The Mobile Philosopher: Recent Episodes
Will Bynoe
Based on the Mobile Philosopher book series, this light and humorous podcast distils complex philosophical thought from the ancient world to the present day. Pick at random from a series that will inspire and provoke you with eclectic discussions of imagination, hope, anger, telepathy, toast and much more.
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Here is the Problem of Other Minds, plus fascinating trousers, pretend headaches and a vivid dream about a monkey.
Are the inner depths of other people unknowable? Huxley says that we are isolated from each other; the lovers try in vain to "fuse their insulated ecstasies". I summarise John McDowell's view that this 'Problem of Other Minds' results from a mistaken view of how we experience each other.
I'm pretty sure water expands when it freezes, but I can't recall how I know that. Most of our beliefs are like this: we can't remember their justification. But surely it is irrational have a head full of beliefs you cannot justify? I summarise a radical reply from Rene Descartes (1596 - 1650) and a conservative one from Gilbert Harman (b. 1938). Both are weird.
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Overcome with anger, you take the photo of your enemy and scratch out their eyes. According to Rosalind Hursthouse, this reveals two important ways in which our conduct is not ruled by reason. Here is a short summary of her important ideas, to accompany the Mobile Philosopher book series
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Which of your friends would clean up your sick? Your true friends, surely. But what is a true friend? And is Aristotle correct that there is a sad contradiction at the heart of true friendship?
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"I'm not religious or anything, but I believe there's something out there". I summarise an argument from Kai Nielsen (1926-2021) for the conclusion that this sort of mild, vague belief in the divine doesn't make any sense.
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Tempted by a voyage of self-discovery? How will you know you've become more authentic, rather than more self-absorbed and boring? I summarise the views of F.H. Bradley (1846-1924), who guarantees you authenticity without the need to seriously upset your daily routine.
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Why should attempted murder have a less severe punishment than murder? If a gust of wind saves a victim from the deadly arrow, why should that make a difference to the punishment given to the murderous archer? In this episode, I discuss these questions and summarise an ingenious justification of our system that comes from David Lewis (1989).
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Can we gain knowledge through the use of the imagination? Richard Feynman said that “the imagination of nature is far, far greater than the imagination of man”. So maybe our fancies only tell us about ourselves, and never about the external world. Amy Kind disagrees, and I outline her view here. Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) also pops up, alongside a tin of beans.
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Wherever scientists go, philosophers follow, asking weird and awkward questions. So what happens when maverick scientists investigate telepathy? Here we take a look at an argument from the contemporary philosopher Stephen Braude, who argues that reflecting on telepathy reveals important insights into the human mind.
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What might a walk with your dog reveal about the differences between humans and animals? Here, an encounter with two deer provide a light-hearted introduction to some ideas from three lesser known philosophers: Chrysippus (c.280-207 BCE); al-Ghazali (c.1056-1111) and Peter John Olivi (c.1248–1298).
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