PODCAST · society
Philosophy Club!
by Philosophy Club Members
A group of lifelong friends discuss life's important questions.
Episodes
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Should You Shower in a Thunderstorm?
Ben and Sara think not. Logan, however, thought there was no good evidence about it, and just because an idea seems reasonable, that is not the same thing as being correct. The three of us discussed whether a plausible idea is more likely to be true than an implausible one. Does plausibility say...
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Does Wisdom Exist?
Logan tells Aaqib and Ben that he has doubts that Wisdom exists at all. Might Wisdom not be an empty term? For who can be wise if it takes a single foolish act to make you foolish? What is there for wisdom to do when we already have words for intelligence and virtue? And how can wisdom mean...
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What is Education For? And What is it Missing?
With dash and their typical circumambulatory style, Logan, Ben, Sara, Kitty and Aaqib ask what is education for? There are several answers, perhaps none of which we stumble on. Undaunted, we do discover a great deal about what it means to teach and to learn, what we missed out on in our…
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What Are 100 Things Everyone Should Learn?
In an effort to better understand education, Ben, Kitty and Logan ask each other for 100 things every American should learn? What should make the list may tell us something about the purposes of education. We find out that among the most controversial topics our club as broached are ATP…
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The Baggage Claim Effect and Limited Determinism
The Butterfly Effect is the common term for a system where small changes to initial conditions create outsized impacts. Logan, Katie and Ben discuss the "Baggage Claim Effect," to describe a system where for a limited time, changes to initial conditions—even large ones—have no impact whatsoever....
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Non-Consensual Governance
After a six-month hiatus, Logan and Ben come back to dismiss "Consent of the Governed" and move on to what happens next. If consent of the governed does not dictate good governance, what does? We rollick through ideas from John Rawls, Jean-Jacque Rousseau, John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Socrates (by...
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What is Justice? Parsing through Plato, Habitual Obedience and Batman.
Is Justice getting what you deserve? Is it perhaps the balance of wisdom moderation and courage? Or is Justice a chimerical idea we are fed to go along with authority? Beau, Ben and Logan begin to tackle this timeless question. We explicitly reference Plato's Republic, Batman and John Austin's...
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Philosophy Club Afterthoughts! How to be Free.
No question so concerns our collective humanity as that of freedom. Unsatisfied with our first conclusions on the subject, Ben and I reframe the question of Liberty. Perhaps it is not choice maximizes freedom (to the credit of Kitty as well from the last episode, no quantity of colorful consumer...
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How to be Free.
Logan asks Kitty, Mike and Ben "what is Liberty? Is it the most choice? Is it the least obligation? Is it the least arbitrary system?" There is perhaps no concept so central to humanity as freedom. Every choice is an inherently human exercise of the will. The four Philosophers' discussion of what...
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Promises, Oaths, and Morality (does swearing make it right to do?)
Can you take an oath that changes your moral obligations? Can you make a personal decision to follow a specific set of moral guidelines? Why do Veterinarians and soldiers take an oath but not (typically) data analysts? Should Philosophy Club members take an oath and what would it sound like?…
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When to Tell a Story Out of Order
Would Casablanca have been as good if it started in Paris? Ben, Logan and Sara ask why you should tell a story out of order, using flashbacks, flash-forwards and a handful of stranger options. Naturally, Christopher Nolan Films feature prominently, but so too do classics from the Godfather Part…
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Who Wouldn't Want The Right to Own a Pet?
Sara, Ben, Mike and Logan embark on a broad discussion that goes to the heart of public policy making and comes back again. We begin by taking a situational test designed to assess the social skills of prospective Veterinarians. And we continue by asking the hard questions that get to the marrow…
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Philosophy Club Afterthoughts! Mansplaining
In this first of its kind episode, Kyra and Mackenzie revisit the "Mansplaining" episode of Philosophy club. Mackenzie initially argues against the usefulness of the term and bemoans that the label Mansplaining tends to end conversations and close minds. Kyra counters that the label Mansplaining...
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Mansplaining
Sara, Logan and Ben ask "What is mansplaining?" "Why is it so aggravating?" and "How do you avoid mansplaining?" Along the way we discuss Essentialism and Bell Hooks, relevant knowledge, and we discover what a male Gynecologist and a Veterinarian have in common!
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Talking with a Good Therapist
In this special episode of Philosophy Club, Evan, a practicing Therapist (and roommate of Kitty), helps Aaqib, Ben, Kitty, Logan, Mackenzie and Mike to answer what makes a good therapist? As it turns out, there may not be a single good answer to the question. But that doesn't discourage them! The...
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What is the purpose of Grammar?
Ben, Katie, Logan and Mike discuss why we call one way of speaking proper and another colloquial. Along the way, we learn about Ben's hardships at an Orioles' game, David Foster Wallace and Descriptive vs. Prescriptive dictionaries, what Wittgenstein imagines construction workers are like, John...
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The Qualities of a Classic
Beau, Ben and Logan first discuss how to find a what to read, and Ben introduces the question: What makes a classic? It seems endurance, quality and popularity have something to do with it. And surely having someone to talk to about a book makes it all the more fun. But is the best of all time…
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No Take-Backs! What does it mean to retract, correct, renege and change your mind?
Ben, Mike and Logan ask what it means "to take something back." They stumble into the topics of opinions versus facts, the value of a promise, and the proper way to crack an egg.
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What makes a government "legitimate"? And what do the Founding Fathers and the Bolsheviks have in common?
Happy Independence Day! In this episode, Aaqib, Ben, Ian, Logan, Mackenzie and Michael discuss what makes a government a government, and how in a moment of crisis, taking up the mantle of power gives an initial semblance of legitimacy. Or is legitimacy just a Phony-Bologna concept? They argue…
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Is T-Pain the Greatest Musical Talent of the Past 150 Years? (And what is modern musical mastery)?
Aaqib, Ben, Ian, Logan and Mike ask if the 2000-2010 was a tough time for music. Opinions vary wildly. They discuss what is complexity in music now? How can music theory encompass the increasing importance of production? And how does technology of a given time change the how we should view its art?
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"Locker Room Presence" and Consequentialism-How to pick a President
Ben, Ian and Logan discuss the how to evaluate policy decisions and the wisdom of playing catch with a bowling ball from a tall building. It's hard to evaluate policy based on the consequence, but it seems ludicrous to evaluate it with another set of ethics. The higher up the boss, the further…
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The “Spider-Man question” (And what should you do with 300 Slices of cake?)
Ben, Logan and Mike exam what your moral obligation is in given scenarios. They discuss Peter Singer's famous shallow pond thought experiment, and consider whether that obligates you to be a lifeguard. They look at the moral obligations of Oscar Schindler and Peter Parker and try to decide what...
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Why obey the Law?
In one of our most contentious episodes yet! Beau, Mike, Logan and Ben try to reconcile radically different views of what is Law, what is a State (or a state) and what claims a state has on its citizens (if any). They will discuss the command theory of law, the social contract, Max Weber's...
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Philosophy Jam Sessions, Reasonable beliefs, and Intellectual Sloth--How to listen to your internal philosophical voice.
Mike begins by asking Katie, Ben and Logan if, after a decade of meeting to discuss philosophy, they have gotten any better at Philosophy? The four of them discuss the skills of thinking deeply, as well as the art of listening deeply to create philosophical conversations. Later, Logan asks "when…
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All Cultures, Big and small (2 of 2)
Johny Mac rescues a floundering Ben and Mike and they continue to explore the conservation and destruction of culture. They ask how much sharing will destroy uniqueness? Is the erasure of cultures inevitable? How do we feel about Bluegrass Music?
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Protecting Culture vs. Sharing Culture (1 of 2)
Katie's visit to an Ancient Egyptian exhibit spawns a discussion with Mike and Ben: is it valuable to conserve and protect your own culture and thereby potentially sacrifice diversity? The three veteran Philosophers shed some light on American Culture, inherent cultural invisibility and wish…
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Truth and Digital Reproduction
Ben, Logan and Mike ask how much can you edit and alter a photo before it becomes a lie? What crosses the line when using video to create a fictional digital medium? Are there lower and higher orders of truth to abide by? How much does intention matter when making alterations?
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Giving Good Gifts
Logan, Ben and Mike ask what makes a good gift? What is the difference between a gift and transaction? How explicit should you make your Holiday gift list? What does Dostoevsky's account of an execution tell us about giving presents?
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Educating Amateur Philosophers
Aaqib, Ben, Katie and Mike dance around the question: What is the purpose of education? Is it the "vibes"? They discuss what makes a good education; what are the most memorable moments; and what do you even remember afterwards?
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Work in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
Mike and Ben move continue their hypothetical discussion of AI with work: Are jobs worth doing? What would a "Chuckee Cheese" production of Hamlet be like? What do people do in retirement? What would they do if everyone was in retirement?
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Step Aside Christopher Nolan--I'm the real Artist here
Mike and Ben ask what if AI made good Art? Who is art for, the Artist or the Audience? Can we separate the Art from the Artist? Is it the consumer who turns expression into art?
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Lying to ourselves
Mike, Katie, Aaqib, Ben, and Logan talk about lying to ourselves. Is it really possible to deceive ourselves? Is it always wrong if so? Oh, and apparently only one of us needs therapy (guess who)
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The ethics of Snitching
Mike, Katie, Aaqib, Ben, Logan, Matt and Mackenzie all talk about snitching. New music from our new producer, Sam Roller!
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Should we stop punishing people? 2 of 2
June 4th 2023, 2 of 2. Noah, Michael, Mackenzie, Katie, Ben and Aaqib discuss reformation and justice.
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Is it wrong to counterfeit luxury goods (but to do it really well)? 1 of 2
June 4th 2023 part 1. Noah, Michael, Mackenzie, Katie and Ben discuss luxury, shallowness and villainy.
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Is it selfish to have kids? 2 of 2
In the second half of our may 21st 2023 meeting, Aaqib, Ben (ben ben ben), Johnny Mac, Katie, Kyra, Logan and Mike discuss using AI as a companion and introduce ask "Is having children selfish (self-interested)?"; and "Do you have a duty to help people closer to you?" and "what do Thanos and Ivan...
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Are values important in a Relationship? (and what even are values?) 1 of 2
In the first half of the 21 may 23 meeting, Aaqib, Ben (ben ben ben), Johnny Mac, Katie, Kyra, Logan and Mike discuss using AI as a companion and introduce themselves before definitively answering: "Are values important in a relationship?"; "What are values?"; "Should you bring up abortion on a...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
A group of lifelong friends discuss life's important questions.
HOSTED BY
Philosophy Club Members
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Philosophy Club! have?
Philosophy Club! currently has 37 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Philosophy Club! about?
A group of lifelong friends discuss life's important questions.
How often does Philosophy Club! release new episodes?
Philosophy Club! has 37 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Philosophy Club!?
You can listen to Philosophy Club! 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 Philosophy Club!?
Philosophy Club! is created and hosted by Philosophy Club Members.
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