The Examined Life with Phil Kallberg: Recent Episodes
WCAT Radio
The Examined Life is a show in which host Phil Kallberg applies the methods, logic, and rationality of rigorous philosophy to the problems and issues of society, life, the universe, and everything.
In this episode, Phil Kallberg explains what Deconstructionism and Postmodernism are as they relate to stories. He also draws a distinction between the soft applications of these ideas and hard
Deconstructionism and Postmodernism. While the soft variants of these ideas can at times be useful the hard variants are incoherent. (July 25, 2021)
In this episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg speaks in light of the US government's report on UFOs/UAPs, explaining why it's highly likely that many of the reported encounters with aliens are just encounters with demonic entities. If you already have a worldview that allows for belief in the demonic, then demons make more sense of these phenomena than extraterrestrial beings do. (July 3, 2021)
In this episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg explains why you should take the COVID vaccine. He gives a practical and a moral argument for taking the vaccine and explains where some of the common objections people give to getting vaccinated go wrong. (May 28, 2021)
In this episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg gives a very brief overview of thought experiments and explains how they demonstrate that one of the purposes of good stories is to train us to be better people. He also gives out a face palm and sigh award for cherry picking from the Bible. (April 30, 2021)
In this episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg explains the general ideas behind the types of criticism that are used in literature, film, and other types of media. When criticism is done well, it illuminates aspects of stories and media that we will otherwise not see. Also he recommends the book "The Genealogical Adam and Eve" by S. Joshua Swamidass. (April 19, 2021)
In this episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg continues discussing the philosophy and
theory behind stories with the theory of archetypes. He explains the theory of archetypes, goes over some criticism of the theory, and discusses if the theory can apply to the real world as well as to stories. (April 5, 2021)
In this episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg devotes a whole episode to exploring the many errors in reasoning and argumentation that both George Stephanopoulos and Rand Paul committed during a recent interview. While they both lowered the bar of discourse, dissecting and analyzing their exchange can help us learn how to reason and engage with people in more constructive ways. (March 5, 2021)
https://youtu.be/gCoHYeI0OeE
In this episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg talks about the monomyth, the idea that all stories follow the same universal pattern. He further argues the reason this pattern is universal is that it is a reflection of the story of Christ's saving of humanity and other stories cannot help but use that pattern. I conclude by covering some criticism of the monomyth. (January 18, 2021)
In this episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg introduces the topic of engaging with stories philosophically. He explains what he thinks makes a good story, four of the different ways of looking at stories, and how some stories work well in some media and not in others. (December 11, 2020)
In this episode, Phil Kallberg catches up on some segments he has been putting off for the last few months. He gives out a face palm and sigh award, explain why the claim "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence" is wrong, and go through a listener's feedback. (November 27, 2020)
In this episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg lays out the general idea of inference to the best explanation and then use it to explore and evaluate the ongoing claims of election fraud. (November 13, 2020)
In this episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg I wrap up the series on political philosophy by giving you my take on things. I argue for small scale libertarianism which is best summed up by the idea, "the government that governs least governs best." I also tell you how I see the current candidates and who I think you should and should not vote for. (October 30, 2020)
In this episode of The Examined Life, Dustin Crummett of Ludwig Maximilian University joins Phil Kallberg to make a case for supporting the political left and the Democrats in this year's election. We discuss his theory of government, arguments surrounding single issue voting, various problems with voting and the US political system, and how he sees the current candidates and
issues. (October 23, 2020)
In this episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg discuss his political view, Anarcho-Capitalism, a political theory which argues that all human interactions (including the government) should be dependent on a voluntary choice. Jon defends his view against my objections and gives his thoughts and reflections on the political situation in America. (October 16, 2020)
In this episode of The Examined Life, Catholic evangelist Pat Flynn joins Phil Kallberg to talk about politics and philosophy. They discuss more of the implications of conservatism, the government's response to the pandemic, how Pat's view differs from the other ones, and Pat answers some of the common objections to supporting President Trump. This is part two of two. (October 9, 2020)
In this episode of The Examined Life, Pat Flynn joins Phil Kallberg to talk about politics and philosophy. He makes a case for Common Good Conservatism and argues that Abortion is such an evil that it overrides nearly every other political issue. This is part one of two. (October 2, 2020)
In this episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg joins David Pallmann for a discussion on Eternal Security. David and Phil discuss the various positions on Eternal Security, the arguments pro and con, as well as what makes a good theory and proof texting. (September 25, 2020)
In light of the growing skepticism of experts and institutions I spend this episode going through the reasoning behind appeals to authority and expertise and explain why sometimes this is
fallacious reasoning and why sometimes it's a good and wise thing to do. (September 11, 2020)
In this episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg explores the need for lines of reasoning to have an end (terminators) and a beginning, and he points to some practical examples of the problems that arise when the terminators are avoided. (August 28, 2020)
In this episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg attempts to explore the origins of the pathological philosophy that seems to be a significant part of the ongoing riots and political unrest in America. I get into language and communication theory, the foundations of Postmodernism, and argue that it's now mostly just about grabbing power. (July 31, 2020)
In this episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg explains the key problem with Presuppositional Apologetics, a system that is popular in some circles and on the internet. I also cover some of the history of how this system developed. (July 17, 2020)
In this issue of The Examined Life, philosopher Phil Kallberg explains why most Criminal Justice reform doesn't work. (June 19, 2020)
In this episode of "The Examined Life," Phil Kallberg covers some of the most important things for thinking and philosophizing well, how to make appropriate distinctions, define terms, and avoid improper distinctions. Then he applies this basic standard of thinking to some current events and ongoing problems. (June 5, 2020)
In this episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg covers one of the key problems or distinctions in philosophy, the problem of universals. How you end up answering this question dictates how you will end up thinking about many other things. Also he gives out a face palm and sigh award to the true crime podcast serial. (April 24, 2020)
This week I go through my own (somewhat technical) argument against agnosticism. I argue that a certain principle in logic demonstrates that God either must exist or must not exist, hence agnosticism is not a reasonable option. (April 10, 2020)
In this episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg does a whole episode of facepalm and sigh awards for some particularly poor examples of reasoning from various people talking about the COVID-19 pandemic. (April 3, 2020)
In this episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg works his way through an essay he prepared for the 2020 meeting of the society for Pentecostal Studies on masculinity and American society. Since the conference was canceled, he provides podcast version of the essay where he argues that it is the lack of masculine influence that causes men to behave badly. (March 27, 2020)
In this episode of The Examined Life, philosopher Phil Kallberg talks about the common claim that most of philosophy is useless for practical, real world problems. This week, he demonstrates why this is a foolish claim as Pascal's Wager and the Trolley Problem can help us make sense of how to react to the Coronavirus pandemic. (March 20, 2020)
In this episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg gives out a face palm and sigh award to the US
Ambassador to Germany and compare the analytic, continental, and skeptical methods of philosophy. (March 13, 2020)
In this episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg plays a discussion he had with Suan Sonna of Intellectual Conservatism on the Moral and Ontological Arguments for God's existence. He makes a case for the soundness of these arguments. (March 6, 2020)
In this episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg spends this week giving a face palm and sigh award to David Bentley Hart for a poorly argued article in the New York Times. He pulls several lessons on how to argue rationally and persuasively from Hart's article as Hart demonstrates what not to do. (February 21, 2020)
This week, I make the case for Old Earth Creationism (OEC). OEC claims that the Earth is quite old and that God is responsible for Creation. I argue that there is a lot of physical evidence that indicates that the Earth is quite old and that this fact is perfectly compatible with Genesis. Also I return to giving out a face palm and sigh award. (February 14, 2020)
This week, Rob and I conclude our discussion on the theory that Noah's flood was a regional event and spend some time examining the problems that arise from postulating a global flood. This is part three of three. (February 7, 2020)
This week, Rob Rowe and Phil Kallberg continue discussing many of the issues surrounding the interpretation of Genesis, and Rob lays out the case for Noah's flood being a regional, as opposed to a global, event. This is part two of three. (January 31, 2020)
This week, Rob Rowe and I begin a lengthy discussion on Noah's flood and the issues surrounding it. Rob and I begin by discussing the issues surrounding the interpretation of Genesis, and Rob explains his theory that Evolution fits neatly with the Atonement. This is part one of three. (January 24, 2020)
This week I'm playing the audience question and answer section of the debate on inerrancy I did with David Van Bebber. I offer my thoughts and reflections of the debate and also answer the
audience questions that there was not time to address at the event. (January 17, 2020)
On January 6, 2020 in Springfield, MO I accepted an invitation to debate David Van Bebber over the nature of Biblical Inerrancy. This is the debate. (January 20, 2020)
This week Scarlett Clay responds to the standard objections to the idea that the Earth is young and we discuss how to interpret the first chapters of Genesis. This is part two of a two part episode. (December 27, 2019)
In this episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg engages Scarlett Clay, who explains and argues for Biblical Creationism, the view that God created the Earth in six days about six thousands years ago. This is part one of a two part episode. (December 20, 2019)
In this episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg offers another offshoot episode of the series on Creation, Evolution, and Science. He examines what the nature of evidence is, and how we can recognize and understand evidence. He also gives out a face palm and sigh award to Bart Ehrman for confusing possibility with probability. (December 13, 2019)
In this episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg responds to some of the feedback the podcast has been getting, gives out another face palm and sigh award, and does more Calvin and Hobbes and Philosophy. (November 29, 2019)
This week I argue that despite numerous claims to the contrary, Evolution cannot adequately explain the existence of morality. And I give the face palm and sigh award to a prominent
cosmologist for arguing that physics proves that there is no afterlife. (November 22, 2019)
Drawing on the work of Alvin Plantinga, I explain what the Evolutionary Argument against Naturalism is, go through how it works, and attempt to demonstrate that believing in both Evolution and Naturalism is self-defeating. Also I give a CNET reviewer a face palm and sigh award for pushing politics into tech reviews. (November 15, 2019)
In this episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg explains what Scientism is, what the problems with it are, and why it is a bad way to look at the world. Also he gives out another face palm and sigh award. (November 8, 2019)
Since this is the 50th episode of this podcast, I take some time to run through and summarize all the prior episodes and talk about which ones I enjoyed the most. Here's to 50 more! (November 1, 2019)
In order to help lay a foundation for some upcoming episodes this week, Phil Kallberg goes over some aspects of the philosophy of Edith Stein and Aristotle's philosophy. Stein's Personal Core and Aristotle's substance share many features and Phil uses them both to explain what metaphysics is. (October 25, 2019)
In this episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg talks to Peter Rasor about the book he co-authored, "The Controversy of the Ages: Why Christians Should not Divide over the Age of the Earth." Peter and Phil discuss the various issues surrounding the interpretation of Genesis and the principles Peter advocates in his book. Phil also gives out a double face palm and sigh award, recommending the book "Talking to Strangers." This is part two of a two part episode. (October 18, 2019)
I talk to Peter Rasor about the book he co-authored, "The Controversy of the Ages: Why Christians Should not Divide over the Age of the Earth." Peter tells me about what led to him writing the book
and we get into some of the history of the supposed conflicts between science and religion. This is part one of a two part episode. (October 11, 2019)
David Pallman of Faith because of Reason presents the case for Intelligent Design. In this episode David gives his criticisms of Young Earth Creationism and Theistic Evolution. I conclude the episode by doing a segment of Calvin and Hobbes and Philosophy. This is part three of a three part episode. (October 4, 2019)
In this episode of The Examined Life, David Pallman of Faith because of Reason presents the case
for Intelligent Design. In this episode David addresses the common criticisms of Intelligent Design and begins giving his criticisms of Young Earth Creationism. Also I gave out a face palm and sigh
award.This is part two of a three part episode.
Continuing the series on Creation, Evolution, and Science, David Pallman of Faith because of Reason presents the case for Intelligent Design. In this episode we begin by discussing the
foundations of science and some of the evidence and arguments for Intelligent Design. This is part one of a three part episode.
The excellent philosopher J.P. Moreland comes on the podcast to talk about his book on anxiety, "Finding Quiet." Dr. Moreland and I discuss his book and several other related issues. I also start a new segment on Calvin and Hobbes and Philosophy and give some arguments for why our minds must be immaterial.
Michael and I continue discussing Theistic Evolution. We get into abiogenesis, some philosophical critiques of evolution, some philosophy of mind, and the issues of interpretation regarding Young
Earth Creationism. Also Aristotle is a philosopher you should know about.
This week I start a series on Creation, Evolution, and Science. Micheal Jones of Inspiring Philosophy returns to argue for Theistic Evolution. He argues for the reliability of Genesis, that Evolution is compatible with Creation, and that criticisms of Intelligent Design advocates miss the mark. This is part one of a two-part episode. (August 30, 2019)
In light of the conspiracy theories and accusations being thrown around after the suicide of Jeffrey Epstein I explain how inductive reasoning demonstrates that a conspiracy theory is almost never the best explanation of any event. I also give out another face palm and sigh award of the week. (August 23, 2019)
I bring the series on the Problem of Divine Foreknowledge to an end by summing up the five views, critiquing them, and attempt to draw some conclusions. In part two I sum up the Simple
Foreknowledge View and offer my critiques, observations, and conclusions about all the views. This is part two of a two part episode. (August 16, 2019)
I bring the series on the Problem of Divine Foreknowledge to an end by summing up the five views, critiquing them, and attempt to draw some conclusions. In part one I sum up the Reformed, Molinist,
Thomistic, and Open Theist views. This is part one of a two part episode. (August 9, 2019)
In an attempt to raise the level of discourse in America, I devote a whole episode to giving out face palm and sigh awards to the Democrat Presidential Candidates who participated in this week's debates. They gave a lot of bad arguments and committed a lot of fallacies, and I point some of them out. (August 2, 2019)
Philip Swenson gives his assessment of the other proposed solutions to the problem of divine foreknowledge. This is part two of a two part episode. (July 26, 2019)
In this episode of The Examined Life, Philip Swenson comes on to present Simple Foreknowledge,
the final of the major viewpoints on the Problem of Divine Foreknowledge. This is part one of a two part episode. (July 19, 2019)
Departing from the normal show format this week, Phil Kallberg talks about a contemporary problem, the need for something to balance the power of the Press. I also touch on many related subjects like the nature of justice and how it can be understood as a balance between conflicting forces. (July 12, 2019)
This week, Phil Kallberg presents an essay he has given at academic conferences on how Christians should attempt to engage with culture and give out a face palm and sigh award of the week to a prominent conservative commentator. (June 28, 2019)
In this joint episode with Pat Flynn, Pat talks to me about the problems he sees with Libertarianism and it's ethical foundations. Thus he argues that Libertarianism is not a viable system. I attempt to argue that it can be if we limit the ideas of Libertarians to things like politics and economics and look to other things for a the bases of ethics and morality. (June 21, 2019)
In this episode of The Examined Life with Phil Kallberg, Fr. Randy Soto, a sacred scripture scholar at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and Holy Apostles and Seminary in Cromwell, CT, gives his take on my podcast on inerrancy, explains the Catholic position on inerrancy, and discusses how to interpret Scripture. Also I explain why Plato is a philosopher about whom you should know. (June 14, 2019)
This episode is an expanded version of an essay I presented on Biblical Inerrancy at the 2019 meeting of SPS. First I argue that the term "inerrancy" is vague and often suffers from equivocation. Further I argue that the concept of "error" has shifted since the composition of the Bible. Also I give out a dual face palm and sigh award of the week. (June 7, 2019)
Alan Rhoda and Phil continue discussing the Open Theist perspective. Alan responds to more objections to Open Theism, and also gives his assessment of the other perspectives. This is part two of a two-part episode. (May 31, 2019)
Continuing the series on the Problem of Divine Foreknowledge, Phil Kallberg welcomes Alan Rhoda on to present the Open Theist perspective. Alan explains the philosophical reasons for thinking that the future is open rather than fixed. This is part one of a two part episode. (May 24, 2019)
In this episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg continues discussing the Thomistic response to the
problem of Divine Foreknowledge with Jonathan Augustine Stute, and Jonathan assesses the other responses to the problem and explains why he rejects them. This is part two of a two-part episode. (May 17, 2019)
In this episode of The Examined Life, continuing the series on the Problem of Divine Foreknowledge Phil welcomes Jonathan Augustine Stute on the show to present the Divine Timelessness perspective. Among other things Jonathan explains why Divine Timelessness is probably not a good name for this perspective. This is part one of a two part episode. (May 10, 2019)
Elaborating a bit on the problem of divine foreknowledge, Phil Kallberg talks to John Limanto about some of the practical theological and philosophical uses of Molinism. John is from Indonesia, and he explains why he sees a lot of value in Molinism, and gives his own responses to the standard objections to Molinism. (May 3, 2019)
In this Easter episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg explains the type of reasoning called inference to the best explanation (IBE). He then uses IBE to argue that not only can it be demonstrated that Christ rose from the dead, but that all other attempts to explain the key facts are vastly inferior to the simple truth that God raised Christ from the dead. Links mentioned in the podcast: Bruce Russell’s short article on types of reasoning. http://theweek.com/articles/758592/how-know-what-know Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy on abduction. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/abduction/ (April 19, 2019)
In this episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg and Ben Arbour continue discussing the Ontological Argument for the existence of God. In the second half Phil throws every "good" objection to the argument that he can find at Ben and gives Ben the chance to parry the objections. This is part two of a two part episode. (April 12, 2019)
Phil welcomes Ben Arbour for two special episodes discussing the Ontological Argument for the existence of God. In this first part Ben and Phil explain what the Ontological Argument is, what it attempts to do, and Ben gives his own take on how to make it work. This is part one of a two part episode. (April 5, 2019)
Phil and Peter Rasor continue discussing the Molinist perspective on the Problem of Divine Foreknowledge. Peter explains why he thinks the objections to Molinism don't work and gives his thoughts on the other perspectives.. This is part two of a two part episode. (March 29, 2019)
Continuing the series on the Problem of Divine Foreknowledge Phil welcomes Peter Rasor on the show to present the Molinist perspective. Peter explains what Molinism is and begins answering objections to it. This is part one of a two part episode. (March 22, 2019)
In this week's episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg welcomes Andrew Ike Shepardson to discuss his new book, "Who's Afraid of the Unmoved Mover? Postmodernism and Natural Theology." They discuss natural theology and the postmodern critiques and challenges to natural theology. (March 15, 2019)
In this episode of the Examined Life, Phil Kallberg and Tim Carter continue discussing and debating the Reformed Theology perspective on the problem of divine foreknowledge. Phil also shares some feedback the show has been getting. This is the second of two episodes. (March 8, 2019)
In this episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg welcomes Tim Carter back on the program to explain the Reformed Theology perspective on the problem of divine foreknowledge. They discuss the nature of free will and many other related topics. This is the first of two episodes. (March 1, 2019)
In this episode of "The Examined Life," Phil Kallberg explains what the Problem of Divine Foreknowledge is, briefly introduces the major response to it, and explains the nature of contradictions. He also gives out a sigh award of the week explains how moral arguments for the existence of God work. (February 22, 2019)
In this episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg goes through the standard arguments for and against abortion and demonstrates how most arguments in favor of abortion appeal extreme, unusual, and rare cases. Also there is another face palm and sigh award of the week and Socrates is a philosopher you should know a few things about. (February 15, 2019)
In this episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg welcomes Prof. Sarah Geis on the program to discuss her third option for dealing with religious disagreement. Prof. Geis says that rather than just telling the truth, or showing love, we can learn to tell the truth in love, if we make use of some good philosophical foundations. Phil and Prof. Geis also touch on many other issues. (February 8, 2019)
Phil talks about what narrative bias is, where it comes from, why it's bad, and offers some advice on how to avoid it. He also gives out another face palm and sigh award and briefly explains Aristotle's argument for the unmoved mover. (February 1, 2019)
In the light of recent events like the APA's classifying masculinity as a problem, Phil challenges the prevailing wisdom that American culture and society is dominated by masculinity and argues that American society is actually primarily feminine. (January 25, 2019)
In this episode Phil tackles the difficult and complicated question of how society should deal with poverty. Is it best for the government to handle it? Is it best to leave it to charities? Phil looks at the evidence and attempts to draw some conclusions.
In this episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg explores the question of what Socrates, the spiritual father of philosophy, thought about God. Did the actual God speak to Socrates and push Socrates into philosophy, or was something else going on? (January 11, 2019)
In this week's episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg discusses the apparent problem of hell with Michael Jones, who runs the Inspiring Philosophy channel on YouTube. Michael explains the choice model of hell and responds to several objections and misconceptions about the concepts of heaven and hell. (January 4, 2019)
In this episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg interviews Prof. Zach Young, a Professor at River Valley Community College. In an essay, Prof. Young has advanced a theory that people who are undergoing intense suffering have lost the ability to make meaning out of their lives and that the way to help these people restore meaning to their lives is to bring them into community with other people and God. Phil and Prof. Young discuss the essay and this theory. (December 28, 2018)
Can we know or prove the Christmas Story is true? In this episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg lists some reasons why we can trust that the gospel authors were telling the truth when they wrote of the birth of Christ. (December 21, 2018)
Tim Carter took issue with a few of the points in Phil's previous episode "Why Evil? Exploring a Framework for Understanding Suffering" so they discuss Tim's concerns and end up exploring some different approaches to free will and its implications. (December 14, 2018)
In this episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg explores how social media like Facebook affects us and what we can do about it. (December 7, 2018)
In this episode of "The Examined Life," Phil discusses the distinction between linear and system thinking and gives several examples of how various kinds and types of systems affect our lives. (November 30, 2018)
It's Thanksgiving week. So to help you talk to your relatives about religion and politics, Phil presents six points on the art of persuasion from Thomas Aquinas. Use these points when you are speaking
with people of differing ideals and it's far more likely that you will have a productive and substantive conversation. (November 22, 2018)
The question of why there is suffering and evil is one of the most fundamental and practical questions that everyone faces. In this episode of The Examined Life, Phil lays out a framework for understanding and making sense of the evil in the world and offers some thoughts on how we can deal with it. (November 16, 2018)
In this inaugural episode, Phil Kallberg establishes the theme of his program. (November 9, 2018)
In this episode of "I Thought You'd Like to Know," Pat Flynn interviews Phil Kallberg concerning his article, "An Ontological Argument against Agnosticism." For a copy of the article, download from http://wcatradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/An-Ontological-Argument-Against-Agnosticism-for-MPS-2018.pdf (October 29, 2018)