-known thought experiments about happiness, reality, and personhood, including scenarios involving artificial intelligence and simulated experience. The result is a set of discussions that aim to clarify concepts, test intuitions, and show how philosophical tools can be applied to contemporary dilemmas as well as enduring theoretical puzzles.