PODCAST · education
Philosophical Problems
by Jack Reynolds and Andrew Brennan
In this subject we examine some of the central problems that have captivated philosophers throughout millennia, as well as those that scientific advances and cultural changes have only recently brought to our attention. These might include: where did the universe come from? Might a machine think? Is time travel possible? Is it morally acceptable to eat meat, or to design children genetically? Does the world suggest the existence of a designer, a God? Students will focus on examining the merits of the various arguments on these issues, dealing with each philosophical problem for a week. Students will be introduced to most of the major philosophical areas, including epistemology (what can we know?), metaphysics (what is the nature of reality?), ethics, personal identity, and philosophy of mind.
Episodes
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Free Will II
While the question concerning the truth of determinism may be an empirical question, that is, it will be settled by the various sciences, philosophers are particularly interested in whether or not the hypothetical truth of determinism would rule out free will. In this lecture, we look at two...
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Free Will I
If the world is causally determined, does this mean people no longer have free will? Or is being free compatible with determinism. In this lecture, I discuss two opposing positions regarding the existence of free will even though both agree that genuine free will is incompatible with determinism....
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Artificial Intelligence II
Two of the most vocal critics of the idea that information processing machines may be said to think, or show intelligence, are Hubert Dreyfus and John Searle. This lecture briefly addresses some of Dreyfus' thoughts in this regard, which hinge on the contrast between know-how and knowledge-that,...
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Artificial Intelligence I
This lecture introduces students to the work of Alan Turing and the project of creating Artificial Intelligence that he played a significant role in inaugurating. We consider some of the objections to standard forms of AI (but not necessarily all) posed by Hubert Dreyfus in various of his books....
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The Consciousness Conundrum II
In this lecture we discuss two competing solutions to the mind-body problem. First, we look at the identity theory of mind, or reductive materialism, which says that the mind is identical to the brain. Then, we look at property dualism, which agrees with the materialist that there is only one…
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The Consciousness Conundrum I
The mind appears to be of a radically different nature to the everyday material items we normally encounter. Insofar as our body, including our brain, are considered parts of the material world, it becomes a mystery as to how our mind can find a place within nature and interact with out body.…
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Other Minds
Do we know that others have minds? This lecture considers two main types of response to the “problem of other minds”: those that are inferential in nature and argue that perception of others alone is an insufficient justification, requiring either an argument by analogy, or an inference to the…
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The Problem of Induction
This lecture is a discussion of the problem of induction. I begin by looking at the structure of logical reasoning with a view to delineating the ‘problem’ with inductive reasoning; this is a problem for scientific knowledge as inductive reasoning is essential to science. I explore Hume's…
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Brain-snatched II
This lecture continues the discussion of scepticism introduced in the preceding lecture. There is discussion of different views about what the consequences would be for someone who accepted scepticism, and of some of the arguments that have been given for rejecting scepticism. Copyright 2013 Jack...
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Brain-snatched I
This lecture deals with philosophical scepticism about the physical world. This is the idea that we do not really have any evidence (at all!) for any of our ordinary beliefs about the world around us, because we cannot rule out the possibility that all our experience is some sort of massive...
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Creationism and Science II
This lecture builds a more sophisticated response to the demarcation problem (over and above Popper’s response) that includes ideas from Kuhn, Lakatos and Thagard. I outline some of the weakest points in the creationists’ arguments and conclude by mentioning a couple of recent points of interest…
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Creationism and Science
This lecture looks at what creationism is all about and some of the arguments that proponents of creationism use to argue that it is science. I ask what it is about science that makes it ‘science’. I outline an Popper’s theory of falsification as a response to the demarcation problem and finish…
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Philosophy Essay Writing
This lecture provides some advice about writing essays in philosophy. Copyright 2013 Jack Reynolds / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.
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Self Identity, Part II
Does it make sense to think we can duplicate persons, so that people can divide just like cells? Since splitting means dividing one person into two people, the obvious answer seems to be that persons are unable to undergo fission. By looking at the old example of the Ship of Theseus we find that…
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Self Identity, Part I
What makes me the person I am? Two popular answers are that my identity depends on the continuing existence of my body, or that my identity depends on some psychological continuity, such as the functioning and extent of memory. The seventeenth-century English philosopher, John Locke, argued that...
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Time Travel, Part II
Can the past be changed? It looks as if time travellers could wreak havoc by interfering with things that have already happened. If what is past cannot be changed, does this commit us to determinism? We ask what would happen in the scenario of the Terminator movies if the Terminator really erased...
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Time Travel, Part I
Is time travel possible? An introduction to the philosophy – not the science – of time travel, asking whether time travel can be described without contradictions. To answer the question we look at the movie Back to the Future, and the UK TV series, Doctor Who. The Grandfather paradox is also...
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What is Philosophy?
This lecture considers the vexed question of what is philosophy and some of the most common answers to this question. Copyright 2013 Jack Reynolds / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
In this subject we examine some of the central problems that have captivated philosophers throughout millennia, as well as those that scientific advances and cultural changes have only recently brought to our attention. These might include: where did the universe come from? Might a machine think? Is time travel possible? Is it morally acceptable to eat meat, or to design children genetically? Does the world suggest the existence of a designer, a God? Students will focus on examining the merits of the various arguments on these issues, dealing with each philosophical problem for a week. Students will be introduced to most of the major philosophical areas, including epistemology (what can we know?), metaphysics (what is the nature of reality?), ethics, personal identity, and philosophy of mind.
HOSTED BY
Jack Reynolds and Andrew Brennan
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Philosophical Problems have?
Philosophical Problems currently has 35 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Philosophical Problems about?
In this subject we examine some of the central problems that have captivated philosophers throughout millennia, as well as those that scientific advances and cultural changes have only recently brought to our attention. These might include: where did the universe come from? Might a machine think?...
How often does Philosophical Problems release new episodes?
Philosophical Problems has 35 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
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You can listen to Philosophical Problems on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Philosophical Problems?
Philosophical Problems is created and hosted by Jack Reynolds and Andrew Brennan.
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